Phase one of our vacation was "The Road Trip" to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. We got up early on a Thursday morning (though not quite as early as we thought due to an alarm malfunction!) and hit the road. We made it to New Jersey before having to stop for breakfast. And we found a nice little local diner where the kids were treated like royalty.
I have to say the kids are pretty good on the long car rides.
But the sleeping child is always the preferred method of travel (for me anyway!)
The next stop was a rest area somewhere in Pennsylvania where we stopped and had a picnic and let the kids run wild for a little while. Then back on the road, Bob and I debated the merits of another trip through the Shenendoah Valley via the Skyline Drive. It's a beautiful drive but adds a couple extra hours to our drive time.
However, fate had another idea for us to blow a few hours. Unbeknownst to us, Maddy had taken a fall at that rest area in Pennsylvania and when we got out of the car for gas and a bathroom break in Virginia she couldn't bear any weight on it. (We had to get the whole story from Audrey!) So, fighting her protests (I think she was terrified of having a cast and being unable to swim on the houseboat) we found the closest hospital and went to the ER.
After a long three hours, and an X-ray (and having my faith in the Virginia Health Care system shaken to the core)...we were released. It was just a very painful sprain.
So, finally back on the road we decided hit a drive through for dinner and kept on driving so we could get as far as we intended before the ER stop. Having to elevate and ice an ankle is definitely way less fun than swimming in a hotel pool but it could have been so much worse!
In the morning, Maddy still couldn't walk on her own but finding an automatic pancake machine in the breakfast room did a lot to improve morale!
Friday afternoon we made it to Blowing Rock right on schedule. It was nice to see old friends again. Maddy, Audrey and Ellie picked up right where they left off last summer.
On Saturday morning we wanted to get an early start at Tweetsie Railroad, but first we had to make some ice cream so that it could harden in the freezer all afternoon. Vanilla with M&M's was a very popular choice!
Onto Tweetsie Railroad…there was the obligatory photo in the covered wagon.
And then on to the ride Maddy has been talking about for a whole year! The famous Tilt-a-Whirl". This year, Ellie was game for riding along.
Somehow, I was the only willing adult! I didn't mind too much…until the last two minutes of the ride!
The Ferris Wheel was a hit with everyone.
Audrey says, "It's like I'm flying!"
With Maddy begging to go on every single (vomit-inducing) ride, I decided that Bob had to step up, face his motion sickness head on, and go on the Freefall ride. At least it was a short ride!
And then I took another one for the team…on the Tornado.
Lukcily, there were lots of rides that I wasn't even allowed to go on!
Back to the house, we cooked out and finally got to enjoy that homemade ice cream.
Sadly this was our final visit with Sally who passed away right after Carl and Brooke got back to Wilmington. She will be missed…she was a very sweet dog and very tolerant of grabby little hands.
It was a great weekend.
Maddy really enjoys her summer friend Ellie!
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