Spring Break Outing #3

Friday's plan was to spend time in the newly opened trampoline park in Richmond, but the only open time slot was at 9:30 pm.  So we opted for a family bike ride up in Sugar Hollow.  This was the ride that Jonah was reminiscent about a few months back on our little hike together.

So, for old time's sake, here we are at "butterfly rock" when Gavin was in preschool and Jonah was my at home buddy, circa 2008:

How many rocks can a boy throw you might wonder?  Thousands and thousands and thousands!  

Gavin deciding to take a dare from Jonah or himself, I can't remember, to get his entire body wet!

And ... here were are now, in 2013.  We loaded four bikes on the back carrier, crammed Gavin's inside the passenger area of the van, and stuffed the trusty old Burley trailer in the back, to pull Jonah and Ruby.  And we rode 10 miles!  The longest ride of any of the boys' lives.  Gavin declared it was the best bike ride of his whole life, which was Jared's ultimate goal after Gavin had come home from a previous 6-mile ride with a friends' family several weeks ago, reporting that it was (up until then) the best bike ride of his life.  But Jonah was the quickest to declare it was his favorite ride of all time.  For him it was a daydream come true, as this was exactly what he wanted to have happen after that recent day of remembering these old rides while on the hike.  He even found an old souvenir granite rock in the side pocket of the Burley, left over from our last outing, several years ago!

Starting point at the Piedmont Store in White Hall with Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.

We stopped on "Butterfly Rock" to have some lunch snacks and throw more rocks into the water.  The water level is high now, as it always is in the Spring, and the swimming hole looked so inviting.  We will happily return for a dip when the weather actually gets above 65 degrees.

I have brought all the boys here at some point....either getting pulled in the Burley in the case of Gavin and Jonah, or just driving up with all four boys on hot afternoons to play in the refreshing water.  But, this was the first time that we were all together, Jared included, so a family photo was in order and captured thanks to the Gorilla tripod Jared packed along.