Weekly Mileage #70 and Swimming Lessons

This past week was much calmer than the last couple weeks- no more road trips for awhile. We still had some busy-ness, though in the form of swimming lessons for the boys.

It was past time for River to start lessons (he's almost 5, after all) but we didn't do lessons last year because our our trip. Waiting until this summer also made it easier to keep Ocean under control, since he was in lessons with River. I knew if I tried to have River take them by himself, Ocean wouldn't be happy. We were very lucky and were able to arrange things so they were in the same class with another little girl who's just starting out.

The little girl ended up not attending due to family issues, so the boys had the teacher to themselves, which actually worked out really well. They were already comfortable getting their faces wet and jumping in the water, so they had a good start. They learned basic safety and River can swim short distances (with lots of splashing). Ocean can swim shorter distances, but hasn't quite figured out how to come back up out of the water- he needs to be retrieved by a grownup. It doesn't bother him to be under water that long, which is actually a bit worrisome, since it means his sense of self-preservation is not quite as strong as we'd like.

Like many things, learning to swim comes with a learning curve, and at barely 3, Ocean is making a good start. In the meantime, he'll continue wearing his lifejacket when he's in the water. River is able to take his off on occasion, if I'm in the water with him, but it'll be awhile before Ocean reaches that point.

This week my mileage was very close to what my half marathon training plan called for, and I got some good running in that felt pretty good, even if it was on the treadmill, rather than outside. That 8.55 miles on Saturday? I ran 5 of those miles- the most I've run in quite awhile.

And this week I passed my initial goal of 365 miles this year! My secondary goal is at least 365 foot miles and 365 bike miles, so I'm working towards those numbers now.

view from the lookout point on our hike

During our hike on Friday we stopped for a photo shoot for a project I'm working on, which was a bit more difficult than I'd anticipated. It was hot and humid and my camera lens kept fogging up and I had sweat dripping off my elbows. SO gross. But we got some pretty good pictures, so at least the effort wasn't in vain.

part of the project I'm working on

Oh, and here's one for you, Dad:

We found a travel size banjo on eBay (a Cripple Creek Mini) and River will be starting banjo lessons with Sunshine's teacher next week :)

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 3.00 miles on the treadmill
Tuesday-10.00 miles on the bike
Wednesday- 2.50 miles on the treadmill
Thursday- 5.00 miles on the treadmill
Friday- 1.95 miles hiked
Saturday- 8.55 miles on the treadmill
    total- 31.00 miles

15 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

164.22 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
215.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
381.36 miles total

Sunday Funny

Ocean’s determined not to get left behind or lost in the shuffle. A phrase we’ve heard him use many times in recent weeks is “How about me?”

If someone is eating something: "How about me?"

If someone is drinking something: "How about me?"
If someone is doing something he wants to do: "How about me?"

He’s talking better all the time, but he still drops a lot of sounds and syllables. However, this particular sentence is always clearly enunciated :)

Weekly Mileage #69 and Another Trip to the Beach

sandy trail through the woods to Fossil Beach

Mr M was still on his business trip this past week, so the kids and I took another road trip.

Wednesday we drove out to a campground near Colonial Beach on the Potomac River/Chesapeake Bay. This was another Thousand Trails campground, and while newer than last week’s campground, it was smaller and more tightly packed in. Though part of that was because there were a lot more sites filled, even during the week. A lot of big fifth wheels, long travel trailers and big Class As. The pool was larger, nicer, and warmer and we had a great time splashing around in it every day. The boys are feeling a lot more comfortable in the water, which is good since they’ve got swim lessons this week.

River loved jumping into the deep end of the pool- over and over

I had to unhitch the car and tow dolly in the registration building parking lot and leave the tow dolly there since they don’t allow vehicles towed through the campground. A bit of a pain, but with how tight everything was, I’m glad I wasn’t messing around with the dolly in front of our campsite. 

We went to this specific campground so we could visit George Washington’s birthplace and do some beach combing, which a fellow homeschooling mom had told me about.

as you come out of the woods, you see the water- such a cool view

We hiked to a secluded beach to look for fossilized shark teeth at Westmoreland State Park (no luck), then played in the water a bit. They’ve created some coves with some rock jetties that were shallow and warm. I’d thought about bringing the kayaks on this trip, but decided not to in the end, which is too bad since this was a great spot for kayaking.

Ocean had fun playing in the gravelly sand

hiking at GWB NM, right next to the Potomac river

We also did some hiking and beachcombing at George Washington Birthplace NM. The hike was nice, but the beachcombing didn't turn up anything interesting. We found much more interesting shells at Assateague NS, which is open to the ocean. George Washington Birthplace NM is on the Potomac/Chesapeake Bay, so it’s much more protected from the elements

we went beachcombing in the evening, hoping for favorable tides, but no such luck. we did catch a beautiful sunset though.

Sunshine and River added a new junior ranger badge to add to their collection (from George Washington Birthplace NM).

We thought about going to Stratford Hall, which is the birthplace of Robert E Lee, and just down the road from where we were. But we decided not to since this trip was supposed to be more relaxing and slow paced than our trip to the Eastern Shore. I wanted to do all the things, but the kiddos wanted to play in the pool :)

We spent a morning driving around the town of Colonial Beach, looking for ice cream for Ocean’s birthday, but were sorely disappointed. I’d expected a touristy beach town like the ones we visited last week, but aside from a very short boardwalk, there really wasn’t much touristy at all. It felt more like a bedroom community than anything else. We had to drive to the next town over to find some ice cream at wallyworld. 

if you look closely you can see the rain and puddles

It rained all morning Saturday as I packed everything up and got ready to go home. Loading the car on the dolly when everything was wet and slippery was a bit nerve wracking, but I managed it without any real problems. I drove home in the rain, much like the first trip the kiddos and I took without Mr M. It took only an hour to unload the car and dolly, park the RV, bring our clothes and food in, unload the kids' bikes, move the car seats to the CRV, and jump start the dead battery on the CRV (one of the boys left the interior lights on while we were gone). We’ve got our system down!

That afternoon I spent some time on the treadmill for my long run, and managed to run three miles without stopping. I haven’t done that in forever, and it felt surprisingly good. And after dinner we picked Mr M up from the airport. It’s so nice to have him home again!

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 3.18 miles walked on the treadmill
Tuesday- 10.00 miles on the bike
Wednesday- 1.25 mile walk outside around GW Birthplace NM
Thursday- 1.89 mile hike to and from Fossil Beach
                   1.79 mile hike at GW Birthplace NM
Saturday- 5.00 miles walked and run on the treadmill
    total- 23.11miles

14 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

143.22 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
205.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
350.36 miles total

Sunday Funny

Ocean really likes rocks. I shared the pic above earlier, but I've got more of him being excited about rocks.

He doesn't just hold them, though. He likes to pick up rocks (or chunks of wood that are about the right size) and use them as cell phones, complete with fake conversations.

The funny thing is that I'm not sure where he got this from, since I rarely talk on my phone- I dislike talking on the phone and only do it when necessary, so it's not like he's copying my actions.

Weekly Mileage #68 and a Trip to the Beach

When we bought our RV last spring, a year’s membership with Thousand Trails was included, but we didn’t activate it until we went to Gettysburg last October. We were determined to get our money’s worth (even if we didn’t spend money on it), and scheduled some trips this summer that we’d been wanting to take that had TT campsites nearby.

picturesque road to our middle of nowhere campground

Monday we drove to the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the RV, towing the car on the dolly. Mr M had a business trip, so he wasn’t able to come, and this was the only week we could fit this trip in, so the kids and I went without him. We’d have liked it if he could come, but it was empowering for me to do it all myself and realize it’s not quite as scary as I’d made it out to be. Though following my track record with discovering problems when Mr M’s not available to help, I found some damage on one interior wall. I initially thought it was carpenter ant damage, but after researching once we got home, it might be water damage. We'll have to peel the wallpaper off to find out for sure. Sooo frustrating.

those spiky bumps aren't natural....

The campground was older, but on the water, at the end of narrow road in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't a sandy beach, but there was a fishing pier and a swimming pool right next to the fishing pier. There was also a playground and a putt putt course, and grass everywhere. At one point in the past there were a lot more camping sites (you could see the old concrete picnic table pads in a couple of fields), but I don't think most of them are used these days.

old concrete pads in a field, with the ocean in the distance

view of the ocean from our campsite

Since we arrived on a Monday, we had our pick of sites, and opted for a shaded site with water and electric. We could have gotten full hookups, but it would have been in full sun with neighbors right next to us. There was a trailer next to us in the shade, but we never saw the owner's the whole time we were there- most likely they just stay on the weekends. The next closest were 3 sites down and also deserted for the week. Despite the age of the park, we loved how scenic it was and having so many empty sites around us was super nice.

view in the other direction from our campsite

private road through the campground- perfect for walking and bike riding

I’d checked our cell phone provider’s service map before we left, and they claimed we’d have 3G coverage, but that was a lie. I was roaming most of the time, and the signal was just strong enough for me to send and receive texts, but that was it. So no using my cell as a hotspot to get work done. Getting a cell signal booster or other provider is looking more and more attractive all the time.

After we set everything up, we explored the campground and went swimming before dinner, then another walk after dinner. We brought the kids' bikes and I walked, and this was the perfect campground for letting kids ride around on their bikes. It was very peaceful and quiet, with lots of birds in the trees, and the weather was nice and cool.

Assateague lighthouse and the view from the top: the causeway between Assateague and Chincoteague

Tuesday we drove an hour and 15 minutes north to Assateague Island National Seashore. After River begged to stop at the lighthouse, we climbed Assateague lighthouse, which River didn’t enjoy. His favorite part was getting back to the ground :) but he climbed all the way to the top and back. Ocean didn't have a problem with the height, though he did try to convince me to carry him part of the way because he was "too heavy" ie, didn't want to walk anymore. 

band of wild ponies on Assateague

We started the kids' Junior Ranger packets and went on a ranger program through a salt marsh, then hiked a trail through the trees, where we saw some wild ponies way off in the distance. We stopped for ice cream in the town of Chincoteague, then headed back to the RV. We stopped at the lone Walmart we saw and picked up a couple lighters (I’d discovered the one in the RV was empty when I tried to light the oven pilot light the night before for dinner- thanks renters for leaving an empty lighter in the cupboard) and a boogie board. We went swimming again before dinner to cool off from the heat and humidity of the day, but the biting horse flies were a <literal> pain.

River, ready to take on the ocean. Well, until the first wave came :)

Wednesday we got a much earlier start and went to the beach first for about 2.5 hours, but took another hour to get stuff to the car, walk to the rinse station, try to clean up, and walk back to the car. It was way too hot for all that nonsense. We did have fun in the water though. We collected shells, played in the sand (giant sand box!), and boogie boarded. 

another junior ranger pin to add to her collection

Sunshine had the boogie board most of the time, but I grabbed it to give it a go, and Ocean begged to come with me. So I laid him on the board and we floated around and caught some waves, and he loved it. River wanted a chance after that, but he wasn't sure about the whole thing. He did enjoy the waves, but he was also happy to get back to the shore. This was the first time I’ve really played in the ocean, doing more than just standing or sitting in the water, and it was a lot of fun.

After we finally made it back to the car after attempting to rinse off, we turned in the Junior Ranger packets, got a better view of the wild ponies, and then stopped by the Misty of Chincoteague statue in downtown Chincoteague. Unfortunately, we were about two weeks too early for the annual wild pony swim. A bummer, but pictures of the crowds tell me I wouldn’t enjoy it, so it’s ok.

we caught the tail end of a wind tunnel activity they were hosting for kiddos

Then we went to NASA’s Wallops Island Visitor Center. Rockets are regularly launched from the Wallops Island facility, but none were on the schedule while we were there. We stopped by a railroad museum that was supposed to have cars we could walk through, but most of them were locked up (boo).

one of the locked railroad cars

Thursday we went to the Eastern Shore Wildlife Refuge, where we went on a Butterfly hike to a WWII bunker, complete with de-commissioned gun barrel. After that, we went on to Cape Charles. Sunshine and I fangirled over Young House Love’s beach house and duplex that they’ve been restoring. In a non-creepy way, though- we just drove by once or twice, didn't even take pictures :)

running on the shady part of the trail

(l-r, clockwise) the bunker, the stairs to the top of the outside of the bunker, a shell, and the <huge> gun

love the materials used

We did take pictures at the LOVE sign on the beach though, and then walked the on the white sand beach. The tide was out, which was a new experience for us. The rippled sand was super cool, and the shallow water was warmer than we expected after the cold water at Assateague beach. We collected some shells, though nothing as large as the day before. 

Ocean wanted to pick up ALL the rocks and ALL the shells

We headed back to the car to get ice cream, but this happened, which I shared yesterday:

Almost-3-year-olds cannot be reasoned with.

We ended up stopping at an old fashioned candy store, where the kiddos behaved well enough for me to give the ice cream store a second chance. I thought they had better ice cream than the place in Chincoteague, though Sunshine disagreed.

We stopped at a real, old fashioned hardware store that’s been around for more than a hundred years and literally has a little bit of everything- it was so crowded. The linoleum on the floor was worn through on the main aisles. It also had the coolest old stamped tin ceiling tiles with peeling paint. Those tiles probably haven’t been touched since they were originally installed.

We got back to the RV earlier than the last few days, so we had quiet time, which was much needed by all. Since the cell signal was so bad, I couldn’t get online to work, but I did get my desktop cleaned up and worked on writing various posts that I'll publish in the future.

the boys loved having a flat area to ride their bikes, and I liked that I could still see them

my view while working at the picnic table

Friday we got up early and made breakfast, then started putting everything away so we could break camp. Since we didn’t have sewer hookups I had to empty the tanks on our way out. It went better than the last time I dumped, so that was a win. We got home in the afternoon, unloaded the RV, and started laundry, then it was time for quiet time.

This trip was different than when the kids and I went to help my sister move because I was towing the car on the dolly for the first time. I was a little nervous about getting the car on the dolly by myself, but I helped get it on enough times last summer, that it wasn't too hard. Driving with the car behind me wasn't too bad either- I mostly didn't know it was there.

The worst part of the trip was the 20 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that stretches from Hampton Roads to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It's made up of three bridges and two tunnels, and while the bridges are 2 lanes each way, the tunnels are only one lane each way. The tight quarters with semi trucks barreling towards me in the other lane was a bit nerve-wracking, but I survived.

There are some things we need to do still and we'd like to bring Mr M back with us, so we'll definitely go back. One thing we didn't get a chance to do was camp right by the beach on the Maryland portion of Assateague Island. Doesn't that sound cool?

I didn’t manage to stick to my half marathon training schedule, but I knew it would be very difficult without Mr M along to watch the kiddos while I went for a run every day. Despite that, I did get some workouts in, and my mileage was close to where it should be. I even managed my 6 mile long run/walk Saturday on the treadmill. I haven't enjoyed running on the treadmill lately, but this time I actually felt good, which was a nice change.

Weekly Mileage
Monday- 1.69 miles walked and run around the campground
.70 miles walked around the campground
Tuesday- 2.42 miles hiked
.44 miles walked during the ranger program
.75 miles walked while at the lighthouse
Thursday- 1.25 miles hiked
1.10 mile beach walk
Saturday- 6.00 miles walked and run on the treadmill
    total- 14.35 miles

12 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
2.14 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

130.11 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
195.00 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
327.25 miles total