We just got back from a family vacation to Jon's parents' in Parkersburg, WV. It's a 8-10 hour trip, depending on bathroom stops. On our trip there is a lot of beautiful scenery, such as the Sideling Hill gap, and the many views from the mountain tops. Our trip takes us halfway accross Pennsylvania, across the western half of Maryland, and then over the top part of West Virginia to the Ohio border.

We are thankful we made it there and back with no problems in our Saturn (140,000+ miles). We passed some very bad accidents, one with fatalities and one with a tractor trailer that somehow managed to fall apart in the median. Leigh was reminded of a conversation she had with a medical examiner in Florida: he told her that he had never had to pull a fatality from a seatbelt, only from the road. Wear your proper automobile restraints at all times!




The children were very well behaved. We don't think they really have any concept of time. We sang and talked, told stories, and stopped for stretch breaks. We ate at Friendly's, Wendy's, McDonald's, Sheetz Subs, and maybe somewhere else we can't remember.




There is a part of the middle of Maryland that we hope to avoid. We really don't like stopping anywhere around Cumberland. The convenience stores were poorly stocked (no water? No Motor Oil except for lawnmower oil??). They did have something called Chester Fried Chicken which we decided not to try. Hot, smelly and weird places there. Of special mention is the "Noah's Ark being rebuilt here" place. It's out in the wildreness of western Maryland, on top of a mountain. We've been passing that sign for years. Back in the 1990's there were only signs, no steel beams. Since about 1999 they finally got the skeleton of a building up. We have no idea what it's supposed to be...







Well, we all had a great time when we got there. Belinda really loves her cousins, especially Elizabeth. She also loved running around with Andrew and Timothy. It's been about 18 months since we visited, so we were all surprised at how nicely the children have grown. Sammy-Gus had fun hugging his Ma-ma and roughing up his Pa-pa, both of whom he had not met yet due to scheduling conflicts.
We caught fireflies in the lovely front yard (the garden and lawn of Jon's parents is so pleasant and relaxing -- it belongs in a magazine). Belinda did not catch any, because she is afraid all manner of flies. Then Belinda and cousin Elizabeth watched Bambi in the basement, spellboung, eating ice-cream.
In addition, over the next couple of days, Belinda was able to play all sorts of stuff with the cousins, including the trampoline. She also watched Cinderella about 10 times.

The next day Leigh, the kids and Jon's Mother went out to a buffet and had a great time. Jon and his brother Joseph and Jon's Dad went out to a Pizza buffet and then went out for coffee and tea. We all had a very nice time talking. Then Jon and Leigh were able to go on a date to Outback and then outlet shopping. Leigh was able to buy some Birkenstock's for her new business that she is starting. Then we sat by the River and watched the barges, the ducks, and the rain. It was very nice. Then Jon and Joseph were able to go to Jon's favorite bookstore and out for some more coffee and tea. We had a great time discussing big issues. It was nice to see Dad, Mom, Joseph, Becky, Walt, Elizabeth, Timothy, Andrew, Nathaniel, and everyone else. I think everyone had a lot of fun.

Then we made the long trip back. And here we are at home.