A hike, dinner and more geocaching

We tried to take Carol to hike the Cascades.  We tried to take her 2 years ago, but it was closed because of rain.  We got up there and there was a HUGE line of cars waiting to get in.  It would have been at least an hour of waiting in the car before we could park and go hike.  We decided to try it another time.  We went over to another smaller hiking place and did some geocaching.  We tried to get Bristol to stay in the backpack, but she was having none of it!  She wants to walk because she's a big girl!

 Waiting for the big kids and daddy to find the geocache in the woods.

After that hike and geocache, Carol wanted to take us to dinner.  We drove out to Floyd and went to Mickey G's, a great little Italian place.  We saw there were some more geocaches in the area and had to find some more!  This was the strangest one we have ever found.  It was a pill bottle attached to a (fake) bone!  Very cool :)

Geocaching in VA

Our friends had some more baby goats and we decided to go see them and take Carol with us.  On the way out to their farm is a really cool covered bridge from 1916.  We decided to have a picnic there and do some geocaching!  Tyler was on a scout canoeing trip, so we missed him.  It was a gorgeous day!

 The geocache was in the bridge and we found it pretty quick.

 Bristol was OBSESSED with throwing leaves and sticks down this hole into the water below.

 Then it was off to the baby goats.  They are so adorable!

 Bristol and the baby goats have some things in common.  Both like to climb!

 Some of the new babies and some of the older babies we visited last time.

Another great family Saturday!

Fayettville, WV - coolest small town

Wow, it is NICE having TJ done with school!  We have been taking a few little day trips and today we decided to go to Fayettville, WV.  It was about an hour and 45 minute drive from our house.  I finished teaching pump, showered and we headed out.  It was hot!  We got to Fayettville and went over the New River Gorge bridge, heading for the National Park Service Welcome Center.  We saw a little bit of the museum, some amazing views and a little video on the area and the bridge.  The bridge is the longest steel arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.  We couldn't really see the bridge as we drove over it and I wondered how we would be able to see it.  We talked to the park ranger at the center and she gave us some directions to a hike that would give us the best views.  We were a little worried with having a 2 year old and no back pack for her that this hike would be a disaster.  It was 1 1/2 miles in and 1 1/2 miles back - so 3 miles round trip....with a 2 year old...











(Pictures taken from the National Park Service welcome center of the New River, but you can't see the bridge from here.)




















We decided why not?!  We set out and luckily the trail was covered by lots of trees, so that really helped keeping it a little cooler.  Tyler and Brenalee did great and had a good time.  Bristol surprisingly did really well!  The only problem was she was slow!  She had to stop and pick up EVERYTHING.  All the rocks, caterpillars, leaves, etc....it took forever.  She wanted to walk the entire way.  Tj would pick her up every once in a while so we could cover some ground.

 The kids kept picking up all the caterpillars.

Bristol was funny with hers, I think it tickled her a little bit and she would shake it off, but she really wanted it on her arm.  Then it pooped on her and she will tell you all about the caterpillar pooping on her arm!

 This is what Bristol spent most the hike doing...squatting and picking things up - or digging in the dirt.

 The views at the end were awesome!  The park ranger warned us that there was no guard rails or anything at the end of the hike and to be careful, that was a little scary - it was a pretty good drop!

This picture and location also got us another geocache find!

 Just taking a quick break.

After the hike we went to the famous Pies & Pints for some famous pizza.  We were famished!  

On the drive home, none of the kids could keep their eyes open!  Awesome day trip - ready for another! 

Geocaching

We have been doing lots of geocaching when we can.  Our goal is to get to 100 finds before we leave Blacksburg next year.  Right now we only have 33!  We have found that it is 9 billion times harder to do this with Bristol!  She is not a very cooperative geocacher!  Somedays are better than others.  There have been a couple caches that have stumped us and it's frustrating!!!  But, then there are the good ones the kids find right away and they want to keep going :)

This one was at a cemetery here in Blacksburg.  Bristol loved this sign and totally thought it was a slide and just kept sliding down it.  She was a little mad to have to stop to take a picture!

Last Day and a FIND!

Last day of our vacation and we have to drive 550 miles home.  We stopped off to try one more geocache before we left Niagara - success!!  Finally!  We dropped a geocoin off we had found and headed home.  What a great vacation! 

Niagara Falls - vacation day 7!

We actually slept in a little this morning, thank you Bristol!  Then it was off to Maid of the Mist.  The park was so crowded - people everywhere.  It took a while, but we finally made it on a boat.  The power of the falls is just crazy!  They are spectacular!

 It took a little bit of convincing to get Bristol in her baby rain jacket, but we finally got it on her.

 American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Tyler!

 Horseshoe Falls

 This baby got soaked!  She loved it!

After a quick stop at the observation deck it was off to Cave of the Winds and another long line!

 After Bristol realized we weren't trying to suffocate her with the rain jacket, she let us put this one on a little better.

 Of course Tyler got a bloody nose just as we were headed up!  He gets them all.the.time.

 I wasn't getting wet!

 The hurricane deck was crowded!!

 

 After going back up we enjoyed the view for a bit while this one slept in her stroller!  This never happened before!

 We took a quick lunch break back at the hotel and oh look, a selfie!  We haven't had one of these all vacation!

 And a new one for you - a foot selfie with her Cave of the Winds sandals. 

 Tj and the kids headed over to Canada while I stayed in the U.S.A. with Bristol (we never got her a passport).   She chased a lot of seagulls and wouldn't stay out of the lemonade.

I was thinking about going over after they came back, but I think the pictures were good enough.
It is a different view from over there.  Very cool.

 Two Countries at the same time!

We watched the Niagara movie and learned some cool facts about the falls.  We were pretty much exhausted at this point and there were still millions of people around, so we headed out to try another geocache - again it didn't go so well.  We were striking out this vacation!  It was a nice walk though.