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Columbus Day, sightseeing and making memories at Westmoreland State Park

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Living in another country for a defined period of time comes with a unique stressor- the desire or sometimes, obligation, to do and see as much as you can while you are here.   Lately I’ve been feeling that we haven’t been doing a very good job of getting out and seeing the US.  Partly this is because we’ve been here before and partly because having a child in school limits opportunities somewhat.

Our initial Columbus Day plan was to visit Philadelphia but the ridiculous government shutdown deterred me because I would really like to see the Liberty Bell.  Next the vague plan was to visit Williamsburg and stay at an indoor water park resort.  I say vague because I’m terrible at making commitments and actually booking something.  As it turns out the Northeast turned on some wet weather this weekend and on Friday we decided against plan B.

Which brought me to plan C- a weekend in a cabin in Virginia’s Westmoreland State Park. Thankfully Virginia didn’t shut down when the federal government did and all the state parks were open. We figured with a climate-controlled cabin we could take whatever weather nature threw at us as long as we had enough changes of clothes for the boys! The weekend was a roaring success. We all loved the cabin, the weather wasn’t too bad (in fact Columbus Day turned out to be beautiful) and the park offered so much for our family to do.  We love to hike but with the youngest now three and too heavy for the kid-carrier and too young to walk far the short (mile or less) trails were perfect with my husband carrying him on his shoulders when he tired.  And the trails weren’t too long that our seven year old lost interest.  The best part about the park (besides the fantastic cabins) was the fact that it is located where the woods meet the banks of the Potomac River so not only do you get to enjoy some lovely walks under the changing leaves on the trails but you can enjoy a walk on the sand, listening to the waves, and searching for fossilized shark teeth on the shores of Fossil Beach. My boys loved playing in the open area around our cabin enclosed in the woods, roasting marshmallows on the fire while it rained outside and playing card games instead of watching TV and playing games on the iPad. It was a wonderful opportunity for our family to slow down, reconnect and enjoy our temporary home. Whilst ticking big ticket items like cities and monuments is part of the adventure these are the things that you rarely get or take the opportunity to do as a tourist in another country.  Weekends like this are what family memories are made of.

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And for the older boy…

The outdoor play area is working well and has been tested and approved by my boys and my niece.   This weekend we hung a swing from the top of the deck and attached a chalkboard to the brick fence.  We were however a bit concerned that the area didn’t contain enough stimulation for my older boy who is 7 1/2.  He does love the swing and he uses the gravel area to play toy soldiers but to add a bit more for him to do we ordered some sand bags so he could build a soldier’s trench (or anything else which caught his imagination).  Well, what a success!  He spent the entire weekend lugging them around the back yard and forming them into all sorts of things.  He also spent most of the weekend dressed as a soldier and noticed that the conifers in the backyard were good for climbing!  If you are interested the link to the sandbags (we bought the camouflage ones) is here.

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Outdoor free play area

My boys love the outdoors so we have decided to turn the under-deck area of the house we are renting (with the landlord’s permission!) into an outdoor free play area for them.  The deck comes off the second story of the house so it is plenty high enough to play underneath.  And it is pretty much the only place in the back yard that gets any shade.

Before we began work on this weekend project it was just a space filled with builder’s rubble.

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The plan is to turn it into an inviting place the kids can dig, build and play using their imagination.

Although I was tempted just to buy the pea gravel and put it on top of the existing fill my very talented and very thorough husband pointed out that the area already had drainage issues which we need to address (my landlord is lucky my husband is so keen and capable). So we (really just my husband) dug up the ground and installed some drainage pipe leading down to the existing drain.

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new drainage

Then we topped it off with about 20 bags of pea gravel (about $3.50 per bag).  This seems to be small enough for the kids to dig in and smooth enough to walk on. I got lots of ideas off Pinterest (you can check out my board here) and although we’ve made a good start it is still a work in progress and will no doubt change with the seasons.  The next additions will be an outdoor chalkboard, a mud kitchen and a swing. Stay tuned for updates

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Adventures in Australia’s North (part 1)

This week I’m taking a trip down memory lane (triggered by trying to get my digital photos organized).  We recently left Australia’s Northern Territory after three glorious years.  I’ve always been a fan of the outdoors but those three years were magic; firstly because of the amazing location but more importantly because we got to enjoy it as a family.

Here’s just a snapshot of the amazing places we saw and things we did.

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Choose your own adventure

As Aussies living in America and the summer break just underway our family is looking forward to getting out and exploring this magnificent country.  We are off to a good start today with my seven year old poring over Nat Geo Kids’ National Parks Guide.  The morning was spent reading about all the parks and picking out the bits that interested him- fossils, bears, caves, you name it! Whilst used to making all the plans for my family’s vacations this has made me realize our son is old enough to have a big say in where we go and what we do.  I’m going to organize our time off and finances but I think our next big trip will be one planned by our son.

Thanks Nat Geo for inspiring my child to travel and explore and to get excited about what America has to offer (and not just Disneyland!).

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Define your own camping

I was reading another blog the other day and it had a link to some camping tips.  Some of the tips were pretty good but that wasn’t what caught my attention- it was the comments people had posted. I was amazed at how critical the comments were of this blogger’s definition of camping.  So what if they take hammock chairs with them?! So what if not all their camping gear fits in a backpack?! Who cares if their definition of camping involves some luxuries others wouldn’t associate with camping?!

As far as I’m concerned camping is a way of getting out of your normal routine and getting in touch with nature in whichever way you are comfortable with.  Maybe for some people that means getting completely away from it all on a remote trail with a pack on their back and a compass.  But for others it may mean a tent (or even a cabin!) in a campground surrounded by lots of others. One is not necessarily better than the other. I think it all boils down to personal preference, ability and location.  I love to get “off the beaten track” but not with small children.  Our camping these days most definitely involves a car and a few little luxuries but overall it’s fairly minimal for a family of four.  But I certainly wouldn’t mock anyone for choosing to camp with a lot more.

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Learning to ride a bike

I have an amazing seven year old son who until today did not know how to ride a bike.  He enjoyed his bike when he was four and he had training wheels but when we took them off and tried to teach him to ride he was convinced he couldn’t do it.  We tried a few times in the backyard but no go.  Not even his friends learning how to ride and cruising around the neighborhood could convince him to give it a go.  Eventually he outgrew the bike and just took up scootering around instead.  This year we moved house (and countries) and thought this is a good time to give it a go.  But every time we talked about buying a new bike he wasn’t interested.  This gave us a dilemma- just buy one so that he would start riding but probably not appreciate the bike or wait until he could appreciate what a privilege it is to get a brand new bike.  We decided to wait a bit because my kids seem to be getting pretty used to getting lots of new stuff (moving house does that sometimes).  Then a month ago I came across lessons with the REI store to teach kids how to ride a bike.  The classes were all booked up and then luckily when I checked last week a spot had opened up in today’s class. I quickly signed him up.  This week I explained to him that we were going to go shopping for a new bike and then go to a bike riding class in the afternoon with other kids who wanted to learn how to ride.  He wasn’t vigorously against it but he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic.  This morning we faced the same dilemma about buying a bike when he didn’t seem that interested but we pushed ahead anyway.  He and his dad visited three bike stores and found a bike he loved at the last one.  When it came time for class this afternoon he tried refusing to go but it was non-negotiable and he didn’t put up much of a fight so I was pretty optimistic.

When we got to the class there were five other kids ranging from 4 to 12.  The first thing the instructors did was take off their pedals and get them to practice balancing on their bikes.  My son picked it up really quickly!  Before the two hour class was even half way he was cruising around the vacant lot like he’d been riding his whole life.  But the best part was that he was grinning from ear to ear and telling me how much he loved riding.  Not all the students in the class progressed to the same level but they were all able to ride in a straight line for at least a few metres by the time the class ended. It was a fantastic atmosphere with all the kids trying their best, the parents cheering each and everyone of them as they achieved a milestone and the instructors with endless amounts of patience.

Now my son can’t wait to take his bike out to ride the trails in our local national park and wants to join a bike club!

 

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The power of outdoors

I do a lot of parenting on my own.  This isn’t a complaint- just how it is.  I’m a stay at home mum and my husband’s work takes him out of town for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Today I have both my energetic toddler and my sick school-aged son at home- not a great combination. Being new to the area I don’t know many people so I’m a bit stuck for assistance or even adult company so I was feeling a bit trapped this morning.  However, after settling the sick one on the couch my toddler and I headed outside into the yard for some playtime in the sun.  Being nearly three he went from one activity to the next in a matter of minutes 🙂 We played ball, went down the slide, found the mushrooms growing and had a sword fight.  After 30 mins outside he was ready for a rest so we headed back inside.  But that 30 minutes was rejuvenation! I had more energy and a much more positive outlook to the day.  A good reminder to myself that rain, hail or shine time spend outdoors is time well spent.