We took off for 9 whole days, including travel days, and left the farm behind. We had a very capable young man doing our chores and that helped us relax. Leon didn't stress even once about the animals back home. We had just come through an intense week of being in charge of VBS at church, and Saturday morning bright and early we headed out. After about 15 hours, we arrived at my friend, Gloria's house. We had a wonderful, but short visit there. They live in this cute little duplex in the city and I couldn't help but admire them. There's a lot of sacrifices to make in living where they do. They use every corner of their house and yard to make a beautiful cozy place to live.
The next afternoon, we headed off to Leon's aunt and uncle, Steve and Mary Etta. We enjoyed seeing their offspring and spending a relaxing evening with them around a campfire. The children had a great time as well, with their second cousins.
Cape Henlopen, here we come. The next day we spent at a beach in Delaware. It bordered on the chilly side, but I'm the only one that minded. The children could NOT get enough of the water and waves. Poor Iowa kids.
We crashed back at Uncle Steve's again that night, where Aunt Mary Etta had another delicious meal waiting for us. I washed up all the sandy beach clothes and we all slept soundly.
The next day we were off to Washington D.C. It was raining and as we headed to the subway, we all got soaked. The subway was a new experience for all of us, except Leon. The sun soon came out and we dried off quickly only to get drenched in sweat later. It was a warm, noisy, dirty day in the city.We saw the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool, the Air & Space Museum, Holocaust Museum, and the Native American Museum. We ate a picnic lunch at noon that we had carried around in our back pack all morning. Before the day was over, I had decided that hog manure really doesn't smell so bad. The children were a bit overwhelmed too. We nearly wore them out. We walked and walked and walked and walked. We crashed at our motel after a meal at Applebee's and relaxed all our sore muscles.
The next day we went to Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate. It was a distance from D.C. but totally worth the drive. We enjoyed touring the grounds and seeing the restored houses and barns. We headed back to D.C. around noon and ate our lunch in the van on the way. We took the subway to Arlington Cemetery and walked to see the changing of the guards. It was very interesting and worth the walk. Annika begged a ride on her Daddy's shoulders on the way back.
Thursday we had a 9 hour drive to the Cincinnati, OH area. We checked into a beautiful motel room that was really more of an apartment than a motel room. Cracker barrel and a swimming pool...what more could anyone want?!
Friday we spent most of the day at the Creation Museum. It was just an amazing experience! The children enjoyed it so much! The gardens were a feast for the eyes! There was so much beauty and information to take in, and the coolest thing was that our Creator got all the Glory! We enjoyed the Planetarium, Buddy Davis, the petting zoo and eating at Noah's Cafe for lunch.
That night it was more swimming pool (parents roll eyes right here!) and yummy pizza that I delivered so I didn't have to swim.:) And while waiting on our pizza, I got to shop at Cato! Win, win!
Later that night, a big bus pulled up to our motel and a whole load of Amish got off. Imagine Leon's surprise when he recognized my cousin from Indiana! So later on, Jesse, Barbara, and 3 of their 4 children came over to our room and we had a nice little visit with them. They were headed to the museum the next day as well.
Saturday was pretty slow paced. We spent about half the day at the Museum and the children each got camel rides. As soon as they got off, Logan muttered, "That sure wasn't worth $5!" We all chilled in the pool again (!) then cleaned up and headed to a wonderful Mexican restaurant for supper. The rest of the evening was spent eating Leon's Father's Day gift of cocktail shrimp and watching a movie.
And Sunday after eating breakfast at the motel, and my children eating more bacon than what should even be allowed, we packed up and headed home. The children wanted to get home so badly! They kept saying they were sick of the city.
So now we're back to feeding pigs and chickens, mowing yard, cleaning house, doing laundry, and countless other jobs, but so far, no one has asked to go back to the city.
