7.10.2011

Road Trip Tuesday...just two days late

In my limited blogging experience I have noticed that my writing tends to only focus on the positive, cheerful, happy moments which may make give the wrong impression about what really takes place on our family adventures.  Maybe this is my "glass 1/2 full" personality but I am more inclined to think that  it is more my acceptance of the fact that life itself is a blend of good and bad.  Its the sad moments when you still find a way to smile and the happy moments that make you want to cry. 

So, I am going to try to give an honest portrayl of Road Trip Tuesday which ended up occuring two days late on Thursday because, well, sometimes stuff happens.....Amy's car needed new brakes and Tuesday was Doug's only free day so ,well you get the picture.

My goal was to be on the road by 11am....told Amy that her wake-up call was 10am so we could be on the road by 11am but as frequently happens we started out about noon.  So an hour late and not even out of the drive-way and already we are having an argument about who is sitting in the middle of the backseat.  Ariel wins this round..........

First stop, Flavor Cupcakery.  Let me just say that not all cupcakes are created equal and nobody in good conscience should say they don't like cupcakes until they have tried one from this bakery. 

Me:  "Alright, let's go get some cupcakes" (side note, the kids love this place so this is or should be a big treat)
Ariel:  "Can I stay in the car with Pierce?"
Me:  "I Guess"
Carter:  "I will stay in the car, too"
Ariel opens door and gets out of car.
Me:  "I thought you were staying in the car?"
Ariel:  "Not if Carter is"
Me:  Sigh.......

So, we all end up in Flavor Cupcakery (which was kinda of the whole point of the stop to begin with).....and I tell the kids they can split a cupcake.  Ariel and her friend Caitlyn quickly agree on cookies n cream.  Carter wants the vanilla one.  Pierce also wants the vanilla one.  Perfect.   Or NOT........

Carter:  "I don't want to split one"
Me:  "You don't have a choice:
Carter:  "But I want my own"
Me:  "You don't have a choice.  You either split one or don't get any"
Carter:  "I don't want to split one"

I won that round and Carter and Pierce split the damn cupcake...SIGH. 

New battle ensues over who sits in middle.  Carter wins this round and off we go.......

Our destination....the Falling Branch area of Rocks State Park

 The Falling Branch Area of Rocks State Park is a 67 acre parcel of land which is home to Kilgore Falls, a scenic and tranquil section of Falling Branch, a tributary of Deer Creek, which is tucked back into the ravines of Northern Harford County, creating Maryland's second highest vertical drop waterfall. This non-developed, environmentally sensitive area has a serene hiking trail leading back to the waterfall.

The first land purchases for what is now Rocks State Park began in 1951. Originally slated to be Deer Creek State Park, these were the first land purchases made by the State of Maryland for the express purpose of creating a park.

Rocks has 855 acres of dense forests and massive boulders rising above Deer Creek. The King and Queen Seat, once a ceremonial gathering place of the Susquehannock Indians, is a natural 190 foot rock outcrop. This cliff, reached by scenic trails, affords a view of the rolling hills and farmland of Harford County. Also preserved on park property are many structural remains from the days when the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad wound its way through Rocks, helping the farms and quarries of Northern Harford County to prosper.


....with Carter and Pierce fighting in the back seat....Ariel's adjusting her IPOD volume louder and louder in the front seat that is now coming out of the truck speakers louder and LOUDER.  And me and Amy alternating turning around to the back seat and telling Pierce and Carter that this will be the last road trip we ever go on and we don't know why we keep trying this if they are going to keep misbehaving......SIGH.

We wind our way through the twisting and turning roads of Harford County only to arrive at our destination and find a full parking lot.  The good news is one car was getting ready to back out...the bad news is I am driving Doug's truck which is about as easy to whip into a small parking spot as is a Mack Truck...SIGH.  

Carter's now complaining of a headache.  Pierce is repeatedly banging something on the window....Carter is now crying about his headache and all I want is to park this Mack Truck and get out of it!

Whoever described the trail to the falls in the above description as serene obviously was not hiking it with 2 10-year-olds, an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old who keep fighting over who gets to be the "leader"....

But then we round the bend and (cue the music) we see


and just like that all the fighting and the bickering melt into the background......ok, well, actually at this point I realized that since I had not worn my bathing suit under my clothes I would need to change into it in the middle of nature backed up to a rock wall with only the 8-year-old holding up a towel and most likely poison ivy all over the place but that "glass 1/2 full" mind of mine only remembers the sun shining through the trees onto the falls....well, for the most part anyhow.

Yet despite the inncessant bickering, the tears (both mine and the kids) and headaches the pictures below can speak for themselves about why next week you will find us on the road again............

















1 comment:

  1. Loved this blog, Laurie! Sounds a lot like my family mayhem. :-) We went to these falls a few years ago. It was absolutely gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete

 
Design by Deluxe Designs