This past weekend we spent several hours on the road going to and from Pt. Pleasant, W.Va.

We were traveling with the VFW Post 325 fall Baseball team. Our grandson plays on the fall ball team with several of the regular Russell High School baseball players.

We considered spending the night but in the long run it really isn’t as far as my mind had me convinced it was.

It takes about an hour-and-a-half in each direction. There may be some who can make it a little quicker but from my perspective speed isn’t all what it’s cracked up to be.

I found the road from here to there a reminder of my childhood trips from Williamson, W.Va., along the ever-crooked U.S. 52 through Wayne, Crum, Kermit and an assorted list of unincorporated towns along the way.

The trip to Pt. Pleasant is not bad at all during daylight, while I will say this: It is a two-lane road once you turn on to W.Va. Route 2.

There are some interesting points along the way as a traveler you get the opportunity to pass by the original Hillbilly Hotdogs location.

Saturday as we made our second trip we passed by the food establishment and noticed the crowd for the day was simply huge. The entire parking lot was packed with motorcycles and cars were parked for a quarter-mile in both directions along the sides of the road.

Now I don’t know if you have eaten hotdogs at Hillbilly Hotdogs, but feel free to take it from me, these are some really special hotdogs.

Route 2 winds its way west along the Ohio River. It too is a narrower than usual route which isn’t too bad in daylight, but return trips in the dark could be a little challenging.

I think as I have gotten older it appears that the headlights on other cars have gotten much brighter than when I first began to drive.

This would be especially true on large pick-up trucks as they come at me at what seems like a high rate of speed.

 The road offers up several stops along the way with gas stations and mini-marts. Not bad for a two-lane road that could run for miles and offer nothing but some tall grass and views of the river.

What makes the road to that West Virginia river city even more special is the double back across the tracks for CSX.

There is about a five mile stretch where the road crosses the tracks to move the tracks from the south to the north and then at the end of the stretch the road again passes across the tracks.

No matter where I am there is nothing like seeing and hearing a train. Growing up in downtown Russell was always amazing as trains rolled through town, idled for hours and would blow their horns to make it clear they were moving.

Often, I have lived or stayed in motels near railroad tracks and oh so often people will say that they are bothered by these long monsters.

When I was in Nebraska for several months a few years ago I stayed in a place by the Union Pacific line. There were two main lines, east and west, and often trains passing each other created a giant rumble.

One night the two engines passed directly in front of the motel and both began to blow their respective crossings.

The next morning in the parking lot there were several one-nighters who worked for several locations in the area were gathered and the topic immediately turned to the train noises.

On and on it went and then they said it happened several times in the night time hours. I heard one, only because I had gotten up for a minute, and never heard anything else.

Railroad music to my ears.

As I write this in advance to my Sunday trip, I certainly hope that it is an easy trip tomorrow and most importantly we get a couple wins and I get to see another loaded train blowing for a crossing.

It is a great trip . . .

And so, for another week, thanks and thirty.