I love a good West Virginia festival. It's a taste of a small town with local traditions and the kindest people you'll ever meet. As I slowly make my rounds to some of the most notable West Virginia festivals, I want to share just a bit about them.

Lisa and I traveled to Pickens for the West Virginia Maple Syrup Festival. It was cold, quite a bit of a drive, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Luckily, when I get a crazy idea to just head hours south, without cell phone service, just to see what it's like --- I have a few friends crazy enough to join me.

This is a fairly small festival, but it's clear everyone in the entire area comes out to see it. There was a large grassy area for parking, but it sort of became a mud pit by the time we arrived. I found a spot on a shoulder and headed to the first stop: pancake feed!

For just $7.50, you get all-you-can-eat pancakes. Want a sausage patty? Just .50 more. So, of course I added a sausage patty. Paid at the front, moved through the line for my first serving of pancakes (either regular or buckwheat) and sausage, and then found a seat at the long tables lining the hall.

I don't know why these were so good. BUT THEY WERE SO GOOD. The pancakes were small, but fluffy and delicious. And that maple syrup was to die for.

There is milk on the tables, and volunteers walk around filling water glasses and passing out additional servings of pancakes. I may have eaten like five pancakes. They were so good.

After the pancake feed, we walked around and visited with the vendors. There's a building that had a few kinds of maple syrup and maple candies for sale. There were also performances at the Opera House, which was way cool.

I definitely think it's something to try once and mark it off your bucket list. And, also, take home some real delicious maple syrup.