"I Have One Request"-Everleigh

"We haven't been to a zoo in a long time," Evie piped up in the car.

"Yes, it has been awhile," I responded.

"Well, I want to go to a zoo."

"Okay, I will put it on the list." I filed it under "Things to do in the coming year."

The next day she came back with "When are we going to the zoo?"

"Oh, sometime."

"Which day?"

"Oh, honey did you mean on this trip?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, we have a full schedule. I am not sure it will be this trip."

"But, Mom, you said you put in on the list."

So Evie is a little tired of historical sites where we walk for an hour and her brother is engaged and her sister tries to explain everything to her.

Day 2 of the Epic Road Trip we went to Monticello.

Everyone loved Monticello. The house tour is fascinating and we were treated to a lovely fall Virginia day and we were able to check out some Monarch butterfly chrysalises and take a lovely walk. Mike was able to see some of the chairs made my one of his former bosses who specializes in making specialty wood furniture. I love this history of Monticello; every guide I've experienced in my 3 trips has told the story a little differently. Ben knows Thomas Jefferson from his study of U.S. History, Kyrie had a glimpse when she took a class on Lewis & Clark last spring. Evie is along for the ride.

Day 3 of the Epic Road Trip took us to Richmond where we toured the Virginia State House. A tour that was supposed to last an hour turned into 1 hr 20 minutes because the 80-year oldish tour guide was so charmed by my children and wanted to stuff their little brains even fuller of Virginia State history. We followed that up with a trip to City Hall to the 19th-floor observatory where we viewed Richmond from above. Then we took a walk around St. John's Church, where Patrick Henry uttered his famous "Give me liberty or give me death speech." Then dinner with friends from Virginia days who directed us to take the Jamestown ferry to Williamsburg. We did a night crossing and couldn't see much, but we were awed to be crossing the river where our first European ancestors came up and settled four hundred years ago.

Day 4 of the Epic Road Trip took us to Colonial Willamsburg where we checked out the Bruton Church, toured a colonial garden, toured the Governor's Palace and heard the story of the last Royal Governor's escape with his wife and young family in the dead of night. We heard the Declaration of Independence read on the Courthouse steps, heard the celebratory cannons, watched and heard the fife and drum players walk the street and saw the citizens of Williamsburg demand their weapons back from the governor. We ended the evening eating at the King's Arms Tavern by candlelight, an experience the parents appreciated far more than the kids.

Day 5 of the Epic Road Trip took us to the Wright Brothers Memorial and Monument in Kitty Hawk, NC. We heard about the fateful date when the first flight took off, and how the dreams and hard work of these resourceful Americans changed the world forever. Did they anticipate that their invention would be a piece in making it possible for a mom to work from home sending other people into flight so she could take her family on a road trip? Probably not, but I was impressed anyway.

These are the things about the epic road trip that I love.

My kids are celebrating that they have played in the waves of the Atlantic on the North Carolina shores and swam in two different hotel pools, and anticipate swimming in many more before the end. We are enjoying being together as a family.

Next up: A family wedding.