I definitely thought my outdoor swimming days were done for this season. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at The Bavarian Inn and saw this beauty in full operation. But I digress, let me start back at the beginning of our excursion.
This year for my birthday Don booked us into The Bavarian Inn at Shepherdstown, WV. I have wanted to come here for a while but every time I tried to stay the rooms I wanted to occupy were always all booked up. I only wanted to stay in the rooms that have the direct view of the Potomac River. Not only did Don score me one of those rooms, but our stay would be including the annual Oktoberfest celebration.
My desire for this trip was to get to hike on the C & O Canal towpath and along the banks of the river so after we arrived & checked out our room we headed across the bridge. On the Maryland side, we were able to access the towpath near lock 38.
The C & O Canal extends from Cumberland, MD to Georgetown in D.C. operating from 1831 until 1924. In it’s heyday it brought coal down from the Allegheny Mountains utilizing a series of 74 locks to accommodate the elevations. Now it’s a national park and on a beautiful day like today it was being enjoyed by many.
After a few miles, we were considering schlogging back up to our room for a nap. After all, we were expecting to have a big dinner at the Inn’s world class restaurant and would need some energy to chew. It was pretty warm for late September and by the time we scaled the heights back up to the grounds we were sweating and decided to check out the pool.
When we approached the pool we noticed a bar poolside that was busy serving cocktails to the numerous patrons who decided that enjoying the spectacular view in the water was decidedly better than sweating it up on the trail.
Since it was 5:00 o’clock and dinner reservations were for 7:30 we decided to hold cocktail hour in the pool. We did not regret it.