Virginia, Part 2

The remainder of our trip was hot, humid, and full of bugs. It was also full of fun and family. We spent the entire week at Westmoreland State Park, near Colonial Town, VA, on the Potomac River. The Schelke Family Reunion is held every three years and we always choose a different state to visit. The reunion is comprised of the three Schelke sisters, Ann, Jane, and Katy, and their families.

Mom and I were able to escape and go on a kayak trip on the Potomac River on Sunday morning. We saw about 6-7 bald eagles, one of them was a baby. We also saw Osprey, and other incredible birds. They were stunning! We kayaked over to fossil beach, where sediment from 15+ million years ago lands as it washes off the cliffs. We searched for sharks teeth and other fossils. I didn't risk bringing my camera on this adventure. My mom has been known to capsize boats of all shapes and sizes ;)


Our accommodations were decent for the week. We stayed in a 2 bedroom, cinder-block cabin with air conditioning (THANK GOD!). The girls slept in the same room as Jon and I each in their own spaces. We borrowed a pack-n-play from Aunt Jackie, and I brought a little bed for Lilly. It was the perfect little portable drawer, essentially. It folded up and zipped together to about the size of a small briefcase. It was perfect for traveling with an infant.

On Monday, my Dad went fishing with several of the family members. They caught dinner for that night. Mom and I stayed back with the girls and had a mellow day.

Photo credit: http://crabbescharterfishing.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/happy-family-reunion-july-25/

We did go swimming several times throughout the week. The park had an Olympic size pool with a big slide and diving boards. Grandma bought C her first set of water wings. (Awesome invention!) The slide was one-story tall tube slide with a loop-de-loop in it. My mom got a pic of the whole pool and you can only see part of the slide. We forgot to get a photo of the actual slide, so you'll have to trust me on this. Anyway, Cecilia LOVED the slide she did it by herself over and over and over again. I would walk her up the stairs, lay her on her back and PUSH her down the slide. If I didn't push her, she would get stuck and have to scootch her self down to the bottom where Pops was there to catch her. She also learned how to jump into the pool off the side. She was so cute, and totally unafraid of anything.
Jon arrived at the cabin at about 4AM on Tuesday morning. I was so happy to see him. He was tired from all of the traveling, but glad to be at his destination with his girls. On Tuesday, Jon my Dad, and Cecilia walked down to Fossil Beach to see if they could find a sharks tooth. Mom, Lilly and I, headed into Fredericksburg for the Ladies Lunch. It was delicious food, and a cute little town to do some window shopping in. I even found dairy-free chocolate!

Wednesday was so much fun! I had been looking forward to this day in particular for several weeks now. We visited the Westmoreland Berry Farm! It was a blast picking fresh blackberries in their orchards. Cecilia learned quickly that the blackberries were easy to pick and easy to eat. Her picking strategy was simple: eat more berries, so I don't have to carry as many. I think she was thinking, "...two for me, one in the bucket. Three for me, one in the bucket...". YUM! The black berry orchard was beautiful and full of color. It was so lush, and it was very peaceful in the middle of a row of blackberry vines. Lilly liked it too- she napped the entire time. They had goats on the farm too. The goats were quite the attraction! They had this plank walkway that went up and over the road to a landing where you could pay to use a pulley and bring food up to the goats. It was pretty neat.
On Thursday, Jon, Lilly, and I went to two different winery's nearby with a bunch of the family. My cousin Leslie watched C for us- THANKS LESLIE!!! We visited Ingleside and Oak Crest. Jon enjoyed a full tasting at each place, and I sipped off of his. We bought more wine than we've ever bought before at one time, but it was well worth it. I'm looking forward to enjoying a glass here and there after Lilly goes to bed.
My parents went to Colonial Beach on Thursday afternoon, and upon their return they brought Cecilia her first pet for her birthday. River, the hermit crab has now joined our family. I am doing my best to keep him/her alive. Cecilia was not to sure about her new pet, but she did think that he needed some milk.Friday was history day! The George Washington Birthplace and Stratford hall were within 10 minutes of the park. We visited the GW birthplace first. The grounds were beautiful, and it was very peaceful. The home that GW was born in burned to the ground on Christmas Day 1779. The foundation of the original house was found in the 1930's and can be found on the grounds. It was a little disappointing because in an effort to memorialize the place, a Memorial House was built in the 1930's. It is much grander than anything GW was born in. In my opinion, if they were to build anything, they should have built something close to what he was born in to show where he came from. The Memorial House did contain artifacts that were from GW's original home, like a table and a wine bottle. There were other original buildings that were set with period pieces like a kitchen building, and a blacksmith.

We also visited Stratford Hall- the birthplace of Robert E. Lee. For those of you that need a history lesson (like I did), Robert E. Lee is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia (that's the south side) in the American Civil War. The Estate is huge and beautiful! The grounds of the estate were beautifully manicured. Gardens, large lawns, and three magnificent magnolia trees on the west side of the house. The trees were planted in 1945, and I have never seen anything like them. (They reminded me of a certain blogger- you know who you are- I said a little prayer for you when I was amongst them).Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos inside the main house. The main house was over 10,000 square feet with 18 rooms and 16 fireplaces. Each room was decorated and set as though the Lee family was still living there. We could only go a few feet into each room before being barricaded by a gate. The room that was Robert's nursery was set up so perfectly. Cecilia thought that his room was just her size. We had all turned our head for a few seconds, and the next thing we knew, she was having tea with Robert! She had snuck through the gate and was sitting down at the little table with a beautiful (and I'm sure expensive) tea set. It was a moment of panic for all of us. My Dad and Jon wrestled with the gate to remove it so we could catch her before anything was broken, or slobbered on. She was awfully cute though. And she had no idea that she had done anything wrong. She was having tea with Robert. I found a photo of the room on this website. You can see the little table I'm referring too at the bottom of the image.
Friday night was our last night with the family. We had crab and shrimp brought in from a local eatery. YUM YUM! Being in a land locked state, we have to take advantage of these things when we can. It was also C's 2nd birthday on Friday. I baked cupcakes to share with everyone, and we sang to her (twice).The travel home day was successful- although long. It was one of those day's where I wished I could snap my fingers and we could be home. Cecilia was admittedly a little more unruly on the flights, but overall she still did well. She fought her nap the entire first flight, until the wheels hit the ground in Dallas. She was out! Fortunately, we didn't have to change planes. I was able to stay put with her and she got about an hour nap before we had to move her again. It was so good to be home, where its hot, but not humid :)