After donning my mandatory personal flotation device, I chose to enter the water via the slide. But the big three - a 40-foot-tall water slide, a zipline and a blob trampoline - were the ones I was eyeing. A 15-foot-tall iceberg climbing wall lorded over the other inflatables, including jungle gyms, trampolines and wobbly-looking Saturns. The next morning, we finally had our first look at the lake. By the glow of the bathhouse and our car headlights we pitched our вЂњlake houseвЂќ and settled in for the night. But we were there to spend a night in our new house, so we were bedding down in the rustic neighborhood. The resort has a dozen cabins, as well as sites that fall on the nicer side of вЂњroughing itвЂќ - think tents on wooden platforms. WeвЂ™d explore the wildest mountains and gape at the New River Gorge Bridge, a feat of engineering that saves folks from driving all the way down a mountain only to go back up again.ДЄfter five hours of driving up, down and around mountains, we arrived at the resort well after nightfall and found our way to the Lost Paddle Lounge, where Bob Marley was playing through the speakers and a handful of young folks were relaxing and shooting pool. WeвЂ™d visit the kitschiest wonders of the world. WeвЂ™d splash around in a souped-up swimminвЂ™ hole. Our trip to West Virginia would be a quintessential (albeit abbreviated) American summer road trip. Ace Adventure Resort in Minden, W.Va., fit the bill, boasting a five-acre lake-turned-water-park with inflatable jungle gyms, a giant slide and a zipline that ends with a splash, as well as an expansive campground. Once I came around to accepting the freedom of our moveable house as a kind of blessing, I set out to christen it near the most amazing lake I could find. The six-person tent, he argued, could be erected by a lake and - ta-da! But wait, he said, thereвЂ™s more! (ThereвЂ™s always more.) Less so when he set it up in our living room. I was thrilled when my husband told me he had bought us a lake house. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu

Wild and weird west virginia