Hocking HIlls! (September 20-24)

Anyone with kids knows that vacation planning can be stressful.  Finding the right place for the age of the kids is difficult.  For this reason, we really haven't taken a vacation since the boys were born!

Early on in the year, my sister Lyn suggested we do another big Willinger/Muehlfeld family getaway to Hocking Hills like we did the summer of 2010.  She did some searching, found a house big enough for all of us, and I wrote the check.  Easy enough. 

I'm not sure where the time went since that initial planning, but when the calendar hit September, I started to get excited for our little getaway.  Lists were made, packing commenced, and Thursday, September 20, we were on our way (about 1/2 hour later than planned...but it all worked out).

First, we met my parents in Logan for lunch.  It was great...not a lot of people in the restaurant, and the kids were pretty well behaved.  We had lunch, and $1.25 beers that tasted perfect - after all, it was the start of our vacation!  Lyn and RJ arrived at the restaurant about an hour later, and grabbed something quick to eat.  The kids ran around on the patio, and we just enjoyed a slow paced afternoon.

After being at the restaurant for 2 hours, RJ and Lyn left to get the keys to the cabin, and we slowly made our way to the cabin.  Kelly and Dave were at the cabin waiting when we arrived.  We visited a bit, then started unloading the cars.  Dave had the kids and they were all playing.

Of course, not an hour into being at the cabin, Dave came carrying a crying and bleeding Lincoln.  Little man got too excited and slipped in the stones.  He scratched up the side of his face, but hit a rock just above his eyebrow, and that was bleeding.  I cleaned him up, and was going to put a bandaid on the big cut, but Lincoln insisted he didn't need a bandaid - "I'm good Mom."  And off he went to play.

We unpacked the cars and settled in, spending most of the evening on the deck of the cabin, enjoying the fall air.  We had a light dinner, a few cocktails, and called it an early night.

Friday morning, I was on breakfast duty, so we served everyone breakfast burritos and hashbrown casserole.  Once breakfast was done and cleaned up, I was anxious to get out and enjoy the beautiful day.   Lyn's family and Aaron and Scott decided to head out to a bike trail, and we headed off to Conkle's Hollow, my parents in tow.

Conkle's Hollow is one of the most beautiful places in Hocking Hills.  The path is easy, and we had few worries with the boys.  The boys loved the cave, and the water at the end.  We were able to get a few pics of them...


After our hike, we had "daddy sandwiches" on the picnic bench, then headed back to the cabin for the rest of the day.

Saturday morning, Mawmaw, Pawpaw, and Dick agreed to watch ALL the kids while the rest of the adults went for a more strenuous hike.  We went to Old Man's Cave, then hiked over to Cedar Falls and back.  We definitely found a challenging trail, but it was a beautiful day for it!  We were pretty exhausted when we returned (we hiked close to 6 miles), but it was well worth it. 

When we weren't hiking, we were in the backyard of the cabin.  We played badmitten, baseball, bouncy balls, and frisbie.  

Sunday, we all decided to head out hiking together.  We first stopped at Rock House, but quickly determined it was NOT kid friendly.  Aaron and Scott went ahead and checked it out, but the rest of us headed back to Conkle's Hollow.  Our boys were funny, showing Lylah and Knox the Hollow (they had been there once, so they were experts). 

Look at these adorable kiddos!  We tried to get them to the the O-H-I-O, but they just weren't quite ready for that.

Sunday was Pawpaw's birthday, so after dinner Sunday night, we had yummy cake and homemade ice cream.  A perfect ending on our last night!

Monday morning was a bit sad for all of us.  The end of vacation is always a little sad.  We all packed up our vehicles, cleaned out the cabin, said our goodbyes, and ventured home. 

Here were the boys on the deck of the cabin, saying goodbye (after they asked if we could stay there forever).

We were all on the road by 10:45.  Since we only had a 2 hour drive, we decided to take the boys to a few sites they hadn't seen yet.

First, we headed back to Old Man's Cave.  Parts of the cave are a bit scary with kids, but we kept a close eye on the boys.  They really liked the rock and bridges!  Here they are at Old Man's Cave.

 Next, we stopped by Ash Cave.  The boys were more impressed with the sand at Ash Cave than anything.

It was right around 1:00 when we left Hocking Hills.  We were planning to stop at a nearby town for lunch, but the boys went to sleep about 1:05.  So, we kept driving, thinking we would stop once they woke up.  They slept until we got off I-71 - 2 miles from our house!  They were tired boys with all the hiking and playing they had done!

We had a light snack when we got home, unpacked the van, worked on the laundry a bit, then just relaxed and enjoyed our last night of vacation. 

We love Hocking Hills, and promised the boys we would go back again soon!