Shenandoah Valley

Good morning from my KOA Kamping Kabin! It is so awesome to be in the mountains, away from all the crazy! Alex and I drove to St Augustine Wednesday and spent the afternoon with Melissa, one of my sisters. My throat was sore from the biopsy and I still had a lot of abdominal pain, but it was tolerable. I knew walking would help get all that air out, and I'm a mom. I stick to my word!

So, funny story, I ate beans with my lunch, and by the time we were headed North they kicked in and helped move all that air from the procedure out. Poor Alex.

We reserved a room at the Days Inn in Blythewood, SC, got in about 10:30pm, and hands down the worst place I have EVER stayed. Picture this, I'm pooped, really pushed myself that day, Alex sees a small roach by the phone. I kill it, take out my contacts, go to the bathroom and there is dirty water in the tub. Now, I'm so tired I could cry.

We pull covers back and the sheets are clean but stained. I send Alex to my car for my pillow and blankets, lay down on top of sheets and knock out. I was just too exhausted to fight the office at this hour.

After tossing and turning from 4am, we get up at 7, brush our teeth, and I ask Alex to put our microwave breakfast in microwave. I kid you not, he opens it and a roach crawls out.

I grab my bag, he (the smart one) only brought in his toothbrush, which he grabs and we run out the door. I'm apologizing profusely for making him sleep there. He said "mom, you were snoring when your head hit the pillow." He is the best!

I get gas and tell him to find coffee. Actually, I said "Starbucks", but he finds this awesome little coffee shop around the corner. The Bloomin Bean. This was the cutest, best ☕! The owner was great, and it was such a treat after a horrible hotel stay. If you ever get to Blythewood, stop and grab a cup of coffee, you will not be disappointed!

We got to our Kabin at 2pm, Carri got here about 3:30. Since our time was short, we drove to an Shenandoah Heritage Market with Amish goods, jarred items, and other goodies. All these shops inside and we found one that had a huge section of gluten free products we never heard of! Score! Always looking for new brands!

Anyway, we got up today (Friday), and there's a wind advisory. I think WOO HOO. Love a good wind. Florida girl, no wind is too strong! Took forever to get a fire this am. Carri and I took turns, finally got coffee (so gratifying over a 🔥), made bacon, then scrambled duck eggs she brought from her farm, and did toast! Breakfast rocked!!! Did I mention this is Carri's 1st camping trip? Had to make sure it was a good experience!

We all ate, cleaned up, and off to Shenandoah Valley National Park. This was hysterical. No idea where we were going. My GPS wasn't reading where Carri was trying to go. We wound up with Alex guiding from his phone. Skyline Drive did not disappoint! The views were amazing. Can I just tell you how cool God is? Everywhere we look God's hands have created masterpieces! The winds up there were wild - you can see in one of my pics. We are cooking steak and potatoes over the fire right now. We even stopped at Cooter's museum and ice cream shop. Got a local bottle of wine. Ooh, almost forgot, we went to a lavender farm and winery! This place was so cool. Lavender everywhere, wines infused with lavender. The gift shop was like stepping into heaven! Sleep well (I know we will).

Crazy Lady