April 2022 Trip to VA: Humpback Rocks

On Wednesday, April 6, we hiked the Humpback Rocks Trail. It was a foggy, gray day and a really fun spot.

Goosey has such a hard time keeping her eyes open for photos. 

The girls had lots of fun scrambling around the rocks at the top, and I was very relieved everyone survived the excursion. There was another mom at the top with fearless kids (hers were boys), and I felt her pain as she tried to keep them from falling.

These little people are so cute. 

April 2022 Trip to VA: Luray Caverns

On Tuesday, April 5, we visited Luray Caverns and then went on to an Airbnb in Wintergreen Resort in the mountains south of Charlottesville. First, though, there was morning reading.

When we got to Luray, we first shelled out for the garden maze and then the rope adventure park. The maze had a handful (several?) spots to find along the way, and we struggled. The whole thing was Secret Garden-inspired and pretty fun, although the payoff in the center of the maze was a super run-down old fountain, which was a bit anticlimactic. 

At the rope park, each participant dons a harness with a short rope hanging off that secures him to the bars running above each level. The Littles had to stay down on the bottom level, which got incredibly boring for them very quickly.   

Meanwhile Ever was tall enough to venture into the middle and top levels. (She's on the left by the green pole in the below pic.)

We learned that the Littles could go high if they were accompanied by an adult, so I paid for myself, got fitted up, and went with them. There were some places where they weren't tall enough for their feet really to reach the steps; they'd dangle a little. So we had to avoid those tracks. Then at the top, Wrenzy got freaked out. It was hard because Tiny was trying to go everywhere, but Wrenzy was scared and ultimately said she wanted to go down to the middle level. I couldn't really stay with both of them. The top level did have some freaky parts. There were beams at the edge sticking out over nothing, and they dipped down when you walked out on them. Ever was brave enough to do those once or twice. It was all quite exciting once we got off the bottom rung. 

Last we went into the caverns. It was absolutely amazing. I had no idea. Inexplicably huge and cool. My pictures are terrible and obviously do not do it justice. 

There was a giant pool of water in there:

Wishing well toward the end: 

The day was gloomy and fun. I thought it was beautiful and idyllic but, again, couldn't capture it. 

It was late by the time we got to our Airbnb, but the girls tried to sneak in a little foosball while toothbrushing (Bear). 

April 2022 Trip to VA: Bears Den, Great Falls, Anson's Birthday

 Monday, April 4 (Anson's birthday), we went to Bears Den after some morning reading. Tiny sported a wonderful ensemble of leopard-print leggings with a hole in the knee paired with a shiny, fancy dress and, later, a hooded sweatshirt. 

We accidentally drove up to the parking lot of the viewpoint and missed the parking lot for the hike. We went out to the rocky lookout area, picnicked, and scrambled around. The day was very cold, but it's a fun place. Rock scrambling is a favorite Kringel activity. 

Coco had her hands full with her littlest two, so I tried to help keep Anson alive. 

From Bears Den, we headed to the Billy Goat Trail on the Maryland side of Great Falls while Coco went home for naps and birthday preparations. The girls passed out while we drove.

We had a really lovely walk along the river. Later in spring with foliage would have been spectacular. 

Out of the gate, Wrenzy and Ever were walking incredibly slowly and looked deep in conversation.   

Everyone had to take turns crossing the water via this fallen tree, just for fun.

Tiny went exploring.

It was a miracle no one fell in the water. 

Tiny and Wrenzy started doing some really impressive Spider-Man leaping from rock to rock. I didn't get a good sample on video. 

Sweet Tines collected a whole bunch of shells but had a hard time holding onto them while she climbed. 

The girls were jumping off rocks and things along the side of the trail, and Jim taught them about parkour. We even paused for a viewing of a clip from the parkour episode of The Office and a few other parkour videos. The rest of the walk, every time anyone hopped on/off something, he or she called out, "Parkour!" I think there was only one injury. 

Wrenzy played necktie on the way back. 

We made it back in perfect time for Anson's birthday dinner - dino nuggets, mac and cheese, and raspberries. 

The birthday cake was Anson's standard selection - chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and M&Ms, marshmallows, and trucks on top. 

A lovely day!