Well, it's been quite a while, and I thought I'd post a little something as we head back out on the road. The remainder of the summer was a bit hectic as we stayed with my parents as my sister came and went with her family. She moved to St. Augustine, FL over the summer, and this involved lots of stays with my parents as they were between houses for the summer.
After our last trip we came back to my parents' house where my parents were taking care of their grandchildren while my sister and her husband wrapped up their house sale in DC. They joined their kids in Blacksburg shortly after we arrived and stayed for a while. We taught the kids about emptying the RV's tanks!
Aaron helped his sister move to Richmond, VA for a few days while I visited extended family in Ohio. I hadn't been to Ohio in a while and it was especially great to spend some time with my great uncle. Unfortunately I didn't manage to take any photos!!
We spent the 4th of July with my sister at her in-laws' lake house on Lake Canandaigua, one of the finger lakes in New York. We drove the car and left the RV at the farm since we had somewhere to stay.
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| Aaron watching fireworks with our nephews and niece |
We took a long way back via Ohio to see several sights we'd been interested in - still in the car. We checked another national park off our list - Cuyahoga Valley - the most interesting feature of which was the 'Ledges' hike, where sheer cliff walls put out cool air like air conditioning. We stopped by Cedar Point so Aaron could experience several record breaking roller coasters, and then drove down to visit the Neil Armstrong Museum and the National Museum of the US Air Force - the latter houses the only remaining Valkyrie, which Aaron desperately wanted to see.
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| Part of the Ledges hike |
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| Cedar Point! |
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| This is the Gemini capsule that Neil Armstrong barely survived after one of the thrusters misfired |
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| The Valkyrie - look closely, Aaron is standing underneath with arms extended |
Right after we got back from Ohio we drove the car for an overnight trip to Dollywood to see their summer festival drone show before it ended. The show was absolutely incredible.
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| One of the many formations the drones made |
Right after we got back from Dollywood, my sister & her family returned to Blacksburg so we stayed put to visit and help with the kids. We were crazy enough to volunteer to babysit the four kids at the end of their stay for several days so my sister & her husband could get the new house set up in St. Augustine. We had a good (and exhausting!) time.
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| With my sister, her kids, and my aunt at Dixie Caverns |
After returning the kids to their parents, I was thrilled to spend some time with my aunt's brand new golden retriever puppy before we took a quick trip to St. Louis to visit some friends there.
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| With my aunt and her 8 week old puppy! |
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| With our friends at Grant's Farm in St. Louis |
To wrap up our summer, we took our first cruise since the pandemic started on the Carnival Magic. Due to CDC regulations and last minute regulation changes in The Bahamas, the passenger count was only 1800 out of a possible 4500, and we thoroughly enjoyed our space. Unfortunately a handful of COVID-positive crew members caused our shore excursion to be canceled in the Dominican Republic, but aside from that (which, honestly, we figured was a distinct possibility in the middle of the pandemic, so it wasn't too surprising nor upsetting), everything was awesome.
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| On the top deck of the ship, overlooking the water slides and ropes course |
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| All dressed up for formal night! We made the masks in the craft activity that day and didn't actually wear them outside the cabin |
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| Drinks and shade on a beach in Bimini! |
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