Mini-Vacation

Because of our BIG TRIP in February, we knew we didn't really want to travel very much this summer. We decided to take a little trip to West Virginia to see my Aunt Linda and some friends.
Four hours in the car turned out to be just right for our littlest traveller. We left around 8pm on a Thursday so the girls would hopefully sleep in the car. But, as usual, Abby slept more than Sarah. I didn't sleep either, which is highly unusual for me. Abby had advised me that I better stay awake to make sure Daddy stayed on the right road. Truer words of wisdom were never spoken. She remembered the last trip when I took a little nap and we took an hour detour until I woke up to say, "Honey, why are we still on this interstate?"

After a few hours of sleep, the girls awoke bright and early. But breakfast and coffee were enough to wake us up and get us going.
Yummy bacon.
We went in search of a blueberry patch (more on that later) and came upon Prickett's Fort. I had been there several times growing up. We stopped so Billy and the girls could get a better look.

I forgot to bring my camera, (we were just going to pick the berries) so Billy took these with his phone. This one is inside a common room where they were demonstrating making yarn and weaving cloth. They all dressed the part. You can't tell, but the guy on the right had big feathers attached to his head.
Looking out a notch in the fort wall.
Petting the sheep. One of them tried to eat Abby's shoes.
An Indian wigwam outside the fort.
After we left the fort, we went in search of the berries again. After asking at a muffler shop, Aunt Linda decided we turned the wrong way off the main road. We went home to have lunch instead.

After lunch, Aunt Linda and I took Abby and left Billy and Sarah home to take a nap. Abby promptly fell asleep in the van. It was a good thing, too, because this became a grand tour of "Wild, Wonderful West Virginia."

We went down one road and flagged a UPS driver for directions. We went down another road and flagged a lady in hair curlers for directions. These horses were no help at all.
We went down another road (very narrow, very steep) and stopped at a scary house for directions. "No, Aunt Linda. Please don't go in there!" She stayed outside and talked to the man for directions.
Then we went another way, (a dead end) and talked to another guy about the big bears he gets in his yard in the winter. I'm glad we missed the bear!
Finally, we got to the right place and found a few berries. Abby woke up as we opened the door to get her out.
On the way home, Abby said, "why is this taking so long?" You have no idea, little lady!!! The drive home was a fraction of the driving time.
That blueberry crisp tasted really good after all that!
Abby helped "Grandmother" decorate a baby shower cake.
"You missed that spot, Grandmother."
Later, Abby decorated one for us to eat. Beautiful job.
The next day, we visited some friends, Ray and Lisa. They had us over for brunch. Yummy!
Sarah is checking out their little dog. The girls had so much fun playing with Mr. Ray. He even gave them airplane rides. I think Sarah loves Mr. Ray as much as Abby does now.
Abby took a bunch of pictures. This one of Ray and Lisa turned out well.
Then I found this one. Love it!
On Sunday afternoon, The Cake Lady struck again with these Baby Lava Cakes. They are chocolate cake with a gooey chocolate center. She garnished the plate with raspberry sauce and put raspberries and mint on top. Beautiful presentation!
This is what my plate looked like a few minutes later. Burp.
So good! But Abby couldn't quite finish hers. I asked Aunt Linda how many calories were in each one and she read in the cookbook that it was 621! Six HUNDRED and twenty-one!! We decided to not have dinner that evening. :)
It was a fun weekend at "Grandmother's" house!

We left the next morning headed for Pennsylvania and a little amusement park hidden in the woods. More on that tomorrow.