The weather here is so nice. It’s warm in the day and cool at night….ah, Pennsylvania. No more stifling humidity or swamp gas for me…for a bit.
We drove up to the land in Kentucky and camped out one night. Zoe loved it! She played in the dirt, got a collection of leaves and nuts, caught butterflies, and poked the fire. Avi seemed to enjoy himself too. He crawled around messing in the dirt and looking like a ragamuffin. It was pretty hot when we arrived, but looked like rain, so we setup the tent quickly. Then, no rain. Took a hot walkabout to see the pond and the field that had been brush hogged – looked nice but so overgrown….jungley. It will die down now that the trees are in leaf and shading everywhere. In the evening as it cooled off we wandered around again, built a fire, had marshmallows, and then went off to bed. Zoe had a tantrum about a juice box. crazy kid. The night was gorgeous with stars everywhere and bullfrogs croaking. I think Dad liked camping in the tent with us. Just one bit happy family all squished together on a cozy bed. It was warm – so I just brought a sheet and a fleece blanket. Worked out great. In the morning we hiked up to the top of the mountain. Zoe did the whole thing herself…chatting about dinosaurs and meteors destroying the continent the entire trip. After that we made some lunch, and then packed up and headed north!
The remainder of our drive went well. The kids do great in the car. Zoe stares or colors or plays with her dino. Avi sleeps. Thank goodness. When he wakes he doesn’t stay happy for long…someone needs to be sending snacks back to him or playing with toys. Mostly this was Dad’s job, though he did drive a bit when I was tired. We also stopped at a few rest stops to let him crawl around and Zoe run about. It was a nice leisurely drive through some amazing country. After Charleston, WV we started looking for a hotel. At one rest stop we picked up a Room saver magazine…you know, those coupon things, and got a great deal on a hotel up the road another hour. A place with a pool and free breakfast! So, the kids (and me and Dad) got to burn some energy swimming around before dinner.
This morning we actually got up pretty early thanks to Avi, and were on the road before 9. He enjoyed the waffles at breakfast…seems to be a bread -products kind of a kid. On the way home we took a detour to get my National Parks Passport stamped at a place called Friendship hill. It was a neat old home on a pretty spot above the Monogahala that belonged to Albert Gallatin. He had been the Sec of Treasury during Jefferson, helped fund the Lewis & Clark expedition, and actually balanced the budget. The most famous in his time, not-famous-now person I’ve never heard of. Anyway, it was neat…worth the 10 miles north of I-68 to see it! Both kids fell asleep after that until just before we got to State College. What a fun trip….and so nice with Grandpa Joe. He helped so much with the kids, with the packing, with nav-ing, and I think he had fun. We were at my parents house just after 2….so the rest of the afternoon was playtime and park time.
Tonight it’s so nice out that I’m sleeping with the windows open. Fresh Air!! No A/C needed just yet here in PA!