On our way to Washington, D.C., we made a stop in Staunton, Virginia, to see our friends Dan and Pam. We were here two years ago, and stayed with them in the President's mansion on the campus of Mary Baldwin University. But now they have a weekend home in the country - its very secluded and has a beautiful view of the mountains, and the best part for the kids - an in-ground pool. We arrived Friday late afternoon, and the kids swam while we grilled out. After dinner we all swam, and then were in bed by 11:00 - we had an exhausting 8 hour drive that day.
Saturday we decided to go on a canoe trip down part of the Shenandoah River - the kids have wanted to go on a canoe trip for a while and we thought the scenery might be better than an Ohio canoe trip. We ended up taking a 9 mile trip in two canoes - one with Ben, Sam and Pam, and the other with Dan, Maria and me. Both kids rode on a seat in the middle of the canoe, with a paddle they could use whenever they wanted. It was along, hot ride, with a lunch picnic, lots of rocks to get stuck on, and a little thunderstorm about two miles from the end. Luckily, the thunder and lightning were pretty far off, so we just parked our canoes under some tress to wait out the storm - we just sat there in the canoes and got soaked through while it poured and poured. So it was certainly not a boring canoe trip, but very exhausting. The kids were great - Sam was ready to be done about half-way through, but we took a quick stop in some deeper water for the kids to swim for about 10 minutes and that cooled them off and gave them enough energy to make it to the end (this was before the rain storm). Neither canoe tipped the entire trip, which we consider a victory - especially since the canoe I was in came very, very close - in fact, we may have defied the laws of physics.
After that trip, we came back to the house for more grilling and swimming, and again went to bed before 11:00- we were all beat. This morning Ben and I got up at 7:00 and ran together - which we have never been able to do - on the roads around the house (ended up being 4.75 miles). And the roads were hilly, very hilly. And it was hot. Very hot. So we ran some, and walked some. But the scenery was beautiful, and I'm glad I attempted it. I can say I don't think I have ever sweat that much - during one stretch in the valley the sun was beating down and there was no breeze, and I was so hot that my hair was dripping sweat onto my arms like it was sprinkling rain. But I am hoping to use the experience as a "You think you're hot - its not as bad as that time in Staunton" motivator for the future.
We left mid-morning and headed to Washington D.C., and arrived here around 2:00.
No comments:
Post a Comment