The Small Family     

We arrived at my Aunt Sally and Uncle David's house around 6pm on Thursday, and after a quick tour through their garden (Theo was entranced!), we walked over to their dining room for dinner. (Their community has a meal-plan option where residents [and their guests, if applicable] can eat at a common dining room. Thursday night we had a choice of fried chicken or veggie lasagna. Chris, Theo, and I opted for fried chicken and various side dishes--yum!) After dinner, we all went out to a common grassy area, and Theo had a lot of fun racing around the lawn and chasing after the birdie Uncle David would hit with a badminton racket.  

Our hotel in Lexington is part of an old plantation--the main building is on the National Historic Register and dates back to 1827, I believe. And even the newer annex, where our room was located, is very quaint and full of character--somewhat surprising for a Hampton Inn!

Friday morning we headed out to Natural Bridge with Aunt Sally and Uncle David. It's a natural rock formation (a bridge, obviously!) that George Washington surveyed, and his initials are carved in the rock--supposedly by him. But aside from that, it's just a beautiful park to visit. The bridge is spectacular, but there's also a trail that goes to a re-creation of an Indian village and later to a waterfall...with lots of plants and trees along the way. Theo was a little on the crabby side on Friday morning, but despite getting many timeouts, he did enjoy running along the trail, looking at plants and flowers with Aunt Sally and Uncle David, and exploring the Indian village. Perhaps not surprisingly, his favorite part of the Indian village was the fire, which he wanted to climb over the guard rope and see. (Obviously, that was NOT an option--and he wasn't pleased!)

My favorite part of the excursion was seeing the goats! Apparently three goats recently escaped from a nearby farm and decided to make Natural Bridge their home. As we were walking back down the trail to catch the bus back to the parking lot, the goats suddenly appeared on some steps, and we got to see them close up! My favorite was the baby one--so cute!

After Natural Bridge, we ate lunch at the Pink Cadillac--a '50s-style diner--and then made a quick stop at an Asian pear farm. We then dropped my aunt and uncle off at their car and continued to drive so crabby, overtired Theo could get a nap. He slept for two much-needed hours, during which time Chris and I enjoyed a gorgeous drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Spectacular views of this part of the Shenandoah Valley!

We returned to Sally and David's house for dinner on the patio with a much happier little boy. Theo had a great time exploring their garden and the grassy slope behind their house, bringing many rotted walnuts to Uncle David as a present. He also took me on a long excursion to try to find Trick-or-Treat Tower--a site visited by Mickey and friends in one of his favorite Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes. I was rather enchanted that all on his own, he came up with the idea that we should go find Trick-or-Treat Tower, so I followed him as he wound his way around this side of the complex to the community center. In total, I think we spent about three hours outside, enjoying the lovely weather, the good company, and a yummy dinner of bean salad, hummus, and Mrs. Fields cookies!

As an aside, our jaunt to find Trick-or-Treat Tower reminded me that although there is the argument that television isn't good for children, I personally think that TV in moderation isn't a bad thing. Obviously the Mickey episode made an impression on Theo, so that later on he used his imagine to design a "quest" or sorts to go find the Tower on his own. Hey, if it inspires his imagination, I think that's kinda cool!