Junior Cousins Camp

Camp Kreitzer hosted its first "Cousins Camp" of the season with three little munchkins who were out of preschool before big brothers and sisters. It was a spontaneous event when we decided to bring two siblings home from my brother's fundraising event last Sunday. Their cousin asked if he could come too and there you have it -- Cousins Camp. It was just the right length for young ones to be away from Mom -- three nights and two days. That gave us time to swim, jump on the trampoline, play on the swing and teeter-totter, throw rocks in the river, walk across the "scary bridge," ride bikes (and trikes), have a "movie night" with Rikki Tikki Tavi and popcorn, eat popsicles, get a little local cousin to come join in the fun, take tractor rides, and have a campfire with hot dogs and s'mores. We went to Mass one morning followed by a visit to a local nursing home (and a trip to 7-11 for slurpies). We ended each day with a decade of the rosary and night prayers by candlelight and a bedside song with Gramma, a Camp Kreitzer tradition. Unfortunately, I didn't think about pictures at the campfire and some of the other fun events until they were over, so you'll just have to take it from me that everything was a big hit. The staff at Camp Kreitzer is looking forward to the next cousins camp of which we expect there will be plenty this summer!

Oh, those flying nags!

As we travelled around the Outer Banks we noticed a number of horses with wings. Makes sense, eh -- "nags" in the area where flight began. I was intrigued so I took pictures of the horses whenever I saw them. I wonder how many there are?  Meridian, Mississippi and Winchester, Virginia also have this sort of signature mascot. Winchester has giant apples and Meridian has carousel horses. I wonder how many town in the U.S. do this. It would make a great article in a travel magazine!

Here are some of the flying nags of Nags Head including one who appears to have lost his wings.

Life's a Beach -- Or Don't We Wish?

Our trip to Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks was so much fun. Let the pictures tell the story.

Our first stop is always Grandy's for peach flurries and some fresh produce. Marianna was taken with the pink flamingoes.

Our cottage was on Lindberg Ave. between the main drag and the beach road and a short walk to the beach access. The front porch swing was a favorite spot for morning coffee and just hanging out.

The beach was perfect for watching the waves....

Burying Paka in the sand....

And feeding the seagulls.

Our landmark for walking up and down the beach was the pink (really pink) house.

We hated to see the sun set on our last evening as we rode our bikes along the sound trail the eight miles back to the bike rental shop. What a great vacation!

#1 on the "You Can Never Have Too Many" List

Here are ten items from my "You Can Never Have Too Many" list:

flowers
birds (except grackles and starlings)
fresh peaches
days at the beach
real friends (as compared to thousands of so-called "friends" on Facebook)
nights watching fireworks
good books
waterfall hikes
peanut butter taffy

But the top item on the list has to be grandbabies. And here's our number 20 -- every bit as special as the first, and second, and third, and fourth.....

Who or what's on your list?

Definitely the Most Beautiful Waterfall Hike East of the Mississippi!

Wow, what a hike! If you like waterfalls, Crabtree falls is the place to go. It's in Nelson County, Virginia not too far from Waynesboro and Charlettesville. The Falls are a 1200 foot vertical drop with five major cascades and a number of smaller ones. Larry and I went off on the outing with my sister Peggy and my brother's wife, Jessica. Neither of them had hiked much before so we suggested they get hiking poles and they were both glad they did even though the path is mostly wide and not too steep. It was still pretty strenuous on the way up with several places where you had to climb steep wooden stairs. But what a worth-it hike! I can't wait to go back again it was so incredibly beautiful. We hit the perfect time for the mountain laurel and rhododendron. What a sight!

Here's the first cascade at the bottom of the falls which is only about 500 feet from the parking lot at the end of a paved trail. This beautiful spot is accessible to anybody.

The trail from that point started sharply uphill but with gradual switchbacks -- not too bad even for non-hikers although I wouldn't want to do it in flipflops like one fella we saw. Here's another beautiful cascade farther along the trail.

The flowers were in spectacular full bloom. And we just had to stop and admire them everywhere we went.

You know what they say about stopping to smell the flowers. We got lots of opportunities!

And here's one of those staircases I was talking about although this wasn't the longest.

There were some great views of the mountains along the trail as well. What a spot -- a little bit of everything.

There were lots of places with little pools. Peggy and I stopped to cool off at one although we were careful to pick one nearer the bottom and not near a cascade. Twenty-three people have died at the falls climbing on the slippery rocks and falling. We had no intention of being one of those statistics.

Couldn't resist this spot for a photo-op, especially since we almost never get pictures of ourselves together since we generally hike by ourselves. It was great to have some extra photographers for the hike!

And here's a video of the top of the falls. We've had such a wet spring there was plenty of water pouring over. Waterfalls are always more fun to see when there's been plenty of rain and we've had (and still are having) more than our share.

Pack up your hiking boots and trecking poles and come join us on the trail. There are so many great places around here to explore. We promise you won't be disappointed.

How Observant are you? Camp Kreitzer's new look.

Did you notice that I changed the picture of Camp Kreitzer? It needed an update since the front looks different. Larry cut the trees way back and I got sick of trimming the shrubs along the front walk and cut them all out. The circle garden is different too because the tree in the middle died at the top. I cut it down but then it grew back at the base so I kept it as a bush. And notice that we put wrought iron railings up for those who need a little help getting up the stairs. Lots of little changes add up to a new look. I also snapped the new photo on a gloomy day which is all we've had lately. Rain, rain, rain with a little intermittant sun now and then. Here's the old photo for comparison taken on a sunny day. I'll probably change the photo again when more flowers are blooming. I love Camp Kreitzer whatever the weather! Ya'all come see us.

Of Easter Eggs and Little Lambs

Two Holy Saturday projects: coloring Easter Eggs and making the traditional lamb cake. First the eggs. Hmm...what color for this one? Pink? We colored the last one pink and the one before that and the one before that. Guess what color is the favorite?

Next comes the traditional lamb cake which I haven't made in a few years and almost forgot about until someone, I think Alice, mentioned it. Ah, yes...I can do that. First get out the lamb pan, the cake mix, the decorator tips and bags and then go to work.

Bake the cake and after it cools do a light frosting coat to reduce crumbs. Oops, no coconut to make the "grass" for the completed cake. No problem...sprinkles are good anywhere, anytime! And the lamb becomes the centrepiece for the Easter table.

And another little lamb dressed in her Easter finery.