Summer Vacation

We just survived another road trip vacation. I feel very lucky to have kids that travel so well! We took off around 4:30 in the morning, and made it to New Jersey in time for breakfast at Burger King. Audrey begged for the Bacon Sundae, but (at 8AM) they weren't serving it yet so she had to be satisfied with french toast sticks and orange juice.

Audrey traveled really well on our Christmas road trip, so we hoped she would do well again. This time (being very mobile now), I was worried that she would get bored stuck in a car seat for so long. But luckily, she had her big sister in the back seat to share her toys and crayons and just generally entertain her. This picture is representative of the car ride. Look at the two of them. They love being stuck in the back of a car together.

Whoops, wrong picture. Here's the one I meant to post. Honestly, they did pretty well, but there was definitely more bickering than last time. I think we've entered the phase of parenting where I have to hone my refereeing skills!

At the end of our drive that day, Bob took us on the scenic route, "Skyline Drive" through Virginia. I was ready to kill him for adding a couple of hours to our (plenty long enough!) drive...but then we saw a bear cub and several deer and it seemed worth it. It was a beautiful drive.

The next day, the majority of our drive to Blowing Rock, North Carolina was really beautiful too. We took the "Blue Ridge Parkway", and while the day was a little gloomy, the view was still stunning. Every time a big, sweeping view opened up of the mountains receding to the horizon, Audrey would yell "Ocean!" from the back seat. Not quite correct, but I think I understand why she thought that.

When we got to Blowing Rock, we went out for a nice long walk and caught up with old friends. Maddy remembered Ellie from the last time we visited, but this time they really hit it off. In fact they hit it off so well, Maddy got to have her first slumber party with Ellie, where (unfortunately) they provided us with hours of entertainment on the video monitor.

Audrey made a good buddy too. She had so much fun with Sally, and Sally was extraordinarily patient with her constantly yelling "Doggie!" and pointing at her head.

Saturday morning, even though some people (looking at you, Maddy) didn't get nearly enough sleep the night before, we headed out to Tweetsie Railroad...in a car, the conestoga wagon was just for show.

We saw a bizarre performance by Bob the Builder and Maddy got to work on her baseball swing before we hit the rides.

This year I convinced Maddy to go on the "Tilt a Whirl" with me. She was glad she did! I'm glad to finally have a buddy to ride spinning rides with, as Bob is a wimp!

On Sunday morning, we pointed the car down the mountain and made our way to Norris Lake in Tennessee. Audrey wasn't quite sure how she felt about wearing a life jacket, but she adapted to life on a boat quickly enough.

Being that she's a monkey, with a wanton disregard for her own safety, we were lucky to have so many people keeping an eye on her.

And who knew Grandfather was such a great bubble-blower?

Grandfather worked really hard, piloting the boat all the way to the dam and back. Luckily, he had some really helpful copilots.

It's nice to cruise along on the houseboat, but Maddy just needs a little speed sometimes.

And she never says no to a boat ride...

...even when Cody is driving and gets us lost for a while. Even so, a boat nap is not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

It was really hard to get Maddy out of the lake. She wanted to be swimming all the time.

But while we were cruising she settled for the hot tub. What a tough life!

We spent one night, out on the lake, tied up in a beautiful cove. Audrey loved watching all the turtles. She almost had one for a pet, if only Bob's homemade net had worked!

One night, Bob took Audrey on a sunset cruise around the houseboat.

And we took another aquatic family portrait. It's easy to smile when you're in a lake!

But too soon, it was time to head back to Kentucky for a couple days. No one was thrilled to be leaving the boat.

But a visit to New Haven is always fun. How many other kids get to hang out in (and on!) a bar, and eat ice cream!

On Friday, we went to Louisville to have lunch with Great-Grandma and Aunt Paula. Maddy had her first "chicken-on-the-bone", though she was puzzled as to how the chicken got on the bone. I left that explanation for another day.

And Supergirl decided that posing for photos is her kryptonite.

After our visit, we drove out to the hollow, which is always interesting. Water! Coming out of the ground!

A skillet you can stand on! There's aways something new and strange going on in the hollow.

And finally, we did some porch-sitting and had dinner one last time with Great-Grandmother.

The ride home is never fun, but the girls did really awesome. I'm so glad they love road trips as much as we do. It was a great vacation!