Got to be a part of Twin Thursday, the girls arrived and came to see me at element! They made great time, found a nice parking spot and stretched their legs walking to Sammy T’s for lunch! They got back just in time for me to close up and head home! If you know me you know how much my family means to me; not just my nuclear “fierce” family who are EVERYTHING in my life but my extended family of my sisters, sisters (and brothers) in law and all their kids – my adored nieces and nephews. I am so flattered that they would want to spend time with me, especially without their moms LOL. In November my oldest nephew and his girlfriend took the train down and we had a blast! Next up, his twin sisters took the drive and then next month my youngest nephew and his best friend are planning to come. I really, honestly, do love having my family here. We love to talk, loaf on the couch, listen to music, and laugh. I’m going to try my best to pick 2 photos from each day, my nieces have been muses of my photography since the moment they were born (well I didn’t get to see them at the moment but I was there as soon as they came home and stayed with my sister to help, it was crazy) You know what, I’m not going to limit myself – there are many photos that I know I will love to look back on and read about those moments.
Denise’s girls are just like mine, and my sisters and my pets too – they like to follow me around the house.
Shenny Friday! We ended the previous night having made our loose plans for Friday; get up and have coffee (me), leave the house by 8 and have breakfast at Frost Cafe in Culpepper. CHECK CHECK CHECK
We sat at the breakfast counter at Frost and had (in order of our photo above) oatmeal with sides of brown sugar, cinnamon and blueberries (BIG bowl, we all had some of it… sooooo good) and one fried egg. A bacon, egg and cheese on a BISCUIT (omg YUM yes we all had a piece of biscuit) and a fried egg and cheese on rye (I didn’t even bother offering a taste of mine) which was delicious. Coffee, waters, and watching the cooks work the grill. I think Lexi said she hadn’t sat at the counter like that before, I like it – I like watching people do things haha. I especially love the hair salon so I can watch hair being cut, colored, blow dried, styled. It’s so relaxing.
Next thing I knew, we were turning into Shenandoah National Park! I bought our annual pass and headed for Big Meadows for a rest stop break! After browsing the gift shop we drove to Dark Hollow Falls and the lot was almost full – good thing we got a spot and geared up. Our plan, go down Dark Hollow Falls (Moderate!)1.8mi 587ft elevation gain and pick up the Rose River trail (Moderate!) 4.1mi 902ft elevation gain and then walk the fire road back to Dark Hollow Falls going up to the car. Whoooooooo-eeeeeeeee we had an amazing hike – according to Brooke’s fitness tracker we did 5 miles in 3 hours. My ring told me I had gotten into Zone 4 which I am not sure I’ve been in that Zone haha (I’m checking now) I asked the Oura Advisor (chatbot) and it only said “You’ve been consistently spending very little time in High Activity” (bold is theirs) yes I did know that.
Got back to the car and ate all of our snacks, a trail mix I made that was perfect, some cotton candy grapes, banana, and chips left over from Jersey Mike’s night (healthy Doritos) back to Big Meadows for a bathroom and water refill break before we headed back through Skyline Drive. Stopped at some overlooks and took cute pics.
It was sunny and windy, the weather was absolutely perfect. My internal timer to get us back in Spotsy by dinner time allowed for us to take a couple of breaks in Sperryville on the way. I always want to stop, when I go with Mike, when I’ve gone with Denise, but we’re always so focused on getting home by the time we are done hiking. Somehow, the longest hike I’ve done in the park yet and I was energized to stop at Beechspring Farm Gift Shop, it always looks so cute and it did not disappoint. We checked out the stuff and each got a drink made by the farm (Peach Cider, Cherry Cider and a Black Cherry Soda – we all tasted each other’s and decided the best was the Peach Cider! Never would have thought I’d vote that way as Cherry is always my favorite.)
Got a text from Mike that said “don’t come home empty handed” LOL we all cracked up at that, decided we’d get Habit Burger for dinner and pulled into the downtown of Sperryville so we could visit Haley Fine Art Gallery and any other shops that happened to be open. This gallery curates the COOLEST works, it is in an historic building and has lovely ground and the owner is very cool. I’ve written about this place before, everyone in my circle loves it and now so do my nieces! Went to the ceramic shop next door, the jewelry store was closed and then back in the car to enjoy our drinks and the last leg of our drive.
Saturday morning and I’m off to work, the girls are signed up for hot Yoga Basics, Bridget is coming to clean for me so we can start the rest of our Saturday a little early. They loved their class with Hannah S, I didn’t realize they hadn’t taken a yoga class in person before so that was cool and badass of them to start with a hot yoga class! We then went over to the Farmer’s Market to look at all the booths – got some flavored marshmallows, kettle corn (some Old Bay Kettle Corn for SD for Mother’s Day LOL), looked at the jewelry and art, then off to our (Mike, Me, Debra and Colin’s) favorite coffee shop – Agora before heading to my dad’s.
The weather could not have been more beautiful, when we arrived my dad and SD were already sitting out by the pool (it was opened on 5/6, needed galllllloooons of fresh water, and for the saline to work it’s magic so we didn’t swim). Had some lunch of Cesar salad, hummus and pita – lots of chit chat getting caught up on life and once it got too hot, I took my dad inside and the girls walked down to the river.
Big, fun, hugs goodbye – my dad takes direction very well and I think he has a little fun with us. I love him and these girls so much.
Had pizza for dinner, sat outside on the deck til it was dark and watched hummingbirds come to the feeder, fight for their spot, chirp and twitter – so cute. Listened to the birds out in the woods and once it got dark, everything went quiet. All the birdies went to bed and so did we.
Sunday and the girls are going home, but not before some Aunt Dianne oatmeal breakfast, a walk in the battlefield, Contrast Therapy at Element (Lexi went underwater in the 60 degree tank!!!!) and a quick visit to an old school beach vacation bestie, HLB!!
We really had the most perfect weekend, I could do this all summer long. Talk about ‘today is going to be my peaceful day’ this is how you do it. Eating right, moving your body naturally, listening to music you love, talking about life, loving your family and friends, doing things that make you feel good – right? This is what life is all about. I’m so lucky that Mike loves my family the way he does, they sure like to spend time with us. Love your people… Bye for now.
DiForYou 