Charleston at night

Charleston, WV at night!

We were driving around Charleston one night this weekend and we drove up on a hill that overlooks the city. Cities in general are not exactly pretty to me, but cities at night are pretty cool. So, we drove up on the hill and I tried to get some decent shots of Charleston with my old point and shoot camera. I was sort of surprised at how cool they turned out (if I do say so myself!  Oh yeah, and check out the color of the bridge in the first two pictures.  Charleston has installed a system that changes the color).  Emily is so funny – she didn’t want the kids to get out of the car for fear of the neighborhood dogs getting them. Captain America did stop his truck nearby to make sure we weren’t evil-doers.  He drove off once he saw me fumbling with my camera and tripod in the dark.  I guess he figured I was too clutzy to be much of a danger to the neighborhood.

Charleston, WV at night!

Anyhow, to get from our house to the city, we have to take some pretty crazy, curvy, steep roads. My Dad absolutely does not like to ride with us. From atop the hills in WV, you can see a long ways but if you look down, you may find yourself grabbing on to something. Did you ever notice that freaky feeling that you can’t walk straight and that you might fall down at any moment when you are near the edge of something steep? I am mixed on whether that makes any sense, evolutionarily speaking. I mean, if it makes you take a step back, then it makes sense. However, if you instinctively wobble like a drunken sailor when you are near the edge of some deadly trench, I don’t think it works. Anyhow, living in WV is a surely a test of survival of the fittest. Emily is a native and claims that she is part mountain goat. I also think she is part mountain lion with a little dingo thrown in for good measure!

Charleston, WV at night!

As I have mentioned before, I like to star gaze a little but most places are not too great for the hobby due to all of the light pollution. These pictures are so full of light that it would seem impossible to see anything.  WV is helped a little by the mountains though. Light seems to stay in the valleys (I know it doesn’t really) so star gazing is pretty good, even close to the city.

So, in spite of Charleston being a city, it’s a pretty decent place to live!  Of course, the mountains limit your housing options – you can live down on a flat spot in the valley in the flood plain or you can live on the mountain top where you house has this crazy tendency to want to slip down the hill and then you have to call in numerous structural engineers who talk to you about getting a second job to pay for all of the work needed to halt the march of your house down to the flood plain…but more about that later after I get another “cold” that needs “my secret treatment”

3 thoughts on “Charleston at night

  1. Now that’s a familar site, I have taken the Oakwood Road exit many, many times on to 119 south. Great picture, I have never really tried to take pictures at night but your lok great. Thanks for the nice memory.

    Chris

  2. You got it Chris! It seems like the pictures I took are required fare for anyone living in the area. From up in the Fort Hill area, one can get a heck of a view of the city. My dumpy camera can’t do the scene justice. Looking a little farther up the river we could see the Capitol which was well lit and very nice to look at.

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