Fall Break Long Weekend

     Back to real life after a nice long weekend.  Ridley really needed a break from school, and Matt certainly needed one from work.  And I really needed some quality time with them both.  Ridley had Friday and Monday off, so Matt took those days off, too.  Late Friday morning we packed up our little camper (really little---15 feet!) and headed to Fort Boonesboro for the night.  It's only about 20 minutes from home but it always feels like we are far away.  The campground was busy, and it was incredible how many Halloween decorations that had been put up by the campground and campers alike. 

     There were hundreds of carved pumpkins, lots of lights, and even a resident Michael Meyers who was following kids around in a very creepy fashion.  Two families came down to join us, each bringing several children, so Ridley really had a great time running wild.  The others didn't stay, but stuck around until after dark when it started really getting cold.  After they left, Matt and Ridley and I played cards and yahtzee in the camper until we all admitted we were ready for bed.
     The following day we drove two hours to Harveysburg, Ohio to attend our first Renaissance Festival.  I couldn't believe how enormous it was.  All the people working there wore period costume and affected English accents.  There were vendors of all sorts of handmade products that I would have loved to buy, but knew I would not want to lug around all day.  We did a ton of walking, and I really did fine back and belly-wise.  I still haven't been wearing my belly band, but I'm thinking I will probably really come to appreciate it eventually. 
     We also saw an incredible acrobatics show called The Kamikaze Fireflies.  The one-man one-woman show was really entertaining.  They were not only fantastic acrobats and skilled with fire tricks, but they were absolutely hilarious.  They have a facebook page if anyone is interested.  Sorry, I don't have the actual address, but if you do a search on facebook they pop right up. 
     It was a great day, but a lot of the shopping and sightseeing really didn't interest Ridley that much.  And the food was expensive and... well...disgusting.  Matt and I have decided that next year we will get a sitter for the day and the two of us will go.  We plan on dressing up, drinking lots of beer, and doing absolutely everything and watching every single show.  We haven't decided how we'll get home after all that beer, but we'll figure something out.
     On Sunday we decided to go geode hunting in a little town right outside Danville, KY called Perryville.  I had never been there before, as close as it is, but it was a lovely little town.  I wasn't really feeling up to wading in the water looking for potato-sized rocks with the boys, so I took some pictures of the gorgeous scenery instead.

     Matt and Ridley found about 20 geodes!  They cracked one open with a hammer, and it burst to smithereens.  Next time they'll be using a saw, I believe.
     Monday was a day of relaxation, Ridley had a friend over, I caught up on some reading, and Matt was rather bored.  He did harvest some of the last bits of garden goodies.

    
     We had a wonderful weekend.  I'm ready for another.