Virginia Vacation Summer 2015--Part II

Day #6:  We got to have a lazy morning at our condo.  My parents came over and mom helped the girls make mini-cini's for breakfast.  After that we headed to Freedom Park (about 15 minutes) to check out a high ropes course and ziplines.  The place we went to was called "Go Ape!"  Go Ape has locations across the United States located within local park systems; however, Virginia is currently the only location with a "Treetop Jr. Adventure" program (for kids under 10).  My parents came along so my mom could take pictures and my dad watched Carver.  I was so proud of the kids--they did awesome!  We got to try out 2 different courses with many obstacles in each and a zip line to end the course.  We got to play for 2 hours so the kids got to do each course several times and got pretty brave as time went on.  We all had a blast!

We came back home to eat lunch and hang out.  Grandpa helped Kinnick try out his new slingshot and we did some swimming.  We made dinner at the condo and then went to a local amusement park to ride go-karts and bumper cars.  We finished our night with ice cream and some more shopping at the General Store (our kids LOVED this store!)

Sadie was tall enough to drive by herself on the mini-course!

Carver insisted on sleeping with his new jet!

Day #7:  Our last full day in Williamsburg... We went back to Colonial Williamsburg one last time but this time just Sadie, Kinnick, Marc and I.  My parents kept Macy and Carver and took them swimming at their hotel.  Each of the 3 big kids got to spend one night with my parents during the week--they LOVED having this individual time with Grandma & Grandpa.
 

One of the fun programs going on at Colonial Williamsburg during our visit was called "Rev Quest"  this was a revolutionary spy game.  We thought the kids would love this but decided to save it for the end of our trip so we knew our way around well.  We also thought it would be more fun for the bigger two because they could read and follow a map.  We watched a movie to get us started then received a packet of information with our first clue.  We followed clues to each stop and recorded information to help us decipher codes.  We had to watch for symbols to let us know which characters were "Friends of Virginia" as we worked to fight for freedom.  We had a blast and made it to the end of our mission.  Afterwards we were able to do a bit more sight seeing including a tour of the Peyton Randolph House (one of the oldest homes in Williamsburg--built in 1715!), the blacksmith, the armory, and the jail.

Our Commemorative Coin for Finishing our Mission

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends From RevQuest

We enjoyed some more swimming during the afternoon and my parents took a turn for date night.  They came back after dinner and we enjoyed some putt putt at our resort!

 

 

 

 

 

 Day #8: After packing up we hit the road Friday morning.  We had breakfast with my parents before saying Good-Bye...

Next it was on to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's Home).  We were a few hours from Monticello but decided to make it a detour on our way home.  I'm so glad we did--it was a fun stop!  We spent about 3 hours here (but could have easily spent most of day--there was SO much to see!)  We parked at the visitor center and bought our tickets.  We had a timed tour to see the inside of the house and for the rest of the grounds and out buildings we were able to explore at our own leisure.  We had a good amount of time before our tour so we took the kids to check out the "Griffin Discovery Room" in the visitor's center.  They had miniature hands-on models of many of the items we would see during our tour.  The kids enjoyed building, role-playing, deciphering, and creating.  After spending some time here we watched a short movie about the life of Thomas Jefferson.  Next we boarded a shuttle to ride to the house & grounds.  We waited our turn for our inside tour.  The tour lasted about 20-30 minutes then we spent additional time exploring the grounds, slave quarters, gardens, and the massive cellar area beneath the house.  There were games & toys for the kids to check out on the lawn.  They were thrilled to take a try at writing with a quill and ink (something Sadie desperately wanted to do at Colonial Williamsburg and never got a chance.)  After our stop we were back on the road--eating our sack lunch in the car.  We drove to our hotel in West Virginia and spent the night swimming before ordering pizza to eat in our room.  We were all ready to crash after a long day of driving & sight seeing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monticello was built up on a hill.  We enjoyed some incredible views!

The front and back of the house looked nearly the same and had mirrored layouts so it was easy to get turned around!

 

 

Day #9:  Our last day!!!!  We finished our drive home with a pit stop in Dayton OH to see the USNational Airforce Museum.  It was free and worth the stop!  They had a nice outdoor memorial area that would have been perfect for a picnic if it wasn't pouring rain...  We enjoyed a walk through history as we saw models of the wright brother's first air plane up through the most modern aircrafts being flown today.  There were exhibits for many different wars, a missile gallery, and even a space exhibit.  We made a final stop in Indiana for dinner at our favorite--Panda Express and everyone was thrilled when we made it "Home Sweet Home!"  

 

 

 

 

We saw every kind of aircraft imaginable and Carver got the most excited about these miniatures!

 

 

Having some fun on the drive home!

We had such an amazing trip and feel so blessed to have had my parents go with us (and thankful that they provided an amazing resort for us to stay at!)  We made so many awesome memories...