Back
We are back and I’m doing mountains of laundry and trying to put the house together after having dh here on his own for almost 2 weeks (a nightmare, believe me). I think I’ll probably have to spend a good part of the next month getting caught up; as if one EVER does. We ran into some heavy rain from Faye (?) on the way home.
The trip was fantastic; no fights or even little tiffs with my daughter. We got along great and made some wonderful memories. The dog proved to be a super camper (of course SHE was the only one who had her bed along). First night we stayed in Falling Waters, WVa.; lovely little campground. Camped right on the bank of a stream (I kept having visions of a flash flood); only drawback was that I could hear some of the trucks from the highway. This was where I learned that tall tree stumps look just like bears in the middle of the night when you have to crawl out to pee. I also learned NOT to drink after 5 pm and avoided this problem the rest of the trip.
The next evening we arrived at Knoebels and set up camp there and spent a lot of time in the park. We used it as our base to visit relatives and friends (most of whom thought we were crazy not to accept the invitations to stay at their homes) and had some visit us at the campground. One day I took A. to see where my father grew up; a small town called Glen Lyon. It was very sad for me; my grandparents home is in terrible shape—really hard to see it that way. I visited my parents graves; weeded and watered the geraniums. We went for drives, saw Amish people and hex signs on barns and went to World’s End State Park. We had some chilly nights where it got down in the 40’s. We had a campfire, toasted marshmallows, etc. I swear we were the only 2-person tent anywhere; everybody either had RV’s (thought about you, Patty!!!) or huge tents with multiple rooms that sleep about 9. Since all we were doing was sleeping in it, the tent was fine for us. Only one morning of rain and the tent did leak a bit—–well, my dh did buy it back in the 1970’s overseas and it’s just been stored in the garage. Anyway, no problems sleeping; in fact, one night, I slept over 10 hours—got to be some kind of record.
On the second day of the trip back, in the rain, we stopped at a horse show in Warrenton for A. Betsy was terrified of the horses.
My butterflies (black swallowtails) emerged today within hours of each other and I set them free, so glad I got here in time to see them do it. I have one left of the three in the house and it’s still in cat stage. I set up a cat observatory for my neighbor tonight; she’s got a couple fat ones that she’s been protecting in her yard and wanted to see the whole process w/o having to run into her yard to check on them 50 times a day.
Good to be back, chickadees!!!! Have not been NEAR a scale; don’t even want to talk about it. Will get caught up on blogs over the next few days! Hope everyone is doing well.
August 30th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
So happy that you are back Ms.Soclose with so many wonderful memories that you made with your daughter and pup! Believe me, she will remember these times and it will warm her heart into her old age.
I had to laugh about the stumps lookin’ like bears line - shit - what a great idea about not drinkin’ after 5pm. I used to be terrified to piss when it was pitch dark!
Even happier about your beautiful butterflies
Welcome back ms. soclose - we’ve missed you and are so happy to have you back!
xoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxooxoxox
August 31st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Sounds like a fantastic trip! But isn’t it amazing how long it takes to get caught up from being gone?
September 1st, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Welcome back! The bears didn’t keep me from peeing at night, it was the thought of poison ivy brushing my privates!
What a wonderful experience with A. I’m so glad everything went well. Yes, it’s sad to go back to the old places. Went to see my grandmother’s old house one time and found it had been replaced with a subdivision. That one really hurt.
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
SoClose, what you describe is an idyllic holiday, at least in my book. The fact that you were alone with your dd, and had a 2 man tent and everything was pared down, it sounds like, and simple and beautiful. You have my envy, for sure.
I bet you didn’t gain much weight, if any at all.
I’m sad in a kindred way for seeing your grandparent’s home looking less than you remember it. Reminds us of our own temporary state on this earth.
Wonderful about the butterflies. If you take any photos, the one person I think who would appreciate them the most would be feathers (well we all would, but she has such an interesting in wild things and growing things).
Love,
RubyJean
September 4th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
sounds like you had a great time!! glad you are back.
September 4th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Sigh. It’s always the way, isn’t it? You get back from a holiday and the first place you go to is the laundry. I did love the sound of your camping trip, though. Looking forward to doing some of that myself in the near (and thinner) future.
And RubyJean is completely right about me and photos. I think she may have read my mind because I was reading your blog and thinking how very much I would like to see photos of your garden and your butterflies.
September 4th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
OMG…how can you camp without having a beer or two by the campfire? & after a beer or two, the bear-stumps are much friendlier looking, which is good cause the bathroom breaks become more frequent then as well.
Welcome back! I’m glad you and A. had such a nice time even if you were welcomed home by piles of laundry…I’m resisting the urge just now to go on a diatribe about husbands and laundry cause it all sounds so very cliche in my head…but geez!
September 5th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Lions and tigers and tree stumps ~ oh my!
Welcome back to the land of running water and potties!
September 9th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Wow! I am so glad that you are back! What a wonderful trip! I hate having to get up and stumble out to pee while camping!!! LOL that the tree stumps look like bears. Glad it wasn’t a real one! They are scary!
No, it was Winchester Ky. Only a few hours from WVA though. I know what you mean about the RV’s they are everywhere! When we went camping we were surrounded by them. How is TV, air conditioning, and gas stoves camping????
Our tent sleeps 7, but it is only 1 room. However, we have 4 kids so we have to have one that big!
September 9th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Glad to see you had a good and relaxing trip. AND nice that you were home in time for the birth of the butterflies.
Cheers
Shari
September 9th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Welcome back! I totally can relate to the mountains of laundry after a trip (then there’s the frantic laundry BEFORE a trip, too!).
My idea of camping involves air-conditioning and a microwave.
=D
September 9th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Thank you Ms. Soclose - you are absolutely right and I appreciate your input. After all you raised beautiful and SMART A who will undoubtedly bring so much good to the world!
Time to get back to the blog Ms. Soclose - you’ve been gone for too long!
xo
September 10th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Haven’t you finished that laundry yet?