Let's take a drive to Chesapeake Bay

Last night around 5:30 we decided to put the boys in the car to kill the last couple hours before bedtime.  Cooper took a nap, which meant he was going to be up until midnight unless we got him outside running around ASAP.  We decided to go up to to downtown Yorktown again since it was dark last time.  It was starting to get dark when we arrived so maybe next time we will actually make it there while there is still sunlight.

This is for my brother, Ken, who I am sure never looks at this blog. :)

There were so many deer out and about.

There are also a lot of cannons scattered about on the battlefields.

Yorktown Victory Monument.

The National Park Service had this interesting little tidbit about this monument:

The Yorktown Monument to "The Alliance and Victory" was the first monument authorized by the Federal Government. It was authorized on October 29, 1781, just ten days after the victory at Yorktown. However, construction on the monument did not begin until 1881.  It was completed in 1884.

When we were driving down the hill to park we saw one of the the ships that gives tours everyday during certain seasons.  The boys thought it looked like a pirate ship.  To the left of this picture is downtown Main Street.

To the right is the bay that eventually opens to the Atlantic.

It was almost 80 degrees only an hour or two before this but once the sun went down, it was chilly.

View of the Victory Monument from the beach.

Watching Tucker try to run/walk in the sand was entertaining.

The boys looked for seashells.

I will not be swimming in this water.  In fact, I tend to avoid all salt water if I can help it.  Freshwater too.

There are signs all along the beach/walkway with little tidbits about the area.

Such as the fact that there is a sunken ship from 1781 just beyond where we stood at the end of the pier.

The boys had fun running up and down the pier.  I am sure the fishermen were thrilled. :)

There is something very tranquil about this area.

The Schooner docked for the evening.

We watched the lights turn on downtown and over the bridge.

Tucker took a break from the sand to sit by his daddy.

We walked back to our car and let the boys run by the light of the headlights.  They looked like little ghosts but sounded more like banshees.  Let me rephrase my earlier statement about how tranquil the area is: When our boys are not present, this is a very serene location. :)

Busch Gardens and cookies

We decided to take the boys to Busch Gardens on Saturday.  We had to wait until the afternoon to go since our little fence was being put in that morning.  We now have an tiny little yard that Cooper and Tucker can play in.  So worth it even if the yard is teeny tiny.  

When I went to get in the car, I almost stepped on this guy.  Don't ask me how I missed him.  He was gigantic!

He had one big black eye and the other eye looked like it was missing.

We took, what should be, the short drive to Williamsburg.  There was a car pulled off the side of the road that had traffic in almost a stand still.  The boys were really impatient with this since we told them that it would not take long to get there.

 Entering Busch Gardens.  See the roller coasters?  Todd and I didn't get to ride any of the big ones.  Weekends are really busy right now with Howl-O-Scream going on.  Basically, after 5:30 the park becomes a scary place not suitable for children.  Todd would love to go but I am a chicken when it comes to haunted houses and anything scary.

 It took awhile to find parking with there being like 207 parking lots.  A little confusing, but we ended up parking in Scotland and taking  a tram into the park.  It was so convenient and the boys had so much fun!

 Cooper is always begging me to roll down the windows so riding with NO windows was just plain awesome.  

Our first stop was to the Sesame Street area.  We got there right in time to watch a concert put on by all the characters.

 Fisher thought it was all too babyish so I took him on this ride.  We both felt sick after.  (I forgot my Dramamine.)

 Little boys in stripes anxious to ride the rides.

 Next we took all the boys on a little boat ride.

 Todd took Cooper and I took Tucker.  Fisher did a lot of the rides by himself.

 The boys did okay waiting in the lines.  We were thinking it would be fun to take a day off and go during the week when it was not as busy.

Next, Todd took Fisher and Cooper on Grover's Alpine Express, which was a genuine roller coaster.  We were surprised Cooper was tall enough to go.  He was so excited!  

 Fisher was able to sit next to a girl.  I love this picture of them.

  After the ride.

 While they rode that ride, Tucker spent his time like this.  On the next ride, I took him to play in a little play area so he could run around.  He kept taking off which was a pain.

 Big rides that I am sure would be so much fun.  The one on the right is called the Griffon.  This is what they say about that one: "205-foot, 90-degree, 75 mph free fall of the world's tallest dive coaster."  

The park itself is beautiful.  This location has a European theme.  Each section is a different country- Germany, Scotland, France, Italy, Ireland and England.  We didn't make it through the whole park (had to be out by 5:30!) but we plan on getting season passes so we can explore it some more.  

 Next we trudged up an down a lot of stairs (with the stroller) to go to the dragon section.  This was a great area for the boys except that the moment we got there, the boys took off onto this humongous tree house thing. 

 This is part of it also.

There were roped bridges EVERYWHERE.  This thing was huge and Cooper was off and running and Todd couldn't find him and I was stuck with Tucker looking up into all the netting wondering if Cooper was somewhere up there.  It would be a fun place for them to play if it had not been so busy.  This place just screams Lord of the Flies to me. :)

 Once Todd recovered Fisher and Cooper (and we finished yelling at them for scaring us half-to-death) we went to ride the rides. There were four rides side by side which the kids enjoyed.  

 Even Tucker had a lot of fun.

 Since it is October and they have Howl-O-Scream going on, there were decorations up everywhere.  Fisher was so excited.  Halloween and Scooby Doo are some of his favorite things.  I thought it was all creepy but he loved every minute of it.

 Each country had a different theme.  Vampires, pumpkins, Skeletons and rats, and werewolves are a few that I remember.

 France had the rats and skeletons.

    Scary stuff!

 One section had scary ghosts and a graveyard.

 Even though there were some things that were creepy- even in the day- you can't deny the park was festive.  I want to go back in December when they have their Christmas displays up!

 Riding the tram back to the car.
The best thing about this day was that it was free.  (Well, except for the parking which was a total rip off.)  The park gives military families one free pass per person every year.  

 Sunday we made sugar cookies to "BOO" some of our neighbors.  We were booed on Saturday.

 I love being able to cut flowers from my yard. :)

 Finished product.  Todd and Fisher went out that night and doorbell ditched a few of the neighbors.

I will leave you with Tucker's graduation picture. :)