Charlottesville, Virginia!

We left  the camp in Pennsylvania and drove on to Charlottesville, Virginia, to the KOA. Our site was waiting for us and we got in and set up.

We drove on in to see the kids and helped jockey them around to their various classes and Terry even gave Tom a ride home from work. The kids are homeschooled, but there are many classes offered in the community which the homeschoolers take advantage of. Aenea is currently in swimming, gymnastics, dance and art. Ronan is in art and swimming, I think. The classes take place in an older school which is nicely maintained and creates a good atmosphere for learning. There are places for parents to wait for their kids. It's fun to watch the kids participate in these activities.

It was a busy week staying with the kids. We were there every day to visit with them and share their lives for that week. We even did the "park day" when we went to a park and let the kids all play together while the parents visit.

We took Jocelyn and the kids "over the mountain" one day to the Amish cheese shop in Stuarts Draft. It is similar to E & S in Shipshewana, but a much, much smaller store. But they still have stuff we use. We had a great time with them. I did the driving and there were a couple places we stopped on the way back and I stayed in the car with the kiddos while Jocelyn and Terry did the shopping.

Saturday night Jocelyn and I went into town while Terry babysat. We went to see Tom's band, This Hollow Machine, play. I have never seen Tom perform and he is in two bands, so it's something I've always wanted to do. They performed in a small venue known as "The AnteRoom" in downtown Charlottesville. It was pretty cool and I enjoyed the show. It's not particularly my kind of music, but I enjoy watching good performers do their thing and I was not disappointed. It was a very good performance and the crowd seemed to really enjoy the music, as did I.

On Sunday, we drove out to Crozet to the Sun Cat Tree Farm. The farm is owned by a fellow homeschooler and all friends and family were invited out for a "music festival." I kept joking with the kids and asking if this was "Woodstock" for the "older, family" set. LOL They had three bands play and they were all very good. Everyone took their own chairs and lawn blankets and food/drinks if wanted. We did take drinks and snacks because after a rainy week, Sunday was hot and sunny with nary a cloud in the sky. Eventually, we even used our umbrellas to shade us. That was a good move, because if you can keep your head cool, the sun was tolerable. We really enjoyed the afternoon and the kids got to play while Jocelyn and Tom communed with their friends. We left a bit early because we wanted to get back to camp to feed Duchess and then we were going to join up with the kids for one last evening together before we left heading for Florida.

It was a great week and we really enjoyed our time with the kids/grandkids.

Till next time. . .

Dale