Lydia Mountain

[ed. note: Don’t miss the Easter in Richmond post.  I just posted it a few minutes ago.]

For the second half of Abby’s spring break, we went up to Lydia Mountain Lodge and Cabins for a three night stay.  What a great time.  We were up in the mountains north of Charlottesville, VA and we were RE-MOTE!  No cell service (Thanks, T-mobile!).  AND, they decided to stop the hotspot service the month before we got there.  That meant (gasp) no internet!!  I survived, but just barely.

We spent the days sleeping in, hiking along the Appalachian Trail on Skyline Drive, and having s’mores by the fire.  Glad to see that those Eagle Scout didn’t go away.  I guess starting fires is like riding a bike!  I’m not sure if the girls like being by the fire or unlimited access to marshmallows and chocolate.  Either way, they tolerated being outside in the smoke.

The cabin had a hot tub and the girls got a big kick out of that as well.  They spent a bit of time soaking in the tub.  Ellie was just happy that she could stand in the middle and keep her head above water.

We finished the trip with a stop by Monticello on our way out.  There was so much to see there we really needed a few more hours but we had to get back.

We saw some awesome sights and hiked to some amazing places.  I took a ton of photos but they don’t do the place justice.

We’ll go back, I’m pretty sure of it.

Enjoy,
J

Day 1 dinner – hot dogs and mac-n-cheese by the fire.

Watching the sunset by the fire.

Ellie stuffing her face…literally.

Having breakfast on Wednesday morning.

Out to the trails.

Sitting by the waterfall. This hike was Abby’s favorite.

Ellie by the waterfall as well. We kept a close eye on her initially but then let her have a longer leash as we got used to the trail.

Tricia near the waterfall.

Abby up on a tree.

Tricia trying to show Ellie how to skip a rock.

I WAS THERE TOO!!

Our second hike.

Ellie is pointing at the “trail blaze,” a colored paint swatch that told you you were on the right trail. She loved pointing them out and touching them.

Walking – for once!

Abby’s waaaaay down there.

The great outdoors. Kind dwarfs a Piglet, right?

The two girls in the sunset throwing some attitude.

Ellie loved swinging and made sure to let us know just how much fun she was having!

Abby was a bit more sedate in her swinging.

This seems about right. Look at that attitude.

Day 3 – Found this tree stump and had to get a picture…

or two!

The girls – taking a break.

Lunch on Thursday. Eating in the car with the crazy wind. It was pretty cold.

The girls sheltering in place.

Our first step onto the ACTUAL Appalachian Trail.

We walked up to Stony Man point. It was a 300 foot climb and the wind was CRAZY when we got to the top (that’s why you won’t see Ellie in these pictures).

Selfie! Look at the wind in our hair. It would knock you over if you weren’t careful…the wind, that is…not the hair!

Abby rocking it with the view.

IT’S ME AGAIN! With the Piglet.

We were all exhausted after that great day of hiking. We were making dinner and Abby started reading to Elizabeth. It was perfect.

On the way out, we stopped at Monticello to see Thomas Jefferson’s estate. Here is Ellie practicing to be an architect.

Abby playing with the cipher.

Abby and the polygraph machine Jefferson invented. Write with one pen and it copies onto the second page. It was NOT the easiest machine to use.

Tricia loved looking at the gardens.

Ellie and the view.

The girls running through the “backyard.”