Ever since we got back from El Salvador, Erik has been begging to go to the beach.  Unfortunately, the only quasi-beach close by is the Chesapeake, which isn’t exactly an ideal place for swimming.  We decided to avoid the summer crowd and go down for the weekend to Virginia Beach a few weeks after Labor Day.  We all had a great time, and Joseph couldn’t stop giggling with delight for the first ten minutes that he was in the water.  This beach had way more things to do than we had time for, and we could easily see ourselves spending a week or more here.

Having fun at the beach

Erik and Joseph chasing birds and going on a walk together

On our way down to Virginia Beach, we decided to stop by a WWII Iowa-class ship, the USS Wisconsin.  Of course Erik and Joseph liked wandering around the ship and seeing the big guns.  Interestingly, this ship has been decomissioned and reactivated three times, last serving in the Gulf War.  I would highly recommend a brief stop by this site if you have young kids or are touring the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. Here’s the link: http://www.hrnm.navy.mil.

Standing on the bow of the ship

Erik having fun

On our way up to DC, we stopped by the Natural Bridge (http://www.naturalbridgeva.com/), which was pretty cool to see.  Thomas Jefferson purchased this site from King George III in order to preserve it for all to see. 

We had the chance to visit an interactive railroad museum in Chattanooga, which Erik and Joseph both enjoyed (http://www.tvrail.com/).

They have a pretty good museum, and then they let you take a six mile trip to their repair shop and back.

This is the locomotive we rode on

A very excited Erik reboards the train

Joseph and Grandma getting off the train with the Engineer and Conductor’s help

On the third day of our trip, we visited the Petrified Forest National Park, an amazing place.  In this spot, hundreds of millions of years ago, logs settled into a lake or riverbed and became covered in silt, becoming preserved forever.  The colors were vivid and spectacular.  Erik initially thought that they were trees.  However, after touching one and trying to move it (photo 1), he said they were rocks.  He was pretty confused for the rest of our visit, unsure if they were trees or rocks.

Erik trying to push a tree rock

Erik sitting on a 200+ million year old tree

On our road trip, we stopped by the Grand Canyon, someplace I always wanted to visit.  I had no idea how incredibly huge this place was.  The massive opening stretched on for miles, and in some parts I could barely see the bottom. 

 
Panoramic view of Grand Canyon