down and back

As previously mentioned, we ran down to Virginia for the weekend.
We got a very early start and timed the trip perfectly.
On the agenda: a visit to the space shuttle, waffles, setting up in a gorgeous log-home we rented and, finally, tending to things on the farm.
The ride down was uneventful. Traffic-free. Middle and Oldest do this thing wherein they stay up for 24 hours before we go away someplace so they can sleep soundly during the trip. They successfully did that. K drove and I did a variety of things. Youngest played with his PSVida thing.
We had breakfast at the WaffleHouse and though pretty yummy, it was pretty yucky too.
Now, the shuttle museum?
Highly recommended.
Amazing.
Some shots from Middle which, sadly, I cropped.



The enormous, impressive and slightly scary Blackbird.




Same plane, different angle. This shot is so MIDDLE, I can't even explain it.



That's the tail-end of the space shuttle Discovery.
The wear and tear and burn marks on the tiles of this ship give it a battered and emotional kind of look.
The size of it is remarkable.
It's a great museum and staffed with well-educated docents.
We loved it.



We drove another couple of hours and reached the most perfect, newly-built log-house you've ever seen.
It was beautifully equipped, had deliciously comfortable mattresses, was impeccably clean and was located minutes away from the farm.
It was also burglarized 24 hours later.
It's not a long story but it is scary. Nothing was stolen from us but we could not stay in the house and I won't say more than that. We were lucky enough to camp out at K's dad's house but we had hoped not to impose on this trip and only to be of help.

Let me distract us all with more farm photos!


Here we are assisting in the preparation of the kind of breakfast people who work on farms require: eggs, softly scrambled with some scallions, toast, and homemade bacon.

 

And work they did. I cannot say enough about how hard those four men of mine worked.
They worked for hours on end, in unbearable humidity and stifling heat.
No one complained. No one quit. They all pitched in and gave it everything they had.








They cleared brush and fallen trees and hauled and lifted and flat-out worked like crazy.








They had a couple of quick breaks for water and jokes...but it was mostly all-business.






I drove the Jeep back to where they were (too hot to walk) and brought more water and hats.
They worked till they couldn't anymore, they only had one minor injury, and they finished all that needed to be done.

It was a wonderful trip for lots of reasons. It was one of those times when you see the men your children have become and are proud and I was terribly impressed with all of them.
And, now, I am grateful to be home.