Skip to main content

Toby and...

Finally, a long-awaited blog post about Virginia!  I'm afraid you will have to wait a little longer to hear a little about all our fun activities (we fitted in beach and mountains, what more could you want on a holiday?) but the main purpose of the trip was to introduce Toby to some more of his family.  He charmed 'em all.

First, the most important: Toby meets Grandma (or Meemaw as she is known to her great-grands)

Of course, Grandpa (or Grampoo) was just as important, but didn't get quite so many cuddles owing to having heart surgery while we were there (you wouldn't know it, would you?)


It was the second time for meeting Uncle John, but Toby's changed a bit in 6 months!

Inspecting the James River with Aunt Kristal.



With a couple of my cousins, Lloyd and Ben.  At the rate Toby's growing he may rival their height one day.


With Great-Uncle Ben.


Walking in the woods with Great-Aunt Mary, who did a great job entertaining us in the mountains.  Thanks for letting us stay!


With Mary's mom Susan and assorted other members of her family.

Lots of legs!


Bedtime story with Meemaw

Looking cute all by himself, and doing his best to eat an unopened packet of cheese crackers.

Phew!  That was supposed to be the easy blog entry for the trip, but I'm still getting used to Blogger's new way of adding photos.  I'm sure it'll be easier... eventually.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One hundred churches

About the middle of January, I was walking to school one afternoon when it occurred to me that I must have visited quite a few churches on my explorations. I started counting them. But I quickly ran out of fingers, so when I got home I plotted them on Google Maps. Not only was the number much higher than I was expecting, it was also tantalisingly close to one hundred. Only a few dozen to go. So of course, every walk since then has had to include at least one church! Last Monday I visited my hundredth church: St John the Baptist, Dethick. It was a beautiful little 13-century building with an unusual tower - I was glad it had claimed the 100 spot. I haven't been inside every church. Sometimes they were locked; sometimes I was in a hurry and didn't try the door. St Leonard's Church in Alton had bellringers practicing, and I almost interrupted a funeral when I stuck my head through the door of St Mary's, Marston-on-Dove. A few, such as St Oswald's, Ashbourne, and St Wys...
Post a Comment
Read more

Derwent Valley Heritage Way: Steep drops ahead

It's been a long time since I fitted that much up and down into an eight-mile walk! 740m of steep climbs and steps. My legs were not very happy with me the next day. Between Matlock and Cromford, the Derwent River runs through a deep valley, with Matlock Bath - a landlocked town which pretends to be a seaside resort - down at the bottom. The ridge of high ground used to run all the way round to Scarthin Rock, cutting off Cromford from the rest of the valley, until somebody blasted a hole through it to build the A6. Matlock Bath: pavilion and amusement park I started in Cromford and climbed over the ridge at Harp Edge, then followed a path along through the woods, with the ground dropping sharply away to my right. There were a few small caves among the trees. At Upperwood someone had thoughtfully provided a bench. I wasn't in need of a rest just yet, though. In fact, I was feeling so bouncy that I went down an entirely unnecessary flight of steps, instead of staying on the reaso...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor   Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as ...
Post a Comment
Read more