Relaxing at the River

We always love spending time on the New River, so we were excited to combine our Tweetsie Railroad Daycation with a weekend at the river! The New River goes right through my hometown, and Brian's family has a camping spot further down the river (actually, I guess I should say up the river because, unlike most rivers, this river flows northward rather than southward). Another fun fact: the New River is the oldest river in North America and second only to the Nile as the oldest river in the world!

I don't think you have to be a history nerd like me to agree that the New River is beautiful!

Brian's grandparents joined us for breakfast on Sunday. As we enjoyed the morning air on the deck, I asked them questions about their childhoods and the early years of their marriage (they were married in July 1948--63 years ago!). All my grandparents have been gone for over six years now, and unfortunately, I realized too late how important--and interesting!--it is to collect oral (and written) history before they are gone. I'm hoping to be better with the three great-grandparents our children have left.

Of course, we think their four grandparents are great too! (We saw my parents a few weeks later.)

The kids didn't care that the creek was muddy and cold! What kid doesn't love playing in a creek?!


Following along behind Daddy. This is pretty typical because they LOVE their Daddy!

Zack does this hilarious thing where he looks at you completely serious--often getting right in your face--and starts babbling and talking like he's telling you something important, but you can't understand a word of it! (Overall, he's talking a lot more, but not sentences yet!)

Breeley entertained us by announcing, "Ladies and gentleman, introducing... Breeley Hudson!" and then singing for us into the microphone. She loved her Tweetsie souvenir hat and in one hilarious moment, she let it fall to her back, then dropped to all fours and announced, "I'm a turtle!" while grinning and bouncing. I almost fell out of my chair laughing!

Side note: We went home with a carload of hand-me-down toys and clothes from Lindsay (including the microphone pictured above)! We also scored a ride-on that made construction noises and a jogging stroller! I love hand-me-downs! Thanks, Lindsay! 

I also love the New River. It's so pretty in these pictures. And you SC folks, check out that effortless green grass!

Daycation Part 2 - Tweetsie Railroad

For our second daycation, we headed to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC. Brian had gone there as a kid and I had visited "Ghost Town in the Sky," which is similar, and we knew it was a fun family place. It has a fun railroad/cowboys/Western theme, and there's plenty to do for all ages. Also, it's 1.5 hours from Brian's parents' camper on the New River, so we could add some river fun and grandparents to our mini vacation.

We started out in the hoosegow ("jail" to city-folk)

then did a little dress-up with Zack at the Country Store.

Breeley was really excited to spot the train! It's a coal-powered steam engine and there's a little train robbers and Indians action along the 15-minute route.

Best picture of me all day.

Breeley's first solo ride and she LOVED it.

Zack got to ride this one and ring the bell. He looked like such a big boy riding all by himself.

The Deer Park (petting zoo) had pygmy goats, emus, European fallow deer, llamas, Nubian goats, burros, and pot-bellied pigs. Pappy bought some ice cream cones filled with feed for the deer and goats. Not surprisingly, Breeley was hesitant at first but warmed up quickly after Zack jumped right in.

The animals' tongues tickled and Zack giggled every time.

I was surprised how attentive both kids were during the shows, including a magic show and this musical show about Hopper the Rabbit and Porter the Turtle. Breeley even joined the "train" of children going around the audience.

Joy had a special part in the Can-Can show. They must have known it was her 29th birthday!

Zack and some ladies.

Breeley loved dancing along with the cloggers. I always wanted to do clogging so I'm hoping she wants to take a class at some point. (She's doing tap and ballet in her dance class this year.)

Chair lift to Miner's Mountain

Grandparents are awesome all the time, but especially on family outings! It is so helpful to have four more hands, eyes, etc.! It was also great because Doug, Brian, and I got to ride the Drop Zone (twice!) while Joy sat with the kids.

Ever since the NRV Fair Puking Episode, Brian has refused to go on any "round and round" rides. However, I love them and now I've found my ride partner! There were a few moments when I thought Breeley may get scared, but she grinned and laughed during the whole ride!

We enjoyed other rides too--the carousel, mini train, planes and helicopters, the ferris wheel, mini cars--there's plenty for little kids and adults!

Grandparents are also good for getting these adorable souvenir hats! I couldn't get a great picture of both of them, but Breeley looked very comfortable up on the horse.

Breeley watching the train on its final pull into the station.

Once again, the kids did awesome and we were shocked to be there almost until the 6:00 closing time. Then they were asleep within minutes of getting in the car.

This was a perfect day trip--plenty to do but not so much that you're overwhelmed and feel like you're missing something. It's small enough that there aren't long lines and crowds. I love the country/western theme. (The featured visiting entertainment was Riders in the Sky, a Grammy-winning quartet that sang old country, bluegrass, and even yodeled! I'm pretty sure the kids would have preferred Barney, who was there a few weeks earlier, but I could have listened to the cowboy group all day!) There was something fun for everyone, and the weather was even perfect. It was a great day!

Daycation Part 1 - Charleston

Next to commenting on the HOT weather, during the summer the main small-talk question people ask is, "Where are you going on vacation?" The thought of going on a week-long vacation with two small kids is enough to make me break out in a sweat! (Okay, fine, so pretty much everything in the SC heat and humidity makes me break into a sweat, but you get my drift!) All my childless friends on Facebook seem to indicate that vacation is supposed to be relaxing, but vacationing with two small children--away from our childproof home and DVR filled with Bubble Guppies and Elmo, not to mention the planning and packing for a week's worth of food, clothes, and other supplies, and being out of our normal routine for more than 24 hours--seems like work somewhere else!! (I admit it is fun once you get there, but the thought of it is still exhausting.)

Fortunately, this year's vacation plans were made for me by Brian's involvement in the BASS Weekend Series. He qualified for the regional tournament in October, which will require at least three days off work, and if he makes it to the national tournament in November, he'll need a whole week. So, this year, I was happy to forego a week of working somewhere else and we took a few "daycations" to some fun spots.

First stop: Charleston, SC. We've been wanting to take the kids to Charleston to go to Whirlin' Waters Adventure Waterpark. Thanks to my good friend Elizabeth and her husband Geoff, who graciously offered to keep Reesey, we were able to spend the night so we could also enjoy historic downtown.

We went to the famous Hyman's, which is probably the most "touristy" restaurant in Charleston, and one that has been visited by a ton of celebrities. Unfortunately, even though American Idol auditions were going on right down the road the same weekend, we didn't spot any celebrities, although we did sit at the same table where Barbra Streisand sat when she visited. Unlike Barbra, we had to wait to be seated, which is never fun with small kids, but they were pretty good, especially considering that it was miserably hot.



It was worth the wait because it was SO DELICIOUS!! We started with fried green tomatoes as an appetizer, one of my favorites! Brian got a seafood meal with sauteed scallops, shrimp, and mahi mahi, and I got the Carolina Delight, two grit cakes topped with crab cakes then covered with creamy alfredo sauce. It was so good!! We are still talking about that meal!!

To top it off, the restaurant gave us coupons for free ice cream for the kids.

After dinner, we walked through the Market and then drove around looking at the historic houses and Battery Park. I love Charleston's southern charm and history.

The next morning, we headed to the waterpark for the 10:00 opening. We weren't sure how long we'd have before exhaustion-driven meltdowns set in, so we wanted to get there as early as possible. Surprising, thanks to a short nap for Zack, the kids lasted until 4:00!!

The waterpark was awesome and we had a blast! It was perfect for the kids. The large kiddie pool and toddler play area included a six-lane racer slide and tube slide. True to form, Breeley got off to a slow start, at first going down on our laps, but soon she was doing it all by herself and even went by herself on a much larger slide in a different area. (She actually didn't even meet the height requirement for that one, but she was able to do it until the lifeguards switched shifts and the second one wouldn't let her go.)

Don't let the above picture fool you. Zack totally went down by himself and, unlike Breeley, did not need to warm up first!

We put Zack in the stroller to go get lunch, and he was asleep before we even ordered. His 30-minute nap was a recharge for a few more hours of fun and sun.

Besides the kiddie pool and slides and toddler play area where we spent most our time, there was also a huge wave pool, a lazy river, 3 big twister tube slides, racer slides for big people, and a huge "treehouse" with lots of elements that spray water, several twister slides (one of which Breeley went down several times by herself), and a giant bucket that dumps 1,000 gallons of water. Breeley surprisingly really liked the wave pool but not the lazy river. Zack went with the flow on everything, but both kids liked the kiddie area and slides the best. Since it was difficult to have both kids alone with one parent, Brian and I only got to do the "adult" stuff one time each, but that was fine because it's really not much fun to stand alone in line. (Hint: take grandparents! :) )

Brian coming off the racer slide, in all his Baywatch glory:

Things we learned from Daycation Part 1

1. The last carriage tour leaves at 4:15. If you're only going to be there for one night after 5:00, don't bother getting a hotel that comes with a free carriage voucher, because then you just get your hopes up and are even more upset when you don't get to use it. Emailing the carriage company requesting they put tour times on their website and/or return phone calls only makes you feel a little better.

2. After paying at a restaurant, if your spouse asks if you have your credit card, make sure to mentally picture yourself putting it back in your wallet, or actually check your wallet, to avoid panic mode when it's not in your wallet later.

3. (Follow-up to #2) When you realize you don't have your credit card, don't panic until after you've searched in other places it could be, including the restaurant where you just ate, where a very nice and honest waitress may just say, "I'm so glad you came back!" as soon as she sees you. Feel thankful for good people in the world!

4. There are lifeguards who walk around at waterparks whose main job is spotting lost children. They are amazingly good at their jobs, thank goodness.

5. If you want to go down any of the 48" or higher slides, do it early in the day rather than leaving the kids alone with one parent when the kids are on the verge of meltdown mode. 

6. If it's a good idea to put sunscreen in your kids' hair/scalp (which it is), it is most likely a good idea for parents too. Same with reapplying sunscreen every 30 minutes.

7. Zack will charge right into the side of the pool (2 ft) with no fear, making it difficult to be alone with both kids.

8. Don't expect to take many pictures. A) It is a WATER park, and B) it's not a great idea to be flashing around your valuables when your stuff is left unattended most of the time. (Yes, you can get a locker, but that won't help you take any more pictures.)

9. It is indeed possible for Breeley to have to go to the bathroom five minutes after you just got back from taking her.

10. Wear shoes on hot concrete! However, if you happen to have a (waterproof) video camera handy, you would surely go viral on youtube by capturing someone doing the "hot concrete dance" with kids on each hip!  

We had SO much fun on our mini vacation! I definitely recommend Charleston and Whirlin Waters for a fun weekend trip! It didn't even feel like work somewhere else!