Deep Creek 2012

We so enjoyed our family vacation with the Andersen's last year, that we decided to do it again! Same fantastically relaxing and beautiful place, but this time for a full week. The extra time really gave us a chance to leave our normal stresses and routines behind, and just enjoy maximizing our family time and adventures.


Deep Creek Lake is a great vacation spot because, while there isn't tons to do, the things that are there are fun, active, and family-oriented. One afternoon the guys sent us mommies out to lunch, and we discovered this random area right on the water with big sculptures to play on, a pirate ship playground, and ducks to feed. We took the kids back later for fun, free entertainment!

We always hit up Funland, which doesn't disappoint. Arcade games, mini golf, rock wall, carousel, go karts - what's not to love? Grant still isn't old enough for the go karts, but the day he is, I know it's going to thrill his brains out!


The weather was cooler than we'd hoped, but mostly good. But even on the one rainy day, we found an adventure. Christie suggested the nature center, which turned out to have some really cool animals on display. Bonus for Grant and Everett was riding the elevator up and down a few times. Cheap dates!






What our families enjoyed most was hiking the trails in the state parks. There is some absolutely gorgeous scenery, especially at Swallow Falls.
Hope and Grant both enjoyed exploring the forest, pointing out this and that, walking across logs and examining animal footprints. They were much more capable hikers this year, which made it all the more pleasant for Daddy and me :)

This year, Hope was big enough and brave enough to take on the Chipmunk Challenge ropes course at Wisp Resort. It was a fairly involved, though kid-sized, with obstacles and zip lines. She looked so entirely cute in her harness and helmet get-up, but she took on that course with an admirable and hearty go-get-em attitude. I was so proud of her!

Grant was majorly bummed that he wasn't big enough for the ropes course, but he consoled himself with the playground and make believe panning-for-gold area that was nearby.

But what absolutely did make Grant's day was the terrifying (to me) ride on the mountain coaster. I don't love roller coasters anyway, but it adds another element of fear when I have to squeeze my two-year-old with my knees the entire time to keep him from flying out of the ride. When we went back on our way out of town, I decided I'd just go slower down the mountain, but he said "Faster, Mom!"

















We rented a pontoon boat for a day, giving us plenty of opportunity to explore the lake and enjoy the sights on the water. Even though it was the warmest day we had, it was chilly on the water, so we wrapped up in sweaters and blankets. It made for good kid snuggling! Grant cracked us up because several times, when we went under a bridge, he covered his head with his hands and said "Watch out!"
























We experimented with not napping on boat day, but toward the end of the afternoon Grant had just had it. It's been a long time since he was a baby who slept on my chest, so I enjoyed every fleeting minute of it :)













 Like last year, one of my favorite places to visit is the little sandy beach area. The kids worked together to build a volcano in the sand, and only Grant seemed not to want to wade in the water. By the time we left, the other three had "waded" in waist deep, requiring full outfit changes for the ride home. We let that stuff slide on vacation!









 








The house we rented wasn't as nice as last year's, though this time we were right on the water. But it was big and comfortable and worked out fine. And we thoroughly enjoyed the huge hammock and fire pit! In this picture and elsewhere, Christie was a good sport about letting my kids cuddle her to death like the godmother that she practically is.


















The fire pit was surrounded by Adirondack chairs, just inside the tree line at the edge of the lake, overlooking our dock. It was a great spot for flower picking, skipping rocks, and making s'mores! All the kids (and grown ups) enjoyed them, but nothing about it was as memorable as hearing Everett ask for a "smushmallow." So cute!

At the end of the trip, I felt happy and relieved again that our families mesh so well together. We just love the Andersens! Maybe next year we'll try someplace new, but this year, this vacation was just what we needed!