Amazing weekend in Bristol

The best part about our trip was having the opportunity to visit friends and family on our way back to Texas. This made all the long hours of driving worth it. Our first stop on the way home was Bristol, Tennessee to visit my aunt and uncle. My cousin Jill (daughter of my aunt) lives nearby in Greenville, South Carolina, so she was able to join us for the weekend.

After a delicious dinner Friday evening and fun playing card games, we woke up Saturday morning refreshed and ready for a fun day. The weather in Bristol was gorgeous and unseasonably cooler than normal so it was the perfect day to spend a lot of time outdoors. First stop Saturday morning was a local park. Amelia and John enjoyed the playground first. 

And then we set off to explore the nature walks. The park was next to a small dam and contained wooded trails, small creeks, and opportunities for viewing some animals. 

Amelia and John loved playing on the edge of the creek. They took great delight in gathering sticks and leaves and other assorted objects and then testing to see which would float best down the river. Of course, give them an opportunity to smash rocks into water to see which splashes the most, and they are going to enjoy that as well! 

Later we took a different path that led to several small lakes, where we got to see two different types of turtles, fish and ducks. We all particularly enjoyed enticing the swimming turtles over to the side of the lake with pretzels. Did you know that fish, ducks, and turtles like pretzels?

This was such a fun morning! My relatives all work with children and youth in their professions, so they were all just great with keeping Amelia and John engaged in the activities. I thought this park was really nice.

Later that afternoon we made homemade peach ice cream. John and Amelia loved smashing the ice with the hammer! And wow was this ice cream delicious! The ingredient list included 8 fresh peaches plus Nehi peach-flavored soda. Who knew fizzy fruit-flavored soda would add so much delicious flavor to ice cream?

Later on Saturday my aunt and uncle took us to the lake where their boat is docked. First stop, a look at the large dam that is the reason the lake exists in the first place. I don't think the kids had ever seen a dam before - they were fascinated.

The boat ride was gorgeous. The scenery reminded me a little of out west near Yellowstone, but with much more intimate scenery. I loved the way the wooded forests sloped gently to the clear dark blue water of the lake.

We passed a marine with dozens of floating houseboats anchored on the shore. We all agreed that this looked like a great place to spend a realizing weekend.

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My uncle was so patient with the kids, and they both got to try their hands at steering the boat several times. They loved this!

Sunday morning brought more fun. We walked from my aunt's house down to main street in downtown Bristol (a cute, old-fashioned area), where Amelia and John thought it was fun to straddle the main street. The reason? The middle of main street forms the dividing line between Virginia and Tennessee. In the photo below Virginia is on the left and Tennessee on the right.

The downtown area also has a fun scavenger hunt activity for children. Following clues printed on a pamphlet, the kids run from block to block looking for small statues that relate to Eric Carle's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". The clues took us through the storyline of the book, where at first the statues were caterpillars and the last one was a butterfly (see below).

What a fun activity and a great way to spend the morning!

Many thanks to my Aunt Kathy, Uncle John, and cousin Jill. It was wonderful to see you all and a real treat for us to spend a relaxing and heart-warming weekend in Bristol!