June 1
Simon's birthday! We planned a small gathering at a park that we like. They've got a great playground next to the long tables where we had a little lunchtime party. Although there were only 2 other kids of Simon's age there, his best pal Evan and longtime-friend Phoenix ;) - they had a great time and never touched the playground! Oh well! The kids loved uncle Stanley's balloon show, as he sent long balloons rocketing up into the air; and he got to pet some horses. Afterwards we went for a hike along the park trails near the river. It was a great day.
Here are some more photos.The Camera
I placed an old security camera in my office with its b/w screen so the kids could play with it. Simon calls his image the “other Simon”, and holds up stuff for him to see. Anna points at the screen an smiles in delight. Simon is potty-training now, and today after breakfast he took his little potty up to the office. We didn’t know what he was doing, or even that he had his potty. When I entered the office, he had the potty in front of the camera and had apparently watched himself peeing on-screen! When we left to go shopping he said he had to go say goodbye to ‘other Simon’, and we heard him say “See you later, have a nice day!”
The 'Antiques' Trip
We have been talking about taking an "antiques trip" for over a year, and we finally planned it for the end of June. We need a kitchen table, and the trip is also a reward for completing our yard projects, which I hit hard this month in order to meet our goal. This included removing old chain and wood fences, building and installing a new fence, installing new garden walls/edgings, a new garden, sod, soil, and mulch. Also included are attic and basement work from earlier this year, but that was never completed.
So...the trip happened this past weekend (June 20-22) and we had a great time. However, we only really shopped antiques one morning - the rest of the time was spent hiking. Oh well! We didn't find anything, anyway - it was Strasburg - VA's "antiques capital"...so, why look any futher? Guess I'll be making the table, like I had planned anyway!
This is a glimpse of the trip.Here are some pictures from the trip.
We did a loop starting in the Shenandoah valley - first in Strasburg for antiques, Luray to visit the caverns, then to Skyline Drive where we stayed at the cabins in Skyland. Our second time there and we love it - they have great rooms on the top of the mountain, and delicious buffets in the dining room! Not really camping at all.
The next day we headed south down Skyline Drive with beautiful weather - and headed west on 33 through Harrisonburg, where we stopped for lunch at the Artful Dodger, an arty cafe on the old town square, and continued west on 33. On the Virginia side of the mountains is a little side road that goes down to Lake Switzer. We ran around the lake access road for a while, where the Mazda forded its first river. That was a hoot; afterward Simon enjoyed throwing rocks into the lake. From there we headed west still and arrived in Brandywine, WV, where there is a little restaurant called The Cabin which I knew from years back. Back then they were famous for their homemade pies - huge, delicious, and all kinds of varieties - but it seems they've since declined. They still had pie though, and we were OK for a snack! Then it was on to Seneca Rocks. That's a really nice ride - but unfortunately, we got the runaround with our "resort cabin with outdoor jacuzzi" rental, and ended up in a fleabag motel room!!! YUK - I did my best to keep my head off the sheets all night while a stormed raged outside. Long night!
In the morning we climbed the trail up to the Seneca Rocks (where the town gets its name), a popular rock-climbing spot because of its 900-foot barefaced vertical climb. We didn't do any climbing of course since the kids were with us - but they have a nice climbing wall in town that was tempting. Torrential rains began after we arrived back down from the mount, so we drove south to Spruce Knob, the highest point in WV. You can drive all the way to the top, which was nice so the kids could sleep. Simon enjoyed the ride back down because the road is lined with farm animals. From there we headed home - too early really, the kids were not tired enough, and there was some gnashing of teeth! This was a great trip however.
