Conclusions and Beginnings

I seldom blog unless I'm traveling.  I mean, who wants to hear about me doing the laundry, vacuuming the house, or one of the countless other menial and repetitive chores that make up the mundane?  I find it amusing when I hear people complain that a movie based on "real life" was given liberal doses of added drama.  Seriously, real life is often boring and no one wants to read a litany of its lesser exciting moments.  But I rabbit trail.

When we arrived home from our trip west I meant to finish things off with a neat conclusion but never seemed to find the time to do it.  Just because daily tasks are dull doesn't mean they don't take time.  Now, however, we are starting out on another road trip so I will finish my saga of a month ago before beginning the next chapter.

My cousin and her husband decided to spend a few days in Ohio with us before returning to their home in Florida.  After all, Holmes County is the largest tourist attraction in the state, so why not enjoy it?  And since we seldom take the time to partake of local attractions, having out-of-state guests gave us the perfect excuse to sample some local flavor.

I thought they might enjoy the musical Half Stitched from the book of the same name by Wanda Brunstetter and performances were daily at The Carlisle, an inn fifteen minutes from our house.  I bought tickets for three of us, since Paul had other things he needed to do, and off we went.  And we did enjoy it.  We laughed, we cried, we laughed again.  

Paul had a few ideas for the next day.  He took Wade to Warther's Carvings in Sugarcreek, a place filled with amazing carvings, mostly of trains. Warther's is also the maker of sharp, long-lasting knives, several of which I've used for years.  In the evening we all, along with a few friends, went to the Amish Country Theater for some side-splitting entertainment. The local talent was impressive and we were wiping tears again, this time from laughing.

To finish our vacation we all went to our mutual friends, Dave and Irene's, house for slices of fresh-made pies and raucous conversation.  What a great three weeks it has been!  

And now on to the next adventure.

Paul and I have been bringing the kids to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for years.  Back when we first started we had a twelve-year-old and a ten-year-old.  We came with a group of friends, some married, some single, none with kids except us.  We all brought our Harleys and spent our days and nights eating seafood, crisping at the beach, and riding the bikes late at night to whatever local ice-cream shop struck our fancy.

This year has been a bit different.  Our kids are married now.  There are ten adults and seven children, five of them three and under.  There are no Harleys involved.  There are, however, three pack-n-plays, four portable high chairs, five baby monitors, a sea of sippy cups, bales of diapers, and, most importantly, ear plugs for Paul.  We were all forewarned the dynamic would be a little altered from other years.

Paul and I volunteered to take two grandkids with us on the trek down.  Our plan was to snag the ten-year-olds, both of whom are fairly low-maintenance.  Fate intervened and one of them was delayed a day due to the death of a paternal great-grandmother.  So we had one three-year-old and one of the aforementioned ten-year-olds.  Happily, the toddler we had in tow is a great traveler.  I didn't even need to dig out the video player until shortly before we were at our destination.

One of our traditions on this vacation is a stop mid-way with my niece and her family in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. At one time our kids spent the night there too but we have become such a big crew that out of love for my niece, only Paul and I claim the privilege now.  All the others drive the twelve hours straight through.

Sheri and her husband Glenn live on a beautiful farm, a place with all the freedoms that kids love. Our ten-year-old had a great time riding a four-wheeler with Sheri's two girls who took her to see the new kittens and the campsites by the river.  Glenn showed Paul all the damage done to the cornfield by the local bears. I tried not to freak out at all the bear-attack scenarios running through my mind with dusk approaching, as we stood on the bank of the Shenandoah River that cut through the farm. None of my wild imaginings became reality and we had a lovely time.  We will swing by again on our way home.

We left Virginia early in the morning and arrived in Kill Devil Hills, NC soon after noon.  By early evening our whole crew had arrived. Praise God above, all the babies did surprisingly well traveling. Now for six days in the same house.  That could prove interesting.