For the final stop in our East Coast Adventure, we camped just outside of Charlottesville, VA. Our mission here was to see Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, and to visit a Virginia winery. Over the years I have heard from so many of my friends about all the wineries in this area, but somehow we have never managed to stop and see one. Luckily, we found an almost empty campgrounds, a welcome change of pace after being squished in at our previous stop. The campground was Misty Mountains Campground in Crozet, VA. Everything was clean and neat, there was an almost empty pool, an it was so peaceful! After a restful night's sleep, we were off to Monticello. In case you don't know, Thomas Jefferson was our third president. On his gravestone he chose to have three things memorialized: Author of the Declaration of Independence, Author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Founder of the University of Virginia. But another of his lasting achievements was the building of his home, Monticello. As a true Renaissance man (but you know, living in America in the 1700's) Jefferson studied all subjects; including architecture. His home is thoughtfully laid out in one of the most beautiful settings you can imagine. I highly recommend stopping here and taking the tour. After Monticello, we made our winery stop. I put a call out on Facebook to all my VA friends, asking which winery in the area was the most kid friendly. I am so glad we chose to visit the King Family Vineyard. The wine was fantastic and the setting was perfect. When our time at the winery was done we were all a little sad. The next day we would pull up stakes and drive the 6 hours back to Kentucky. We really enjoyed our time in Virginia and North Carolina! Little did we know, our trip home would be a lot longer than 6 hours. Right after we crossed into West Virginia, Rob saw a puff of smoke come from the Jeep we were pulling behind us. Oh no. We stopped in Lewisburg, where we had spent the first night of our trip almost 5 weeks before. There was a repair shop that took a look at the Jeep and it needed new... somethings. Wheel bearings? Brakes? Something important and expensive. Luckily they were able to fix it that day and 5 hours later we were on our way home again.
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The Outer Banks (OBX) is a group of islands off the eastern shore of North Carolina. My hometown friends will find it odd that I need to explain that, but some of my mid-western friends have never heard of them. I know, shocking. Then again, my hometown peeps probably have no idea about Macinac Island, so let's not judge. Besides the countless trips I took there as a girl, the Outer Banks is also special to us because it is where Rob proposed. It was on the beach right after we toured the Wright Brothers Memorial, ah the pilot wife life. So when we were planning our sojourn east, we knew a stop here was a must. Before we left Virginia, we picked up Cousin Andrew at the airport. He flew in that morning from Kentucky to spend this leg of the trip with us. You may remember Andrew from a previous camping trip. He is now 21, a student at University of Kentucky, and an all around great guy. For this leg, we were camping at the Hatteras KOA in Rodanthe. So, the island is Hatteras and the town is Rodanthe. When we arrived we realized just how spoiled we were with the first two campgrounds. Williamsburg and VA Beach were nice, quiet military campgrounds. The KOA was... not. We were really glad we splurged and booked a beachfront campsite. This kept us out of the noise and general hub-bub. If you over looked the crowding, the location of this camp ground couldn't be beat. And they did have a stellar pool with a waterslide and a jumping pad, which the kids loved. Our first full day here we had a great time flying kites on the beach. The next day we drove up to Nags Head and visited the Wright Brothers Memorial. Then we had lunch at Awful Arthur's (my favorite and the place we ate right after getting engaged). Our final stop that day was Jockey's Ridge. This is a state park which boasts the largest sand dunes on the East Coast. I have fond memories of running and rolling down the dunes when I was a kid. On our visit, it was just unbearably hot! Up next, the Hatteras Lighthouse! This amazing structure was first lit in 1870, although it didn't receive its iconic black and white pattern until 1873. In 1999 it was moved 2,900 feet inland to protect it from erosion. You can read all about that engineering feet in the old lighthouse keepers quarters, which is now a museum. It still stands as the tallest brick lighthouse in the Western Hemisphere. And yes, we climbed all 257 steps! After seeing the Hatteras Lighthouse, Rob and I made a big decision. We were done being in the Outer Banks. We had seen all the big things on our list and we were quite tired of being at the KOA. Our original plan was to stay another 2 days, relaxing on the beach, then drive for two days, spending the one travel night in a hotel. Instead, we found a campground near Charlottesville, VA and planned to stay 2 nights there. Now for the second part of our stay in Virginia Beach. Just to remind you, we camped at Dam Neck Naval Base for two weeks and we spent our time visiting family, friends, and laying on the beach. One thing we did during the second half of our VA Beach stay was visit Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin. I know I had been there once before, but I have no memories of this place. There were a few cool things for the kids to see and the Battleship was amazing. But in all honesty, Nauticus is looking tired. That's the end of our two AMAZING weeks in Virginia Beach. There were more memories made than one blog can contain. And only the lure of our next destination could draw us away from this slice of heaven. Next stop, the Outer Banks!
After so much fun in the Williamsburg area, we were a little reluctant to pull our chocks and move to the next location. But we were also ready to feel some sand between our toes. So we packed up everything, hooked up the Jeep, and commuted about an hour away to the Sea Mist Campground at NAS Oceana. We had scouted this campground Christmas of 2018 while visiting my family. And once we arrived I was so glad we were camping there. It is a small campground, but it was a two minute walk to the beach, which was dog friendly! We passed a blissful two weeks here, visiting family and friends. We also did some of the touristy things I try to avoid. Oh, and we spent a day with the stomach flu. I mean, everyday can't be sunshine and roses, can it? Since this was the longest stretch of our trip and a lot of the days were the same (breakfast, beach, lunch, nap, beach, dinner) I'm going to tell the story mostly through photos. Enjoy the first half! Unlike Cheattham Annex, NAS Oceana is an active base, with lots of activity. Some days the beach was closed for training activities, some of which were camper-shakingly loud! And several times a day, we saw cadres of Sailors and Marines marching along. This was really neat for the kids to see. That's the first half of our stay in Virginia Beach. What can I say? The Schneiders are beach people. We like feel the sun on our well-sunscreened legs, and the sand between our toes.
We all know what a huge Disney Nerd I am. But before I loved Disney, I cut my theme park teeth on another outstanding park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Rob and I went once before when the kiddos were babies, but he has no memory of that trip, so it was like a first for all three of them. A lot of what I love about Disney is present at BG. Beautiful theming, good food, fun rides. Plus, BG gives military 1 free day a year in one of their parks. Thank you! So here are the highlights of our day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Enjoy! We really loved our day at Busch Gardens. Not pushing a stroller was a huge plus, and the kids did well walking. Anne and Ryan are still too short for all the roller coasters and I missed the Big Bad Wolf, which is the first roller coaster I remember riding. But BG has plenty for the shorter set to enjoy. And since it the Food and Wine Festival was going on (how did I not get any pictures of that?) we had a lot of good snacks. Hopefully we can go back the next time we are in Virginia! This day, May 31st, was also our last day at our awesome camp site at Cheatham Annex. The next day we were moving to a beach front campground! Time for another educational adventure! Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The colony was founded in 1607, which is 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. This is a source of pride with Virginians, but once I moved away from the state, most people don't know that. So now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Go Joe! Visiting Jamestown these days is a pretty cool experience. The Visitors Center has a great film and exhibit. You can also walk the grounds and see a recreated Native American village, settlement stockade, and ships like the colonists would have used to cross the ocean. In keeping with our theme for this week, the temperature was near 100 degrees which limited our sight-seeing. We were kind of smart and visited the outdoor things first before it got too hot. Unfortunately that meant we were too hot and tired to see much inside. After lunch, we watched the movie and left. Hopefully we will make it back another time and see the indoor exhibit of artifacts. That evening, Rob and I had big plans. It was our 10 year anniversary and since we had babysitters in town (thanks Opa and Gram) we made fancy dinner reservations at the Williamsburg Inn. If you ever find yourself in the area and you want a really nice meal, I cannot recommend this place enough! We were in the Rockefeller Room, which is the smaller dining room with a better view. The surroundings were gorgeous and the food was even better. Happy Anniversary! After our amazing meal we picked up the kids at Opa and Grams cabin. They were heading back to Kentucky the next day. Thanks for coming along! We made it back to the camper and were getting in bed when the worst thunderstorm I have ever experienced hit. The kids slept right through it, but the pounding rain and thunder kept Rob and I awake for hours. Rob was watching the radar to make sure we weren't in danger of a tornado. The good part of the storm was the heat wave finally broke! And that was awesome because we had actual fun planned for the next day. You may remember from last year that Ryan really likes our camping trips to have days where we don't do anything. So naturally we now call days when we hang around the campsite, "Ryan Days." The truth is, we all need these kinds of days. No hustle, no bustle and lots of air conditioning. Do I sound old? I love a chair, in the shade. This Ryan Day was extra special because we got to spend quality time with Opa and we had a visit with some dear friends. For lunch, we went with Opa and Gram to Fat Tuna for seafood. Our kids are such adventurous eaters! After lunch, we paid a visit to some dear family friends. The Schneiders lived next door to the Reeves family in Oklahoma until Rob was in first grade. When the twins were 4 months old, we were in Oklahoma and had the opportunity to visit them. Now, Don and Val have both retired and they moved to Williamsburg to be closer to their children and grandchildren. They were kind enough to host us for an afternoon of swimming, catching up, and dinner (complete with homemade ice cream!) Our first tourist destination of this trip was Colonial Williamsburg. Rob and I had been once before, so we were excited to take the kids. They had no idea what it was, but are great little sight-seers, so we set off with eager anticipation. First stop, the Visitor's Center to purchase our tickets. Actually, members of the military get complimentary admission once a year, so we just had to stop for our free tickets. Thank you, Colonial Williamsburg! Tickets in hand, actually, they give you a badge to wear, we boarded a shuttle bus to the town. Just like Disney, my kids said. Our first historical site was the Governor's Palace where we took a guided tour. Very neat. Our next stop was the George Wythe house. George Wythe was a fascinating man of the Enlightenment who tutored Thomas Jefferson and signed the Declaration of Independence. I really enjoyed visiting this house, until we ran into a man dressed as General Lafayette. You guys, I hate talking to people I don't know. And making small talk with a dude in a costume pretending to be a French Revolutionary War General was a type of torture I didn't know existed. At this point it was 10:45am and about 95 degrees. So we stopped for a cold bottle of sarsaparilla and stood in the shade. While we were trying to cool off, we saw a carriage go by. Of course Anne asked her daddy if we could ride in a carriage, to which he is obligated by cosmic father-daughter law to agree to. We stopped by the place where you arrange carriage rides and secured a spot at 2:30pm. It will probably have cooled off by then, right? By now, everyone was hungry, but Ye Olde Taverne didn't open for another 20 minutes. So we shopped and waited to eat. We had lunch at Chownings Tavern, which was good. I was glad to sit down and be out of the heat, but the heat must have gone to my head already, because I ordered the Shepherd's Pie. It was good, but not the dish to order when the mercury is nearing 100. Luckily, the beer and the Rummer cooled me off. After lunch we tried to visit the church, but it was closed for a funeral. Across the street is the public garden, which is a quick a pleasant walk through. The armory was also closed, although I can't remember why. So we poked through some more shops. We tossed around the idea of walking to the Capitol Building, but it was far away and no one felt like walking in the heat. So we found a sweet oasis, the USO lounge. Located in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg, the USO Lounge is open to military families and it is fantastic. There is a clean restroom, coffee, tea and water, plus air conditioning and comfy chairs. Rob needed to conduct some Air Force business over the phone, so the kids and I chilled (literally, did I tell you it was air conditioned?) in the Lounge while Rob talked outside. The Lounge is staffed by the friendliest volunteers. They got the kids cold water, books, and coloring sheets. It was maybe the best part of the day. Once our time in the lounge was over, we headed outside and found the Kids Dig. This is a super cool program where Colonial Williamsburg gets free labor on an excavation site by getting kids to do it! Educational AND free labor? That's my kind of program! All joking aside, it was a fun little program and the kids loved it. Because kids can dig in full sun in 100 degree heat and it doesn't bother them. My only complaint was that they didn't explain to the kids that they couldn't keep the artifacts. Both of our kids thought they were going to get a cool souvenir to bring home. Finally it was time for our very hot carriage ride. I will let the pictures tell the story here. After the carriage ride we were done. Colonial Williamsburg is fantastic and we will be back! Maybe on a cooler day. I hear the Christmas decorations are beautiful! The first stop on our East Coast Odyssey was Williamsburg, Virginia. We were excited to see all the cool historical stuff this area has to offer. Who am I kidding? I was excited, Rob was happy, and the kids were along for the ride. Our campground was Cheatham Annex, which is a naval base with not a lot going on. For us, that is perfect! There were also cabins available on base, so Opa and Gram were able to join us for part of this leg of our trip. The campground was large but quiet. We arrived the Sunday before Memorial Day, and we found that most people were gone by Tuesday morning. New for this year's trip, we towed the Jeep! Ryan quickly nicknamed it The Jeeper Creeper, because it is very loud. Rob has had this classic automobile since the late 90's (while I was still in high school) and he put a lot of time and effort into making it trip-worthy last winter. We also added a Blue Ox tow bar to the camper so we can flat tow the Jeep. It saved us so much money this trip because we didn't need to rent a car. And less expense day to day means we can go out for longer trips. So we arrived on Sunday and made camp. Monday was Memorial Day, so we rode bikes and went to the pool. It was a nice, relaxing start to our trip. However, it was hot as Hades. These photos don't show it, but it was over 100 degrees for the week we were in Williamsburg. That is too hot, people! |