The Hills Are Alive

Goodness, it is only 9:23pm and I am ready for bed, but I feel like I should stay up and download some pictures of at least part of our trip to Hocking Hills. If I don't do it soon it is going to be Christmas and that is another load of pictures I will need to do - so here. we. go!!

Friday night - we got all settled in, aired out a cabin from a stinky deodorizer - YUCK, went for a walk around the property, and ate dinner. Oh, and watched the Food Network (we love cable when we go away) then sat around a cozy bonfire on a very cold night - brrrrrrr.

Just getting in to Hocking Hills. Soren woke up from his nap after the car had to stop at an exit ramp - silly traffic! 

Bundles of fire wood loaded in the car.

 Getting settled in.

 Soren found a lot of really big sticks on his journey.

Making our way down the path.

Saturday - got up and made a pancake breakfast and headed out to our first destination - Old Man's Cave. It was really pretty, but our most challenging spot with a toddler. We went back to the cabin for lunch and then went to Conkle's Hollow - this was really fun. It had a nicely paved path and Soren had a lot of fun running and discovering things on his way, including a caterpillar - he was so sweet. Soren sat down next to the caterpillar and started to talking to it and when it was time to go he kept saying "bye-bye capiler, bye-bye". We made our way back to the cabin again for naptime and relaxing and then headed out to Logan, Ohio for pizza - YUM!. Soren was not too interested in eating with all the distractions and the temptation of touching the man sitting in the booth behind us. At the end of dinner he finally touched the man and got a "hey buddy, how are you doing" and a handshake. Back to the cabin for a movie, Baby Einstein-style and then to bed. Bed for Soren, not us. We had another bonfire to enjoy!

Sunday - We sort of got most of stuff packed up Saturday night so Sunday morning was pretty easy. Cereal for breakfast, got dressed, packed the car, and then off to Ash Cave. I think this was Soren's favorite spot. What kid wouldn't like to play in a giant sand box that echoed. This really is a beautiful spot. See pictures below. A little wondering around and a snack and we were on the road again headed for home. We got back around 1:00pm which was really nice because it allowed us to get everything unpacked and all the laundry done and have a nice meal together.

While our journey had a few ups and downs, it was really nice to get out of the city and spend time together as a family. Our next adventure...traveling to Park City, Utah for a week.