Road Trip (in the Rain)

Our trip to D. C. started the way every trip does--with a week's worth of making piles of clothes, toiletries, and supplies, followed by a night-long marathon of packing, resulting in this humble collection of bags.
Too bad it took until ...

... to get it done.

Early the next morning we got up and hit the road around 6:30am Saturday morning. It was cloudy, but we didn't have any rain until we got to Smithville. Then the bottom dropped out, and kept dropping out. In fact, IT RAINED ALL DAY LONG FOR ALMOST 500 MILES!!!

But it didn't keep this little guy's spirits down. He had a great time and . . .

sang a lot of the "rain, rain, go away" song.

Daddy, on the other hand, was worn out.

But don't worry, he wasn't asleep at the wheel--well, OK, he was--but not while the car was in motion. The car was parked at a gas station with an awesome overhang at the time.

We even ate lunch in the car at the welcome rest-stop in Bristol, VA. We had brought supplies for PBJ sandwiches, which saved on our budget too.

Finally, finally, finally we arrived in Lexington, VA. We got take-out from the restaurant next to the hotel, kicked our shoes off...

and had a picnic on the floor of our room.

Nathan was thrilled to be free of his car seat.

And since there was a pool in the hotel, we decided to go swimming!

It was Nathan's first time in a pool, but he had a wonderful time being carried around in the water and kicking his feet. There was also a large hot tub, which felt great to our tired bones and muscles. So after a long, full day, we were ready for bed. Whew! Day One - Check!

Day 2 (Sunday) started off with something missing ... the rain was finally gone!

We had a nice, dry morning driving up the Shenandoah Valley, and pulled off the road for lunch at one of the gateway towns to the Shenandoah National Park, Front Royal.

We drove around until we found a good place to picnic at the town center & visitor's center. Nathan was, of course, glad to be out of the car and glad to be eating.

It really was a pretty afternoon sitting under the trees... (that's Nathan & Janet on the park bench in the background)

...and watching a bee.

This buzzy little bee shared a couple sips of Mark's Dr. Pepper and kept us company during most of our lunch. Thankfully, he was not an angry little bee.

So long, Front Royal...

... Hello, Springfield!

Our next stop was at the house of an old friend from MTSU and his family who live very close to the city.

Josh, a fairly fuzzy fella, and Nathan became instant friends!

Nathan knows how to treat his host. He jumped repeatedly on him and pulled his beard a lot, all the while squealing in his ears with delight. (Thanks again, Josh, for entertaining our little man.) But I think Josh enjoyed the diversion.

The Young Family entertained us and let us stay in their house for the night. Thanks, Miranda, Josh, and Maya!

Day 2 - Check!