Because the last thing we want to do on a three day holiday weekend is actually take it easy and rest, we decided that today we would all make the trek to Waynesboro in order to attend the going away party being held for Will down on Frank's farm. This is no small trip clocking in at 120+ miles and two and a half hours of travel time (and yes, that would be one way).
We got there just after noon. There were already a lot of folks there. It was like a mini family reunion, but one where I actually knew most of the people versus the family reunions we normally have with so many people I don't know. I got to catch up with some of my other cousins, one of which made me feel decidedly old by informing me she was going to be graduating high school soon (and she was just in diapers when I graduated college). In addition to family there were friends of Will's there like Wayne.
While the purpose of the visit was to see Will before he left, you wouldn't have known that if you were watching the kids. Quinn and Catherine both were fascinated with the barn and took great joy in getting into all the equipment.
After much cajoling Quinn was able to convince Frank to get one of the loaders out and take it for a spin. He was more than a little disappointed afterwards though because we was sure that we was going to be able to convince Frank to let him drive, but that (luckily) never happened.
While Quinn was outside working on Frank to start up more equipment, Catherine was inside torturing Mary's bunny. Ginger commented that she's never seen Catherine take to any pet like she did the bunny rabbit. Having had a rabbit when I was just a wee lad I know how destructive they can be, so I'm hoping we don't end up with one anytime soon (although I doubt we could until the cat's are gone anyway).
For Quinn the highlight of the trip was probably the golf cart. Frank has an old golf cart that he uses to get around the farm in and he offered it up for Quinn to drive (with adult supervision of course, at least initially). But Ginger and I sensing an opportunity told him he wasn't going to be allowed to ride it without trying a new food. He initially got pretty upset about this, but eventually caved as his desire to ride overrode his reluctance to eating something new. The new food was a grape (a white one). And after the first ride up and down the driveway (the driveway is about a quarter of a mile long) we told him he would have to eat one for every subsequent trip, but after that first ride he was hooked and was downing grapes with no complaints (I'm pretty sure he ate more than 10 total). Mind you he was still making some faces while he ate them (even the latter ones), but you could tell he was becoming more and more accustomed to it as he went on.
Eventually it was time to leave though and we said goodbye to Will. We also made plans for Jo Beth to come up and see us sometime, but a lot of that will depend on her schedule (she said she wants to come up and see Catherine's ballet recital). Will leaves on Wednesday and will be driving a U-Haul across the country to his San Francisco destination where he'll be spending at least the next couple of years. We all wish him luck on that journey and with his classes.
We didn't end up leaving until almost five, which was way later than we wanted to leave since the kids needed to get in bed and get a good night sleep for school tomorrow. We had the kids eat dinner in the car on the way home, and we took a couple minutes out of our trip and stopped at the scenic overlook at the top of Afton Mountain. After that it was a smooth ride home, which given how much traffic is suppose to be out there on Memorial Day surprised me that we didn't really hit any traffic to speak of (not that I'm complaining mind you). Overall the kids seemed to have a blast, and Quinn is already talking about when he could possibly go back. Add to that we got to see Will one last time before he took off and I would call the trip a success.
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