Summer 2020: Florida Cousins

Officially today is the 96th day of social distancing/the worldwide corona virus pandemic comes to Tennessee. However, it is also summer and we trying to have a good summer, while also being cautious. Such is life for the past several months.

Last week my brother randomly asked if the kids and I wanted to pop down to Florida with him for the weekend. This is a trip we try to do once or twice a year to visit our sister's family. Unfortunately we didn't make it down at all last year, and with the corona virus pandemic, I think we all have kind of hit a wall and were craving family time.

Since we are all healthy, I threw caution to the wind (after making sure Daniel was okay with us traipsing about the country in 2020) and we made the trip south to Tallahassee with my brother. Our experience was that traveling during a pandemic wasn't too bad. Though we did have an issue finding open bathrooms for the kids. Fast food restaurants were generally open only for drive through, so we had to hunt for gas stations. Once we even stopped at a Whole Foods (we did buy apples so we weren't just using them for their clean bathroom!).

As for the weekend, we surprised my niece and nephew and the kids all had a blast being together non stop. We took a boat out to Dog Island (a repeat of a trip we did a couple of years ago where we were temporarily stranded and a storm rolled in!). This time, our outing was a little more low key, and the kids had a ton of fun swimming in the Gulf.

Though it was not completely without mishaps. Papa (my brother-in-law's dad) started to take off while we were all on the beach. We were dumbfounded that he might leave us again (like two years ago), but it turns out he was just going to help someone whose boat had drifted away from the island with a young girl on board.

The second mishap was running aground a sandbar on the way back to Carabelle. We missed the channel and couldn't tell it was shallow because the water was so choppy. Thankfully we weren't stuck, but it was a surprise to grind suddenly to a halt.

After boating, we went and grabbed seafood. If you know my brother, you know he needs his raw oyster fix whenever we go to Florida. Jack surprised us as the only kid that tried a raw oyster. He was not a fan. Levi's face sums up how the other kids felt about this delicacy!

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Cannon balls with cousins (and Uncle Mark). #summer2020 #voylesfam #floridacousins #mohaus2020

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Back in Tallahassee, the kids had fun doing kid things: bouncy house, trampoline, playing Uno, playing video games, playing tornado... We also went swimming at a neighbor's pool and then the kids did their semi-annual talent show with their Uncle Mark.

I love seeing them all cut loose with the dancing and being silly. I didn't catch this on my video, but my niece, Izzy, is really funny as the emcee. She always has off the cuff jokes that keep us laughing.

Our trip home was uneventful. It was a quick trip, but every time we made a pit stop we were reminded of the pandemic via everyone wearing masks. Our experience while traveling was that every person we encountered was super polite and kind (like extra). Looking forward to seeing family a couple more times as the summer progresses.

Canada Bound: More Cousins

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We were able to make time to stay with one of my second cousins, and her family lives on a hobby farm. Isaac loved feeding the chickens and pigs and checking on the rabbits. I loved visiting with my cousin whom I haven't seen in ages

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My cousin’s family is helping to take care of a small alpaca farm while their friends are on vacation, so we tagged along this morning to help them feed the alpacas. The kids loved helping and Daniel had a chance to reminisce about going to his grandpa’s farm with his dad when he was a kid and also remember having horses when he was a teenager. This is our last full day in Canada. Being with so many of our extended family has really been a blessing to us. 

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We spent the last several days at the home of one of my second cousins. When I was ten, my family lived with her family for a season. She was at my grandpa’s funeral about five years ago, but we haven’t truly connected (besides Facebook) in a couple of decades. I just have to say, I’m so glad we had the chance to reconnect. We stayed up late, played cards, enjoyed her hobby farm — including fresh eggs each day, and our kids got along even though she has teenagers. It was so good for all of us! Her parents were there part of the time and we were blessed by our time with them as well. It may be a couple of years before we get back to Canada, but it is wonderful to know that so many deep and loving family relationships are waiting here for us to come back to.  

Trip Stats:

Campground: My second cousin's yard in St. Catherines, ON about 30 minutes from Niagara Falls

Highlights: Second Cousins and Hobby Farms

Days on the Road: 12-14

 

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with Cousins, 2018

Several years ago, we met up with friends from Huntsville to go see Thomas and Friends at the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum here in Chattanooga. We had a really good visit, but had never made it back.

A friend from church had mentioned that they had got an annual pass for their family to the museum and really enjoyed going to ride the Missionary Local (train) often with their kids.

When my brother, sister, and her kids were here I initially thought it would be fun to take them to Rock City, but the morning we planned to do this excursion ended up being pretty cold.

So instead, I had the bright idea to go to the train museum and ride the Missionary Local.

So on a last minute whim, that is what we did.

Our crew is slow moving in the mornings, so we opted to make it on the last train of the day that would be leaving around noon.

The train ride is only six miles, but takes you over several bridges and through a tunnel in Missionary Ridge. It ends at the old East Chattanooga Station. It takes an hour because you ride to the end of the line, then disembark at a train yard where you get to watch the engine spin around on the turn table.

While they hook the engine back up to the train, we were taken to the train shop where they work on trains from all over the continent.

It was pretty impressive.

Thankfully my sister came prepared with snacks, because the kids mostly wanted to snack. But they still had a good time!

I went ahead and got a pass for our family. The kids enjoyed the ride and also exploring the parked train cars in the museum yard (this was probably their favorite part!).

We are hoping to do some more excursions, and even upgrade to some of their longer scenic routes when the leaves change in the fall.

This turned out to be a perfect activity for what started out as a cool morning.

Afterward we went to eat a late brunch at the Daily Ration in North Shore. Thankfully it was warm enough to enjoy sitting outside in the sunshine while the kids played corn hole!