Whimsical Weathervanes

Over Thanksgiving, the boys and I, my grandmother, and my sister (who flew in from California)  visited my mom and stepfather in their new home in Leesburg, Virginia.

The day before Thanksgiving, we all went hiking in Red Rock Park.


This awesome park had some pre-Civil War ruins
and tons of trails through the woods leading to a scenic Potomac overlook!


My younger son made his great-grandmother a walking stick,
and my older son helped her up and down steep inclines.




I love seeing my loved ones all together, working as a family should.



After our hike, we ate lunch at Clydes Willow Creek Farm,
in an old barn that was built in 1885.




Once a home for milking cows and horse stalls,
Clydes is now a dining room filled with whimsical weathervanes.

A mermaid weathervane.





and an angel weathervane






We took the tour and saw some crazy bars too,
one with this gigantic golden cricket
(real gold-plated and it's tongue is sticking out! I think there's a story there ...)





and a jockey



and so much more I didn't have time to photograph!


I tried not to think about the creepy figurehead looming over our table as we ate.
She was from a shipwreck off the coast of Nantucket.





Have you ever encountered Whimsical Weathervanes?


If you could have a weathervane on top of your house,
what shape or form would you like it to be?

How I spent Black Friday

We hiked through Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery.
 Civil war soldiers were buried there.


Then we joined a historic tour of Oatlands Plantation.





And finished the day with a family game of Dictionary and a movie.

How did you spend your Black Friday?

A Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

We're visiting my mother in Virginia right now,
 and she was determined to introduce us to her new grocery store.

This isn't just any grocery store, of course.

It was Wegmans.

However, to keep the boys busy while we shopped,
my mom prepared a grocery store scavenger hunt.




If you can't read that, here's what it says:

Naan Bread
Dragon Fruit
Duck Fat
Lamb
Crumpets
Gluten Free Cereal
Triple Cream Brie Cheese
Indian Buffet Tandoori Chicken
Fresh Wild Samon
Pomegranite
Something from 8 Different Countries

My boys had to find all these items and
take a photo of each one on their smartphone.

And it worked.
It kept them busy for a long time.

In the meantime, I discovered a plethora of new fruit:

Dragon Fruit





Horned Melon

 




Star Fruit

 


We bought one of each, and I can't wait to try them!

Have you seen anything in the grocery store you didn't recognize?
Have you ever tried the dragon fruit, the horned melon or star fruit?