Roadside attractions

First of all Tracie made homemade Payday bars and they were sooo good. I ate 3 of them at once. 👀 

I had a long to do list on Monday and I checked off every. darn. thing. ✅

All so we could wake up sups early and get on the road. My alarm was set for 5:00am but I decided at 4:00 that I wasn’t going back to sleep and finished our last minute preparations, woke the girls up at 4:30, and we took this garage selfie at 5 on the nose. 

First stop Walmart for some forgotten snacks. We brought a bunch, but there were a few roadtrip must haves we forgot. 

I downloaded a roadside attractions app and on Monday I had made a list of 15 possible attractions. We successfully saw 10, couldn’t find 1, and crossed 4 off our list. 

First up - giant nutcracker head in Orange, VA. On our first go round we drove right on past him, he just wasn’t all that impressive. 

We took some extra pics to share on the app. Maybe. 

Our next stop was an art park in Charlottesville, VA. 

Sitting for long periods is hard so it felt really good to walk around a bit. 

The girls were being super silly, so it was also good for them to blow off steam. 

Super. Silly. 

The real reason we went to this park was the Love Butt. 

I didn’t realize the girls were smack dab in front of the heart in every shot. 

Delaneys smacking the bum here. 🤷‍♀️

Next was the Blue Ridge Tunnel in Afton, VA. This one had a half mile walk out to the actual tunnel, but Delaney’s legs hurt and she couldn’t possibly. I coaxed a little, but she was pretty adamant. So we didn’t. 

I have to pay myself on the back, I did not get annoyed with the girls at all, all day. Frankie navigated and mistakes were made, and I kept it calm, cool, and collected. That isn’t always the case, so cause for celebration!

We found the giant watering can and flower pots under a railroad bridge in Staunton, VA. 

The girls were cracking up at Delaney’s picture faces all day. 🤷‍♀️

I mean, it’s pretty cute, right?!

Welcome to state signs! I’ve got a list going, but I started it just a few years ago so I know I have more. 

These are always fun to find. 

We found a safe welcome sign at their rest stop/welcome center. 

The Big Snowman in Lewisburg was pretty lame. But A for effort, I guess? We arrived here just before 11, so we’d been on the road 6 hours and if we’d driven straight there it would have only taken 4 and a half hours. So not terrible. 

The Greenbrier Ghost is where things went wrong. Some of the attractions didn’t have addresses, so Frankie had put in Highway 60 and it took us on a super windy, tiny road. I drove about 5 minutes on that tiny road before I stopped. I knew they wouldn’t put a historical marker in the middle of nowhere on a tiny road, so I did a little research and turned around. Then I went south on highway 60 which was a less tiny but still very windy road and made Delaney and I sick. Then I pulled over and checked again and was able to find the coordinates, but by that point we were ready to call time of death on the greenbrier ghost. I kept the coordinates going on my map though and it looked like it was right off the freeway we’d gotten back on. So I pulled off and it turns out it was the original freeway exit we’d taken and we just drove straight past it. Probably added 15-20 minutes of roadsick driving, but we laughed it off and went on our merry way. 

We’d also passed the graveyard she was buried in and D had said, I bet she’s buried there, and it turns out she was right. 

Alls well that ends well. 

Delaney fell asleep on our way out to Odd, WV, so just Frankie and I got out. This is where the biggest mistake was made. Because I had no service, I went into the post office where the nice lady told me I had to go back the way I came, a good 10 minutes back to the freeway. Whomp whomp. The roadside app is not the best and wasn’t the easiest to figure out directions and how long things would take. Anyhow, I told Frankie as soon as we got service to put in the lake house address and then the next attraction and we’d see how far it would be and decide from there. So she did and it was like 3 hours away. So something wasn’t right, but on we persisted for about 15 minutes till we stopped for lunch and to reconfigure our plan.

Our “Odd” shot. And then when I saw it I saw that Frankie was doing a cute odd shot not a really odd shot. 

So then we did this. 

Anyways, back to our saga. It took me awhile to understand what had happened and why all our times were off. I picked to go through Kentucky which added less than an hour to our original trip time. So when Frankie put in the lake house address, the map suggested the fastest route and I hadn’t thought to tell her to pick the one through Kentucky. Going through ky was still an option though, but going that way was only 15 minutes shorter than going back the way we came from, passing the turnoff for Odd, and continuing on my planned route. We took a vote and the girls said let’s do it, so we did. 

By this time it was 1:30 so we’d been on the road 8 and a half hours and still had 6 and a half to go. That made me feel a little worried, but we were having such a good time and I figured when are we gonna do this again?!

Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figure's fame was next and it was so hot by that point!

For Paul Bunyans picture we had to climb a little hill and then carefully walk the ledge to try to get the shot. Then it was so bright I couldn’t see that we were totally covering Babe’s face. 

Then the leaf covered her face next. Oh well. When we hiked down a man that was loading bricks offered us to climb onto Babe and he’d get a picture of us, but we declined. 🤣

Frostop was a great stop! 

We got homemade root beer floats that I wish we could have enjoyed in a nice frosty mug, but we were hustling. 

We shared an order of delightful onion rings and everything was so delicious. 10/10 recommend!

We skipped another Paul Bunyan and a pink elephant but we did search for a pink and green giraffe with no luck. We walked around and it was a nice stretch, but gave up. I looked for gas and was so surprised to find a Buc-cee’s on our way! Hooray! We got gas for $2.77 and sugared almonds and were back on the road. 

The town Buc-cee’s was in was super cute! And from here we had 2 hours. 

By this point I was pretty ready to be there. I was tired and uncomfortable and done driving. So I was in a little hurry when dun, dun, dun! I got pulled over. Thankfully he was very sweet and didn’t even run my license and just gave me a warning. So then I had to slow down and that last hour had me like 😩. 

We arrived at 8:30, which was 9:30 our time. So we took a potentially 9 hour 40 minute drive and made it 16 and a half hours. And it was worth it and I’d do it again!

Back to the future

I know I said our Tuesday movie would be the last of the summer, but I got talked into a Friday matinee (it wasn’t hard). Adi drove us and it was fun to have Matt come along on his cws. 

We went to Walmart after and look at this straight fanciness. They’ve revamped the whole store. And a sweet employee helped ensure I get this shot without anyone else in it. 🤣 a lady after my own heart!

We ran into this guy, so we sent Tracie a picture. 

We picked Emma up on our way home and she and Delaney joined Matt and I at the pool. It’s nice and warm and feels so good on these extra hot days!

The girls had a temple trip to the Richmond temple on Saturday. It feels weird that we’re never asked to go help or drive, not bad weird necessarily because we take our girls to the temple, just so different than it was when the bigs were in the youth program. 

And it was especially nice because Matt and I had a dc day date. We decided to park at Huntington and metro in. 

The big kids got Matt tickets to Back to the Future for his birthday and it was so fun!

We got there a little early so we walked to get a snack and the Kennedy Center is right by the Watergate Hotel, which we’ve never been to. So weird seeing everyday historical places. Anyways, we channeled our summer Italian trip and shared a caprese salad and gelato. 

We’ve never been to the Kennedy Center and it’s lovely. 

I love the lights. 

The acting and singing dancing were so fun and the sets and the way they used technology were really creative and new (to us at least). 

Alexis sent birthday money for me, so we treated ourselves and got Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Matt let me choose 3 appetizers and then we each chose a piece of cheesecake and we ate every last bite. We were sooo full!

We’d been getting flash flood warnings all day but it was clear and bright until riiiight before we left. We walked out and it was super grey and then less than a minute later it started raining. 

And then it started pouring. We hung out under the awning for a minute and then when it lightened up we made a run for it. And after you’ve shared 3 appetizers (one of them fried) and a bunch of cheesecake, running for your life is uncomfortable. 

We hung out under another awning when it got crazy again, and then got a little more wet, but the metro was very close and it wasn’t terrible and I was never cold. 

It was a super easy trip to dc! Partly because it was just Matt and I, but we’ve also utilized several foreign metro systems, so we’re getting pretty good at it. 

Lily came over after the temple trip so when we got home we watched some Olympics and played some skip-bo. 

Since it’s fast Sunday I was able to go to our ward with the crew. We all rode together because I thought my zoom meeting with President Boyd was at 3, but a few minutes before Sunday school finished, I checked again and it was actually at 2. So I found a classroom and borrowed a pen from Alecia and found a program to write notes on and had a quick meeting with him. He’s such a good and uplifting leader, I feel so very blessed to serve with him. He cares about each member of our stake and he always asks specifically about our family, and prays for them. He’s truly a servant leader. 

We are preparing for our roadtrip so we looked at the school supplies we already have and mapped out some roadside attractions to break up our trip and then there was an adult Ward fireside tonight that Adi offered to babysit at. We talked about CFM and shared some tips and encouragement and it was nice to be with our Ward family. 

We came home and ate ice cream and are enjoying some steeple chase, long jump, and quick runs from Paris. 

And I really appreciate this quote.

46 and 5:00

It was a lovely July 31st. I spent the morning celebrating with Alecia. 

Then the afternoon celebrating at Salsas. I decided to get nachos because it was my birthday and I can do what I want. Also, Alecia encouraged/made me wear Josh’s “It’s my birthday” shirt. 🤣

It was actually a going away lunch for Nicole before she moves to Japan, being on my birthday was just a happy coincidence. 

Alecia had like 40 minutes before she had to pick Lily up so we went down to the wharf and walked around till she had to go. 

When I got home I found the girls working on my cake and Matt smack dab in the middle of raising the shed, a project that’s been on our to do lists for years. Felt like a weird day to decide on a project, but I wasn’t home and when I did get home and found everyone busy, I retired for a birthday nap. 

My birthday twin Steve and his crew brought lumpia and pancit over for dinner and it was delicious. Then we were going to head to the pool, but whomp whomp. it’s been closed since a pump broke on Sunday and it was supposed to be up and running by Wednesday but the part was delayed. So we plan B’d and the kids jumped on the trampoline with the hose and the adults played Skull King.

The pool being closed ended up not being a deal at all because, even though it was supposed to be a completely clear evening, right around 7:15 it started thundering. Matt still had shed stuff all over the lawn. We thought, no way it’s gonna rain! And we were wrong. It thundered for a good 15 minutes before the rain started. So then the 9 of us (adi was at drivers ed) braved the thunder, lightning, and rain, and loaded everything back into the shed. We pretty much rocked it, it took less than 5 minutes. And we couldn’t help but laugh about the ridiculousness of the situation. You can’t really tell, but it’s crazy storming behind us and we’re soaking wet here. 

I was very impressed with the cake the girls made me! I sent them a recipe and had very low expectations. But look at this beauty!

It has an M on it. ❤️

Anyways, the kids went outside to play in the rain and we joined them on the porch to enjoy the storm. 

They were dancing and jumping in the gutters.

Lemonade out of lemons, we still had a great night!

It was coming down!

And whenever cars drove by they jumped up and down and waved at them. 

The very definition of frolicking. 



When the lightning got super close we called everyone up. Delaney and Bryn ventured back out and then a strike hit close and loud and they both came running back to the porch. 🤣

Look at that! Beautiful! Since they used a box cake mix and made 3 layers, the cake was a smidge overdone, but overall it was really good. I was happy!

The kids watched the Sandlot and the adults talked and the Dorns didn’t leave till almost midnight and it was a really great birthday from start to finish. I’m so blessed. 

The girls had a few gifts for me, so before bed I opened them and this is what Adi had wrapped:

She’d already gone to bed, so then we were all left to wonder what the gift and the maintenance was going to be. It turns out it’s lavender - my favorite! And between 1 and 2 years of maintenance, because she’ll move out after 2 years. 😳 

At 5:00 this morning the 5 of us were rudely awoken to the obnoxious sound of every smoke detector in the house beeping relentlessly and alternating with the robotic “fire, fire!” every few seconds. It’s so disorienting to wake up that way! We looked all around and found there was no fire anywhere and after a quick google search we were able to find the offending detector and replace the battery. We all ended up going back to sleep till 9, so that was nice. 

Our service project this week was to watch the Beal kids. Their family is moving and our girls love Kellyn, so that was an easy choice. 

I hardly did anything to babysit, the girls took really good care of everyone. 

Adi and Frankie took the big kids to the library and then Delaney took them out for hose jumping on the trampoline since the pool is still closed. That free trampoline, I tell ya!

We had chicken quesadillas for dinner and after we dropped the Beals off we picked up Ellie to play. We watched Olympics and picked up the drivers ed crew and I actually did laundry and vacuumed, so go me.