Well, summer is almost over and school is right around the corner, so I better get working on my backlog of updates! First up, all about Dan and Margie's big trip...
To start with a little background, you may remember that ever since she turned 40, Margie has gone on some big adventure every year around her birthday. It started with a triathlon and has since grown to include shaving her head, completing a century (100 mile) bike ride, and more. For years, she has wanted to participate in Bike Virginia, which is a multi-day biking and camping tour held in a different location in the state each year.
This year, Margie finally convinced Dan to join her.
Also, Margie's dad and his wife visited this past fall, and while they were here they spent a weekend at the Marl Inn, a quaint bed and breakfast in Yorktown. They loved it so much that for Christmas, they gifted Dan and Margie a 2-night stay there.
As it happens, this year's Bike Virginia was held just about an hour away from Yorktown, so we decided to combine the two and go on a little get away vacation, part rustic and part luxury.
Bike Virginia started Friday, June 20, which was the last day of school, so we figured we would just send the kids off to relatives for a few days and that would be that.
There was only one problem: SNOW.
It snowed so much this year that the school board added three days to the end of the calendar, which meant that the kids had to stay home. With our vacation already bought and paid for, however, we had no choice but to rally the troops for help in keeping an eye on them and making sure the kids got where they needed to be.
We sent an email to all of our local friends and relatives, and from the responses we received we put together a plan. They aren't kidding when they say, "It takes a village to rase a child"!
So below are the details of our adventure--both Dan and Margie's on the road, and John and Lyn's here at home. Enjoy!
Friday, June 20
The kids left for school, and Margie had an early morning appointment, so we couldn't leave until the early afternoon. Lyn was scheduled to go over to a friend's house for a sleepover birthday party after school, but she wasn't allowed to bring a backpack or any personal items to school (even though there were three days left of school, they had cleaned out the lockers and didn't need any books). So on our way out of town, we dropped off Lyn's gear and the birthday present at her friend's house.
It turned out it was a good thing we did that, because it put us on the other side of town, causing us to take a different route down south than we had planned. The original route was wall-to-wall traffic, so by going this other way, we were able to avoid most of that.
It took us about three hours, and we arrived at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, Virginia, parked, attended the required orientation, and checked in. There was a transport vehicle to haul our gear to the campsite, and we hopped on our bikes to ride into the park. Only there was a problem. Margie's rear hub was frozen!! This meant that the chain immediately fell off as soon as she stopped pedaling (I know it seems like the solution would be to just keep pedaling, but you quickly find out that it is impossible to do when you need to slow down.)
One of the other bikers saw her situation and said there was a mechanic in vendor row, just inside the park, so Margie walked her bike over there, while Dan went on ahead and set up camp. The thought crossed our minds that this was going to be a very short bike trip!
Luckily, the mechanic knew exactly what was wrong and fixed it right up. Whew!
Once we were all settled in, we headed over to the food tent. Dinner was good, but more expensive than it was worth. We called it a night, sweaty and tired. It was so hot and humid, and we wondered whether we'd sleep.
Meanwhile back at home, Lyn went to her party, and John came home, got himself some dinner, and went to bed. It's hard to believe he's grown up enough to do this! Luckily, he wasn't all alone in the house. We had two adult renters in the house at the time, and they were able to keep an eye on him, and, most importantly, make sure he turned off the stove!
Saturday, June 21
To start with a little background, you may remember that ever since she turned 40, Margie has gone on some big adventure every year around her birthday. It started with a triathlon and has since grown to include shaving her head, completing a century (100 mile) bike ride, and more. For years, she has wanted to participate in Bike Virginia, which is a multi-day biking and camping tour held in a different location in the state each year.
This year, Margie finally convinced Dan to join her.
Also, Margie's dad and his wife visited this past fall, and while they were here they spent a weekend at the Marl Inn, a quaint bed and breakfast in Yorktown. They loved it so much that for Christmas, they gifted Dan and Margie a 2-night stay there.
As it happens, this year's Bike Virginia was held just about an hour away from Yorktown, so we decided to combine the two and go on a little get away vacation, part rustic and part luxury.
Bike Virginia started Friday, June 20, which was the last day of school, so we figured we would just send the kids off to relatives for a few days and that would be that.
There was only one problem: SNOW.
It snowed so much this year that the school board added three days to the end of the calendar, which meant that the kids had to stay home. With our vacation already bought and paid for, however, we had no choice but to rally the troops for help in keeping an eye on them and making sure the kids got where they needed to be.
We sent an email to all of our local friends and relatives, and from the responses we received we put together a plan. They aren't kidding when they say, "It takes a village to rase a child"!
So below are the details of our adventure--both Dan and Margie's on the road, and John and Lyn's here at home. Enjoy!
Friday, June 20
The kids left for school, and Margie had an early morning appointment, so we couldn't leave until the early afternoon. Lyn was scheduled to go over to a friend's house for a sleepover birthday party after school, but she wasn't allowed to bring a backpack or any personal items to school (even though there were three days left of school, they had cleaned out the lockers and didn't need any books). So on our way out of town, we dropped off Lyn's gear and the birthday present at her friend's house.
It turned out it was a good thing we did that, because it put us on the other side of town, causing us to take a different route down south than we had planned. The original route was wall-to-wall traffic, so by going this other way, we were able to avoid most of that.
It took us about three hours, and we arrived at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, Virginia, parked, attended the required orientation, and checked in. There was a transport vehicle to haul our gear to the campsite, and we hopped on our bikes to ride into the park. Only there was a problem. Margie's rear hub was frozen!! This meant that the chain immediately fell off as soon as she stopped pedaling (I know it seems like the solution would be to just keep pedaling, but you quickly find out that it is impossible to do when you need to slow down.)
One of the other bikers saw her situation and said there was a mechanic in vendor row, just inside the park, so Margie walked her bike over there, while Dan went on ahead and set up camp. The thought crossed our minds that this was going to be a very short bike trip!
Luckily, the mechanic knew exactly what was wrong and fixed it right up. Whew!
Once we were all settled in, we headed over to the food tent. Dinner was good, but more expensive than it was worth. We called it a night, sweaty and tired. It was so hot and humid, and we wondered whether we'd sleep.
Meanwhile back at home, Lyn went to her party, and John came home, got himself some dinner, and went to bed. It's hard to believe he's grown up enough to do this! Luckily, he wasn't all alone in the house. We had two adult renters in the house at the time, and they were able to keep an eye on him, and, most importantly, make sure he turned off the stove!
Saturday, June 21
After a rough night of pouring rain, Dan and Margie hit the road under cloudy skies at about 7:15am. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep, the lasagne they fed us the night before, or the extraordinarily thick humidity, but it was the hardest 34 miles Margie had ever ridden--and this was someone who had successfully completed a 100 mile ride!!! Both of us were nearly done in. Still, it was a lovely ride through the rolling hills (perhaps another reason it was so hard?), with just a light sprinkle of rain, and clear skies by the time we made it back to camp. After lunch (much better than dinner had been), we headed to the pool, where we spent the afternoon relaxing and cooling off. Then it was back to camp for dinner (another disappointment) and a relaxing evening. It was a hard day, but we had a great time!
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| Our little piece of tent city. |
Meanwhile, back at home, John's piano teacher was scheduled to come in the morning to work with him. Unfortunately, he overslept and didn't hear her when she knocked. Argh! We felt terrible that she had driven all that way, early on a Saturday, for nothing.
Lyn went yard saling with her friend on the way back to the house, and that evening, Katie Fewkes, a friend of Margie's from church brought the kids dinner, and then at some point they got themselves to bed.
For Dan and Margie, Saturday night was much better without the rain. We broke camp around 8am, undertook the somewhat arduous task of transporting everything back to our car, and then they hit the road! We stopped in Williamburg at a lovely little restaurant for brunch (called Victoria's--if you're ever in the area, we highly recommend it!), then made their way to the B&B in Yorktown. After a much needed shower (clean bodies!), and an equally needed nap (clean sheets!), we headed to the grocery store. After a delicious, homemade dinner, we walked down to the riverfront. Who knew they had sandy beaches there? It was absolutely delightful.
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| Heading down to the waterfront. |
By the angle of light, Margie predicted it was going to be a beautiful place to catch the sunrise, so she resolved to do so before she left.
Meanwhile, back at home, one of our renters, La'Vonne, (made sure they were up and) brought the kids to and from church. That evening, more friends of ours from church, the Rosenberg's, came to pick up the kids and take them to a party for a mutual friend who was moving away. They also picked up John's camping gear, as he was leaving for boy scout camp (Camp Rodney) early the next morning, and they agreed to let him stay at their house that night.
After the party, our neighbor, Tran, brought Lyn home, and she managed to get herself to bed.
Monday morning, Dan and Margie started the day with a leisurely bike ride through the battlefields of Yorktown. It was lovely! Then Dan made us some brunch back at the B&B. Afterwards, we drove out to Jamestown to ride the ferry. Margie was thrilled to get actually get Dan on a boat! It was so beautiful.
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| Dan actually got on a boat! |
After a short nap, we headed to Williamsburg for dinner at Food For Thought, one of the top rated vegetarian-friendly restaurants in all of Virginia. The food, service and atmosphere were amazing. When we got back, Margie turned in early so she could catch the sunrise before heading home.
Meanwhile, John, having stayed the night at the Rosenberg's, left early in the morning for Boy Scout camp, and Lyn got herself to and from school. That evening a friend of ours from the theater, Jennifer Lyman, took Lyn out for a girls night out. They went to a mediterranean place for dinner and then saw the movie, Belle. Lyn had a great time!
Tuesday, June 24
On our last day, Margie got up pre-dawn (sans hubby, who is not a morning person) to catch the sunrise on the river. It was worth it!!
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| Can I spend every morning here? |
She waded in the sandy beach, biked around the park and parts of historic Yorktown that we hadn't seen. It was a glorious way to end our time there. She got back to the B&B to clean up, eat, and pack up. On the way out of town, we stopped at Duck Donuts, which we had heard so much about.
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| We had a tough time taking this selfie and getting us, the donuts, and the sign! |
We were somewhat disappointed, though, as we thought it was going to be more like the famed Voodoo Donuts in Portland.
Meanwhile, Lyn again got herself to and from school, and, later, Dan and Margie arrived safely back at home.
What an awesome trip!
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