Speak now, dear children.: Glamping in the mountains...

No meltdowns yet and it's already day four. What a difference from our previous trips...

I was trying to put this on my Adventures in a Bluebird page on fb but can't figure out how to write a 'note' on it. Perhaps they no longer have that option? Anyway I decided to just stick it on my blog because I know people want to know every move I am making.

Stop with the chuckle, I am not that vain...

Departure/Arrival and day two brought us this:

Okay, I’ll admit I felt like a bit of a celebrity and that made me happy. On our way to the campground we stopped at a Rest area just outside of Richmond. I am used to people admiring Rare Metal and taking pic’s of her. If I happen to “accidentally” be in them so be it and yes, it is sheer coincidence that my tummy is in and shoulders back. AKA boobs out.

Today was a little different though and I immediately began to catch a taste of what Hollywood must feel like for real with the paparazzi following. There seemed to be about two hundred of them and they were all men. Darker complexions. They were hopping out of tour buses and were taking pic’s of Rare Metal in complete awe of her. ‘Wait till they see me’ I thought to myself… Seriously, we couldn’t even park because they were surrounding her and wouldn’t move as they snapped their shots. Finally Alan was able to maneuver her into a spot and the kids and I got out. Sure, I could have used the toilet in her but where is the fun in that? How would I be able to talk to them?

Not at all is how I could talk to them as they didn’t speak English. Now, for some reason I, who am loud anyway, feel the need to holler when I am trying to talk to a foreigner. So I yell (slowly, while using hand gestures) “Do… you… want… me… to… take… a… picture… of… your… group… with… the… Rv?” For gosh sakes Angela, they are from another country not freakin' deaf. Blank stares. I tried again. Pointing to the camera I made him understand. He gladly accepted and some of them lined up. Jake got in the picture with them. The kids and I proceeded into the Rv and I made sandwiches for lunch. Deviled Ham…we only eat it when we are on the road and I am pretty sure our bodies thank us for that. They were still surrounding the bus taking pic’s. I was trying to figure out if they were Albanian, Italian or something else. I couldn't help but think to myself that Rare Metal and I better get used to this, as this is what it will be like on my book tour. Hey, if you don't believe in yourself and have a vision...it'll never happen.

Though unusual for us, the rest of the trip went smoothly. Alan’s oldest daughter and her two children are coming to stay for a few days. They will bring a tent and stay on our site. Yes, that does make me a …ahem… grandmother, a "Grangie" to be exact. Her oldest, Brittany, is older than my two. Weird family we are. "Jake give that to your sister who is seven years younger than your mom." If you can't laugh at yourself...

Alan and Crystal went to the store while I took all four kids up to the pool. He came back with no shortage of nitrates. Lots of kielbasa and sausage cause it was on sale for $1.25. “Oh, you got the good stuff” I said with a hint of sarcasm. Blech. Day one led us to Grottoes, Va. Where the Grand Caverns are. Oh my gosh they were cool. Like, literally 54 degrees but also awesome to look at and experience. We took a little hike on a trail there. Started out straight up and didn’t stop. Holy frig my legs and ass. Ummm what the hell is this? Downpour. Where the hell did it come from? I'll bet some of you reading this just said to yourself "the sky." I did when I asked it. I mean we were soaked immediately and there was no escaping it. I could’ve gotten pissy but decided to embrace the rain though I was cold! We reached the top and turned around. The rain lasted about 10 minutes. The sun came back through the trees and felt great. Thank you Lord! We were dripping from every inch but didn’t want to go back to the campground and we did dry pretty quickly. Luckily for us gals Crystal had a few extra t-shirts in her car. Not so good was that our bras got wet too so it looked like we were lactating for a while.

Next we found a boat landing on the Shenandoah River and I let Alan take Crystal and her kids on a canoe trip. I use the term let because I suggested they all go because we would have plenty of time and they were leaving the next day and I wanted her kids to have a canoe trip. The kids and I met them at a landing about six miles up river. BLT’s for supper. Yummy.