Langes Fädchen, Faules Mädchen: Thanksgiving Travels

A church somewhere near Mt. Jackson, VA. Amazingly, this photo was taken through the window of a moving car.

My husband and I spent the last week traveling around Virginia and northern North Carolina visiting family, delivering cupcakes to deserving family members, and taking silly pictures. We were both long overdue for a break from work and our normal routine so what better excuse than Thanksgiving to take a few extra days off to roam? Unlike most people I actually enjoy being around my family and the in-laws so that portion of the trip wasn't a hardship. It probably helps that we spent just the right amount of time with each before moving on to our next stop.

I'm all about tradition so I was glad we were able to stop and spend a few days with my mom and little brother at the time share we've been going to since I was a kid. While I'd say most time shares are a rip off and the maintenance cost my mom still has to pay for this one is absurdly high, it's situated in Virginia's picturesque Shenandoah Valley and I've got so many good memories associated with going there with my family. If nothing else it's a perfect excuse for my mom to relax, which is a big change from her normal life of rushing around trying to do a million things a day. For that reason alone I'd say it's worth the cost.

Found at a Goodwill in Woodstock, VA. Note the similarities. I nearly got confused and took the troll home with me instead of my husband.

The tall fella is Johnny Appleseed, taken outside of a Johnny Appleseed-themed restaurant in New Market, VA. Yes, he is wearing a pot on his head. I hear that's all the rage these days.

One of the few covered bridges left in VA. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get the exposure right when taking pictures of these things?

A better shot of the covered bridge, blurry mother included.

My zombie brother

While similar to the last pic I like how skinny this makes me look so I'm posting it too.

After two days with my family we hopped over the VA border to visit my in-laws in North Carolina. Here we are with my super cute niece who adores me for some inexplicable reason.

I found she'd written this on her desk in anticipation of our arrival. How sweet is that?

Eden, NC decked out for the holidays. At least I'm pretty sure it's Eden. Don't sue me if I'm wrong on that one.

Ominous cloud that massed over us around Greensboro, NC. I'm sure it's because my husband said something blasphemous.

After lunch with my aunt and uncle who live close to my in-laws, we headed to Roanoke, VA for a few days. I honestly wasn't planning to go to any cupcakeries after having baked and delivered three dozen cupcakes of my own on that trip but we just so happened to stop for dinner at a restaurant right next door to Bubblecakes. How could I resist the alluring sign advertising, "We have cupcakes" and the charming decor?

I was, however, able to resist this deal. Is this even legal?

One our way back we stopped at a cheesy roadside attraction, Dinosaur Land, in northwestern Virginia. A friend had visited a few months ago and it looked like goofy fun, so I bookmarked it just in case we were ever in the area. Turns our our route home took us within ten minutes of it. Even though I was eager to get home to the cats I begged my husband to make the detour and I'm so glad I did. While I wouldn't recommend going far out of your way just to visit the site, it's definitely worth stopping in if you're nearby. Honestly, we were out of there in about 20 minutes although it did make for some good photo ops.