May 2010 Vacation

It's been a week since our return, so finally I update you on our vacation . . .

We traveled approximately 1,400 miles to our destination - Lyonsdale, NY, where Ron grew up.  I had the pleasure of navigating this journey, and was rewarded with the experience of witnessing Ron continually being frustrated by the idiocy of his fellow drivers.  I have to admit that it was a bit annoying at times, as what appears to be most Americans apparently think the left hand lane is the travel lane.  Of course the driver that I remember best is the man who was driving while shaving . . . yes, shaving!

The first stop of our road trip was in Gadsden, AL at Noccalula Falls.  We didn't actually enter the park, but we did picnic under the pavilions and take a peek at the falls.  The real highlight of this stop came above the falls where the ducks were in the shallow waters.  We fed the ducks with Aaron.  I had never fed ducks either, but watching Aaron watching them; this was pure joy!

We then continued driving, and outside of stopping to eat or stretch, we did not stop until we reached Natural Bridge, VA.  It had been my intention to arrive much earlier in the day and tour the Natural Bridge, the Caverns, and the Native American Village, but we did not arrive until around 7:30 or 8 pm . . . well after the attractions were closed for the day.  We spent the night at the Natural Bridge Hotel in one of their cottage rooms.  The next morning, we chose to forgo the attractions in favor of an early start, and we left around 6:30 am.

Day two of our drive was pretty non-eventful.  We enjoyed the views as we traveled up I-81, and we made a few stops to stretch our legs and eat, but nothing special.  Then we reached the state of New York, where I came to a new navigational realization.  Now if you take road trips often, you probably already know the tidbit of info I'm about to share . . .  When traveling on the interstate, the exit number correspond with the mile markers.  This makes traveling really easy.  You can look at your directions off Google Map, and if you're at mile marker 3, you know you have about 3 miles to reach exit 6.  It's a really great system!  Unfortunately, it appears New York missed out on the memo outlining this system, which is why I missed Exit 6 in Binghamton, NY somewhere past mile marker 8!  Thankfully, I'm pretty decent with a map, so out came the road atlas, which I used to take a cross road at the next exit and get us back on route.  There was one other navigational snafu where Ron took us on an unintended detour, but nothing serious.  Then, just North of Utica, NY, we were pulled over . . . 77 in a 55 . . .  hey, it was 4 lane and down hill!  Thankfully, the officer was really nice, and Ron has a clean driving record.  The officer told us to be careful and slow down and sent us on our way.

We finally arrived at our hotel around 5:30 pm, and Aaron and I waited in the car while Ron ran in to secure a room.  We then drove on up to his parents' house, where Aaron and I met Ron's parents for the first time.

My FIL/MIL live in a small house tucked way back in the woods.  They are quite self sufficient, even generating their own power.  That's right, they don't have a power bill!  A small stream runs in front of their home.  It has been dammed off to form a pond, and the overflow has been directed into a water wheel, which generates power.  Seriously, how cool is that?  They also have deer come right up into their backyard to feed.

We spent a total of four days with his family, and I greatly enjoyed meeting all of them.  Ron and I have been married nearly 9 years, and this is the first time I've ever met my in-laws, but honestly, it felt as though I'd always known them.  Everyone was so welcoming to me, and it truly felt like going home. 

Here's Ron and Aaron with Ron's parents, Ronnie & Nancy:

Here are some other shots of family:

We also saw Lyons Falls . . . I love waterfalls!

On our way home we stopped in Pine Grove, PA and visited Sweet Arrow Lake, where we saw another waterfall and got pictures in front of the lake:

On the way home we spent a day in Washington, DC.  If traveling to DC, I suggest staying at a hotel near the Metro.  Then, you don't have to drive at all.  The way to travel in DC, is definitely the Metro, and I was actually pretty good at navigating it before the day was over.  I also suggest you allot more than one day to this city if you actually want to see very much.  We flew through two museums (barely skimming the surface) and then we took Aaron to the zoo.  He loved seeing all the different animals.  Here are just a couple of favorites.

Please see my album on Facebook for more vacation pics!