Seven days, six nights, eight movies (including two
on VHS), eleven hours of driving, several mil hiked and almost 20 biked,
thousands of calories consumed, and another family vacation later, we are
home. Last Saturday, we left bright and early for our second family
vacation in the mountains of Virginia. We left this year after dawn
instead of before, in the sun instead of in the pouring rain, in a bigger car,
and one kid heavier. We had a bit more rain, fortunately in the second
half of the week after we’d gotten to do most of the important things – hike in
Grayson Highlands, bike the Virginia Creeper, throw lots of rocks in the pond,
and have ice cream cones on the porch. We’d hoped to do a bit more, but
rain precluded it. Even when the skies cleared in the afternoon for a few
hours, the trails would have been way too wet for little people to pass over
them.
Like last year, we had to do some creative sleeping
arrangements to get five people and one dog asleep in a rental mountain
cabin. The cabin we stayed at this summer – Cave School Cabin – had more
actual beds but the same number of true bedrooms – just two. Wes and I
slept upstairs in the lofted bedroom the first two or three nights, but the bed
was too firm and the room too bright – even at night, thanks to a full moon
while we were there. In the end, Oliver slept in one room, Emme in
another but was then moved after deep in sleep to a toddler bed in Oliver’s
room. Zola slept in a playpen in the half bath/laundry room (this girl
has slept in any number of strange places!) without much complaint. And
Wes and I, after our first few nights of poor sleep, moved to the king-sized
bed where Emme would fall asleep. (I’ve got to get at least two of
these kids to learn to fall asleep in the same room!) Zola fussed some
with the change from her cool, dark, quiet basement bedroom at home, and Emme
was up one night until well after 9PM rearranging everything in her room, but
by and large everyone did okay.
We made the drive up on Saturday in eight or nine
hours with lots of stops, including two to fix and then remove the old blue
tarp we had covering the suitcases on our roof racks and one to adjust seats so
the two older kids could watch a movie together on the iTouch (read: It may be
time for an iPad). We made it three hours before we stopped for breakfast
at a Cracker Barrel, where we finished off five pancakes, four slices of French
toast, eggs, a sausage, some bacon, and a berry and granola yogurt parfait,
plus two glasses of orange juice, a mug of hot chocolate, and some coffee
for Wes. Oliver was still hungry when all the food was gone. I
drove the second leg up to Bristol, where we stopped at a McDonalds with a
playland for more caffeine and smoothies for the kids (which they
finished!). Wes drove up the mountain to a Food City in Abingdon where we
stocked up on food for the week. It was Kids Day, and there was still an
inflatable slide and bounce house outside that the kids took advantage
of. From there it was just shy of another hour before we got to the cabin
itself. It’s much bigger than the one we had last year, well off the road
and surrounded by woods and some Christmas trees. It’s far less shaded,
which I miss, but much more set off to itself, which is nice both in terms of
quiet and keeping Lucy off the main roads. Saturday evening was spent
unpacking, making a hasty dinner, and trying to figure out sleeping
arrangements.
On Sunday we visited with my brother, Jon, and met
his girlfriend, Tammi, and their new puppy, Faith. The kids don’t really
remember Jon as it’s been two years since they’ve seen him, but Oliver was
happy to trot around the pond with him, and Zola was ultimately persuaded to
let him hold her without her crying. In the morning before Jon came, we
played outside – exploring the woods, checking out the pond, and playing
Ring-around-the-Rosie and Red Rover (yes, with four people). After they left,
we took a walk up Massie Gap at Grayson Highlands, where we saw some wild
ponies and climbed some big rocks. Oliver surprised us by being a super
walker, while Emme (who was exhausted) got carried the whole way. On
Monday I slept in late after the days of poor sleep (before and after getting
to the cabin) caught up with me. In the afternoon, we went back to
Grayson Highlands for another hike, this time doing the Cabin Creek Trail,
which turns around at a gorgeous waterfall. Emme did more walking this
time on the even parts of the terrain and did pretty well. She’s still
pretty small and unsteady, so she crashes a lot where there’s too much rocky
terrain. Zola was amicable on both hikes, thanks to being strapped into
the carrier. We did leave Lucy at the cabin – three kids with two in
carriers are enough for the two of us to handle!
On Tuesday we braved the weather – which looked
daunting – to bike the Virginia Creeper. We checked the forecast
beforehand at the new (six years old) Whitetop library. They have a great
early literacy area for young kids, and save Zola’s happy screams, the kids did
okay while Wes was on the computer. On the trail, Wes hauled one child
(mostly Oliver, but briefly Emme towards the end) on his bike, and I pulled two
plus the necessary baby items in a trailer, and somehow we made it through in
about 2 ½ hours. My butt didn’t hurt nearly as much this time, but my
thighs were definitely burning. I pedaled a lot more, and a lot harder,
this time than last, especially towards the end with about 75 pounds of kid and
trailer behind me. Nonethless, it was beautiful, and the weather was
gorgeous beginning to end.
Wednesday and Thursday turned out to be rain. Wes
and I each took half a day to do some work at the library, read email, and have
a few hours of quiet. Wes slept late one day to do some catching up of
his own. The kids were content to watch movies (something we mete out sparingly
at home), play with a few new toys, and get outside when they could.
Everyone needed to nap more than they did, but we avoided too many full
meltdowns. We did lots of puzzles, including a 150-piece Disney
puzzle. While Zola was napping, the four of us played ABC Go Fish in
pairs. I even did Emme’s nails, which are now painted a color I imagine
more on a 45-year-old recent divorcee heading out for cocktails than on a 2-year-old.
But hey, it was vacation. While I was at the library Thursday afternoon,
Wes and the kids
put up our six-man tent in the sunroom and pulled around some
other furniture to make an extensive fort. We took advantage of a little
sun in the afternoon to go to an old playground in Green Cover. We stop
there on our bike ride, too, but drove over for a quick outing this time.
In the evening we had shish kabobs on wire hangers since I couldn’t find any
actual skewers. Wes kept the kids on the porch while I worked in the
kitchen, and Oliver got Zola to laugh and laugh by banging the chairs to make
the porch vibrate. She’s developed this wonderful belly laugh that comes
out when she’s really worked up, and it’s hilarious to hear. The kids got
much-needed baths and were in bed late but exhausted and so succumbed much more
quickly to sleep. Wes and I watched some of the NBA draft and then a
little
television before bed. We sat on the porch for a while after the
kids were asleep, and the fireflies were unbelievable. It was like a
paparazzi of fireflies, with their flashes going off constantly all over the
place.
Friday morning we woke up to more overcast skies,
and Wes made the call to head back to Nashville a day early. The kids
seemed to be going a little stir-crazy with all the rain, and going home sooner
would give us the whole weekend to settle back before work and school and
daycare on Monday. There was a lot to pack and clean up before we left,
but we were on the road by noon. All of the kids slept at least some,
despite some torrential rain on parts of I-81. Unfortunately, out luck
ran out at the end of the trip, and Zola cried easily two or more hours,
painful for both her and us. I put her to bed the minute we got home and
she slept soundly until morning. I got the van emptied (and today did a
super-duper vac job on it after having the dog in there all week) while Wes
wound the kids down and got them some dinner. Everyone slept soundly last
night, despite the house being a little warm after a week with no air
conditioning.
In the end, it was a wonderful trip, and it’s
something I’m sure we’ll make an annual event. Zola is only ten months,
which means each year from here will only get easier – until, of course,
someone gets bored with going. Right now, though, it’s the highlight of
the kids’ summer. Oliver loves the anticipation of the trip, and all the
kids enjoy the long stretch of time with Wes and his undivided attention.
Zola got to bang open the screen door and play with the cabinets for untold
hours. And Emme loves the freedom to just run and play for hours on
end. And we love it, too. We’re making memories and, in my case,
remembering old ones. I told Wes that the smell and sensations of being
out on the trails bring back memories of me and him, talking and walking and
falling in love on the New River Trail. I can imagine us coming here for
vacations well after we have young children to tote along.
For now, it’s back to life on Stonewall. The kids will be happy to
see their friends at daycare and be back on their regular schedule. I
have house cleaning already waiting for me and am looking forward to being back
in my office in a week when Zola starts daycare also. We all need our own
beds, and I think even Lucy – who perhaps loves it out here most of all – will
be happy to be back with her bunnies in the backyard. Until next year!
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