Our Trip to Williamsburg: July 2018

It was a warm July afternoon as our family, towing our trailer, pulled out of our driveway headed for Williamsburg, Virginia, 12 hours away in the States. Excitement was in the air: it was the beginning of a long trip, and although not as long as PEI, this was the furthest we had ever been in America.

Us just before heading off. We had our pillows, snacks, and backpacks full of audio books, books, coloring pictures, and pens. And of course, I had my camera fully charged and ready to take pictures. 

We had been at Pake and Beppe's most of the day and she had fed us supper so Mom could pack peacefully without us. So she was sitting there. From the look on her face I think she was praying for us - she was worried about us going all that way. But she waved and off we went. 

I am a traveling person. I love the idea of traveling (especially at night), and I truthfully don't mind being the van for long periods of time, since I don't get car sick easily. But we were off - in an hour we would be in the States.

Driving in Canada on the 401

In the US

Cassia. By this time we were on the Interstate, in Michigan. 

So we drove on, occasionally stopping for gas and bathroom breaks.

Gas Break #1

We drove all the way until 2, then stopped at a truck stop in Maryland to sleep. Mom and a few kids slept in the trailer, while Dad, Cassia, and I slept in the van. I don't think anyone slept real well. During the first hours in Maryland, it was a lot of fun driving and going through tunnels. I think everyone had their sleeping situations set up perfectly to enable as much rest as possible for everyone on each bench. For Alicia and I, we switched so that if we wanted to, we could switch spots to sleep.  

The park at the truck stop where we spent some of the night. In the morning we enjoyed breakfast and an amazing view.

The view from the park. Our van, trailer, against the mountains.

The Interstate heading towards Virginia, which we would head down after breakfast. 

A view of the mountains in Maryland.

Traveling along the highway. We went through Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland,  Washington D.C, and Virginia.

Traffic in Washington D.C. It was so busy there that it took 3 hours just to get though it all, giving us a 15 hour trip instead of a 12 hour trip.

While driving, we played some road games. Alicia and I played "Spot the License Plate."  Basically, you have to find as many different license plates as you can. Easy, right? It was, and a lot of fun. I think (if I remember correctly) I spotted license plates from New Jersey, Georgia, Virginia, D.C, Alberta, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ontario, New York, Maine, and Florida, and more which I cannot recall. From the moment I saw the Virginia license plate I thought "I have to get a picture of that plate!" So I tried and tried and tried. And finally I got it.

If you read the fine print, it will say.... Virginia is for lovers.

Anyways, we drove and drove and drove, reaching our campsite at two Saturday afternoon. We set up and went swimming. In Virginia, we were literally in the middle of nowhere. There were Watch Out for Bears! signs, and I loved it. I love being out in the middle of nowhere, I really do. It is so much fun.

Our campsite. Very nice and private, and behind us was a trail leading into the bush which we had fun exploring.

Saturday we swam, then had a fire and went to bed. On Sunday we went to a Baptist church close by. That evening we went to the James River with some of the people from the church and enjoyed getting to know one another. That church was one of the friendliest churches I have ever been too. It was really nice to be there, and it was a good inspiration to be friendly to people coming to our church, especially young people my age.

On the bus at Williamsburg. It was the handiest thing ever - we didn't have to walk a lot then.

The gardens at the Governor's Palace, our first stop and my personal favorite.

The maze at the back of the Palace. It was slightly challenging, but a lot of fun. I think we did it wrong though, since we never reached the middle.

Colorful Carpet

The Capital building. This was on Tuesday during one of our programs.

Our ferry, the Pocahontas. Waiting on Tuesday to go back to our campsite.

The shoreline along the James River on our return trip.

The sun on the River. One of my favorite pictures, even though it was taken by accident.

More shoreline.....:)

The outside of the Capitol building while waiting for our last program on Wednesday.

An older kitchen in a 1940's house

For anyone who likes a piano.... here is an old one. (Selina, Alicia, I am thinking of you right now.)

After Wednesday we wrapped up our Williamsburg tour. We all really enjoyed it and maybe one day we will go back. We really onyl had Thursday to enjoy the campground since we left on Friday. However, before we left on Friday, we took the opportunity to visit Chippokes Plantation, the plantation close to our campsite.

Cassia, Ellia, and Moriah sitting on the sign for the Plantation.

And we are back on the road. We were headed home. Sad to leave Virginia, but I think we were all ready to go home. We had cousins to play with on Sunday. One of the fun parts about going home was that we were able to enjoy the mountains much more. Which leads me to post some mountain pictures....

Many mountain pictures!

We headed home, driving and driving. We stopped for gas three times, and nearly ran out twice. Lesson learned: Gas stations are sparce in the mountains. As time went on, we fell asleep one by one. I know I might have slept for 2 hours? Maybe? Whatever amount of time it was, it certainly wasn't very much. As we snaked our way through Ohio, Dad grew more tired and Mom grew more talkative. She knew that if she wanted to keep him awake she would have to talk a lot. By 5 we were at the border. In about half an hour we were in Canada. After getting gas, we drove home. By this time I was tired but wide awake. 

At seven Saturday morning we arrive at home. We called Beppe to let her know that we had made it safely, and she in return invited us for breakfast which we eagerly accepted. We had a delicious breakfast of Froot Loops and our cousins were there too. So it was a perfect reunion! Once coming back home we unpacked. Dad slept all day until at least 3, and the rest of us layed around. By 6 pm, most of the little kids were asleep in different places in the house, and Mom, Alicia, Moriah, and I listened of Adventures in Odyssey and ate Cesar salad for supper. That night everyone who wasn't already sleeping went to bed on time, in order to be rested for Sunday.

So even though we had to leave on Friday, it turned out to be good so we could have a restful Saturday. Otherwise Sunday would not have been very fun for anyone.

The Campout

As children, one of our favorite things to do is spend time with our grandparents. So, when the opportunity arose to sleep in their bush, we eagerly accepted. Four years ago, our family moved into their house and lived with them for 10 months while they built a house just 1 km down the road on a 1 acre bush property. Now they live there, so Aunt Nicole, them, and us are all within 2 km of each other. But, back to my story.
After talking with our cousins and parents we set the date. We wanted to hurry up and do it before it got cold, so we settled for a Wednesday night. Late Wednesday afternoon, Noah, Hannah, Titus, Cassia, Moriah, Alicia, and I headed to Pake and Beppe's. They were gone but had said we could come and set up. So we set up our tents and then went back to get our stuff. Aunt Nicole kindly brought us hot dogs and chips, and we were all very excited to be able to eat supper by ourselves.

Here is the view of our camp. Boys tent to the left and girls to the right.

Titus making a hot dog. In the corner is our supper "table" filled with hot dogs and hot dog buns, chips, and drinks. Plus condiments. 

At 5:45 we got everyone together to start making our hot dogs. First though, we had to find sticks since we didn't have any roasters. We all gathered around the fire sitting on our camp chairs and Noah (as the oldest boy) prayed for our food. I did not expect him to do that, but he did and I was very proud of him! We ate a silly supper, and I'm afraid to tell you that our table manners all but disappeared. :)

In this picture Titus was telling me an exaggerated story of how he cooked a carrot on his hot dog roaster. It was a very loud and funny story, even though it was a little gross. Warning! Do not eat a fire cooked carrot on it if it has ash on it. Oh Titus!

Just after 6:30, Pake and Beppe arrived. They changed out of their fancy clothes (they had gone out to dinner) and came to join us. After supper we all went to the front to play Red Rover. Everyone played, including Pake and Beppe. They are such good sports! 

 I was playing so Hannah took some pictures.

After Red Rover we retired to the campfire, laughing and talking. But not before we took some fun pictures.

Me and Hannah

Cassia and Hannah

Me and Titus

Moriah warming up by the fire. 

Once it began to get dark and the mosquitoes made their appearance Pake and Beppe retired and we disappeared into our tents. But not before singing and dancing beneath the canopy of the trees.  We were loud children! At about 10 we fell asleep after talking in our tents for about an hour. I woke up once at 2, and then again at 6. But I was still tired and it was really cold so I told Titus to get up and make the fire. He did, and about 30 minutes later there was a roaring fire. After eating a traditional breakfast of Froot Loops and hot chocolate, we piled our stuff in Pake's truck and played outside for some time.

Alicia pushing Hannah. Some of us never bothered to change out of our p.j's.

Hannah looking at me. I was swinging while I took this picture, but it turned out pretty good.

Titus and I were playing tether ball and I must have gotten on his side! 😊 Sometimes I get kind of competitive while playing.....

There we are again.

Hannah took these pictures, since I was playing.

Moriah cheering us on. Hannah got a great picture of her.

As per tradition, Beppe drove us all home in the back of Pake's truck. After she drove the Burggraaf's home, Cassia and I laid down and I could have fallen asleep I was so comfy. I had my pillow, my stuffy, and everyone else's pillows and blankets. We got home, and Mom was nice to us and didn't make us do school. Instead we did some cleaning and just had a very relaxed day.

It was a whole lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again next year!

And.....We're Back!

It has been a long 5 years since Mom posted. What with moving and having six children she got very busy. But now, as the oldest, I graciously offered to take up what she has started. And I have a camera so I take lots of pictures. So I will do my best to keep you posted.
As of November 12, 2018, I will be 14, Alicia is 12, Moriah is 11, Cassia is 9, Ellia is 7, and Joel is 5. We are all growing up very fast! :)

This was a picture which Mom took when we went September camping a few weeks ago.
In the past 5 years, we have managed to take a few family trips. In 2016 we went to Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, last April we went to Toronto for a few days, and this July we went to Williamsburg, Virginia for just over a week. I will upload all those pictures so you can see what we've been up to!
We've also gone camping multiple times, the most recent in September.

We went camping in Rondeau, a provincial park less than 10 minutes away from our house, for a week. This is our campsite, and across from it was Pake and Beppe's. They came out too, as well as our cousins. It was a lot of fun.

Here is Alicia, Beppe, Joel, and Moriah playing Chrominoes on Monday. It rained a lot, but they were still able to play. Joel is a whiz at this game, even though he's only five. He is so good and he wins quite a bit. :) 

One of the things we did was fishing. As often as we could, we fished.

Our tackle-box

all opened up....

Cassia trying to figure things out. She is the bravest of us all, putting worms and hooks on and taking off fish by herself. I can do worms, but fish and hooks........ I just get Noah or Titus to do it - they are more than willing. ;)

Noah sitting patiently, waiting for a bit. It was a beautiful day. 

Another favorite of ours was swimming....even in September the water was warm, since it had had all summer to warm up. And it was a great opportunity to take pictures as well.

Well, duty calls. I need to get going on my school and customers. 

Later!