Vacation, part one

Normally we strike out for the beach during the summer, but BP kiboshed that idea for us this year, having rendered most of our beautiful Gulf of Mexico uninhabitable. So... when heading to the beach is not an option, we decided to head to the mountains instead. We embarked our family road trip on July 3rd. We stopped at a half-way point to spend the night, and we located a playground, where we played and talked with lots of friendly locals.




We stayed at the park until sundown, and the girls ran off their pent-up energy following the initial six-hour drive.







The next morning, on the fourth, we struck out again, heading northwest, for the next leg of the trip. Our destination was Snowshoe, West Virginia, and it proved to be a challenging drive, as all reports had indicated. The last 60 miles or so curved and wound through the Allegheny Mountains, often at stomach-wrenching grades. Our Grace-bug is inclined to the occasional episode of motion sickness, and the last 20 miles were especially difficult for her. Ultimately, she was sick on two occasions, and we felt horrible for subjecting her to the trek up the mountain. Needless to say, once we arrived, we stayed on the mountain for the next seven days so as not to inflict further illness.

The good news is that she recovered quickly and was back in the game upon arrival. She was unanimously voted MVP of the day.