A Sudden Change in Plans Turned into a Great Family Adventure (I love it when that happens!)

Our family had big plans to spend yesterday at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. An annual tradition, we look forward to enjoying the Halloween festivities each October. We dressed warmly for the cool weather, packed our snacks and bottled waters, printed our tickets, dropped our dog Olive off with her caregivers, filled the car up with gas, stopped by the ATM on our way out of town, and made our way up 360 North with plans to spend our day riding rides, eating funnel cake, and enjoying the "World's Most Beautiful Theme Park."

We were forty minutes from home when we stopped for coffee, and upon getting out of the car, realized how cold, wet, and overcast this day was. All of us agreed that we didn't want to get stuck three hours from home at Busch Gardens on a cold, wet, dreary day, so we changed course. Just like that. What could have been a big disappointment, though, turned into one of the best family days we have shared in a long time.

We were very close to Green Bay, Virginia, and an antique store there that I have wanted to visit. We drove the few extra miles to Green Bay, only to find that the store was closed. We no longer had an agenda for the day, nor any place we had to be, so we drove. We turned left off of Route 360 onto Green Bay Road. Almost immediately on the right, just before the Green Bay Open Air Market, is this structure. I thought it might be an abandoned house, but after researching it, learned that it is one of two structures that is formerly the Green Bay Elementary School. We continued on Green Bay Road and stretches of farm land, passing dairy farm after dairy farm, stopping every few miles for me to take pictures of antique tobacco barns and overgrown silos and for Courtland to take pictures of horses in green pastures.

 

  

Our driving led us through the Prince Edward Gallion State Forest, a brand new discovery for all of us.

Our driving led us next into the Town of Farmville, Virginia, home of my Alma Mater, (one of them) Longwood University. Our first stop was to visit with Marshall Thackston, a local realtor and friend, whom we consider family. Carrington, our honey aficionado, saw jars of local honey on the counter, and thus began our shopping excursion. A music store sat on the adjacent corner, and since we never intentionally pass by a music store, we ventured there next.   

 

 

By the time we left Buffalo Creek Guitar Company, Carrington had played several acoustic guitars, an electric guitar, a banjo, a mandolin, and a locally handmade dulcimer. Carrington had shed his shoes and made himself at home, we had made friends with owner Gary Hickman and his wife Susan, a high school English teacher, and we had a new electronic keyboard, stand, and microphone stand for Miss Courtie in tow.

Here are Courtland and Carrington with Mr. Gary Hickman, owner of Buffalo Creek Guitar Company.

 

The children could have spent all day in the music store, and they might have if I hadn't had other things in mind, like...Geocaching! I pulled out the iPhone which has the Geocaching app installed on it. I searched for geocaches in the area and navigated them directly from the iPhone. The closest one to us was part of the High Bridge Trail series of geocaches. We had so much fun looking for these, and the children are becoming better and better at finding these, too. 

 

We could have picked from a half a dozen places to have lunch in this stretch of downtown, but I fondly remembered Charley's french onion soup, and knew that it would hit the spot on this cool, drizzly October afternoon. This is located next door to the oriental rug warehouse at Greenfront, so I stepped inside the warehouse to admire the rugs, then headed over to enjoy the french onion soup, Caesar salad, and a glass of chardonnay. I was so glad I did. 

 

Charley's french onion soup is the very best. Absolutely divine.

We couldn't leave Farmville with a little more Main Street shopping. Courtland enjoyed seeing the dresses at Caryn's. We then visited the Sleeping Bee, where Courtie made a purchase of her own. 

 

We then visited the jfergeson gallery, and Courtland and I both fell in love with this fun piece.  

  

We even enjoyed furniture shopping. I believe this is the first time ever that I have been shopping with Mark and the children and they did not want to leave the store!  Before leaving Farmville, we looked for one more geocache at Longwood University's Brock Common. We then made our way to Hamden-Sydney College for more scenery, history, and to explore College Church Cemetery. 

Enjoying our adventure, despite the chilly rain, we made our way to College Church Cemetery at Hamden-Sydney, and searched the grounds until we found the Thackston family's plots. The Taliaferro headstone is not a family member's, but I took the photo to remember this interesting epitaph.

In the early evening we started to make our way back to South Boston. We stopped to find three more geocaches on the way home, including two in Wyliesburg, Virginia. What a neat find! We loved the old general store in Wyliesburg.

Maybe the idea of having no place to be, no place to go, and no time frame in which to be there played a part. Maybe not having an agenda, a map, or a to do list played a part. Maybe it was the stress-free time together or the scenic horse pastures and overgrown silos that put us at peace. Maybe it was the adventure, the treasure hunt, the not knowing, and the just-being. Maybe it was all those things. Sometimes life hands you a rainy day, and sometimes you have to let go of your own plans and suddenly change course. Sure it's a little disappointing at first, but if you always keep your eyes open, trust in the unknown, and keep moving forward with a positive attitude and a sense of adventure, you might find that the reward is even greater than you imagined. Here's to unexpected adventures! About those theme park tickets? We're saving those for a rainy  sunny day!

Wishing you and your family fun in the most unexpected places!

xoxo, Erin

Southern Virginia Mom