Day 7

Today actually began at 1am with the flickers of lightning and far off noise of thunder.  I had checked the time to see if it would late enough in the morning to pack up and get on the road, but we needed it to be more like 4 or 5am. I laid there doing the Poltergeist countdown to see how far away the storm was and how quickly it would get to us.  Seventeen, then Twenty-Four, then eighteen, then seventeen, then fifteen.  I hopped out of the tent to move our towels that were hanging to dry and grab my raincoat and laptop as I knew I'd be awake if this was a good storm.  After I got back in the tent I remembered the kids leaves they had out to dry so I moved them to dry in my car.  I could already see the disappointment on their faces if I'd left them out there.

When I got back in the second time, Brayden was up and asking why we were leaving so we talked for a little while about storms, hoping this one would pass.  I could tell the lightning and thunder had moved just over us, but there was no rain yet.  I was shocked that scared-to-death-of-thunder Ryan hadn't attached herself to me yet as she wakes up and jumps in someone's bed at home before we even hear anything.

Brayden became quiet so I laid there listening and counting....ten, five, eight.  It sounded like the thunder had
moved past us and the lightning was definitely not as bright anymore.  Just as I was entertaining the thought of the storm going around us, the downpour started so I hurried to zip up the tent windows to keep us dry.  I got out my laptop and started writing to pass the time.  About twenty minutes later with a loud crack a small child leap-frogged over another child to become attached to me.

Since everyone was up at 2:30am, we made the best of it and read another chapter of our book. The kids were appreciative of the distraction and by the time I finished reading their eyes were heavy and the rain had slowed to a steady sprinkle so we all went back to sleep.

This was another wonderful park with thought put into the design of the campsites and the surroundings. Ryan declared it the best bathroom and showers we have seen yet, so since she has turned into our campground bathroom snob, that is saying a lot for this place!

We opted for a quick breakfast and headed to the nearby Natural Bridge park.  We walked the steps down to read the sign about the dimensions and history of the area and there it was.  Having been to a natural bridge out west we knew what to expect, but this one definitely didn't disappoint.

Brayden: "Giant!"

Laney: "Awesome!"  That's her word for everything these days.

Ryan: "Humugnus...Humungurus...Humungous!"

See those little tiny people down there? They're the kids!

We walked on toward the Lace Waterfalls at the end of the trail.  I'm not sure if we've just happened to see
waterfalls at the right time of the year or it was this one's wrong time of year, but we were underwhelmed. We still took a picture and headed back. Ryan clearly needs to practice staying still while she takes pictures!

By the time we came back by a small indian area was open so we stopped by for a visit.  The kids shy mouths were clamped shut, so we just quietly walked around reading about the place.  The kids enjoyed it, but enjoyed running around the playground area much more.  We headed upstairs to the store to spend some money burning holes in their pockets.  Ryan opted for a kids compound bow & arrow set and the other two decided to wait.  By the time we were done at 11am we were all starving!

Ryan recognized these corn husk dolls from the ranger talk on Corn we'd been to in the Smokies!

 

We got on the road to try to find a Cracker Barrel (my kids love that place for some reason), but we couldn't wait the hour it was going to take us so we opted for free wifi and a McDonalds. After fueling up the car and our stomachs, we were off to Pennsylvania through the mountains of West Virginia.  The views have been just spectacular and I couldn't wait to soak in a few more along the way.  I knew it would be a long drive, so the girls were tucked in with the Frozen movie and Brayden plugged in with his DS.

No sooner had we reached the West Virginia border we were stuck.  Literally.  I'd pulled over to get the obligatory kids & border sign picture and my car sunk into fresh mud from a storm we'd just driven through. I couldn't go anywhere and my heart sank.  Thanks to Grammie, we had AAA coverage but as I was getting back into the car after surveying the situation, I bearded, bear-like gentelman stopped his truck and asked if we needed some help.  He raced off to get his cousin and a chain.  Not 2 minutes later, a couple who just happened to live a driveway away on the way home from a funeral stopped and asked if we needed help.  I told him about the other man and he said he would also run home and get is truck and chain.  Not 1 minute later a semi slowed to a stop in the middle of the rural road and asked if we needed help as well.  I was overwhelmed with appreciation and thankfulness for their kindness as well as embarrassment for getting us into this situation.

As all the people who'd stopped came together (plus some!) they quickly took their jobs of directing traffic,
hooking the chain to my car, and pulling me out.  And just like that (after many thank yous and goodbyes) we were back on the road.  They were like a bunch of angels that swooped down and lifted us up back on our way.

Driving through the mountains means not much data coverage for my phone (I miss Verizon on the road!) so I was flipping back and forth between my phone and the paper atlas to get us to our destination.  It was a long, windy drive through the mountains and I now have a new respect for race car drivers.  I'd always thought that to be a fun job to have, but driving through all those twists and turns was draining.  I could imagine how fun it would be on a motorcycle though!  I think if I were learning to drive here, my mom would've had a stroke.

No sooner had we pulled into our campsite that Ryan was out shooting with her bow and arrows.  The neighbor kids enjoyed watching and soon joined in on the fun.  They shot until dinner and we decided to go to the playground across the lake.  The neighbor kids & mom joined us for the walk around - what a gang - 6 kids on scooters and bikes!  The kids enjoyed trading bikes and scooters back and forth along the 1 mile path.




Laney wanted to take a picture of these flowers just for Nana!

The kids bounced from beach, to grass, to playground and back and before too long I could see the exhaustion in their faces.  We made the trek back to our site, brushed our teeth, and settled in for another chapter and another night snuggled together.