Thursday – Today after breakfast we headed out to travel to Natural Bridge which was about 2 hours away. When we got there, we went down into the woods to see the Natural Bridge, which as the name says, is a bridge that was formed naturally by rock. Of course, we know that it was really formed SUPERNATURALLY by God probably during the flood! After we took a number of pictures of the amazing bridge we continued on a walk in the woods. We soon came upon an Monacan Indian village display in the woods, and I found my future home (hahahahaha…gotta see the pictures!) We continued on in the woods, saw some snakes on the ledge, and ended up at a waterfall at the end of the trail. However, the water in the creek was rather low so the waterfall wasn’t really that terrific. We headed back to the Natural Bridge, took a few more pictures, and then headed back to the main building. Andy and Alayna took the steps up to the building, but Dad, Mom, and I took the bus 
When we all got back to the building we went to the cafe for lunch. I had a cheese steak which was actually really good. It was flat bread, steak, cheese, peppers and onions toasted in the oven and then topped with lettuce, tomato and mayonaise…yum!! I also had a Mountain Dew and chips (which Dad and Andy ended up eating for me!) I am sure you all find this so interesting! After browsing around the gift shop and taking pictures with a rather large stuffed bear to see how tall we are (gotta see the pictures!) we headed out. Our next stop was the Virginia Safari. Was that ever an experience! It is over 180 acres of land filled with camels, emus, ostriches, deer, llamas, antelope, pot-bellied pigs, zebras, bison, wildebeest and I am sure I am missing a few animals (or just don’t know the names of them!) You drive along and they are just roaming around free. Well, many people buy food for the animals and feed them along the way. We didn’t buy any food…but the animals didn’t know this (at least not right away!) The animals come right up to the windows of the car and just stare at you with those sad eyes to see if you are going to give them anything. We definitely put our windows up fast when the camels and llamas approached. These animals know that when the window is down that means you have food for them. Unfortunately we had to disappoint many animals, but there were plenty of other cars feeding them! After we finished the “safari drive” we headed into the “safari village” which was basically like a mini zoo. Let’s see, we saw monkeys, flamingos, turtles, tigers, kangaroos, birds, goats (baby goats!), and giraffes. Andy, Alayna and I got to feed a giraffe! That was fun! You bought a handful of food, held your hand out straight, and the giraffe just ate out your hand. Their tongues feel just like sand paper! We also got to pet a baby kangaroo, better known as a joey, of course 
After we were done in the village, we headed out. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for supper. When we got back to the hotel, we rested for a bit, and then played some rousing games of Dutch Blitz, which Alayna won hands down. *sigh* We then headed next door to Tastee Freez for some ice cream. This is the place we had tried last night but it had been closed. After we finished our ice cream, we decided to be snoops and go across the street to the fancy inn to see what we could see. We got a glimpse of the inside front room. It looked pretty fancy! We got a picture in front of it to appear like we belonged there (hahahaha) When we got back to the hotel, we had yet another rousing game of Yahtzee. And guess who won tonight?! MEEEEEEEEE!! Tonight I actually got 2 Yahtzees 
That made my night 
After the game was over, we started packing up. We are leaving tomorrow morning. We will be heading to Grandma’s house again and spending Friday and Saturday there. So basically our official vacation is nearly over. That is just soooo sad! It has definitely been a fun week together as a family Lots of laughs and TONS of pictures to prove we had fun.
Journal #4 – Thursday, June 19
23 JunJournal #3 – Wednesday, June 18
23 JunWednesday – We slept in today….surprise surprise! We didn’t get out of the hotel till around 10:45 or so. We went on a tour of Luray Caverns. It was about an hour tour and we walked about a mile and a quarter throughout this absolutely amazing and beautiful cavern. I tried to capture the different formations on camera, but it was impossible. There was just so much to take in. Imagine my disappointment when the low battery began to flash on the camera…how tragic!! Well, the battery lasted for the remainder of the tour thankfully…but I was only able to get about 30 pictures or so because I didn’t want the camera to die on me. 
If the battery hadn’t been dying I would probably have gotten another 20 We had a really interesting tour guide named Tyler…he couldn’t be more than 15 years old. He was a rather enthusiastic individual, but at least he had his memorized speech about the cavern down pretty good 
After the tour was over, we were given a free tour of the Car and Carriage museum which was nearby. It is amazing how people used to travel in the “olden days”. Such cramped and uncomfortable quarters! And here I was complaining about being squished in our car…hey…at least we have comfortable cushioned seats and air conditioning! After browsing around their gift shop for a bit, we headed to Taco Bell for lunch. I can’t remember the last time our family went to Taco Bell, but it was good. (I had chicken quesadillas and a soft taco with a “Baha Blast” flavored Mountain Dew — in case anyone was wondering 
) We then went to Walmart to restock our breakfast supplies and to buy dinner. It is great having both and refrigerator and a microwave in our hotel room! We then headed back to the hotel and rested for the remainder of the afternoon. Dad did some calling around to see if there was a good church in the area. We all spent some time down by the pool relaxing and reading on the lawn chairs. Alayna was the only brave one to go in the pool. We have had BEAUTIFUL weather this week, but it just hasn’t necessarily been swimming weather. I lasted about 5 minutes on Tuesday…but my teeth were chattering the whole time! Well, as I type this our dinner is heating up in the microwave and it is smelling yummy – turkey slices and macaroni and cheese. We will be heading off to church in about 45 minutes…it is about 40 minutes away from our hotel. When Dad asked what version of the Bible they use, they quickly said that they are strictly KJV. It is always interesting going to another church….well, we shall see what happens! Well, I wanted to type out what we did so far this week so I wouldn’t forget all these wonderful details 
After some amusing church clothing issues (ask Andy to explain if you are dying of curiosity ), we were on our way. When we finally arrived in the town where the church was, we kept on circling the town and we could not find it. We finally decided to go in the opposite direction even though the numbers seemed to be going higher not lower. Well, wouldn’t you know…there it was! We got there about 5 minutes late, but didn’t feel too bad because others were still arriving It was a nice sized church, and it also had a Christian school. The service was pretty good but every time I go to a different church, it makes me all the more thankful for the church God has placed me in! The main pastor wasn’t there, but the pastor they had fill in preached a good message. After the service was over, we headed out and it was pouring down rain. We got back to our hotel room, and decided to go next door to Tasty Freeze to get a snack…..we were rather hungry after our ummmmm…large and delicious supper However, when we walked over there, they were closing up *sniff, sniff* 
So we went back to the room and although I thought McDonalds French fries would taste good at that moment, we just ate the snacks in our room instead. And guess what game we played??!!! 
………………You got it…Yahtzee!!! It has definitely been our game this vacation! And guess who won??!!! MEEEEEEEEE!!! It was a race between my sister and I because we both got Yahtzee, but I pulled through in the end and FINALLY won a game of Yahtzee. After Dad and Andy watched yet some more sports on TV, we played Dutch Blitz for a bit….it was rather humorous trying to play Dutch Blitz on our small table!
Journal #2 – Tuesday, June 17
22 Jun) We then headed off to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. We drove for a little bit and then went on a hike up the mountain. It got rather steep at times, but we were reassured by another man on the trail that the view at the end was worth it all! He was definitely right. We had a breathtaking view of Shenandoah Valley. We got a few pictures of us on this big rock and then headed back down the mountain. It was a lot easier going down than going up! After we got to the bottom we headed back to the car and had our hoagies…they were only slightly soggy from the melted ice cubes. We then headed to the Visitor Center for a bathroom break and we watched a movie about the history of Shenandoah National Park. We took some pictures of a doe and a fawn in the meadow, and then we headed on another hike which led to a big waterfall. This time we headed down first, so it was rather easy to get to, but then the hike back UP the mountain was pretty rough. Needless to say, we were ready to be done with hiking after we reached the end!! 
We then headed out of the park and went back to our hotel. We went swimming for a bit…Andy and Alayna lasted the longest…it was rather chilly. 
There were no nearby nice restaurants to eat at…just fast food…and after a day of hiking, we were ready for a good hot meal! Dad found a restaurant called The Southern Kitchen in a nearby town. This time I was the designated driver. Of course, little did I realize that I would be driving on all these really windy roads up the mountain…fun, fun!! However, we finally got to the place in one piece, and enjoyed a yummy fried chicken dinner in a 50’s type diner complete with juke boxes 🙂 After we were finished eating, I then proceeded to carefully drive back through the windy mountain roads to return to our hotel. Apparently I was being too slow and careful because these other people kept on passing us…oh well! Better to be safe than sorry 😉 We stayed at the hotel for a little bit and then went to the Singing Tower. It is a bell tower with 47 bells, which one man controls. We sat and listened to the bells play all these different songs. (Andy wants to bring the handbell choir there to compete with this man ) We stayed about 30 minutes and then headed off for an ice cream treat. It was a rather cool evening, but the ice cream still tasted really good I had my soft vanilla and chocolate twist dipped in chocolate on a cone…messy but yummmmm!! When we got back to the hotel, Mom, Alayna and I watched a bit more of Chronicles of Narnia while Dad and Andy watched basketball on TV. Then we had another rousing game of Yahtzee. Although we were tired after a long busy day, we didn’t get to bed until shortly before midnight. Hey, our saying this week has been, “It’s vacation!!” You know…anything goes…our true weird and fun selves come out on vacation week Journal #1 – Monday, June 16
22 JunMonday – We left around 10:00 a.m. and Andy was our first driver. We drove first to the Caplan Center to visit Grandpa. He wasn’t there when we got in the room, so Dad went to see if he was still in physical therapy. In a few minutes Dad came back pushing Grandpa in the wheelchair. He looked soooo different because his hair was a lot bushier from not being cut for the longest time. Mom had brought the electric shaver with us, so she gave Grandpa a buzz. While he was being buzzed, Andy, Alayna and I worked on his puzzle. We stayed and chatted for a bit and Grandpa got to look at Andy’s graduation pictures. Dad tried calling Pizza Hut to order our pizza for lunch. Aunt Kathy had emailed us the phone number, but it had been an “easy number” so it hadn’t been written down. Dad tried calling a couple of times with the number he thought it had been, but he kept getting an answering machine message. Then I offered my "two cents" about which number I thought it had been but we got another person on the phone….ooops! So we tried looking up the number in the phone book but we couldn’t find it anywhere. So Grandpa decided to call Aunt Deb and she was able to give us the phone number. Shortly after Dad ordered the pizza, we left to go pick it up. We picked up the pizza and headed to Grandma’s house. We had lunch with her at the house and left shortly after – only to return a few minutes later because Dad thought he had left his watch there. Well, it turned out it had been in the trunk somewhere, but it was a good thing that we had come back because Aunt Kathy arrived home shortly after we returned. So we were able to chat with her for a little bit before we were REALLY on our way. Dad drove for a bit, while both Mom and Alayna sat in the front. Andy and I got the whole back seat and we watched some of MacGyver on Andy’s laptop. However, this seating arrangement didn’t last long and then Andy was driving with Mom in the front, and Dad, Alayna and I in the back. After Andy drove for awhile, I took over. I had the joy of driving in pouring down rain. What an adventure that was!! Dad finished up the driving until we got into Luray. We got to our hotel, Best Western, around 5:45 or so. After unpacking as much as we could, we went to Burger King for supper. After we ate, we went to Walmart which was nearby to pick up some food for breakfast. When we got back to the hotel, Mom, Alayna and I watched some of Chronicles of Narnia on the laptop while Andy and Dad watched baseball on TV. At 9:00 we moved the table in between the beds, and played Yahtzee. After a rousing game, some got showers, and I was able to iron some of my wrinkly shirts and skirts before we headed to bed.
Our Family Vacation
22 Jun It was to a place we had never been before as an entire family — Luray, Virginia — I really didn’t know what to expect, but it was simply GORGEOUS! We had wonderful weather the whole week and got to really enjoy seeing the beauty of God’s creation. I kept a journal throughout the week so I would be able to really remember all the little details of this vacation. I am going to post it on here….each day’s journal entry….but I warn you, you might find some of the details quite boring It is meant for me personally to remember stuff, but if you are all interested, you can gladly read along! It would be WAY too long to do the whole thing in one blog entry, so I will break it up…as well as the pictures (cause there is like 300 of them or so ) Enjoy!!A year ago today….
8 Jun Now that it has been a year, sometimes it is hard to remember what it was like to have Christy. At first, after she died, I didn’t think our family would ever feel right again. She was such a part of our family…and still is…but after a year, we have slowly adjusted to not having her around. At this point, it doesn’t look like we will get another dog, and I have different thoughts about that depending on what mood I am in at the moment . I miss having a dog around the house, but at the same time, if we would get a new dog, I am sure it would be a whole lot different than Christy and I am not sure how I would handle that. She was a one-of-a-kind type of dog, and I will NEVER forget her!!Andy’s Graduation
8 Jun It is hard to believe that my "lil bro" has graduated!! Well, I could write more, but I think the pictures tell it all. Enjoy!!!
Becky's Book 