(Legal-Ease - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

This month’s “Legal-Ease” is different from any I’ve ever written, but it dovetails nicely with Executive Editor Christina Myers’ recent Sunday column “Book Before You Sleep,” regarding special places and things.

A tribe of eight of us (four couples who houseboat together during summer) maintain our friendships during the winter by occasionally spending weekends together at interesting places. Last weekend our travels took us to Oglebay Park in Wheeling. I had been to Oglebay before, but never had stayed overnight. Oglebay is a city park, but unlike any I’ve experienced. In addition to the Oglebay Mansion and grounds where it all began, this city park offers skiing, hiking, a petting zoo, upscale dining and overnight accommodations in the beautiful Wilson Lodge.

We arrived on Friday evening, and were greeted by a friendly doorman. Pleasant, efficient desk clerks registered us. Our rooms were warm and inviting, featuring comfortable beds, tasteful furnishings, lots of polished wood, and subtle, relaxing color-schemes. They were equipped with all the accessories you’d expect – closet, TV, refrigerator, coffeemaker, plush robes, fluffy towels, adequate but subdued lighting. Essential for us aging party animals, ice machines were just down the hall. Everything was immaculately maintained. Housekeeping was outstanding.

After settling in, we made our way to the lodge’s Skyline restaurant and lounge, where Ashley, the delightful and entertaining bartender, fixed tasty concoctions to remove the travel dust from our parched throats. Having quenching our thirst with Ashley’s brews, we gathered in the adjoining dining room where our server, Jadine, hovered over us, recommending and bringing us a variety of delicious dishes. I recommend the meatloaf and porkchop. As her final act, Jadine won our heats with desserts to die for.

After a great night’s sleep, Saturday we went downtown to Central Market and pigged-down on huge fish sandwiches at the historic Coleman’s Fish Market, followed, for some, by naps, and for others, a visit to Wheeling Island Resort to try our luck at the gambling tables and machines. Nearly all of downtown Wheeling is undergoing urban renewal; when it is completed, the entire downtown will be a destination showplace.

Saturday evening found us back at the Skyline Restaurant and Lounge, where we again washed the dust of our downtown trip away (urban renewal makes a lot of dust) in preparation for another outstanding meal. Once again, the chefs outdid themselves with over-the-top meals. It’s difficult to satisfy eight people twice in a row, but they did it.

Following dinner, we adjourned to the Hickman Lounge, a huge, rustic room with lots of natural wood, comfortable seating, and a huge stone fireplace, where, together with lots of other guests, we were entertained by a musical duo playing guitars and singing songs of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Maybe I’m prejudice in their favor because they played, “Puff, the Magic Dragon” twice, but everybody seemed to enjoyed their talents.

Sunday morning in the dining room we experienced the biggest and best breakfast buffet I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to imagine any breakfast dish they didn’t offer and everything we had was top quality.

Sadly, all good things must end, so after breakfast we bid Wilson Lodge and Oglebay Park farewell and headed home, with resolutions to come back again soon.

Oglebay Park is a hidden gem, only about 1-and-a-half hours away by car. Since I didn’t know how nice it is, I figure many readers may not, either. By sharing our experience I hope I can encourage you to try an overnight stay there. The cost was about like a Marriott or Hilton; not cheap, but not prohibitively expensive for an occasion. I bet you’ll like it. As Carol Burnett says, “Oglebay, I’m so glad we had this time together.”

Next month, back to the more mundane stuff I usually write about.

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Elder Law Attorney Gerald W. Townsend is a partner in the Parkersburg law firm of Fluharty & Townsend. His practice focuses upon Elder law, meeting the legal needs of Seniors in West Virginia, with special emphasis upon protecting home and life savings from nursing home costs. He can be reached at jtownsend@fntlawoffices.com.