Friday, August 31, 2007

Wow, it's been a whirlwind of a month!

I don't think I will write much more about Boston- I have forgotten much and, really, it's just soooo history. One interesting last thing we did, that I will mention, is on our drive back to Ithaca we stopped in Concord. The site where "the shot that was heard around the world" was heard. That was pretty cool.

Oh, one other thing about Boston! We got to tour the famous ship known as "Old Ironsides!" That was cool, too. I was disgusted to learn about the "lively water" that sailors had to drink but otherwise I really enjoyed the short tour.

Well, my family is back home again. Unbelievable! We had looked forward to their visit for months and months and now it's over and done with. Kinda reminds me of my wedding. You plan and plan and then snap, it's here and gone. Life does go by fast. Well, I had six extra people in my house. It was overwhelming for me. Our house is usually quiet and in order but with four boys and my brother that was a little chaotic. My sister-in-law was wonderful. She helped me a lot. I could not have kept most of my sanity without her. Shane had to work that week, so he helped as much as possible. He was so sweet to entertain the boys in the evenings. He took them to the park and to the aquatic center nearby. I'm sure they had fun.

I took them to many sites they wanted to see and others that I thought they should see while here.

The Smithfield Plantation
Virginia Tech
The Blue Ridge Parkway
Maybry Mill
Claytor Lake
Tubing down the New River
Mountain Lake (the site where Dirty Dancing was filmed)
The Cascades trail
Homestyle Restaurant- in Catawba

On the day I could not join them they went to the Natural Bridge and also visited a Haunted House. They had lots of fun, in spite of being caught out in the rain. That day there was a thunderstorm that came in suddenly. Apparently they were on a short wilderness trail near the Natural Bridge. The only shelter they found were port-a-potties! Yuck!! It will be something for them to look back and laugh at!

After they left Blacksburg, the journey continued on to DC. On the way we stopped in Charlottesville to check out Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house. Amazing. I really enjoyed the tour. The visit included a tour of the plantation with stories about the slaves that had worked for Mr. Jefferson. Although it was hot and muggy I was really interested by the storytelling.

When we got to DC, the plan was to visit the Smithsonian. My brother and family were so excited to see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial wall, the Capitol, the White House and other museums of interest. They really did a lot on this vacation. They started out in New York and ended up in DC. My brother and sister-in-law were brave to do it all with four kids! Ages ranging from 7 to 15. I hope the boys will never forget all that they saw and the history that they learned. Pretty cool. I am so happy they came out to see us and that I could join them on their trip to DC.

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