Vacation Summary Part III (Final)

I appreciate all of the feedback and comments folks have given me from this short series. It's good to be missed; it's even better to have friends to share your experiences with.

So I believe we had just settled in West Virginia when I left you. Tom directed me from D.C. to our next campsite, and for some reason he took me on the windiest mountain road known to man. I'm driving through the night in a borrowed mini-van through the hills of Virginia constantly alternating between 55 mph and 15 mph on tight switchbacks. Anyway, we got there exhausted but in one piece.

Unfortunately, the campground we planned to stay at was booked. Anyway, upon further investigation, the tent sites were puny and they were only feet from the lake (not the best place for a one year old to sleep). So we drove on. My iPhone directed us to a nearby (one hour) state park.

It was nestled in a deep and narrow valley, the camp sites following the mountain stream. By this time I forgot about taking pictures so I don't have any evidence for this site.

Vibrant green moss covered the ground and thick trees gave a dark canopy. The deep, crisp creek provided a constant background noise. This was definitely the sweetest sleep of the trip!

Basically, we did nothing except set-up, take showers, make meals, sleep, and then take the tent back down. It wasn't actually time to leave, but Corban was clearly not feeling well (missing home and his stomach was upset) so we decided to head towards home.

We broke up the trip by spending several hours in Charleston West Virginia. We hit the mall where Corban enjoyed riding barn animals:

Then it was time to head for Cincinnati. Answers in Genesis built a Creation Museum just across the river in Kentucky. We'd heard a lot of good things about it and it was only an hour out of our way. We stayed at a cheap hotel that night, and then hit the museum the next morning.

Verdict: check it out! It's expensive but worth it. It's a unique experiencing walking through a professional museum reading about Christ! The highlight for me was seeing the reproductions of Adam and Eve living life. It was very real.

The next two days were spent in Louisville at our alma mater, Southern Seminary. We hit the horse races at Churchill Downs.

We also hit a horse show (hey, when in Rome...) We lounged in the hotel. Note to self: don't leave the phone book lying around!

We toured the Frasier History and Arms Museum where they displayed a thousand years of British history and warfare. Awesome!

Finally we made it back to St. Louis where we stayed with my mom. She babysat Corban all day Saturday while Jessica and I finally got some one-on-one time. We decided to hit Cahokia Mounds, a historical Indian dwelling site. We also caught a movie before going to church (yes, we went to church Saturday night).

Corban got to hang out with his cousin, my brother's daughter. They're to that age now where they love chasing each other around squealing.

And that was that. It was incredibly exhausting. Very refreshing. Family renewing. And hopefully Christ-exalting. Thanks for caring enough to follow along with us.