Summer Wrap Up

We returned from Maine on July 22^nd, with the kids having been off school for over a month yet having had a very abnormal summer. They were gone 3 of the first 4 weeks, and we were very ready for life to settle down and everyone to settle into the normal summer routine. You know…sleeping late, playing with friends, staying up late, swimming at the neighborhood pool, etc. I’m used to getting up and out of the house every day with the rest of the family still sleeping, and that’s the feeling of summer we were all eager for. We also had been very busy out of state, but realized there are a lot of things we want to do close to home – stay-cations of sorts. So we made a list of things we wanted to do in the last 5-6 weeks of summer. I’m happy to say we checked off all but one or two items on that list. One being tubing, which I know we will do another summer – but would have been hard logistically to fit in this summer. And the other was a nearby amusement park – which we can still do another weekend this Fall. We checked off the other items on the list, capping the last one on September 1^st – a trip to a water park…pretty good, considering James and the kids were in New Jersey for one week of August.

I can separate these activities, or write about them all together. I think lumping it all together will help me catch up quicker to present time, so here goes.

We took a trip to Cunningham Falls State Park, a lake with a waterfall hike in the mountains of Maryland. My favorite memory from this trip was Keely’s description of the lake – Nature’s Pool :) There is a small beach area, and the part of the lake you can swim in is roped off. It was nice, but I wouldn’t go back again for the beach area. We also did the hike up to the waterfalls, and then played around on the rocks around the falls. The whole park was fairly crowded, probably because it was a gorgeous summer day with low humidity. We had a nice day, but for the 1+ hour drive I don’t think it’s worth another trip.

We combined two things from our list into one overnight in-state trip – Natural Bridge and Monticello. James and I had been to NB when we were in college, and we wanted the kids to see it. It’s gotten a bit more commercialized since we visited, but it’s a nice trip nonetheless. The bridge is pretty amazing, and it didn’t disappoint. We also made the hike (more like a walk) to the waterfalls, including a side trip to the Monacan Indian Village. They have also added a butterfly garden that includes some beautiful large butterflies. For a last hurrah, and what ended up being quite a laugh, we visited the wax museum on site that was included with our admission. I’m not a fan of these places, and it was a little creepy looking at these wax figures – but mostly, it was funny because they didn’t quite capture the people they were trying to replicate. 

We then traveled to Charlottesville for the night and visited Monticello on Sunday to complete our in state exploring. James was the only one to have ever been, and it was when he was very young so we all got to experience this for (almost) the first time. I’m comparing this to Mount Vernon in terms of history, pricing, crowds, etc. and I have to say I was quite impressed and I like Monticello better. The grounds are more spread out and even though there were a lot of people there, it didn’t feel crowded. We also chose the family friendly tour – and although it’s geared more for younger kids, the tour guide was excellent – very knowledgeable and very patient answering all the kids and adults questions. We spent about two hours exploring, including the house tour, lower level, grounds, gardens, and outbuildings. It was a very nice experience and I recommend it if you are in the Charlottesville area. 

Hey, it’s better than visiting the University – I still can’t believe that we took the kids to see UVA before we took them to Blacksburg to see our alma mater. I never would have thought we’d live in Virginia for over 2 years and not have visited Blacksburg once. However, it’s 4.5 hours away and that’s a long trip so I guess that’s why. We’ll get there one of these days – at least to show Quinn the school before he applies to colleges :)

James and the kids spent one of the last weeks of summer in New Jersey, mostly hanging out with Grandpa. They did also squeeze in some time with Nana and other cousins, it’s bound to happen with all of my family in the area also. Keely got to have a fabulous girls’ day with Nana in New York City, complete with a trip to the American Girl doll store that included lunch and some ‘big’ conversations! The rest of the week was spent at various parks, swimming, a trip to the beach, and an indoor game and ride center. They had a fun time, and I was able to join them for the last two days.

The last hurrah, so to speak, and another check off our ‘to-do’ list was a trip to a local water park. We are so fortunate to have not one, but five County water parks to choose from all at a pretty reasonable price for a days’ admission. The one we chose has a wave pool, five water slides, and several smaller pool areas. We spent a few hours there, definitely getting our money’s worth and even had some funnel cake – I swear they pump the smell into the wave pool area and I couldn’t resist!

So with that, summer was officially over and we (mostly me) were ready to get back into a normal routine. There are big changes in store, with both kids going to new schools this year and lots of new experiences coming up!