Escape to Brew Mountain

 

As promised, I'm back with some cute pictures from our trip and a better outlook.  Thanks to everyone for your kind responses to my little pity party last night.  I am definitely feeling better.  A good hearty cry and a decent night's sleep can do wonders for one's soul.  

Another thing that can do wonders is some time away from the city.  Last weekend, Conor and I took the boys to one of our favorite places.  The Blue Ridge Mountains.  We rented a little condo at Wintergreen Resort and enjoyed some fresh mountain air.  It was so nice to feel like a normal family again, enjoying some summer activities. 

We spent the first morning hiking on one of the many trails at the resort.  I felt a million miles away from the city and the hospital.  Conor and I both agreed that our blood pressure seemed to immediately lower, and we felt so much more at peace.  The boys seemed to really enjoy it too.  Deaglan especially really liked exploring the natural resources around us.  Every stick, every leaf caught his attention.  And this tree with a big hole in the center...well, it was just begging for a little attention from our smallest rascally boy.

Hello!

We eventually had to put Deaglan in my hiking pack.  Otherwise, we would have seriously spent the entire morning on just the access road.  Our boy likes to stop and smell the roses, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, our Fionny was on an avid bear search.  We couldn't exactly surmise whether or not he wanted to see a bear or not.  Indeed, he seemed simultaneously afraid and also giddy with the possibility of it all.  "I don't want to see any bears!  I'm scared!  They gonna eat us!" was mixed with comments of "How much longer till we see some bears?"  Anyway, he was on high alert!

Deaglan, for his part, assisted in the bear hunt by doing his best bear impression as we hiked along.  "Raaaawr!" he kept saying.  "Raaawr!"

My little bear cub

Of course, hiking wasn't the only part of our trip.  Our Fionny made a special preemptive request for our weekend away.  "I wanna go the beach!" he kept yelling over and over and over again.  Although he knew he couldn't swim in the lake water due to his port and compromised immune system, Fionn didn't seem to care.  What he really wanted to do was build sandcastles.  "Sandcastles with Daddy!"  Yep.  Chopped Liver status again, folks.  Ah well.  I know my place at least.

The beach was a bit deserted that day due to chilly temperatures, so the sweet lifeguards let Fionn climb all over their lifeguard chair.  They even gave him their rescue tube so he could feel like the real deal.

David Hasselhoff, eat your heart out!

Meanwhile, Deaglan busied himself with throwing every sand utensil into the lake water for Mommy and Daddy to fetch.  I'll have you know that it was every bit as much fun as it sounds.  Haha.

But it wasn't all beaches and hikes.  In the last few years, the Blue Ridge Mountains have become famous for something other than the amazing vistas.  There are now several wonderful breweries that dot the countryside near the base of the mountain where we were staying.  Of course, we took it upon ourselves to try as many as possible.

The beautiful sight of hops growing on a vine.

In the process, we also got to see some of our wonderful friends who live in Crozet, Virginia.  The wonderful Millers!  I failed to get a cute picture of the whole bunch, but I did secure pictures of the amazing Miller kids just being wonderful to our boys.

Sweet Caroline and Dex

Clearly the best moment of Deaglan's life

Aside from delicious brews, all of the breweries also offered corn hole.  Deaglan didn't quite get how to play, but he was a big fan of the beanbags. 

These things rule!

Wait!  Where'd it go?

 It was a wonderful trip.  Such a nice break from reality.  I hope we can sneak away again in the coming months with the kids for some more rejuvenation.  Until next time...