Amy's Creative Pursuits

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Harper's Ferry West Virginia

I'm so excited to begin a new travel series with you! This time we are exploring the great state of West Virginia! My, what a gorgeous state this is, in fact, you will be hard-pressed trying to find a ugly spot in this state as it is filled with stunning vistas of mountains and green valleys and lots and lots of waterfalls!

We began our adventure at the farthest northeast corner of the state: Harper's Ferry. After spending Easter at my daughter's home in Indiana, we drove nine hours east until we reached the Harper's Ferry area where we would spend the night, the following morning we went to Harper's Ferry.

Harper's Ferry is a National Historical Park. It is a historic 1800's town. Some buildings/homes are owned by the government and others are private residences/businesses. What makes Harper's Ferry so unique is that it was the site of a rebellion of the abolitionist John Brown and his followers who were determined to arm enslaved people to help free them. George Washington's armory was there and John Brown seized it and several other strategic points. Ultimately the raid failed with most men killed or captured and Brown was executed. Brown's trial and execution focused attention on the issue of slavery and propelled the nation toward Civil War.

All the buildings are original and absolutely fascinating to view. They are constantly working on them to keep them standing; like Europe, we saw lots of scaffolding and work being done on them.

Most of the buildings are museums and stores. Some are B&B's, private residences, or empty. This building (the Restoration Museum) was left empty to show the excavation and discovery process.

The old cobblestone streets are so fascinating! My husband said it would be charming to be here at night to see the town lit up with the quaint lanterns.

Just look at this trio of homes! Oh! I just love it! They just don't make homes like this anymore!

The town is located on the point of land where the Potomac River cuts through the Blue Ridge so you have to climb a lot of steep streets if you want to see all of this town!

We climbed upwards to see Jefferson's Rock and saw the ruins of an old Episcopal church on the way.

The original Episcopal Church was built in 1852 and served as a hospital and barracks during the Civil War. It suffered considerable damage and was rebuilt afterwards but was abandoned in 1895 when a new Episcopal church was built in the upper town (pictured below).

This is the story of Jefferson Rock: named after Thomas Jefferson of course.

I could see why Jefferson fell in love with this view!

And here is the rock as it looks today. I must say, I don't care for the pillars, but I understand why they are there.

Photo Credit

Now it was time to visit the church, which is open to the public but unfortunately was closed the day we were there 😢. I've never seen a church closed before and I have no idea what that was about. I was so disappointed.

The church stands high on a hill overlooking the town and the beautiful Potomac River.

We enjoyed the views walking down from Jefferson's Rock more than we did walking in town.

There are several museums in the Historic Site: "A Place In Time" where you can view a film on the town's history, an Industry Museum, an African American History museum, the John Brown Museum (pictured below), Civil War Museum, Restoration Museum, Meriweather Lewis Exhibition, and more. Not all of them were open when we there as it was before the tourist season, but we saw enough.

Across the street from the John Brown Museum are some historic sites of the great battle and an armory building.

High up on a hill, near the old armory and battle sites is a monument dedicated to John Brown.

I loved the views from the opposite end of town, near the Potomac River; the church can be seen so well.

Many of the buildings are open to the public, like the tavern below, and inside you can see views of how people lived and used the space during the time period. Some are just informational and have museum displays inside.

And that is all I have to share about the town and history of Harper's Ferry. There is much more to do at Harper's Ferry other than visit the town: scenic trails, battlefields, and so many more historic sites. Next week, I will share our experience on the Maryland Heights trail.

Until then,

Have A Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Our Easter Weekend

Happy Belated Easter everyone! I hope ya'll had a great Easter and spring break. We just returned home from seeing family and a week's vacation in West Virginia. A new travel series of our trip to West Virginia will begin next week Wednesday. Gosh, that's a beautiful state! No wonder they call it "Almost Heaven"!

We arrived at our daughter's/son-in-law's home the Saturday before Easter and just enjoyed dinner and playing with the grandchildren. They just got rid of all their carpeting and had new laminate floors put in, so little Laz enjoyed Grandpa pushing him across the room in his toy wagon.

The next day was Easter Sunday so we went to church. I asked my son-in-law if they could leave a little bit before us so I could hide the children's Easter Baskets. I had never done that before because the little ones were always around so it was impossible. When we returned home from church I told the kids that somewhere in this house were four Easter baskets, and they had to find them. They were SO excited and had so much fun searching for them. I really didn't hide them too much (I just put them inside closets), yet they still had such a hard time finding them. I was so surprised by that. I eventually had to give the older two a clue. But despite the difficulty of them finding the baskets, they sure had fun and were so excited when they eventually found their own basket.

Laz was the first to find his but I put his basket in the most obvious spot (next to the couch) plus we told him where to look. 😀

The next one to find his basket was Elisha. I could not believe how excited he was to find it! It made me so happy to see the joy on the grandchildren's faces.

I knew they would be hunting for Easter Eggs later in the day, so I didn't give them much candy. Most of the baskets were healthy treats and inexpensive toys.

They loved everything in the baskets. Laz always likes the treats the best. The boys loved their squirt gun swords.

Alethea was the very last to find her basket, but she sure was excited!

She is growing up now and doesn't play with toys anymore so I gave her some blue and turquoise nail polish which she was thrilled about!

For supper we had a simple Easter meal of ham, potatoes, veggies, and sourdough bread. I couldn't believe how fast the grandchildren gobbled up that ham!

Laz especially had quite the hearty appetite!

My husband and I.

My daughter and son--in-law.

After dinner, we took a walk. It was a chilly Easter, and Monday was even colder, but by Tuesday the temperatures started to rise again so we had a great vacation!

Atticus and Elisha were constantly running ahead of us so they got hot and took their coats off.

I, on the other hand, was so cold I had to put my hood up!

The kids led us to a new section of the trail that was recently renovated to include ponds, boat docks, piers, bridges, and picnic tables. It is not complete yet, but it sure looks beautiful already!

The geese are sure enjoying the new pond waters!

The next morning my husband, son, and I started the nine hour drive all the way to the far east side of West Virginia. We would start our adventure there and make our way back to west across the state the rest of the week until we ended back at our daughter's the following weekend.

When we arrived at my daughter's house a week later, the temperatures were much warmer and we were able to spend a lot of time outdoors.

My husband and I spend hours just pushing Laz up and down the sidewalk in this little toy car. He loved getting in and out of the car, pushing it himself, and even "driving" it himself with his little feet.

We returned home the next day. It is always fun to take a vacation, but it's nice to come home again and back to a routine. The kitties were sure happy to see us!

Have A Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Thursday, April 16, 2026

How to Style a Denim Shacket Three Different Ways with Ageless Style

Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages. Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme. This month's theme is "One Item Three Ways" and was picked by Joanne.

This month the ladies of Ageless Style and I were challenged to pick one item from our closets and style it three different ways. I'm not the most creative stylist out there 😁 so I decided to pick a denim shacket that I purchased a while back but never featured on the blog before. Now if you don't know what a shacket is, it is a portmanteau or a blended word of "shirt" and "jacket". Now, the style gods have been telling us for a while that shackets are on the way out, especially the over-sized plaid ones, but the denim shackets remain a popular option for spring of 2026. And that is a good thing, as I LOVE my denim shacket!

Here are three ways I styled my denim shacket: with shorts, worn as an actual jacket, and simply worn as a top.

Denim Shacket Three Ways

1. Wear It With Shorts

Shackets are perfect for spring because they are a lighter weight than a jacket and heavier than a shirt so they make the perfect cover up for cooler weather. Here I am wearing it with shorts and a t-shirt when the morning was cool but the temperatures would rise to shorts weather by afternoon. This way I could stay warm in the morning, but easily take the shacket off when the temps rose.

2. Wear It As A Coat

Because shackets are much thicker than a shirt, they can be used as a coat. On this day in Lake Geneva the morning was FREEZING but I knew it would be 70 by end of day so I dressed in layers: tank top, floral blouse, shacket.

3. Wear It As A Shirt

For my final look, I simply wore the shacket as a shirt (with a tank top underneath). The new shacket styles are slimmer, and more structured, so it's a lot simpler to wear as a shirt than the older over-sized shacket styles.

The best part of denim shacket is that they go with everything. You can wear them with any color, as I've shown here and they can be dressed up or down. Denim shackets work great with dresses, skirts, shorts, and pants. Your options are endless!

I purchased my shacket from Carly Jean Los Angeles a long time ago so it's no longer available but you can find them just about anywhere, I really like this one on Amazon.

And now be sure to check out what item the other ladies will be styling three different ways, and link up with us as well!

Have A Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!