North Carolina - Part 2
















The next leg of our trip to North Carolina involved a lot of driving. I rented a mini van. Let me just say that I had always thought that I would hate driving a mini van and I did. It was not a vehicle that I would ever purchase or drive if I have a choice. I appreciate that mini vans have a lot of room and that it is easy to get everyone in and out, however, I really hate the actual driving of them. I really had a hard time with parking in particular. How do all of you who own and drive mini vans do it? Seriously.

So, we all load up in the loathsome mini van (I should not complain. I have been blessed with the resources to have been able to go on this trip - including the money to rent a mini van. It is not that. I just have a thing about vehicles and mini vans do not measure up for me) and head off for Virginia. We were on our way to Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. My brother and his friend were on their way from Kentucky that same day and we all met at the hotel in Williamsburg.

Right off the bat, we discovered that Busch Gardens had had a schedule change and were going to be closed. So, no Busch Gardens. That did not seem to bother anyone, so we just went right on with the business of enjoying Williamsburg.

Williamsburg was awesome! I loved it and the two days we spent there were not enough for me. I could have spent a week there. While we were in the area, we also took in Jamestown, which the kids loved, and Yorktown Battlefield. Both sites were very educational and full of stuff to look at. The kids really enjoyed both of those sites, a thing which really surprised me!

As for Williamsburg specifically, we had a great time. We all went on a horse drawn carriage ride and a lantern lighted ghost walk. We must have walked 8 miles! There was so much stuff to look at, houses and buildings to tour and events to watch. Williamsburg is like being transported back in time a couple of hundred years. There are citizens of Colonial Williamsburg dressed in period clothes walking around talking with people. Then, at scheduled times, scripted events happen. You get to watch a skit so to speak and be an active part of the audience. Maya, in particular, loved that!

After Williamsburg, we spent a couple of days hanging out at the beach in Wilmington, North Carolina. Beautiful place and I could have stayed there for much longer than we did. Everyone loved the beach. I have never seen my kids have so much fun! That was just a couple of days of hanging out. Nothing scheduled. We did go the the aquarium and do a bit of local shopping.

Then, sadly, we headed back to Raleigh for a couple of days of visiting with old friends and packing up. We just rested because we were all exhausted from all of the sight seeing and driving.

The flight home was relatively uneventful. We arrived back in Montana about 10:30 PM and the kids and I loaded up in the car and drove the hour and a half home so that we could all sleep in our own beds. We were so tired!

In the end, we all had a great time. Now, I find myself home and totally swamped with work regarding our add on. In addition, my mother in law has arrived from Kentucky and so we are spending some time with her as well. Whew! I am tired again :)

**I tried repeatedly to load a slide show for this post and was unable to get it to work :(**