Category: Imaginative one

Day #1

When Foodie Pen Pals Meet

On Saturday morning, we got up early and went down for breakfast. We ended up being early, which made our two sleepy children unhappy. Luckily there was a lobby with couches, so they laid down until breakfast was ready. Before we left Charlottesville, we stopped at Bodo’s Bagels. It was jam-packed, so that was a sign of a great place to get breakfast. We got bagels and honey pecan cream cheese. The Imaginative One loved the plain bagels so much that he had two on the ride down to Folly Beach.

Stop #2 was Appomattox Courthouse. The location of Lee’s surrender to Grant at the end of the Civil War. This significant event in our history occurred days before Lincoln was killed. Tears rose in my eyes as I saw the reconstructed McLean house where the peace document was signed.

Before we got there, we had to drive through the backcountry of Virginia. At one point, we even were in the geographical center of Virginia. Some of the roads reminded me of Oz, with the cornfields on either side of the road. We stopped for gas at this little country gas station. It was called Duck Corner, and it would quack whenever someone opened the door. The boys loved this. I had to apologize to the clerk because the boys wanted to hear the quacking.

Oh, and the Imaginative One complained about his stomach hurting while driving down those roads. Luckily I had packed peppermints, so I told him to suck on that. There was no car sickness that day. Mommy saved the day.

We only spent an hour at the Courthouse. I could have spent much longer, but we were on a tight schedule. Our favorite things were the living history people. It was interesting to talk to Corporal Robert Fields from Pennsylvania. He kept in his character the whole time we talked to him.

We also met Jeff Toalson, who has taken letters written during the Civil War and put them in order and in a book. I got the book called Send Me a Pair of Old Boots & Kiss My Little Girls. These are letters between husband and wife Richard and Mary Watkins. I’ve read about a fourth of the book but had to put it down because it was hard to keep putting it down and then picking it up. WI will read it whenI have time to dedicate to reading it. It’s that good.

After we were finished with Appomattox Courthouse, we traveled to Folly Beach. Outside Raleigh (Lynnwood), we stopped for lunch and a little playtime. Soon afterward, we were back on the road. When we were at the South Carolina border, it started to pour. It was so bad that we could barely see in front of us. We stopped at the welcome center, and the boys and I didn’t get out because of the puddles and how fast the rain was falling. Hubby needed to check on his bike rack, so he got out and was soaked. The rain stopped as quickly as it started.

The boys were restless at that point. They wanted to be at the beach, but we still had a few hours to go. At one point, Hubby and I decided to rock out to Pink and put on a performance to Get the Party started. I even had motions and danced in my seat to the song.

Finally, I saw the Bridge and knew we were in Charleston. Only 20 minutes were remaining until we were at the beach. Those 20 minutes took forever, especially with the boys being loud in the backseat. But we made it at about 7:45 pm that evening. After we got there, the boys got to walk in the sand and dip their feet in the ocean. They were so happy to be there. No one went to bed until 11ish that evening.

Click on the picture of the McLean House to go to other pictures of the day.

We just returned from an awesome trip because it lasted for 11 days – 6 of which were at the beach. On the other 5 days, we visited and traveled from one place to another. We listened to the boys say, “I’m bored!” or “What state are we in?” or “Ohio.  Indiana. Missouri,” or “I want to go back to the beach!!!!!!”  The third statement was about the license plate game. The Wee One loves that game!  🙂  We also listened to books on tape, such as Drizzle, Encyclopedia  Brown, and the Henry Winkler Hank Zipper series. Most of all, we made memories we will cherish.

Day 1 was the travel day to Charlottesville, VA (Check out my post about why we chose that city). We wanted to leave by 6 am to be able to do a tour of Monticello. The official start time was 6:05, so that was a good start to the trip. We hit fog when we hit southeastern Ohio to West Virginia. In fact, the Imaginative One said the bridge that separated Ohio from West Virginia was like a tunnel, not a bridge.

We made an excellent time during that leg of the trip. We got to Monticello (our first stop) by 2 pm. The Imaginative One loved Monticello. His favorite parts were where they kept the ice, Jefferson’s reading apparatus that held up to 5 books, the dumbwaiter, and the polygraph machine. Hubby and I were impressed with Jefferson’s bed in the wall, the closet at the end, and the closet above the bed that had air holes, so there was ventilation. We were also impressed with his front parlor, where he greeted guests. The clock was amazing, and the maps were interesting. The Wee One took away from the whole experience that Jefferson liked to read.

After we left Monticello, we went and checked into the hotel. Hubby needed a nap, and the boys were very loud, and squirrely so I took them swimming while their dad took a nap. Once we were done swimming, we got ready and went down to the University of Virginia rotunda to do a virtual cache (geocaching – Google it).

While at the rotunda, we got a hold of my sister so she could take a picture of us at the virtual cache. The boys thought sticking their behinds out at the camera would be funny. I don’t know if she captured that or not.

After taking pictures at the University of Virginia rotunda, we went to the Pedestrian Mall and met up with Jo. We were late because of Hubby’s geocaching and because we got turned around at one point. We found the Hawaii license plates in the parking lot where we parked. To read about our adventures at the Pedestrian Mall, visit this blog entry.

Click on the Thomas Jefferson Statue to see pictures from our first day on the Super Trip.