camping on hunting island

After exhausting ourselves with so much resting in the Shenandoah we pressed south for something like ten hours to Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina. I've always believed in the back edges of my soul that the south is a place of fascination and romance, what with the lichen covered trees and the heat and the butter laden food. Certainly, the longer we drove, the more desirous I was of acquiring for myself a peach--well, more than one--and adding to it butter and brown sugar along with heat, lots and lots of heat. Spending three nights did nothing to cast a shadow over my previous hopes and impressions. Probably if I lived there reality would ruin everything.

It was a very long drive--very very long, especially since when I initially plotted out the trip, I thought it would only be 8 hours. The difference between 8 and 10 for a car full of children turned out to be significant. Of course, stupidly, I promised over and over, with tears even, that No Other Drive would be longer than this one and then it turned out that almost every other drive was. What a failure I am, on so many occasions, to my children.

Fortunately, they recovered almost immediately after escaping from their prison of luxury (the car continues to be so comfortable) and despair (clearly we would never get to leave it).

Our tent takes a total of 4 1/2 minutes to assemble and anchor to the ground. We notched it in between these wonderfully exotic trees and cast about for a loo, which again, was Much Much Too Far Away.

The Peaches

The Water Spigot

The Baby In a Tub of Water

The Sitting Down for a Few Minutes and checking Facebook for the First Time in Days

The Feast

The Much Needed Vat of Vegetables After Accidentally Neglecting to Eat Them in Virginia

The Cessation of Whining For a Few Blessed Minutes

The Incredibly Beautiful and Vast Ocean

camping in the shenendoah

I've always wanted to go to the shenendoah valley ever since I heard that wonderful song which unfortunately I have totally forgotten. We spent three days in the Shenendoah State Park, looking down over the immense valley, our high up camp accessed only by a very winding road over which every child was constantly threatening to be sick. 

Our particular site was steps away from the actual, for real, Appaichan Trail. As we "hiked" it (that is walked liesurly and gently along, stopping every few seconds to shout at the woodland creatures and the view, and also to collect acorns along the way) the first day I felt strongly that if every governor would really Hike The Appalchan Trail the country would be in possibly more tolerable shape. It's so beautiful, the views so stunning, not to mention the forest itself arrayed in green and light and shadow. Matt has lots of pictures on his phone and someday maybe I'll get them off.

Fatty Lumpkin always wanted to stir the pot. When a person said no to her she would leap back, shake her head vigorously and stuff both her fat dirty paws in her wide mouth.

Not surprisingly, I quickly wearied of the endless roasting of marshmallow and the sticky wads of chocolate and everything in everyone's hair, of Fatty Lumpkin's siren wail when she got dirty at all. But I basically kept a brave and happy face until the last night of the week when tragically all the sticks were too burnt and the marshmallows too stuck together and we had to make chocolate pudding instead.

More interesting to me was this "stew" which I reworked into various forms over the three days in Virginia. I think by the third night it tasted pretty delicious, especially with a thick pork chop underneath.

Oh Shenendoah, how I loved thee and hope someday to return but with a little domed wooden camper with a perfectly arranged spice rack in the back and my own source of water and positioned much much much closer to the loo.

ducks

San Antonio has a beautiful duck feeding option. 

The river is all green and cool and murky.

And around the various bends sit beautiful old settling houses and other kinds of interesting structures.

And a sparkling water fall.

And a bridge.

And a beautiful view.

Besides so many interesting varieties of ducks and other birds, most of whose photo likenesses did not prove fabulous enough to post here, though in person they were so interesting Elphine took about 200 pictures.

Also, no one really stood still for me.

And there was this amazing tree full of cattle egrets. 

Exactly the right kind of activity for a holidaying moment.

one luxury and another

Romulus turned seven yesterday.

And so I worked on a contribution for cake wrecks. This is called The Wave.

And then we trundled heavily out to the beach one last time to say goodbye to the spectacular view.

And then we went swiftly to bed so as to be able to be in the car by 4:30am for the 12 hour drive to San Antonio. So here I am, in a really cool and lovely hotel room with a massive tv which has stopped the agonized crying of the children dead in their throats. After this mug of tea I am going to have a glass of wine and ponder the interesting week ahead of me. As for Romulus, he is going to be drinking coffee in the morning because now he is a man. Happy Birthday to him!

lap of luxury

I have been groping towards my former mind over the past few days, feeling that I could, if I tried very hard, put some words together in a string for the everlasting gratification of the Internet. But the trouble of it has been much much too great. I'm trying to read The Fellowship of the Ring (because I promised myself I would, as a New Years resolution) and I feel like Frodo, lugging my wretched blogging mind through the wilds of the US, trying to keep all my various children from perishing in the fire or the water or because they are whining so much. It's just been exhausting--but in the right vacationing kind of way where you spend inordinate amounts of time trying to cook your food, or the time, time and time and a half it takes to lather sun screen on screaming angry sand scared toddlers. Maybe next week I'll lightly and effortlessly chronicle the mountains of food we've been wading through. Or not. Who can say what tomorrow shall bring.

7 Quick Takes: Home Again Home Again....

One

So I thought I would be really selfless and hold the baby all night to keep her from crying since I'm not feeding her at 3 am any more and she's really mad about it and Matt really Needed to sleep because of having to teach Bible study this morning (right now as I'm writing this in fact). So I held her all night but she cried all night anyway and so I got up at 4am and started reading the internet and here I still am...........

Two

Which probably means I won't be spending a solid day unpacking and getting everything in order to start school on Tuesday but instead will wander around the house in a big sweater without brushing my teeth or being able to focus on anything except the potato chip crumbs that are slowly being ground into the carpet which will cause me to despair and think that I'm a bad person. You're welcome sweetie!

Three

But I am REALLY happy to be home even though its so chilly up here I already miss the hot dry air of Texas. The kids fell in with hysterical relief to playing with their toys. After three hours of playing with his knights yesterday, when I told him it was time to go to bed, Romulus wailed, "But I didn't get to play at all!!!"

Four

And I'm really grateful that the day of travel home went so smoothly. So far away from being hassled at check in and security, everyone was unfailingly cheerful and kind. As the kids went through the metal detector a TSA agent handed them special TSA badge stickers and asked them how old they were and stuff. And later, as I walked onto the last plane, bringing up the line, as it were, holding the baby and several large bags, the flight attendant, who had been audibly counting "one, two, three, wow, four, five, woow, six" said, "You look amazing!" instead of "You have your hands full!" I almost gave her a hug but I'm not really that kind of person so I just send 'Thank You' in an intensely meaningful sort of way.

Five

But I still hold to my original thought that a week camping without electricity or running water is easier than one day of flying. No contest. I don't even like electricity that much, except for its provision to me of the internet.

Six

The wretched black miracle cat spooked again while we were gone and has taken up residence in the basement. I know I'm really tired, but the strong anger I feel towards him right now has nothing to do with that. He's just stupid. He should come up here and let me pet him instead of sitting in a hole being impoverished. Honestly, the spiritual applications with this cat just write themselves.

Seven

And now, I'm going to lie down on the floor and pretend to go to sleep until the children come downstairs and hurt my feelings by actually waking me up.

Some Pictures

 Marigold's new favorite thing is to remove her diaper. Trying to put off potty training for another week but it really is time.

 Lots and lots of cool TV that we don't have at home.

 One trip to the Fabulous Fountain.

 Matt' dad went on a trip for a couple of days and his dog, Bob, missed him very very very much.

 Some of the many presents I received for my birthday.

 A beautiful looking blackberry pie, which, unfortunately, was a failure. I put a whole cup of sugar over the berries but they were still sort of bitter tasting. Boo hoo. But the apple pie was delicious.

 Another trip to the fountain.

 The older girls getting their nails painted after the fountain.

 Matt honoring his father and mother by digging out their pond (see previous post about roaches) that his days may be long in whatever land the Lord his God gives him.

 Everybody likes the sand box.

 And we FINALLY got her ears pierced. Been weighing on my mind a great deal so I'm very pleased. She only cried for one second and then returned to happiness.

 And here is the roller skating.

And here is Marigold looking her disreputable dissatisfied usual self.