The middle part

Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Ok so what’s that area called? It’s not really the midwest, is it? I’ve always personally been VERY confused about the “midWEST” label for half the eastern side of the US. Its not the south, although Kentucky might like to think it is. Anyways, as it was the “middle” of our long journey, that’s what I’ll call this blog.

We left Wisconsin headed for Kentucky – a 7+ hr drive south. We learned early on in this trip that 4 hrs of driving each day is about the saturation quotient for our kids – they simply go crazy when we try to push for more than that. So Indianapolis, IN happened to be halfway, and we stopped there at another fantastic waterpark resort that Luke really enjoyed. We don’t have any pictures as the waterproof camera went back to Hawaii with Scotty. Although we are considering buying one, so stay tuned.

We left Indiana the next morning with the obligatory roadtrip stop at Cracker Barrel.  4 hrs later we pulled into Richmond, KY – a little town just south of Lexington.  We were there to visit our good friends the Dutton’s – Kyle taught with Shane in Washington and they came to visit us in Ottawa last year.  Their 4 yr old little boy Sam and Luke get along really well, thankfully.  We spent an incredible 3 days in Kentucky which – I think surprisingly for both of us – we found really beautiful.

One of the few moments she was happy in her carseat…

Click here for video of Luke riding a “big boy bike”

Evelyn and Sam playing “Batman” in the living room.

Evelyn enjoying the Lexington Childrens’ Museum – the Expolorium.

Catching bubbles in the backyard after dinner

Click here for video of some bubbles!

Click here for video of Evelyn and bubbles!

We left Kentucky the same morning the Dutton’s headed to Hawaii to stay at Kyle’s parents’ vacation rental.  We drove for our usual 4 hrs and made it to Stonewall Resort in the West Virginia mountains.  It was beautiful – an incredible family resort on a big lake with tons of activities to do.  WE went swimming first, followed by paddle-boating (Evelyn wasn’t a fan, as you can see below – she and I decided to quit pretty early on and Kyle and Luke continued on!) then for a walk, followed by dinner outside on a patio by a campfire, then more swimming.  All in all, a busy short stay at a gorgeous (if slightly overpriced…) resort.

Getting ready to go

Really not a fan of the lifejacket.  Really.

So we got off and left Kyle & Luke to explore on their own!

We left West Virginia early the next morning heading for Alexandria VA. We decided to do our regular morning-till-after-lunch stop in a small town that we came across – Cumberland, MD. We absolutely loved it there. By some coincidence, the tourist steam train happened to be leaving the station shortly after we arrived to take a look at it. Unfortunately the return trip was 3.5 hrs long (and would have cut into nap time) otherwise we would have jumped on board! As it was, the kids were thrilled enough just to watch it steam out of the station.

Kyle, Luke & the BIG steam train

Video to come…

Now we’re in Alexandria, loving staying in a 3 bdrm townhouse right in Old Town and being in familiar surroundings. We both feel so at home here, it will be hard to leave again this time around. More pics to come – once I get them uploaded!