Slowing Down

Once or twice a year (every year) we take a little weekend retreat to our favorite place on earth. A tiny little mountain town about two hours from where we live, we have always said that going there feels like going home. This past weekend, we went "home". 

When I say tiny mountain town, I mean really tiny. We have often had people ask us what the draw is, what there is to do there. The answer is, not much. There's not much at all to do there, and I think that's exactly what the draw is. We are forced to slow down. We have no signal on our phones, and until this trip, the house didn't have WiFi (we were glad and disappointed all at the same time). Our time there is always spent outdoors...hiking, biking, playing in the creek, swinging on the front porch, walks in the evening, eating ice cream at the picnic tables of our favorite diner in town. 

My sweet family 

Jackson and his PaPaw (my FIL)

My in-laws joined us this weekend (as they often do). We don't get to spend much time with them, so it was nice to have them along. The boys are crazy about them, and they were a huge help to us. They took the boys hiking on Saturday so that Scott & I (and his niece) could bike the Virginia Creeper Trail. We had taken the boys on the trail on Friday, and they did well, but certainly weren't up for it two days in a row. 

Along the Virginia Creeper Trail

Biking the Creeper

Our time there was cut short due to a coming snow. It was sad to leave a day early. It's funny how a place that you have never lived can feel so much like home. This area was one of the first places that Scott took me after we started dating, and we have been back many, many times since. I know that has a lot to do with the fact that it's so special to us. We have always said that if there were any good jobs in the area, we would move in a heartbeat. Sadly, there are no jobs in Scott's field of work, so lots and lots of vacations will just have to do. I think I can live with that :)