Day 13: Sycamore

We're home! We got in around 2:30pm.

Day 12: Ohio

On our final day of vacationing we went to Hocking Hills State Park. It was a cross between Maquoketa Caves State Park and Starved Rock State Park, only on a larger scale. First, we went to see Old Man's Cave, which was a huge cave that used to be the home of a man who lived his life as a hermit along with his dogs in the late 1700's. Next, we went to the lower falls. Although the falls only had trickles of water going over them, there was a pool of water at the bottom which we waded in. Jessie and I both tried to log roll on a piece of wood we found, but neither of us was to successful. We also tried to skip some rocks, but dad was the only one who was able to do it. After we were done there, we moved on to the upper falls. Those falls however, didn't have any water going over them but it was still cool to look at the rock formations and the bridge going over the top of the falls. Then, we stopped by rockhouse, which was the best cave I've ever been in (except for Y cave for those of you who have been to Maquoketa). Dark, cold, and high up made this cave a must see. The last thing we saw at the park was Ash Cave. This was a cave that was at least 100 yards in diameter and 100 feet in height and we walked in, on top, and around it in order to see it from every aspect. After spending about 5 hours at the park we left and were off to our last hotel. But the fun wasn't over yet, as we soon found out. We had to switch rooms two times because our first one didn't have internet or phone service, and the next one had a door that nobody (not even the manager or maintenance dude) could get open. But, we finally got a room that would do. Tomorrow, we do nothing but drive home for 5-6 hours. So hang in there Molly; I'll be back soon!!

Day 11: West Virginia

This was mostly just a driving day but we did have one stop at Twin Falls State Park in WV. We had some trouble finding the entrance to the park but once there we had an easy one mile hike to see the two main falls at the park. Why they call them twin falls is a mystery to us, they really weren't all that similar. The drive through WV was beautiful. Lots of winding roads with plenty of awesome views.

Just a side note: If you are wondering what happened to banjo playing youth named Lonnie from "Deliverance" I met him in the laundry room at one of our hotels a few days ago. Well, it may not of actually been him but this was running through my mind as I was talking to him. Quite scarry.

Day 10 (part 3): North Carolina

Our last stop of the day was at Stone Mountain State Park. Wow, three mountains in one day; could this day get any better? Here we saw a couple waterfalls, Stone Mountain, and the Hutchinson Homestead. The waterfalls weren't as full with water as we hoped they would be, but they were still interesting. The photo shows Stone Mountain Falls, a 200 foot drop down an inclined rock face. The homestead was built in the late 1800's and had interactive displays telling about that period of time. We hiked the about 3 of the 4.5 mile long trail around the mountain, skipping the climb to the top. There were so many deer (we saw about 12). Even though we didn't hike up the mountain it was still pretty gruesome, the end of the trail had about 450 steps, it felt so good to sit in the air conditioned car, but the hike was totally worth it.

Day 10 (part 2): North Carolina

Our second stop was at Pilot Mountain State Park. I can't tell you how excited Jessie and I were when we saw this mountain from the side of the road. Luckily we got to drive most of the way up, and we only had to do a short trail around the top. There were also a few overlooks that we stopped at where we saw a beautiful valley below, which we all enjoyed. At first it was a little foggy and you couldn't see the whole mountain but after the hike we went back to an overlook and got a couple of pictures, like the photo shown. When we were driving in the parking lot we stopped to let a squirrel by, but it seemed to be challenging us, as if saying "Come closer I dare you!" Thankfully it finally moved and we went on to find a parking place.

Day 10 (part 1): North Carolina

Our first stop today was at Hanging Rock State Park. We did three different trails here: one to see a pathetic waterfall, one to see some ok waterfalls, and one to see Hanging Rock. The trail to Hanging Rock wasn't that bad (compared to all the mountains we've been hiking up). When we got to the top you were able to walk out on some cliffs and yes, you guessed it, a hanging rock. The view from the top was pretty awesome with shear cliffs all around you. Even though the picture was suppose to be of me, Jessie always manages to find her way in somehow. God, Jessie, whatever you wanted to tell me, I think it could wait!

Atlantic Sunrise

I took this sunrise photo from our balcony at our Virginia Beach hotel. A great view but a dump of a hotel. It was like being on spring break with all the sights, sounds, and smells you would imagine. We couldn't get out of this area fast enough.