Updated Banner Photo

I’ve updated the banner photo with a picture from an overlook from one of our hikes on our camping trip.

First Family Biking Adventure

Before kids, one of our favorite things to do as a couple was to go biking off road.  There are a number of rail trails (old railroad beds turned into biking trails) in Virginia that go on for miles and make for an enjoyable ride for casual bikers that aren’t up to a strenuous workout.

One of my favorites is called the “Virginia Creeper” trail and goes from White Top Mountain, down the mountain for 19 miles to Damascus, and then over for another 15 miles to Abingdon, Virginia.

Once the kids came, our biking days were curbed, except for that short period of time when they could ride on the back of our bikes, but this never was very frequent.  We had to leave the kids behind (with grandparents or a babysitter), while we went riding together on special occasions, or whenever we got the chance.

But there was never the opportunity to go on a family bike ride together.  The kids were too young.

Finally the boys have grown up enough where they can both ride a bike without training wheels, and both could go farther than just around the block.

So when we talked about what to do for vacation, the idea came up to ride on the Virginia Creeper trail from White Top to Damascus.  A daunting 19 mile journey–except for the fact that it was all down hill. 

So Tuesday, we parked at the top of the trail (after paying for a shuttle to bring us back to our car) and set off down the trail.  The boys did beautifully and were able to keep up and go the distance without any trouble. 

We stopped for lunch near a creek and got to sit on the rocks and watch the boys make stick boats to race down the rapids. 

We ended the trip with celebratory ice cream.

I didn’t realize how much I had been looking forward to this day until I was riding down the trail, watching everybody in single file. It confirmed in my mind that we are ready to do even more family bike trips.  We’ve already started planning the next one.

Hiking Games

Sometimes we go on a hike as a family we because want to get somewhere, like an overlook or waterfall.

Sometimes we go, just to get outside and enjoy the woods, and let the boys whoop and holler and expend some of their infinite supply of energy.

And that second type of hike, we’re more likely to take our time, not push it and play some hiking games.

One of our favorites is when one team sits by the trail with their backs turned and closes their eyes.  Then the other team has to walk by as quietly as they can, one by one.  The first team has to guess who was walking by and when exactly that person is in front of them.  (Try it some time, it is harder than you think to walk that quietly.)

Usually as a distraction, one of the “sneaking” team members, shuffles their feet and rustles the leaves to make it harder for the “listening” team.

Another game that we play is hide and seek.  The one person waits behind on the trail and counts while the other people run up ahead and hide.  When I was a kid, we used to bring our dog on hikes and one person would hold him back while every one would hide.  He never had any trouble sniffing everybody out.

A final game that we’ve played while hiking is called “Storming the Castle.”  We usually play this when we find a large rocky outcropping on the side of a hill (and when a good imagination is intact–not a stretch for the boys, but it can be a challenge for a weary dad.)  We grab a few sticks and decide the objective: A medieval castle held by the Black Knight, or a WWII German encampment, or an Imperial base protected by storm troopers.

Whatever the objective, the goal is to run to top of the outcropping, fight the bad guys without getting hit/killed/shot in the process, and declare victory at the top.  You must be careful though, because once you have crossed the boarder into imagination, it can be difficult to escape!

Stargazing

“Boy, it’s dark out.”
“I can’t see where we’re going!”
“Boys, just a little further.”

We made our way down the road covered in trees to the nearby field. As we stepped into the clearing, the sky opened up, revealing more stars than we had seen in a long time.

“Wow, look at all the stars.”

Being away from any city lights, the only light pollution that we had was the near by campfires, but even those were blocked by the trees.  The night sky was completely clear and crisp, sprinkled with glistening salt on a black tablecloth.

“Hey, there’s the Big Dipper!”
“Where?”
“Over there, see it?”
“Oh yeah!”

We could even see the Milky Way, a faint band that was a little less dark than the black around it.  You could clearly point it out.  We’d have never seen it from our back yard.

Other than a few constellations–the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, Cassiopeia– most were unfamiliar to us without a star map.  But just the vast number and brightness of the sky was staggering.

“Look at all those stars.”
“Isn’t God’s creation amazing?”

And we walked back to our campsite with a better appreciation for the vastness and imagination of our Creator, having had a glimpse into eternity.

Gone Campin’

We’re out of pocket for the next few days.  So posting will be light.

Don’t worry.  You won’t notice anything different!

As Seen in my Mailbox

I guess ABC laws don’t apply to eBay.

(I guess some watched items start the weekend a little early…)

Finally Getting Started

After we got the kids to bed this Sunday evening, my wife said, “It finally feels like the weekend is getting started.”

Too bad it was so short.

Lofty Goals

It started out as an idea.

The boys share a room and a bunk bed. They both wanted to be on the top bunk.  My wife thought, why don’t we get lofts like we had at college.  Then both of the boys could be on top.

It was early summer and wee were in the midst of remodeling our master bedroom/bathroom.  I wasn’t in the mood for any new ideas.  But, hey go for it.

So she e-mailed kids we knew that were in college, she contacted the Baptist Student Union.   They had lofts.

A 45-minute drive to the university, a days adventure and help from the boys loading and unloading, we had 2 college lofts sitting in our basement all summer long.

Once things started quieting down, it was a good opportunity to start working on them.  So one Saturday, I put them together.  It was harder than I expected, and I needed to buy some missing hardware. Bolts, washers, etc.

Then one was too long, so I had to cut it down to size.  This was becoming more than i barganed for, but we kept on going.  We were invested in this project.

Finally last weekend, it was time to paint the lofts, to hide at least some of the sins of the past.  The whole family got involved and we had 4 paint brushes applying the bright blue paint to wood.

And so today, with the paint dry, we moved the lofts into their rooms and set them up.  Quite a bit higher than the bunk bed, they have enough room to sleep but not much else.  However, the room underneath is vast in comparison.

Here are a few pictures of the final result.