Counting Down the Days

Testing...seeing if this still works. Maybe I'll keep you updated while we're at Disney World. Interested? 

Lake Barkley II

This trip was no different than any other in that if there was beautiful scenery we took 79 pictures of it and afterward, the camera didn't capture the little nuances that made each shot special. I wasn't able to post the other 78 of this same perspective, so hopefully I chose the best one.

One night, the house's owner and caretaker took us out on the boat, showing us the animals and features of the lake that make it unique. Another day we took the boat out on our own and did a little swimming.

Each of the kids got their turn to drive the boat with Mr.Rogers, the owner. They took their job very seriously!

I chose the wrong shot of the four kids together, but am not going to change it out. Sorry that they're not looking this way!

My favorite story of what happened on the boat happened to Uncle Nate (sitting in the foreground on the right, in the red hat). We had heard that Lake Barkley has tremendous fishing, often hosting some big fishing tournaments. We soon learned why when Nate was sitting at the front end of the boat--a gigantic fish practically was begging to enter our boat when it leaped out of the water and smack Nate square in the head. You'll have to trust me, it was hysterical.

Lake Barkley

As is tradition, we get a kids meal before leaving so that the youngins are entertained while we drive. Fortunately, this trip was only going to take five hours.

We went with Kev's family to Lake Barkley, Kentucky, further west in the state than I thought was possible. We stayed in a quaint house with quite a history!

The house sat on the lake and we took the boat out a couple of times.

The original owner made his money in pantyhose (yes, pantyhose) and traveled the South selling them. He wanted this house to be modeled after the Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, North Carolina.

The house was great in that there were plenty of spaces for all of us to go and do our own thing, but there were places for the entire family to gather as well.

Lake Barkley III

It was such a relaxing week. We played games, swam, went fishing, read, anything that sounded good to us, we did.


We celebrated all the July and August birthdays--there's quite a few!

A lot of fishing occurred that week. They went down to the dock in the morning and in the evening. From what I heard, the morning trip proved more successful. I couldn't tell you firsthand because I was still in bed.

And thanks to the ones who made it happen--Grandma and Grandpa! We had a great time.

Hocking Hills Part 1

It's been a long time since my family and another we grew up with all got together--parents, kids and, now, grandkids. We met up at Hocking Hills with two neighboring cabins. The first day we went up early to hike Conkle's Hallow with Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Joanie and Uncle Josh.



Hocking Hills is in Bobcat territory and here's to hoping that we've got a lil' bobcat on her way to Harvard-on-the-Hocking!

The kids love hiking and exploring and the trails here are perfect for our adventurers. We could have spent all day in the woods, but we had more friends and family to meet at the cabins!

Hocking Hills Part 2

The second day we went to Old Man's Cave and these trails were a lot more crowded with visitors than the day before, but with good reason. It's a gorgeous area, difficult to believe it's in Ohio!

Joe and Erin were smart in bringing carriers for the girls. We ended up carrying Mere for a lot of the hike. There was some dangerous terrain for wee ones.

After hiking we went to get ice cream cones at a local general store before heading back to the cabin for a big party...

Back it up: Final Day of Vacation'10

I'm so glad we were able to fit Niagara Falls into the trip home. It's always nice to have something to do because the prospect of "going home" can kind of be a let down. This national spectacle was definitely worth the trip!

That morning we woke up, packed and headed to IHOP. The kids really enjoyed the all options and the variety of syrup and, on top of all that, behaved really well considering the long car ride the day before, a rough night of sleep and the prospect of doing it all again that day.

We found a parking spot and began looking around. I didn't realize that it is an actual state park, and I was also surprised how built up it was all around the falls. From a distance there was all this "smoke" (that really turned out to be the mist from the falls), but I had a hard time believing that it was the falls with so many hotels, restaurants and businesses by it.

My parents went here for their honeymoon. They got married in December and I feel sorry that they didn't get to experience Niagara in all its splendor. It was absolutely gorgeous.

It was difficult to take a picture with only our family in it because of the crowds and crowds of people everywhere. A good portion of those visiting Niagara that day were visiting from other countries, which was kind of neat to see. I suppose this is on the list of "American Things To See," along with the Empire State Building, Grand Canyon and Disney World.

We didn't have passports or birth certificates on us, so we couldn't go to the Canadian side of the Falls. That was a shame because I think it would be neat to see the Falls from head on, as opposed to at an angle. Regardless, I could have sat there all day and watched the water.

The boys had a great time chasing birds under the trees, alongside the water.

I can't remember what they were doing here, but it looks like they were having fun!

This is from the other end of the US side of the park.

On the far end, there would be times when you could barely see for all the water spitting in your eyes. This, the heat and the fact that we were climbing back in the van for the last leg of our journey all added up to this fine family portrait.

We got home, went straight to bed, then up to Great-Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary party. These are all the great-grandchildren.

And these three--all born within the same year--are with their proud grandmas.

Afterward, we went home and crashed. The kids and I rested for the next week. Poor Kev had to go to work the next day!

Back it up: Cape Cod: Day 6

Our vacation came to an end very quickly, as it normally does. We had to get back to Ohio to make it for Great-Grandma and Grandpa A's 60th wedding anniversary. That meant that we had to leave a bit early to make it in plenty of time.

We packed up and loaded the kids in while we did a quick once-over of the house. Fortunately for us, if we forgot anything Mom, Dad, Joanie and Josh were going to be leaving after us. The van was completely packed and...we found the pack 'n play in the house. That wasn't something that they could take back on the plane with them! We had to use our Tetris skills to come up with a place to put it. I'm thankful that was one of the games that I did fairly well with. See, video games are all bad!

Not too bad so far. Still in the driveway, though.

One last look at the house. Such a sweet place, and perfect for our family.

This is the rock the boys spent a lot of time playing on, specifically after they got the spyglasses and pretended to be pirates. In the background you can see the hydrangeas that I fell in love with and attempted to regrow with a couple cuttings when we got home. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I'm hoping that I can look into getting a bush from Michigan Bulb or the like.

And...she's out. For now.

Oh, they're so happy! Pictures can be deceiving!

Soon, the rains came. And it came hard, there was little visibility and no let up. What made this worse was that Meredith was not born to ride in cars. I'm sure I mentioned it in previous posts for this vacation, but she was an angel on the plane with Grandma and Grandpa. The take off and landing didn't bother her, and she laughed and entertained people in-flight. She cried--no--she screamed non-stop for hours. Nothing could console her. But we had to get going. We had a time limit for this leg of the trip.

We finally stopped one of those junctions to get gas and have something to eat, but mostly to get out of the car and take a break. The umbrellas Kevin and I used to get us and the kids from the van to the food court did absolutely nothing. It seemed like it was raining in fifteen different directions! We got pizza and relaxed for a few minutes before jumping back in the van.

Fortunately, not long after dinner the sky cleared up and it was an easier drive. Meredith started out by crying again, but then I popped in 101 Dalmatians and she began barking at the screen. She loved it! Why on earth didn't I try that sooner?! With all the day's activity and all the crying she did, finally she passed out for the last hour of our journey.

We had plans to go to Niagara Falls to see the fireworks over the falls. Doesn't that sound neat? I should say first off, I am not completely great with reading maps quickly. I usually pore over it, studying the symbols, names, etc. The city of Niagara Falls came up quickly and I told Kevin to take the wrong exit, which shot us out on the absolute wrong side of the city. Ugh. Kevin and I were pretty upset about it, me feeling overly guilty about my lack of map-reading skills. Have you ever been there before? If so, please tell me that in general that it's a tough city to navigate. Like Pittsburgh. (I really like Pgh, just not their color-coded belt system).

When we realized that there was no way we were making it for the firework show we headed to our hotel, after a pit stop for the boys to pee in an abandoned church parking lot in a shady area. I don't know where I led us! We had no choice!

The kids were all smiles to be in our nice hotel room, jumping on beds and having a snack before going to sleep. We had big plans for the next day--visiting the Falls!

The boys soon conked out, but not Miss Meredith, who was happy to be living it up in the lap of luxury where she belongs apparently, and rejuvenated by a little nap in the van. What are we going to do with her?

Back it up: Cape Cod: Day 4

Cape Cod is neat in that they've made a point to make it feel "small" even though it a very popular tourist destination. Vacation homes are interspersed between residential homes. All roads are two lanes. There aren't any big box stores to be found. After we got back I read that in the '70s the government was subsidizing sewer systems but the Cape didn't want to participate because they feared it would "lead to an influx in people." Very understandable. Unfortunately, because of all the septic tanks the environment is now being affected and it is hurting both the plants and animals in the region. It's such a sad situation and I hope that they're able to correct the problem because the Cape is definitely a gorgeous part of our national landscape.

Not knowing all this, we went to the beach the next day (not that it would have affected our decision!). Got there early to get a parking spot and to get a spot on the beach. Another piece to the "keeping it small" idea is that only locals have parking stickers for the beaches during prime time hours. It wasn't a big deal, though, as we found a spot just up the street from the beach.

Along with Grandpa, the boys tried out boogie boarding with boards that came with our house. Poor Louie. First time and he gets flipped by a massive wave and never went back in the water. Instead, he came up with a really great rock collection from the shore that (some of which) now is a rock garden in our backyard! He spent a good deal of time making sandcastles, which is what the Christmas ornament is that I bought to commemorate our time there.

Meredith and Charlie came for the snacks. I was afraid of Baby Meredith's skin in the oh-so-hot sun and Charlie is a grazer who would prefer getting some R & R under an umbrella than do anything strenuous.

Benny is a determined young man. Whether it be riding a bike or boogie boarding, he's going to figure it out.


I was thankful that Meredith didn't have any desire to take a handful of sand and place it in her mouth.

Charlie and Louie did enjoy posing with Benny for this picture, though!

Later that evening we went to see the sunset. It was the perfect place for Kodak Moments and the boys hammed it up for the camera.

Strangely, everyone started scratching their heads. For me, even though I took a shower after we got back, I was thinking that a day at the beach irritated my scalp. Not so. Charlie, who at almost three-year-old had no patience for anything, started screaming about his head. I went to rub on it, looking at his scalp to see if he had sand in it or something. Instead there were tons of these tiny white bugs! I'm assuming that it's a common occurrence, just as there are many mosquitoes at home at dusk. That may account for the many, many parking spots by the beach. (My head is itching as I type this memory!)

We decided to hightailed it out of there and head home. But before we did, Kevin and I took the kids to this quaint "general store" that also had a great ice cream shop.

Before the week was over I bought a lot of cute souvenirs and gifts from this place.

Chocolate ice cream was the most requested item of the evening and the boys wanted to make sure that everyone knew they had some!