A few Fridays ago, my wife had a critical Zoom meeting. We both continue to work from home, and presently my daytime schedule is a bit more flexible, so I take care of the kids as much as they will let me. I decided to get our daughters out of the house for a bit so my wife could conduct the meeting with the guarantee of no interruptions.
I quickly packed our typical summer bag of snacks, swimsuits, and a change of clothes. I ordered pizza from DeFelice Pizza. We headed to one of our favorite summer hangout spots, the creek at Oglebay Falls on the backside of Oglebay Park. I have mentioned this activity in a previous post, my girls love wading the stream, chasing minnows and skipping rocks. This was to be one of those days.
We picked up the pizza at DeFelice, which is conveniently located not far from the park entrance. Wheeling is known for a particular type of pizza, where the cheese is placed on after the bake slowly melting in the minute prior to eating, sometimes referred to as cold cheese pizza. It is an acquired taste for most people not raised here.
DeFelice isn’t cold cheese pizza. It’s quite the opposite.
It is pan-fried, served with piping hot melty cheese, thick crust, and lots of crunch. My girls love DeFelice. At ages 6 and 2, we are still in the cheese pizza phase of life. I can live with that for now, though I can’t wait until they become a little more adventurous in their pizza-eating habits.
As we pulled into the Falls Drive, I was surprised to find that we would have the place to ourselves, though I suspected not for long as it is always a busy location. We spread out blankets and devoured a few slices of pie. After a quick wardrobe change into their swimsuits, the girls and I were ready to tackle the creek. We played for about an hour.
While we were playing, another car had arrived and unloaded buckets and nets and clipboards. Another mom and two young kids had come as well. My oldest daughter’s curiosity got the best of her, and she had to know what was going on. A bright-eyed woman named Courtney informed us that she was there to lead the Salamander Search.
My girls squealed as they love wild critters of all kinds. After years of watching the Kratt Brothers on PBS, the girls know more about animals, birds, and insects than mom and dad. We have several acquired “pets” from the backyard. We kindly paid the modest fee to join the other family in their hunt for salamanders.
Courtney works for Oglebay Institute’s Schrader Environmental Education Center. She spent the next hour helping us identify not only salamanders, but also crawdads, scuds, water pennies, and mayflies. We were also joined by two gorgeous baby deer that were just arms-length away from us bedding down in the high grass along the creek, presumably waiting for momma.
My family was simply enamored with the experience, some of that is due to it being a complete surprise to our day, an unexpected gift. However, a great deal of it must be attributed to the Schrader Center’s professional expertise. Courtney was so well prepared and she was excellent with the kids as we roamed the creek.
I decided to call the Schrader Environmental Education Center Director Molly Check to let her know what a great time my family had that day. Molly agreed that many of their offerings are ideal for vacationing families staying in the Wheeling area.
“Summer nature programs at the Schrader Center connect visitors to the natural world’s beauty and intrigue and are a great opportunity to learn while enjoying quality time together as a family,” said Check. “With most programs lasting an hour or less and no pre-registration required, they can conveniently be added to a day of activities in Oglebay Park.”
The Center conducts various drop-in workshops and classes throughout the year, like the Salamander Search.
This is an excellent way for visitors to have a hands-on experience of Wheeling, learning about the local ecology and environment while possibly meeting a few local families. And as Molly pointed out at just an hour in length, they make a short respite for a vacationing family from other planned activities. Most of the nature-oriented workshops are located in Oglebay Park, conveniently situated for park guests or a short drive for those staying at other local hotels.
The nature trails surrounding the Schrader Center are one of the best places in Wheeling to escape and view local wildlife. The Schrader Center offers these drop-in workshops every summer, so if you missed them this year, make a note to check the calendar next summer.
