One of the first things Nina and Lyla wanted to do after school got out was head down to Hartfield. So, the girls and I packed up early Monday morning and headed down for a few days at the river. When at Hartfield, there is down time and then there is boating time. We had some down time in the first part of the day – catching minnows, taking bike rides, painting with Mousey, etc., but as soon as Poppy said he was ready to get out on the boat, these girls were more than ready!
We had some really beautiful days for being on the water. It was hot, but the river was calm and quiet with boat traffic, and the sun was shining. As always, getting in the tube was one of the main attractions. For these two (especially Lyla), there’s no speed fast enough for riding in the tube. From their seat in the tube, they call out to Poppy to speed up and drive in circles (so they hit the waves). The tube is always a good time!
This was Cayenne’s first trip on the boat, and I was anxious to see how she would do. She has a track record of not being the best traveller. Ever since she was a puppy, she often gets sick in the car and actually throws up in the car quite often (fun times). Being on the boat, we figured she’d be ok with all the open space and flowing air, but we were wrong. Actually, it wasn’t the motion or the movement of the boat at all that I think made her sick. She ended up throwing up on the boat two days in a row, but both times were after she was hot and quickly drank a large amount of water. Needless to say, that part wasn’t fun, but other than that, I think she enjoyed riding on the boat and swimming in the river.
Lyla is just like me when I was little. I was obsessed with driving my grandfather’s boat, and to his credit, he always let me. Lyla is also obsessed with driving her grandfather’s boat, and to his credit, he always lets her.
We always try to find a good spot for swimming after we’ve spent some time riding on the boat or tubing. The river feeds into the Chesapeake Bay, so the water is brackish in most parts. As a result, there are jellyfish that always make their way down the river. Last summer, the cousins started something called the River Girls Club. There were several criteria that had to be met before being a true River Girl, and getting stung by a jellyfish was one of them. They’ve all been through it, but of course they don’t like it.
On our first day swimming, we were having a great time in the water until Lyla got stung. While it wasn’t a terrible sting, it was enough to end our swimming session for the day. Day one also ended on a sour note when Mousey’s wireless speaker took a dive into the river. While day one on the river kind of ended on a less than happy note, the speaker fullly recovered after two days buried in rice, and day two on the river more than made up for day one’s little jellyfish sting.
I was hoping the girls wouldn’t be hesitant to get back in and swim, and I was pleasantly surprised when they jumped right in off the boat when it was time to swim. Poppy took the boat a little deeper into the river (farther from the bay) where the water is more fresh, and we didn’t encounter any jellyfish. We had such a great time swimming in the river on day two, and I think everyone (including Cayenne) enjoyed cooling off in the water, swimming, jumping off the boat, and having some fun!
Life is pretty simple down at Hartfield, and the pace of life is much slower there than Northern Virginia. So instead of feeling like there are a million things you need to do, you end up looking for things to do or places to explore. One of the things Nina and Lyla really enjoyed this past trip was biking down to a miniature horse farm to pet the mini horses. They gave them names and fed them all the tender grass they could find.
As the days wound down, everyone eventually got showers and the adults caught up World Cup games that were recorded during the day. We enjoyed our time hanging at the river with Mousey and Poppy, but we were excited to get back home and see Mark (who had to work this week). We now feel like summer is officially in full swing, and it’s off to a good start!
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