Vacation

Gearing up for vacation is a lot of work. Our favorite vacation spot is anywhere BEACH. We were not able to coordinate time through our timeshare for when/where we wanted. So it’s off to the mountains of Harrisonburg we go.

I spent several days leading up to vacation planning attire, meals and activities. Fortunately it wouldn’t not be a long ride. One DVD should suffice for the trip. Our teenager had a friend join us us. This has been our vacation partner and adopted daughter since they were 8 years old. Originally it was to give her someone to keep her company and occupied so we could ‘enjoy’ the time away ourselves. I must admit this was a first. We weren’t sure what to expect. A mountain resort in the middle of the summer?

The place was nice. Customarily we unload, unpack and then head to the grocery store to get all the things we want and need for that week. We typically prepare dinner a few nights a week and eat out the remaining days. Having breakfast, lunch and snacks options on tap at all times is a good thing. The kids loved being there. We thoroughly enjoyed the wildlife. Deer were everywhere. Greeting us upon our arrival and just hanging out all throughout the day. They were certainly used to people who likely fed them a treat or two. We were intrigued when taking trash to the dumpster. There was a hidden hand contraption that took some coordination to open. A larger sticker on the dumpster explained it was necessary to keep bears at bay. Oh wow don’t want to run into a bear in the middle of the day or night unless they are off in the distance and I mean a really sizable distance between them and us. Our days were filled with swimming, playground play, grass tubing (which was very cool), magic shows and water park visits. We coordinated naps as best we could and at night we regrouped from the days activities. We always bring the Wii and/or Playstation with us. So there was a few evenings of Video challenges and fun. We also found some really great local spots to eat. The buffet at the Water Park was awesome. A great selection of really good food. The greatest find was a local BBQ spot (Hanks) that was simply incredible. It was a very nice, yet family friendly place. Both of these places were the dining choice of the day more than once.

This year Jalen decided was his breakout year in the water. He was becoming fish-like. Just enjoying every aspect of being in the water. Jumping in, closing his mouth and holding his breath under water. Just wanting to swim, swim, swim. That was so fun to watch and experience. Paris and I even went out one night for a little Mother/Daughter Bingo. It was a little intimidating at first. I’d never gone to a organized Bingo game. There were a lot of rules, but in the end it was a fun time. As always the girls had some admirers. We enjoy hearing and laughing at those stories. This year was no different. Over the years we’ve developed a vacation groove we like to flow with. It generally consists of something like water fun, eat, activity, video games or rest and then dinner and nighttime water fun. Believe it or not it never gets old. We did elect to go fishing during the trip which was a good time. We didn’t catch anything but to have everyone out on the water participating in something I have loved for so long was awesome. A downpour was unleashed from the sky which quickly ended our time on the water. Typically rain/storms create a feeding frenzy in the water, but that was not the case that day. The water park and game room were a lot of fun too! The not so amusing part was turning in the tickets and trying to select a toy that would be suitable for the overexcited little ones.

Overall we had a great time. My son loved this trip. He couldn’t stop talking about our mountain house and how he wanted to go back there. I’m certain at some point we’ll go back. We definitely want to experience the area during ski season.