Family Memories: Shenandoah

At the beginning of May, we went on a mini vacation to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. We had purchased 2 nights at a time share at Bass Pro shops and chose to go somewhat local. We had a 2 bedroom cabin and enjoyed our relaxing time there. The kids loved playing in the cabin. There weren't a lot of tourist attractions except for the beautiful scenery, which is what we were looking for.

We were there for just one full day, but we filled it with lots of fun activities. (As residents of Maryland, we didn't have to listen to their sales pitch.) We played mini golf (a first for the girls) and they LOVED it (though of course, didn't really play. Instead they just hit the ball around.) They also played on a giant checkers board. We enjoyed relaxing in our cabin on a rainy afternoon, and drove around the beautiful countryside. The highlight of our stay was going to the equestrian club stables on site. The girls got to go on a pony ride (a first for Maddie), and we went on a horse drawn wagon ride around the time share property. It was beautiful and a great way to really take in spring.

Claire ready for her pony ride!

Her expression here cracks me up.

Maddie LOVED the pony ride, and still talks about it almost 3 months later.

Looking on as Maddie rides.

I thought it would be cute to just get a picture of Amelia on the pony. The rule was, she had to wear a helmut, even just for a photo. It was rather large for her head though. Haha.

We had a nice relaxing wagon ride and had a friendly driver.

What a comfortable way to ride in a wagon. Crazy kid.

After the wagon ride with our horse and driver.

While we were waiting for our wagon ride, we were entertained by not only looking at the beautiful horses and carriages, but they had a pet turkey named Jacob, some chickens, and a peacock. I was nervous to pet the turkey at first thinking he would peck at me. After a while, I realized he was friendly and pet him. I discovered that the red turkey head, which I thought would be really rough, was quite soft, kind of like leather. Apparently the turkey liked me, because he kind of reminded me of a bird form of my parents' old dog, Cammie. Cammie demanded your attention and would practically knock you over to ensure getting it if she had to. This turkey was no different. I pet him for a while, then walked away. The next thing I knew, he was standing RIGHT next to me again. In fact, no matter where I went, he was right next to me. It was kind of amusing. And to think I thought he might not be friendly. Ha!