The Trip; The End

(WARNING: All wit and humor seem to have been lost in the move. Another boring post ahead-- sorry about the less than funny or exciting posts I have been writing as of late. Stay with me, the good posts shall return. I hope.)

The last day of our trip was just as busy (and fun!) as those that came before. We decided to go to a nearby state park for a hike and some lunch. We invited my friend, Lima, to bring her kids and come along. Most of the pictures I took while there ended up being of her kids instead of my own, as my children decided to be camera evaders that day (not surprising since I took 629 photos over the 4 day vacation-- I think they were a little sick of being my subjects).

It was a bright sunny day, so we were excited to be heading somewhere with plenty of shade and cool water. The kids were super excited, and I have to say that I was, too. (I worked at this particular state park as a teenager and I love it there.)

We stopped at an overlook just before entering the park so we could check out the view. It was nice, but the kids were ready to jump in to the adventure ahead.

We spent a few minutes at the top of the falls before heading out on our hike to reach the bottom.

In this picture, Brie and Big are taking in the view of the falls-- I mostly watched Big to make sure he didn't take a fall over the wall.

The best part of the hike down to the bottom of the falls is when the trail goes behind the waterfall. It's cool and serene, the sound of the falling water soothing the soul.

We spent quite a bit of time under the overhang that was behind the falls. Some time was spent pondering...

...exploring...

.... climbing in crevices and bonking heads on the rock above. Pen wasn't the only one.

It was so beautiful. Mesmerizing, really.

The base of the falls is nice, too.

We found a spot to approach the water and had some fun eating lunch and playing in the water.

It was such a good time, made even better by the company we were with.

As we prepared to hike back up to the top of the falls, Big looked at the steep trail and said, "I'm not gonna climb that big mountain, Mom. I'm not!", and promptly plopped down on his butt in the middle of the trail. He was just pooped. Not only from the hiking, but from staying up way too late every night of our trip-- so Rophone ended up carrying him back up to the top. Quite a good workout for Rophone since Big is, well.... Big.

We can see from these great pictures I took of the younger kids at the top that Big is so tired that he's just about falling asleep sitting up. He can't seem to keep himself from listing to his left.

After spending a fabulous few hours at the falls, we headed up to my brother's house for dinner. Almost immediately upon our arrival (after cutting up some watermelon, that is) I headed out back with the kids.

They have some beautiful flowers in their backyard. I couldn't resist taking a few shots.

We had fun hanging out back-- swinging on swings, running through sprinklers, and eating our fill. A great evening to top off a great day.

We had such a great vacation, although far too brief. Waking up the next morning and heading home was more than just a little difficult to do. Thanks so much to all those whose hospitality made our vacation even more enjoyable than it might have otherwise been. We can't wait until next time!