Northeast Family Trip - Day One

(to follow from the beginning, click here)

Early rising...time for Adventure!!

Gregg woke at 4:00am and started with breakfast; everyone else is up by 4:30am. 

(I'm grumpy, but I realize that sometimes it's better for me to just be quiet for a while.  I tend to be a little short with my words and tone.  I very much wish I was a morning person, but if I ain't one by now...chances are I'm just going to have to accept the fact!  Gregg, on the other hand, has the radio going and is "chipper"!  He's bouncing around preparing much of the last minute packing.  I'm thankful for him...even if I don't smile at him to let him know...)

Everyone is up and ready and excited!  Everyone's clothes were put out the night before and big buddies helped dress the little buddies.  This helped A LOT!

Breakfast at 5:00am - sausage, grits, gravy, juice.

Dishes, clean-up, hands and faces washed, teeth brushed.

Packing everything into the van.  Includes the following:

• Suitcases (8 in all, various sizes) 
• Diapers and Training pants 
• LOTS of baby wipes
• Boxes filled with food for meals and snacking along the way
• Cooking pots, utensils, dish towels, potholders, seasonings
• Coolers filled with gatorade, water, juice, cheese, margarine, fruit, puddings, chocolate, and other misc items to be kept cold
• Extra water, juice, and gatorades to add to coolers later
• Games, mp3 players, toys, and craft items to occupy kids
• Pillows and blankets
• Coats and sweatshirts
• Extra shoes
• Toiletry items in separate bags
• Camera and camera bag w/ extra lenses, batteries, and SD cards
• Money, checkbook, debit card, keys
• Box of AAA tourbooks, maps, and handwritten notes
• Diaper bag
• Small cooler for front of van with drinks
• Phones and chargers
• 2 backpack carriers
• Portable child seat

all packed!!

 

Everybody goes to the potty, toilets are flushed, trash is taken to the shed, animals are tended, and I make a final run through the house to straighten everything so we come home to neatness..WHEW!! 

It's a beautiful morning...

beautiful morning

 And we're in the van, ready to leave by 7:15am.  I assign seats to ward off arguing, and promise to change up the seating along the way...

 

first thing Eva does - takes off her socks and shoes!

 

the three muskateers on the back seat

 

Caleb and Silas ready for the ride

 

Eva, Nathan, and Kedesh ready to go

 

"I've got my toy...let's ride!"

 

Me - riding shotgun

 

Gregg giving everyone last minute directions such as:
"Keep your hands to yourself...
If you need to use the bathroom, speak up now...
If we can hear your music up here, it's too loud in your earbuds..."

Destination...Paradise, Pennsylvania.  Mapquest says it's going to take us 10 hours and 15 minutes to get there.  We must also account for rest stops and eating along the way...

 

First stop for gas and bathrooms @ 8:19am.  Isaiah wants to know, "How many hours have we been riding?"  "Uh...just ONE, little man!"

 

North Carolina state line

Stop at Walmart for items we forgot...tablecloths, chewing gum, and sunglasses for Gregg.  Of course, we also have to go potty - AGAIN.

 

Entering Virginia

10:45am - We make a stop at the Virginia Welcome Center to stretch legs and potty - AGAIN.  By this time, several of us have had a little nap, so we're a little slow moving...

 

"Wake up, Caleb!"



Desh-Desh with bedhead

12:00-1:30 pm ...We decide to eat sandwich wraps at a rest area.  It was a beautiful little spot where we were able to observe the oldest metal bridge in Virginia...and we had plenty of room to run and romp.  The only downside was that the wind was blowing really hard while we were trying to eat, and our paper plates and napkins kept wanting to fly away! 

 

First meal on the road - picnic with sandwich wraps

 

Silas with a gatorade as big as he is

 

Buddies

 

Silly Samuel taking advantage of the open space

 

taking a walk

 

Row String Arch Truss - the oldest metal bridge in Virginia

 

exploring the bridge and what is underneath

 

stopping just long enough to pose for a pic

 

sweet times loving each other

After getting everyone's tummies full, it was more riding and naptime for everybody...well, almost everybody - Gregg had to drive. :)

 

The rest of our day was mostly traveling on the interstate.

 

Entering West Virginia

 

Entering Maryland

 



Entering Pennsylvania

We saw lots of pretty landscapes, though, and the kids were fantastic. 

 

Kedesh is chillin'

 They did ask 100+ times how much longer it was going to be...and we finally threatened to make them get out and walk if they asked again - lol!

 

About 2 hours from Paradise, PA, we decided to take a "short cut" that we were hoping would be more scenic.  It turned out to go through tons of little not-so-scenic towns, lots of construction, and traffic lights.  By the time we began looking for the house we were renting, it was dark and everybody was hungry and tired. 

 

We spotted the road to the house at the last minute, and I thought Gregg might wreck us in that 15 passenger, but he didn't!  I was spastic about the turn and almost hitting a cement block wall...the kids...well, they loved it!

 

We arrived at our destination in Paradise, PA at 8:20pm - just over 13 hours after we began. 

 

Our rental home for the next 4 days

The house was built in the 1920's and had recently been renovated and updated.  It had plenty of room at a great price.  And, being a woman, I had to check out all of the decor.  Here were a few of my favorites things about the house:

 



the girls' room where they could look out the window at the head of the bed
and see the Amish buggies going by

 

Nathan and Silas' room with traveling decor

 

the master bath

 

canvas covered in vintage sheet music

 

vintage cradle used for holding towels and washcloths

 

the stairway

 

hodgepodge of misc chair styles and colors

vintage high chair

 

glass bottles arranged in the kitchen windowsill

 

coatrack made using antique doorknobs

 

"He will cover you..."

 

vintage books in the windowsill of the kids' room

 

the wall above the master bed

 We all got baths (before I knew it, there were 4 little naked boys in the jacuzzi upstairs, and they were looking for the bubble bath!), cooked a supper of homemade chili and beans, and watched the Clemson v. Florida State football game.

 

Then it was to bed...just before midnight.  Can you say "exhausted"??

 

precious baby girl

 

 

Stay tuned for Day 2 as God leads us to worship in a new place and we explore the famous battlefield at GETTYSBURG...