Friday, July 31, 2009

on the road again...

2 girls + 1 golden retriever + 18 stuffed animals + 24 DVDs + 2 drivers + 1 gallon of goldfish + 800 miles = Annual Family Road Trip!
It is hard to live so far from my family. The only great part is that when we visit, we come to stay. The last two years, we've spent the better part of August in Pennsylvania with Suz and Skip. Camp-A-Rama writ large. I love the concentrated time, and the small moments. And getting there is half the fun! hahahahahaha
We did well packing this summer. Honestly, I packed more things for the "ride" than for the "visit". Mom and Dad have everything we need in terms of gear (God bless them) and so we just had to have 6 coloring books, 2 magna-doodles, and 600 melty crayons to get us up the road. The girls are typically great in the car. They love to sleep in their car seats. In fact, Katie fell asleep on a last errand at 5:30 pm, we finished packing the car while she slept, and made it to North Georgia at midnight before she woke up! If only WE had been able to sleep in the car maybe we would have been ready for the 2am couch jumping Olympics that she and Anna organized.
Day Two - Lexington, VA. We watched our dog and two girls run around The Hill where we met almost 14 years ago. Incredible. I hope they love the Shenandoah Valley as much as RB and I do.
Also indoctrinated them at the Palms. FYI, there is a reason why we never ate the food there. General rule of thumb - Never take your children to the bar where you celebrated your 21st birthday.
We made it to Eden Farm late that night, but it certainly made all 800 miles worth while.