Here we are in our last hours at Claytor Lake. Tomorrow is the last day here on Old Ferry Road, so tonight for our "finilly" as Henry regards it, we took out the Paddle boat for a little trip around the lake. Lots of fun was had by all, even when we let the boys steer the boat around and around and around in circles. We finished up by cleaning out the fridge, making breakfast for supper. The boys ate 5 pancakes each in an all new record. Now to pack the car.
We do regret saying good bye to our new friends, gymnastics classes, the Blacksburg Library folks (especially Ruth) and this fine state full of wonders. We're sure to be back again soon. The boys and I even made a special trip to the Museum of Transportation in Roanoke this week, so we'll include a few pictures here too.
Missourians - we're headed to see all of you and we can't wait!
4.15.2010
4.11.2010
Cascade Falls & Frontier Culture Museum
Once again, the Oates family is on the move. Now don't get too excited...we're still in Virginia. Now that the weather is warm and the trees are flowering and leafing out, so are we.
While Bryce was busy this week working, the boys and I explored more of the Blacksburg, VA area. I will once again give you a daily breakdown as this is easier for me.
Tuesday
Enjoyed some storytime with Miss Ruth at the library followed by a picnic lunch with our new friends Jack and Margaret, then some exploring on the Huckleberry trail that runs from Blacksburg to Christiansburg. A perfect warm day to spend running around the trail fending off oncoming bike traffic and pretend witches with sticks. Oh how folks on bikes love to see children running with sticks on "their" bike trail. Sorry folks.
Wednesday
What a busy day. Henry was the obstacle course king at his homeschool gymnastics class, which put him in a fine mood for the remainder of the day. We hit the Subway (thank you Aunt Pam!) and took a picnic out to the Pandapas Pond and trails for an evening meal. It might have been peaceful, had it not been for the dozen or so Canadian geese surrounding us hissing demands for veggie subs and popcorn. Wynne stood up to talk sense into them, finding only that they didn't speak english, were the same size as he was, and that it made it easier for them to nab his sammy. We finished up quickly, and walked the trail around the pond, enjoying the nature guideposts along the path. We finished up here, headed back to the car (where some crazy redneck was waving a pistol around in the parking lot. wow! the nice weather really brings the best out in folks!) It was onto poetry night at the Library, where we wrote Acrostic Poems, while Wynne entertained all the kids by telling them he was "made of fire and was going to invent a racecar that could drive through fire and blast off into space." That Wynne, he just has no imagination. Henry illustrated a poem with a painting and a drawing and had a great time chatting it up with the librarians,'telling them to visit Monticello sometime because "yeah, its a really cool place and a president lived there once too." He also added, mater-of-factly that the drive is "not too bad either." I think perhaps we've been doing a bit too much lately.
Thursday
Check out the tiny video posted of Henry & Wynne's gymnastics and that will give you a vision on thursday. It was practice for future stunt man auditions...all day. We did manage to sneak in a visit to the lovely Virginia Tech Gardens where we found bluebells, redbuds, magnolias, tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, dogwood and a few cherry blossoms all bursting with color.
Friday
Bryce joined us this afternoon - Hooray!! Hiking up to Cascade Falls (just outside of Blacksburg, VA). A perfect day for it. Lots of granite stones and boulders to climb on, amazing rushing clear water, lots of interesting waterfalls and the grand prize - Cascade Falls. A 65 foot cascading waterfall to behold at the end of your 2 mile, uphill hike. We did stop to explore the stream quite a bit on the way up. At one point Henry decided to forge a new trail across the stream on a fallen log (um...I might mention here that the log was nearly 8 ft. above the very fast moving water) to what he called "a really interesting rock, mom." He luckily made it back to us alive, with one foot wetter, as I continued to breathe deeply into a paper bag. It should be noted that I am NOT a nervous nellie type, but seeing your son just balance beam walk across a HUGE fallen log over moving water as if he is Indiana Jones is a bit terrifying for the onlooking mother. The trail back down from the falls was not as enjoyable as the boys used their energies to get to the falls, making the trip back nothing new and interesting. Right around the 3.25 mile mark a whining party commenced, scattering wildlife far and wide. While we all did complete the 4 mile loop, there were few smiles from mile 3.5 to 4.
Found some good grub on the way back home and were all the better for it.
Saturday
A day of history and culture. Out of the house early, we headed for Staunton, and the Frontier Culture Museum. This is a mostly outdoor museum consisting of several "homesteads" from a West African village in the 1700s (the slaves origins), an English homestead from 1600s with a milk cow, geese, sheep, chickens and the house and barns, an Irish Homestead with house, pens, stone fences, pigs, etc, a German Homestead with house, barn, garden, animals, well, etc and two homesteads "Appalachian style" one circa 1840 and one 1880. This place was very interesting and fun to walk around. This was a great way for all of us to learn about the various cultures based on their types of homes, gardens, animals and architectural patterns. Also, the German, Irish and English buildings were all authentic and brought from their respective countries and reconstructed on site. A blacksmith was working along with other guides in homes making cheese, buckets, and playing old time fiddle music. It was an educational and fun day in the sun. Again, the loop around the villages was a bit over 3 miles and yes, you guessed it, the walk back to the visitors center was slow and staggering. A popsicle at the finish improved moods greatly.
We drove into the town of Staunton (a town of nearly 350 years) and enjoyed the downtown scene, checking out the Cranberry Grocery & Cafe for some wraps and salads, then found some great gelato and sorbet at the Split Banana. All of these fun activities left us hoping for a slow and quiet Sunday. We wish you all the same.
While Bryce was busy this week working, the boys and I explored more of the Blacksburg, VA area. I will once again give you a daily breakdown as this is easier for me.
Tuesday
Enjoyed some storytime with Miss Ruth at the library followed by a picnic lunch with our new friends Jack and Margaret, then some exploring on the Huckleberry trail that runs from Blacksburg to Christiansburg. A perfect warm day to spend running around the trail fending off oncoming bike traffic and pretend witches with sticks. Oh how folks on bikes love to see children running with sticks on "their" bike trail. Sorry folks.
Wednesday
What a busy day. Henry was the obstacle course king at his homeschool gymnastics class, which put him in a fine mood for the remainder of the day. We hit the Subway (thank you Aunt Pam!) and took a picnic out to the Pandapas Pond and trails for an evening meal. It might have been peaceful, had it not been for the dozen or so Canadian geese surrounding us hissing demands for veggie subs and popcorn. Wynne stood up to talk sense into them, finding only that they didn't speak english, were the same size as he was, and that it made it easier for them to nab his sammy. We finished up quickly, and walked the trail around the pond, enjoying the nature guideposts along the path. We finished up here, headed back to the car (where some crazy redneck was waving a pistol around in the parking lot. wow! the nice weather really brings the best out in folks!) It was onto poetry night at the Library, where we wrote Acrostic Poems, while Wynne entertained all the kids by telling them he was "made of fire and was going to invent a racecar that could drive through fire and blast off into space." That Wynne, he just has no imagination. Henry illustrated a poem with a painting and a drawing and had a great time chatting it up with the librarians,'telling them to visit Monticello sometime because "yeah, its a really cool place and a president lived there once too." He also added, mater-of-factly that the drive is "not too bad either." I think perhaps we've been doing a bit too much lately.
Thursday
Check out the tiny video posted of Henry & Wynne's gymnastics and that will give you a vision on thursday. It was practice for future stunt man auditions...all day. We did manage to sneak in a visit to the lovely Virginia Tech Gardens where we found bluebells, redbuds, magnolias, tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, dogwood and a few cherry blossoms all bursting with color.
Friday
Bryce joined us this afternoon - Hooray!! Hiking up to Cascade Falls (just outside of Blacksburg, VA). A perfect day for it. Lots of granite stones and boulders to climb on, amazing rushing clear water, lots of interesting waterfalls and the grand prize - Cascade Falls. A 65 foot cascading waterfall to behold at the end of your 2 mile, uphill hike. We did stop to explore the stream quite a bit on the way up. At one point Henry decided to forge a new trail across the stream on a fallen log (um...I might mention here that the log was nearly 8 ft. above the very fast moving water) to what he called "a really interesting rock, mom." He luckily made it back to us alive, with one foot wetter, as I continued to breathe deeply into a paper bag. It should be noted that I am NOT a nervous nellie type, but seeing your son just balance beam walk across a HUGE fallen log over moving water as if he is Indiana Jones is a bit terrifying for the onlooking mother. The trail back down from the falls was not as enjoyable as the boys used their energies to get to the falls, making the trip back nothing new and interesting. Right around the 3.25 mile mark a whining party commenced, scattering wildlife far and wide. While we all did complete the 4 mile loop, there were few smiles from mile 3.5 to 4.
Found some good grub on the way back home and were all the better for it.
Saturday
A day of history and culture. Out of the house early, we headed for Staunton, and the Frontier Culture Museum. This is a mostly outdoor museum consisting of several "homesteads" from a West African village in the 1700s (the slaves origins), an English homestead from 1600s with a milk cow, geese, sheep, chickens and the house and barns, an Irish Homestead with house, pens, stone fences, pigs, etc, a German Homestead with house, barn, garden, animals, well, etc and two homesteads "Appalachian style" one circa 1840 and one 1880. This place was very interesting and fun to walk around. This was a great way for all of us to learn about the various cultures based on their types of homes, gardens, animals and architectural patterns. Also, the German, Irish and English buildings were all authentic and brought from their respective countries and reconstructed on site. A blacksmith was working along with other guides in homes making cheese, buckets, and playing old time fiddle music. It was an educational and fun day in the sun. Again, the loop around the villages was a bit over 3 miles and yes, you guessed it, the walk back to the visitors center was slow and staggering. A popsicle at the finish improved moods greatly.
We drove into the town of Staunton (a town of nearly 350 years) and enjoyed the downtown scene, checking out the Cranberry Grocery & Cafe for some wraps and salads, then found some great gelato and sorbet at the Split Banana. All of these fun activities left us hoping for a slow and quiet Sunday. We wish you all the same.
4.07.2010
Eastertime
Easter weekend brought us warm weather and lots of fun. Saturday we attempted to kayak at Claytor Lake State Park. Our plan was to kayak around the lake, enjoying the sunshine and scenery. Unfortunately, after an hour of kayaking INTO 45 mph winds with the boys shouting, "C'mon mom, C'mon dad! Turn on your engines!" we finally gave up and headed back to the docks. The return trip took about 30 seconds with the wind at our backs! Ha! Oh well, we had fun anyway. Building volcanoes and castles at the swimming beach proved fun until those wind gusts brought the sand into our faces. Yuck. Back home for some relaxation and togetherness.
Sunday we were lucky enough to be invited back to Harry and Gail's farm for a delicous lunch and Easter egg hunt. Their daughter Sarah and her son William (a charming little cutie) were also there for the fun. The boys had a great time hunting eggs all over the farm, finding the eggs filled with animals and playdough so they could be enjoyed for years to come. What a lovely day! We enjoyed visiting and felt lucky to have spent the day with these kind and generous folks. Hope you all had an equally fun spring day!
4.02.2010
D.C. trip (continued)
Okay, folks, my apologies on the newest photo collage. For those of you with Facebook accounts, you can check out more photos there, otherwise, you will have to put up with my photo collage-mania. For whatever reason, this blog does not care to digest photos in groups larger than three, so to decrease my own frustration with my technological ignorance, I just prefer to create a collage and share that way. Someday (probably never) I will attempt to fix this problem. If you know how to solve this dilemma, please send a tutorial my way. Again, my apologies.
Saturday:
Up bright and early with the rest of the D.C. area burbs, we were on the meto and headed back into the city for the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Kite Festival, all taking place in, around or near the National Mall. We arrived, squished ourselves out of the train with everyone else and decided that first, we'd finish up with any museum business that didn't get taken care of yesterday. Henry, Bryce and I went back to the Museum of Natural History. Henry just HAD to introduce Bryce to his new friend Darwin at the evolution exhibit, and take one last look at the dinosaurs and ancient cultures rooms before moving on to dead presidents and memorials.
Jake and Chelsea generously volunteered to take Wynne to the Air and Space museum to see the fast rockets and airplanes. This was a big step of independence for the little guy, being the first time he has been separated from family and done something with friends all by himself. Proud as punch and lifting off the ground like a little rocket himself, he held Jake's hand and Chelsea's hand and headed to the museum with his best buds.
Sometime later we all met up, enjoyed hotdogs and half-smokes (these are sausages, not cigarettes) and walked and walked and walked and walked some more, seeing kites of all colors surrounding the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial (where Wynne declared,"what! we're going to that stadium!"), the FDR memorial (where Henry hijacked the camera and took 200 pictures of the various waterfalls and statues), through the Cherry Blossoms along the Potomac, to the Jefferson Memorial (where we lost Wynne's glasses.) Whew! If you are saying, "Wow, that is the longest run-on sentence ever." It is because that is exactly how it felt going from one place to the next with 3000 other people (or more) packed all around us. It was a good time, but a crowded one at that. Lovely and crowded.
The boys had walked all this way, all day by themselves and were beginning to lose it so we decided to head back to the Metro station (which felt like a bazillion blocks away) at the Smithsonian stop. Nearing this station, with Henry on Bryce's shoulders, and Wynne on mine, we noticed that the queue just to get down the escalator to the platform was stretching across the mall. Yikes! We walked on in search of Dim Sum. This is what the boys had decided they needed at the time. Specifically, every kind of chinese dumpling available, ever made. Finally, we found the Federal Triangle stop (not as far as we feared) and made it to China town for a Dim Sum experience that was delicious, but perhaps a bit too much for all of us. The combination of our slap-happy boys and the loud "house music" we'll say made for some videos I will refrain from posting, but will keep in my files for future bribery. The boys were done! We escaped the restaurant quickly, even if not so quietly, grabbed a chocolate crepe from a vendor for dessert and headed back to our hotel via Metro train.
We stepped out of the station in Alexandria and noticed things were all too quiet, and where was our hotel shuttle bus anyway? Only to find out that the shuttle stopped running about the same time our children did. Thank goodness for Chelsea, we called her and she kindly came to our rescue. Thank you Chelsea! We returned and counted zzzzs.
Sunday:
Rainy weather kept us from wanting to go back to the city, so instead we were off to Monticello. We made a quick stop at the Prince William Forest for a short hike, but the boys were a bit hostile about going for a hike after walking around the city for 3 days non-stop, so we cut it short and went on over to the Jeffersons'. Monticello was lovely, even in the rain. I cannot begin to describe what an interesting and amazing place this is. The tour, however, proved to be a bit more than a 3 year old was willing to handle, so we didn't stay too long after to explore. And that is pretty much the end of this adventure. I'll post another soon.
Saturday:
Up bright and early with the rest of the D.C. area burbs, we were on the meto and headed back into the city for the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Kite Festival, all taking place in, around or near the National Mall. We arrived, squished ourselves out of the train with everyone else and decided that first, we'd finish up with any museum business that didn't get taken care of yesterday. Henry, Bryce and I went back to the Museum of Natural History. Henry just HAD to introduce Bryce to his new friend Darwin at the evolution exhibit, and take one last look at the dinosaurs and ancient cultures rooms before moving on to dead presidents and memorials.
Jake and Chelsea generously volunteered to take Wynne to the Air and Space museum to see the fast rockets and airplanes. This was a big step of independence for the little guy, being the first time he has been separated from family and done something with friends all by himself. Proud as punch and lifting off the ground like a little rocket himself, he held Jake's hand and Chelsea's hand and headed to the museum with his best buds.
Sometime later we all met up, enjoyed hotdogs and half-smokes (these are sausages, not cigarettes) and walked and walked and walked and walked some more, seeing kites of all colors surrounding the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial (where Wynne declared,"what! we're going to that stadium!"), the FDR memorial (where Henry hijacked the camera and took 200 pictures of the various waterfalls and statues), through the Cherry Blossoms along the Potomac, to the Jefferson Memorial (where we lost Wynne's glasses.) Whew! If you are saying, "Wow, that is the longest run-on sentence ever." It is because that is exactly how it felt going from one place to the next with 3000 other people (or more) packed all around us. It was a good time, but a crowded one at that. Lovely and crowded.
The boys had walked all this way, all day by themselves and were beginning to lose it so we decided to head back to the Metro station (which felt like a bazillion blocks away) at the Smithsonian stop. Nearing this station, with Henry on Bryce's shoulders, and Wynne on mine, we noticed that the queue just to get down the escalator to the platform was stretching across the mall. Yikes! We walked on in search of Dim Sum. This is what the boys had decided they needed at the time. Specifically, every kind of chinese dumpling available, ever made. Finally, we found the Federal Triangle stop (not as far as we feared) and made it to China town for a Dim Sum experience that was delicious, but perhaps a bit too much for all of us. The combination of our slap-happy boys and the loud "house music" we'll say made for some videos I will refrain from posting, but will keep in my files for future bribery. The boys were done! We escaped the restaurant quickly, even if not so quietly, grabbed a chocolate crepe from a vendor for dessert and headed back to our hotel via Metro train.
We stepped out of the station in Alexandria and noticed things were all too quiet, and where was our hotel shuttle bus anyway? Only to find out that the shuttle stopped running about the same time our children did. Thank goodness for Chelsea, we called her and she kindly came to our rescue. Thank you Chelsea! We returned and counted zzzzs.
Sunday:
Rainy weather kept us from wanting to go back to the city, so instead we were off to Monticello. We made a quick stop at the Prince William Forest for a short hike, but the boys were a bit hostile about going for a hike after walking around the city for 3 days non-stop, so we cut it short and went on over to the Jeffersons'. Monticello was lovely, even in the rain. I cannot begin to describe what an interesting and amazing place this is. The tour, however, proved to be a bit more than a 3 year old was willing to handle, so we didn't stay too long after to explore. And that is pretty much the end of this adventure. I'll post another soon.
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