Mulberry Street

Good things about our field trip today include: stopping to buy rain boots from the thrift store, bringing enough umbrellas and zero crowds.  Also, there was a day camp there with low attendance so they shared their pizza and juice boxes with my kids.  Super generous leaders and I am grateful for their kindness. Some not so good things about our field trip today include: the rain, leaky umbrellas, and falling in the mud.  I also learned how difficult it is to hold an umbrella with one hand and shoot photographs with the other hand. It was raining hard enough that I didn't ever put the umbrella down, just attempted to pin it between my head and shoulder if I needed to use my other hand to get a shot. C'est la vie they say. The kids earned Junior Ranger badges and I managed to get a few good shots which almost makes all the whining worth it.  Next time, I wouldn't mind visiting the aquatic gardens on a sunny day, alone.  

A quaint civil war town that sits at the junction of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers.  The kids had a good time, despite the cold, exploring this old town, watching trains and enjoying hot cocoa.

Eliza invited us to spend our sunny super Tuesday outside and we jumped at the opportunity, well I jumped at the opportunity.  The kids appreciated the warm air and the freedom to explore, not the part while we actually had to hike from point to point, but what can you do? I lugged my camera along AND actually snapped some photos of the island.

I hiked "Old Rag" the highest peak in Shenandoah National Park with three friends.  While I hiked I found myself wondering why, having lived in VA for so many years, I haven't hiked this mountain before.  It was fantastic.  The drive to the trail head was stunning and full of picturesque farms lining the base of the mountains.  Heidi, Shelly, Brooke and myself put on our support braces, taped up problem areas on our legs and took some pain relief before setting out on foot.  Hiking in our thirties and forties is very different from hiking in our twenties! The ascent was steep, rocky and full of roots.  We were so focused on the trail that we had to remind ourselves to glance around once in awhile.  The beauty surrounding us was spectacular.  There is about a mile section of the trail called the "rock scramble" which literally means tossing up your pack and scrambling on all fours up and down and around the boulders. ...