Roanoke Gargoyles

When visiting other cities, I always like to track down gargoyles on older buildings.  But Roanoke has a couple of gargoyles, too, standing on either side of the street.  Some people would call these grotesques, because they aren't on a building a do not have spouts.  But most of the folks around Roanoke speak of them as the gargoyles.

 They are kind of off the beaten track.  You really have to want to see these gargoyles to find them. 

I suppose they were meant to keep evil out of the neighborhoods.  A lady that lives nearby tends to them if they get any damage.  I'm glad they are still standing - they have so much character. 

Beating the Heat with a Waterfall and a Mine

I've blogged about hiking to the Cascades before, but it was about 7 years ago.  We were overdue for a visit.  It's always much cooler there.  We left at around 6:30 in the morning to get an early start. 

 It can get crowded at the Cascades, but we timed it right and there weren't many people around.  It's a two mile hike to get to the falls.

 I have never been there when the water was warm.  Even though temps all week had been in the mid 90s, you can see from Cort's face that the water was shockingly cold.

 The falls are higher than they look in the pictures.  This one of Cort at the base gives you a better idea of their height. 

I fell on some wet rock steps on the hike back and busted my elbow.  While I tried to clean it up with a first aid kit, the boys discovered butterflies all over.  Here, Reid had two that landed on his hands. 

Aside from the crash down the steps, it was a fun hike.  Afterwards, we took a massive detour to go to the Beckley Coal Mine Expedition.  I had fond memories of a visit there with my cousins when I was a kid.  Here are the boys getting ready to ride down into the mine.

I think the boys were impressed by the history on our tour.  They asked a lot of questions.  It was a full day, but one we all enjoyed. 

My Kids Didn't Know About Tubing

We decided to take the boys tubing for father's day.  Paul and I hadn't been since the mid 90s, so we were pretty excited for a relaxing day on the Pigg River.  We were alarmed to discover that morning that our kids didn't even know what tubing was!  We had to explain to them about the intertubes they would float on and the river.

The water was a little chilly initially, but it was a warm day so it felt refreshing.  We had a short hike to the spot where we put in.

All smiles and ready to go!  The water was flowing gently.  There were one or two spots you had to walk a few steps, but overall it was perfect.  We saw frogs, a turtle, and three snakes.

It took about 90 minutes total to float the whole stretch.  Here we are at the end. 

It was a really fun experience, and the boys are all begging to return.  Turns out they are big fans of tubing!

In Search of the Geocache

When we find ourselves with a free day, we enjoying hunting for geocaches.  You use a GPS to find hidden containers which house trinkets the boys like to trade.  You can find them in the woods and in the city - they are all over! We prefer hunting down the ones in the woods.

Somehow, when you're out in the woods looking for treasure, time just flies by.  We've easily lost track of several hours at a time.  But we end up finding hidden pieces of the forest we would never see otherwise.

Below?  This is actually a geocache.  It quite alarmed Paul when he found this rat hidden amongst the rocks.  The belly of him was hollowed out, and inside was a teeny tiny geocache.  Just big enough to sign your name on a slip of paper to mark that you'd found him.  Of course the rat is now a favorite of ours.

A long lost ruin, deep in the woods in the mountains.  This used to be part of a radio tower I think.

The mysterious car that is on the side of a mountain just off the hiking trail.  No road nearby.  Who knows how it wound up there.

Painted rocks seem to be all the rage right now, and we found our first on top of a trail sign.  It's a little Yoshi.  We rehid it. 

An interesting caterpillar.  Look at those colors!  I was fearful to touch him with all those spikes. 

Sorting through the trinkets, looking for things to trade.  This cache was under the faux rock formation to the left. 

What a fun time we had!  And there are many more geocaches out there to find.  Readers, have you ever looked for a geocache?

Kayaking Down the James River

This summer when the boys were at camp for a week, Paul and I did a kayaking trip down the James River one day.  Paul dropped me and the kayak off around Horseshoe Bend in Buchanan, then drove to Twin River Outfitters, where they gave him a ride back.

The trip covered what you see on the map, plus some, for about nine total miles of paddling.  Most of the rapids were class 1, but there were some class 2 rapids about 15 minutes in.  Luckily, the guy at Twin River told us to take the rapids all the way to the left.  We did so and were fine (the people just after us ended up capsizing when they didn't move far enough to the left to go over the ledge). 

 

 

It was a beautiful day for kayaking.  We saw lots of fish in the river and birds.  Often, the railroad tracks ran right by the river.

 

Paul and I would much rather go do some outdoor adventure than go out to eat or to the movies.  We've always loved to be out in nature.

I had strained a shoulder the day before the trip doing some major garden weeding, and I was worried about how it would hold up.  But it performed fine.  I did lots of stretching throughout to keep it loose. 

At our final destination, you could see a swinging bridge.  This bridge has been there for many years.  Paul and I decided to walk over to check it out once we got the gear loaded up.

 It's a little creepy.  I cannot imagine people riding horses over this thing.  It really did swing when we were crossing it.  But I guess back in the day people did ride horses and mules across, and paid a 5 cent toll to do so.  The original was built pre-Civil War, and burned by the Confederates in an attempt to prevent the Federal troops from crossing.  So it's been rebuilt a couple of times (there was also a flood that washed it out at one point).

 

It was interesting to cross.  I can't imagine I would ever convince my horse Francie to do so though! 

 

It was nice to get a day to get out without the boys.  We missed them tons, but we sure had fun without them for a few days.   





Bluegrass and Brews

Last month we decided to take the boys to hear a friend's band play bluegrass music at a local brewery.  I had been to a flea market the day before and found a bunch of inexpensive games, so I brought them along to keep the boys busy.  I figured the more busy they were, the longer we would get to stay.

 One of the things I picked up at the flea market (for $1.50) was this stacking cups set.  It came with a mat and timer, as well as a dvd to show the sequence.  I spent the next three days refereeing fights between the three boys, who all wanted to use it at the same time.  They time themselves and started a wipe erase board with their personal records.  At the brewery, every kid in the place gravitated over to check out the stacking cups.  The boys were good about sharing with the other kids, and teaching them how to do the stacking sequence.

We also brought Blockus and Qbitz.  both of these are thinking games.  The boys were really content to do these activities and listen to bluegrass.  It was a successful evening, and I know next time I'll be bringing our bag of games! 

Readers, do you have a favorite board game?

How Green Valley Book Fair

The boys had a teacher workday recently and we decided to meet my mom and head north for the day to the Green Valley book fair, near Harrisonburg.  I've blogged before about this amazing warehouse sale of discounted books.  It's a happy place for sure.

We all found books we loved.  I got several animal memoirs - heartwarming stories about animals who changed their owners' lives for the better in some way.

Then we headed to Wright's Dairy-Rite.  Pierce has been begging to return there since we went a couple of years ago.  This little diner has been an institution in Staunton for many years.

Pierce loves it because he gets to phone in our orders from a phone right at the booth.  He also likes the jukebox.

I like it because they have chocolate soft serve cones that are dipped in peanut butter shell.  That's right, chocolate and peanut butter.  My favorite combination!  And they are as delicious as you might imagine. 

It was a fun day, and a good way to see out the dreary winter months. 

Winter Break Fun

We had a fun break over Christmas.  I didn't have to teach any classes and the boys were out of school for several weeks.  Here are a few things we did.

Cort asked for a cotton candy machine for Christmas, which my parents got him.  The blue raspberry turned his lips and tongue blue.

We went to the Martinsville science museum one day.  Pierce's preschool teacher, who has kept in touch with us over the years, came along.  We had an excellent time.  Below is Reid threading whale bones.  The highlight of the trip was when Mrs. Mack and I were chatting in the gift shop and heard Pierce behind us saying, "I'm feeling romantic!".  We both stopped and looked at each other in surprise, and then turned around to look at Pierce (who is a very concrete thinker and definitely doesn't go around talking about his emotions).  Turns out he had a mood ring on and was reading the color chart to see what his mood was.  Mrs. Mack and I laughed and laughed over that.

One day we went roller skating.  The boys had so much fun that we have decided to go roller skating a lot more often.  It really clicked for Reid and Cort this time, and they found themselves skating more confidently by the end. 

I have another winter break post coming up soon.  Readers, did you do anything fun over the holidays?

Texas Tavern

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Deschutes Street Pub festival in downtown Roanoke (Paul won VIP tickets).  I didn't take a single picture except for this one, on the walk to the festival.

I snapped it with my cell phone, as Reid was wearing his Texas Tavern shirt that day.  This little restaurant has been around a long time!  Paul works a block from there, so he eats lunch there once in a while.  Makes for a cheap meal.

The Jubal Early Homeplace

The Jubal Early homeplace isn't far from us, but it's only open on Sundays from 1-5 so we've never had occasion to stop.  The other weekend we were driving by at just the right time, and in no rush, so we decided to check it out. Built in 1814, it is one of the oldest Federal style houses in the region, and I have always been a sucker for exploring old houses.  The right half is original (and it was done in the Federal style - only one room upstairs and one room downstairs initially).  The left section was added about 30 years later and was done in Greek Revival style.

Jubal Early was a lawyer and Confederate general in the Civil War.  He was a bit of a scoundrel; well known for his foul language and shenanigans.  The boys were enthralled by a story during our tour of how he once hid in a space behind the kitchen chimney (behind the house, so you cannot see it in this picture) to avoid arrest. 

We were the only folks there on the day we went, so we got a private tour.  I especially loved seeing the pictures of the house when the caretakers original bought it back in 1996 - it was a crumbled disaster.  They really have done a remarkable restoration of it.  They were able to retain the original flooring, as well as mantles and fireplaces.

You might not think touring an historic home would be fun for kids, but the boys were legitimately interested and asked a lot of questions.  It was a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon, and we learned some new facts about history along the way. 

The Perfect Peach

When I was a kid we used to drive up on the Blue Ridge parkway to a little picnic spot with my grandparents.  On the drive home, we'd often stop at the Bent Mountain farm stand.  They've been there since 1981.  They always had the best peaches.  The type bursting with flavor and juice.

We aren't over that direction very often, but a couple of weeks ago we were driving by it.  I stopped.  They had peaches.  Perfect peaches.

It's so perfect it doesn't even look real.  Peaches are my favorite fruit, and I was giddy when I smelled this one.  The fuzz was so fine you could barely even see it.  And they flavor?  Just as perfect as the appearance!

Readers, what is your favorite fruit?

SciWorks in Winston Salem

Earlier this month, Cort and I drove down to Winston Salem for an appointment with a specialist for his psoriasis.  He is better now, thanks to the food intolerance study, but we since we had waited so long for this appointment we thought we'd go ahead and get established with the practice in case he has a relapse sometime in the future.

After his appointment and a trip by Trader Joes (since alas, we STILL don't have one locally), we decided to have some fun and went to a museum called SciWorks.  When we first pulled up I thought maybe they were closed, as there was no sign of life in the parking lot and only a couple of cars.  Lucky for us, they were open, and we had the place to ourselves!  What a treat.

 It was a large, rambling place and we had so much fun.  Cort's favorite thing was the large piano.  I admit I was on there too.  We also enjoyed a show in the Planetarium.

 A giant mouth.  They had some neat dental tools where you could drill and squirt the air and floss oversized teeth.

 My favorite thing was the scooter race track.  Cort and I had races around the track.  No one else was there, so I didn't mind acting six years old with Cort.

 This thing used a vacuum type device to shoot you up in the air.  Cort and I both did this twice.

 They had outside facilities too with animals and nature trails.  Here Cort pushes one of those water balls.

Experiencing bat ears.  Can you hear me now?  I don't think Cort missed school one single bit on this Tuesday.

Cort and I both think we need to head back down sometime, only next time we'll bring the whole family! 

Over the Creek

When we went to get our Christmas tree, the boys had a blast running between the rows of trees and playing hide and seek. 

And then?  Then they found the rope swing.

Was everyone warm, dry, and clean on the way home?  What do you think?

Next year we'll be bringing a change of clothes for the Christmas tree excursion.  And maybe some tall mud boots too.

Who Cut One?

We have a friend that grows white pines to sell for Christmas trees, and we decided to buy our tree from him this year.

 I took these pictures with my cell phone, so they aren't the best pictures ever.  Still, you can see our friend has a great place.  The boys had SO much fun playing hide and seek through the rows of pine trees.

Here, Reid uses a measuring stick to hunt for the best tree.  The other two were busy trying to jump over a creek. 

Two of our three boys came home with wet pants from dips in the creek.  In December.  It just seems like with three boys you are always bringing home at least one of them covered in water and mud.

Readers, do you cut your own Christmas tree?

Family Bingo Night

The long anticipated biannual family bingo night returned last month.  The boys so love to play bingo. 

Alas, we struck out again.  We didn't win the yard of Snickers bars or the marshmallow shooter.  The aquarium starter kit didn't go home with us.  The boys watched in frustration as these fabulous prizes went to other hands.

Next time they want more cards!  We can handle five cards a piece, they say!  I don't know about that.  I pay for one card a piece ($1.00 for the card, which can be reused all evening).  But if they want to dig up some change and buy extra cards, they can have at it.  They still might not beat out all those competitive lovely silver-haired ladies though!  Bring it, February bingo night!

That Time I Maced My Husband

As we do every year, we went to GoFest in mid October.  Here are some highlights from this year.

1.  This year, Pierce scampered straight to the top of the climbing wall, and rang the bell.

2.  Cort and Reid weren't interested in the climbing wall this time.  They did, however, do bike races and an alligator log rolling bouncy thing.

3.  Food trucks are crazy expensive.  You would assume food trucks would be kind of cheap, you know?  Not the case.  A grilled cheese cost me $8.  With no drink, no side, no chips, no condiments, no lettuce, no tomato.  Nothing extra.  Next year we're definitely eating at home.

4.  The guy at the Backpacker Magazine booth had 'practice mace'.  Looks like mace but it sprays water, so you can practice.  I laughed and declined taking one.  But he insisted I should have one for practice.  So I took one to be nice.  Later that night?  Yes, you can bet I practiced.  On Paul.  His face registered shock, then comprehension, as he realized it didn't hurt.  Then he laughed and laughed.  He said he knew I'd never really mace him.  Lucky me that he has a sense of humor, right?!

5.  Paul did a gear race that he does every year, and placed second.  He won a kayak!  Can't wait to try it out in the near future.  I have never been kayaking - just canoeing.

Readers, have you ever won anything big?

Hope everyone has a fun, safe, and mace-free Halloween tomorrow!

Linked today with Willy Nilly Friday. 

The Pumpkin Patch

Recently Paul's parents came to visit, and they treated us to a day at the pumpkin patch.  It was dreary and muddy, but that was the perfect time to go, because it wasn't crowded at all.

 Something kind of funny happened this year with Pierce.  You know he's almost nine now, right? 

 Well, he humored me sometimes...but other times he seemed conflicted.  Like maybe he thought he was a little too big to be doing some of the pumpkin patch.

 Fortunately, his brothers didn't have any hesitation at all.  Here is Cort's best spider face:

The hardest part for Pierce was the cow train.  Oh how he loved the cow train when he was younger.  He waffled back and forth.  He finally got on, but he wouldn't look at us the whole time he was riding around in circles. 

Cort and Reid had a blast with the tetherball.  Cort didn't want to leave it, and stayed there while his brothers shot off the corn cannon.

It was a fun day.  I think Pierce even managed to have some fun in spite of being way too cool for the rest of us.

Readers, have you visited the pumpkin patch yet this fall?