Here’s a recap of our weekend trip to the West Virginia mountains!
We spent the weekend at a farmhouse in the West Virginia Mountains!
Hey-yo!! We’re back from our weekend in the West Virginia mountains with a large group of friends!
Our group spanned 3 generations
Our group spanned three generations ages 2 to 70-something. The nucleus of the group was the Riedesel family, who is friends with the owners of a historic farmhouse purchased over half a century ago for their family of 13 children to enjoy. Our friends have been going to the farm for over 40 years! Thomas visited as a young lad with his parents and as a young adult, and he was excited for Birch, Mazen and I to get the full farm experience.
We also had two animal friends join us
Sweet Penny the dog
And Quill, the hedgehog!!!
The farmhouse
Life is old there, older than the trees
The farmhouse is huge (it’s kind of like 2 houses connected by a porch). There are 22 (!) bedrooms and only 3 bathrooms in the house and plenty of space for a large group.
The house is frozen in time in the most charming way. It reminded me so much of the house I grew up in. From the box fans in the window (there is no AC!) to the antique furniture to the large porches with a dozen rocking chairs, we definitely had that “lost in time” feel. There’s also no internet and cell service is spotty at best, so unplugging was easy to do.
My quilt and sheets from home on our four poster bed!
I was most worried about sleeping without air conditioning, but the box fans worked their magic and I wasn’t hot at all. (Flashbacks to growing up when we didn’t have AC in our bedrooms until I was in middle school!!) Birch slept in a crib in our room (luckily he slept all night!) and Mazen was up in a bunk room with his buddies.
The view
Bucolic cornfields and West Virginia mountains.
The Pond
Behind the house there is an ice cold spring-fed pond. The boys took a swim to the dock to find a nice snake waiting there for them! Needless to say I did not put one toe in the pond.
But others where not afraid of what was below the surface!
The Boy Pack
Mazen in particular had an absolute blast running around with this pack of boys. The fished, they sailed down the slip n slide, they tubed the river, and played “boat” in the pond.
Mazen did get snuggle time with his little buddy too <3
Friday BBQ Dinner
How do you feed 40 people? In bulk!! Our friend Chase was head chef and prepared BBQ, mac and cheese, and coleslaw for the group. Plus we had about 10 coolers full of drinks!
Cupcakes for dessert
Pancakes For Breakfast
Pancakes cooked on a grill griddle for a crowd! We had plenty of fresh summer fruit too.
River Time
On Saturday after breakfast we drove about a mile away to a river to do some “swimming” aka wading. The water was crystal clear! We saw crayfish, minnows, and poison ivy – luckily no snakes!
The big boys decided to tube the way home (with two supervising dads) and had a grand old time. I took Birch home for a nap and did a little snoozing myself!
Slip n Slide
We made an epic slip n slide with a giant roll of plastic that provided hours of entertainment for the kids!
The Costume Party
On Saturday night we had a costume party and were tasked to wear an animal costume that started with the same letter as our first name!
There aren’t too many animals that start with K, and Kyle and I were both Koalas! Well, technically I was a PINAkoala!
Birch the Butterfly didn’t like wearing his costume very much. Mazen the (water) Moccasin got his morphsuit on Amazon! It was SCARY!
And Tommy the Tiger was all enthusiasm!
Saturday Dinner
Delicious apps made by April! Caprese skewers and crab dip.
And burgers and dogs, corn on the cob, and freshly made peach cobbler for dessert.
Dusk
We played Molkky (and corn hole and bocce and can jam) into the night.
On Sunday morning it was up and at ’em packing and cleaning and we made the trip back over the mountains towards home.
Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze
The Video >>
Thanks to our friend Josh Ellwood for making this incredible video!
Kathryn says
Loved strolling through the photos, so nice. What we we all need, fresh air and some space.
Especially liked this:
Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze
K~
Chelsea says
What a beautiful looking trip! I’ve never been to West Virginia but both of my paternal grandparents were born there. These photos make me want to plan a trip myself!
Kath Younger says
I had only been skiing (I think) so this was a great summer exposure to the mountain beauty!
Carla M Reyes says
Wow, what a nice experience this seems like it was! I love the forced unplugging of that kind of place, and I love the quintessential summer experience for the kids.
Cheryl Maxey says
We spent a week last June in WV biking on the Greenbrier River trail and just loved it. Our proximity to large radio telescopes meant no cell service except when we were on the wifi at our B&B. It was excellent to unplug and such a beautiful area. We want to go back to bike again and paddle down the Greenbrier
Kath Younger says
You were quite a bit further west than we were. I think we’ve talked about it before, but I can’t wait until Birch is old enough to bike the Virginia Creeper Trail! It’s on my bucket list to take kids.
Cindy Gay says
Had to check out the WV page since that’s where we live. The river looks nice. The boys are cute. Like the choice of BBQ, corn on the cob and peach cobbler.