July 2012: Throwback Post

I'm taking a break from Disney for a moment. Among my growing piles of unfinished posts, I found this one from July. Chronologically this should be read after the entry entitled "July: The first 7 days", but does anyone really care anymore? I'm always back-blogging. I hope to eventually sort out and organize my virtual life, but I'm waiting to get my actual life under control first. I proudly present "July: The last 24 days".

Road Trip!

In mid-July we hopped in the car with our friend Jess and headed a few hours north to visit the sites in and around the Jefferson National Forest. Our first stop was the hotel in Troutville. The next morning, we started our weekend of adventures at The Natural Bridge. After finding the yellow Buddha under the bridge and spotting George Washington's initials carved into the rock (whether he put them there or not is up for debate), we continued walking down the mile-long path.

We visited a Monacan Indian village, saw a snake basking in the sun, made use of a port-a-potty, and finally turned around at a small waterfall. Somewhere along the way, Cora fell asleep on Jess' comfy shoulder.

We had a late lunch at the Pink Cadillac Diner and got our picture taken next to a giant ape. The restaurant had an interesting decor, but I wouldn't recommend ordering the very dry barbeque chicken. Then we made our way down the street to Foamhenge, a deteriorating replica of the famous Stonehenge made of-- you guessed it-- foam. Next on our list was a visit to the Natural Bridge Caverns. I've been to quite a number of caverns, and this one was very disappointing in size and number of formations. We'll have to make another trip to the Shenandoah Valley sometime and explore the better caves. I know, I'm being a cave snob.

My favorite sign from the museum.

We continued our tourist trap tour the following morning with a visit to the wax museum. Cora was petrified, so she curled up in my arms with her face pressed into my chest. Even now, months later, she will tell me "I don't like wax people". Unfortunately, her enunciation of "wax" often sounds like "black". She's working on fixing that.

Melting face.

The basement housed an exhibit on how they make the figures. Jess and I ventured down there on our own. Although it said it was a working studio, the place looked abandoned and pretty creepy. The wax museum itself housed many Biblical, patriotic, and regional history scenes. Because they don't fit those molds (ha! ha!) John Wayne, Elvis, and Santa Claus were all relegated to live in the basement. I wonder if the three of them have parties when the shop is vacant . . .

We wandered around the indoor butterfly garden. I loved the blue one. The orange and black one loved Ally; it sat on her hand and on her shoulder, and even tried to hide in her hair when we tried to leave it behind. Do you like Ally's bracelet? She made it in the hotel from a kit Aunt Jessie had gifted her.

The Natural Bridge also has an on-site toy museum. Most toys came from a private, family collection. My favorite toy from our previous visit, a melt-it-yourself lead figurine casting set, was no longer on display. But we did see plenty of Star Wars toys, Legos, Barbie dolls, He-Man figures, Cabbage Patch kids, and one Collector's Edition Jerry Springer Doll. I also found this sign that piqued my interest:

We took a picture of the girls next to the giant bear in the gift shop. We have a photo of Ally standing there (with assistance) when she was very tiny. We also let Cora play with some guns.

Channeling her inner Crockett.

Ally took a second session of swim lessons. I'm so proud of her. She only had to float on her back for 5 seconds; she could do it for over 30. She'll put her face under the water and hold her breath without freaking out. And she started letting go and really swimming! That's a great improvement from not wanting to jump in or to even be splashed on the first day of the first session.

 

Cora continued her never-ending quest for potty-training success.

She set up her own desk. She means business!

Ally, Cora, and I attended Spanish camp with Senora Kisha for a week. She held three sessions, but with everything going on this summer, only one week fit into our busy schedule. Since Cora wasn't 100% potty trained and therefore technically couldn't go, I struck a deal with la maestra. I agreed to be her teaching assistant, and she gladly welcomed all three of us to class. We had a lot of fun learning and playing. We hope to do it again this coming summer.

Because the session's theme was La Granja, we took a field trip to the N.C. A&T university farm. We rode a tractor through much of the property and then walked into some of the important buildings. We saw los pollos, vacas, cabras, and ovejas. We smelled los cerdos. Pee-U! The university is doing all sorts of plant experiments, so we drove through the crop fields too.

Spanish Splash! Camp

Grandma and Grandpa Winters decided to drop by for a visit in the later part of July. We showed them where the Farmers' Market is and had dinner at the Moose Cafe. Yummy!

We also took them to the Greensboro Children's Museum.

Child's Play.

Grandpa passed his dental check-up with flying colors, but Cora wasn't so fortunate. Grandma gave her a numbing shot and then filled her cavity. Cora was a trooper, and Ally gave her a hug and a big teddy bear for being so brave. The girls also put on a stage production, shopped for groceries, and drove a fire truck. Cora also cooked up something special in the kitchen while Ally was out delivering mail up and down Main Street. Then we wandered outside for a bit and played in the fairy garden. We also made my parents pose for a picture in the big red chair.

Little people.

The next day we took them to the Natural Science Center. I didn't take too many pictures there, and we didn't see all the animals, but I do remember spending an inordinate amount of time with the reptiles. We had gone downstairs to see the 100-year-old BoneCrusher and the two-headed turtle, and we ended up petting three different snakes, a bearded dragon, and a desert tortoise. Ally was actually brave enough to touch the reptiles, and Cora giggled and flashed an impish grin every time she gently grabbed one of the serpents.

Little Snake Charmer.