Not to overdo it on farms but...

On Friday we all headed out to an amazing pumpkin patch at Cox Farms. We spent over 4 hours there and I was actually sore the next day from all the crazy slides and rope swings. This place is quite elaborate and we all had a blast.


A sampling of the crazy slides. The volcano slide even had smoke pouring out at the top.


This water slide, sans water, actually emerged from a chicken-filled barn. Awesome!


Amelia LOVED the stage and had to be dragged from the spotlight.



They had a great hayride with a very entertaining tractor driver.


Amelia was not hesitant to try anything, including the rope swings. She was pretty good at it. And who doesn't want to drop into a big pile of foam?



Taking a break to enjoy some apples and apple cider.




Amelia was thrilled when we found the "Goat Village."


Elsa rides a goat!



There was this great corn maze, "Cornundrum," that had all kinds of crazy things in it like these mirrors.


Ben and I took a turn milking a cow. Amelia was disgusted by it.


Pumpkins are outstanding!

Shrines. Historic and otherwise.

Sunday afternoon we took my parents to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in D.C.





Before taking my parents to the airport in Baltimore on Monday, we spent the afternoon exploring a bit. We went to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. It was a really beautiful location, one that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star-Spangled Banner" after the Battle of Baltimore.







We walked around the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and then warmed up with some yummy soup at Panera.


Amelia used this "stage" to a perform a dance for us.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

On Saturday we drove out to western Virginia for a Hot Air Balloon Festival. The drive was incredibly beautiful (after we managed to get out of the usual Saturday morning traffic around D.C.) and we had fun at the festival. The only thing missing was the hot air balloons. Due to the high wind, they couldn't send any balloons up. We'll have to try again next year because I can only imagine how beautiful it would have been.





Amelia showing disappointment that the balloons were grounded.


We had to attempt the fried candy bar.


Amelia loved playing in the children's straw maze.


Who doesn't love a good lawn mower race?





We took a hayride out to some horse stables and had fun petting various animals.

Scenic Pennsylvania.

We headed up to Lancaster, Pennsylvania while my parents were here. We hit the obligatory traffic trying to get there on Thursday night but enjoyed a lovely stop for dinner and a delicious dessert of crepes and gelato. We happened to be near a Wegmans grocery store so we had to stop and enjoy the beautiful cheese and meat departmens. And bakery and produce and seafood and candy. I get my love of grocery stores from my dad so I had to take him there, knowing that he would appreciate the beauty of this store.

On Friday morning, we drove through Amish country and on some of the most beautiful country roads. We enjoyed sampling all the Amish jams at Kitchen Kettle Village and then warmed up with some apple cider.





Amelia enjoying a Chocolate Whoopie pie in Intercourse, PA.

Then it was off to another visit at Longwood Gardens. I have wanted to return since our first visit a few months ago when Amelia was so sick. She was in much better spirits this time. After a few hours of wandering all over the gardens, which are huge, we discovered that camel was missing. So we embarked on Camel Rescue Mission No. 57. I was secretly hoping that maybe this would finally be the end of camel. But alas, some kind person had actually turned him, excuse me, HER into the lost and found.















There was a huge display of chrysanthemums of all colors. I couldn't get enough of them.