The West Virginia 'White House'
You Have Got to go on the Bunker Tour at the Greenbrier.
I knew we were going somewhere special when mom ironed a dress shirt for me, put a crease in my pants, and told me to shine my shoes.
Jeez. Here we are on vacation in West Virginia, my mom and dad, grandpa and grandma, and me. I'm Cody Etu, 17. I've been wearing a t-shirt and shorts all this time and now I'm being told to dress up.
"We going to church or something?" I asked.
"It's Thursday, Cody. We are not going to church. But you are going to want to look your best," mom said.
With that we loaded into the family car and headed East on Route 92 out of Lewisburg. It only took about twenty minutes of driving through the country before we entered White Sulfur Springs. We hardly got into town when we came upon the Greenbrier resort.
I barely know what a resort is, much less this place. Dad drove the car into the circle in front of the main building. This place is huge ... and white. All white. All the buildings are milky white. "It's like the 'White House' of West Virginia," I said. Gardens and gardens of yellow and red and pink flowers were everywhere. Uniformed staff stood at attention on the front porch. I gave my camera to dad and he took this picture through the windshield. It was drizzling and you might notice water spots.
The guard at the entrance told us to park where we could find a spot, like we were regular guests, even though my dad told him we were here to go on the 'Bunker Tour'. I'll tell you about that in a minute. When we walked into the front door we were blasted by beautiful pinks and greens and whites. My heart pretty much stopped beating while my brain adjusted to these surroundings. At the time I couldn't come up with the right word, but when I got home I searched the on-line dictionaries and came up with "Opulent." That pretty much does it.
The Greenbrier is a world-class resort with golf, tennis, spas, and all kinds of other activities. My mind was still stuck on the neighborhood golf course back home where I caddied. The difference is astonishing. On the front of the Greenbrier brochure it says this is one of the Historic Hotels of America. The brochure tells you all about its history since 1778.
But we were here for the Bunker Tour. The tour guide started us out near one of the concierge desks down by the Greenbrier Shops. From that point on it was one of the fascinating two hours I have ever lived through.
Basically, during the Cold War, the U.S. Government contracted with the Greenbrier to build underground bunkers to house Congress should there be a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. This whole thing was kept top secret, even from the staff working in it, for 30 years until the Washington Post exposed it in 1992.
The whole operation was 'hiding in plain sight," our tour guide explained, as we visited the underground entrance guarded by a 25-ton metal door so heavy a locomotive couldn't plow through it, yet so easy to open I was able to just push it with little effort. There's also a mess hall, lodging facilities with military metal bunk beds, a medical clinic, a meeting chamber so Congress could conduct business, and all the power-generation, water-conditioning, and other utilities that would be needed to house the Congress.
When this fascinating tour was over, my dad said, "That was the best thirty bucks I've ever spent."
"You spent thirty dollars to get me in?" I asked, gratefully.
"Half price for you," Cody.
Here's the website: www.greenbrier.com.
By the time you get there may be the new owner, a West Virginia businessman named Jim Justice, will have built his 50,000 square-foot European-style casino.
Jeez. Here we are on vacation in West Virginia, my mom and dad, grandpa and grandma, and me. I'm Cody Etu, 17. I've been wearing a t-shirt and shorts all this time and now I'm being told to dress up.
"We going to church or something?" I asked.
"It's Thursday, Cody. We are not going to church. But you are going to want to look your best," mom said.
With that we loaded into the family car and headed East on Route 92 out of Lewisburg. It only took about twenty minutes of driving through the country before we entered White Sulfur Springs. We hardly got into town when we came upon the Greenbrier resort.
I barely know what a resort is, much less this place. Dad drove the car into the circle in front of the main building. This place is huge ... and white. All white. All the buildings are milky white. "It's like the 'White House' of West Virginia," I said. Gardens and gardens of yellow and red and pink flowers were everywhere. Uniformed staff stood at attention on the front porch. I gave my camera to dad and he took this picture through the windshield. It was drizzling and you might notice water spots.
The guard at the entrance told us to park where we could find a spot, like we were regular guests, even though my dad told him we were here to go on the 'Bunker Tour'. I'll tell you about that in a minute. When we walked into the front door we were blasted by beautiful pinks and greens and whites. My heart pretty much stopped beating while my brain adjusted to these surroundings. At the time I couldn't come up with the right word, but when I got home I searched the on-line dictionaries and came up with "Opulent." That pretty much does it.
The Greenbrier is a world-class resort with golf, tennis, spas, and all kinds of other activities. My mind was still stuck on the neighborhood golf course back home where I caddied. The difference is astonishing. On the front of the Greenbrier brochure it says this is one of the Historic Hotels of America. The brochure tells you all about its history since 1778.
But we were here for the Bunker Tour. The tour guide started us out near one of the concierge desks down by the Greenbrier Shops. From that point on it was one of the fascinating two hours I have ever lived through.
Basically, during the Cold War, the U.S. Government contracted with the Greenbrier to build underground bunkers to house Congress should there be a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. This whole thing was kept top secret, even from the staff working in it, for 30 years until the Washington Post exposed it in 1992.
The whole operation was 'hiding in plain sight," our tour guide explained, as we visited the underground entrance guarded by a 25-ton metal door so heavy a locomotive couldn't plow through it, yet so easy to open I was able to just push it with little effort. There's also a mess hall, lodging facilities with military metal bunk beds, a medical clinic, a meeting chamber so Congress could conduct business, and all the power-generation, water-conditioning, and other utilities that would be needed to house the Congress.
When this fascinating tour was over, my dad said, "That was the best thirty bucks I've ever spent."
"You spent thirty dollars to get me in?" I asked, gratefully.
"Half price for you," Cody.
Here's the website: www.greenbrier.com.
By the time you get there may be the new owner, a West Virginia businessman named Jim Justice, will have built his 50,000 square-foot European-style casino.
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