Fourth of July Week

Friday July 1st

Katie, Nick, Henry and Audrey arrived this afternoon! We heard Nick loves fireworks so after supper, we headed downtown for the display by the James River.  Luckily, we parked up at the top of Monument Terrace because the entire downtown area was packed with cars!  It was a really nice fireworks show!

Saturday

Nick had never been on the Blue Ridge Parkway so we thought we would drive north towards Afton.  First we stopped at the Pie Shop for lunch.  It was great to see they are still going strong and everyone loved their pies!

When the kids realized we were going to be by the Blue Ridge Tunnel in Afton, they really wanted to take Katie and Nick through it!  So we decided to go there, but first we needed to stop at Veritas Vineyard for a tasting since they closed at 5 P.M.

Then, we headed to the tunnel for a walk in the dark.  It is a very unique hike and everyone loved it!  

It was time to go home so we headed south to Lynchburg.  Gretchen was driving and when she pulled onto Route 29, something really went wrong with Katie’s van. She managed to pull into the Exxon station before it died!  So we needed Plan B!!  A call to AAA arranged for the van to be towed to the Toyota dealer in Lynchburg.  Luckily the Helms were home and could come to pick us up and take us home! Thank you Emily and David! We had quite an exciting adventure today!

Sunday

We went out to the Lake to visit Jenny and the Gorman’s who arrived yesterday. Katie was excited to see cousin Jessica! We had a fun time swimming, fishing, paddle boarding and kayaking! After supper, Katie, Nick and the kids headed home in their rental car and Jenny headed to Greensboro to pick up the Phelps who were flying in today. Thanks Jenny, it was a fun day!

Jessica, Henry, William, Josh, Benjamin, Jenny, Gretchen, Tom, Katie, Audrey, and Nick!

Wednesday July 6th

Kelley and Maggie arrived in time for happy hour and dinner. But…during happy hour a storm knocked out the electricity!  So we had to break out the old, old, old camp stove to cook part of dinner! Then after dinner, we thought we should eat ice cream instead of cupcakes for dessert so it would not melt.  However, while we were dishing the ice cream, the power came on!

Thursday

Katie’s car was fixed, so our first task was to meet her at the car rental place and then take her to the Toyota dealer.  So Kelley and Maggie got to see her for a few minutes.  Then we headed to Afton to pick up coffee and eat lunch at Veritas Vineyard! It was a beautiful day, a beautiful spot and lunch was good as always.

After lunch we drove “5 minutes” to Shenandoah National Park so Maggie could get her park pass stamped.  We drove about 35 miles north stopping at the overlooks! Living at the beach, Kelley and Maggie both like looking out from the mountains to the valleys below. We drove home through Charlottesville stopping at Trader Joe’s and  then pointing out where Katie’s car stopped running on the way home!

Friday

We drove to the lake to spend time with Jenny and her family.  All of the kids and adults had a great time in the water.  They swam, fished, and rode on the raft pulled by the Ski Doo.

Maggie got to try paddle boarding and kayaking for the first time under Jessica’s tutelage.  She did really well and loved both activities!  

Maggie with her cousin Adaline!

The Cousins!

It was wonderful being with the Gorman and Phelps families this week, seeing how the kids have grown and learning about their daily interests and activities.  Thank you so much Jenny for hosting all of us!

Tom, Gretchen, Kelley, Maggie, Andrew, Adaline, Grady, Janelle, Jenny, Hunter, William, Jessica, Benjamin and Josh!

Friday

Maggie likes history so we decided to go to Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson’s summer home in Lynchburg during his retirement years.  We all learned a lot during the tour of the house and grounds!

View of the front of the house.

Ready for lunch in the dining room!

View from Jefferson’s Parlor.

Thank you Katie and Kelley for making the trip to Lynchburg. It is always a highlight of the year to host everyone, enjoy some fun adventures, measure how much the kids have grown and see how they have changed!  We love you all!