once upon a weekend

We concluded that our weekends mean only two things: one is a weekend which starts after lunch, and the other is a weekend with a full schedule which starts really early. Our recent weekend was the latter. I prefer to wake up late on weekends. The later, the better. If we had no prior plans or out-of-town trips, I’m the happiest girl who wakes up at 11 a.m. But last weekend, it was different.

I woke up at 7:30 (which was dreadfully early in my own weekend standard). We had a full schedule ahead of us- drop by books at the library, rush to the office for hubby’s unavoidable scutwork, then off to Baltimore in Maryland. You see, the hubby really wanted to see the Flugtag event held in Baltimore that day. Flugtag is definitely a guy thing. But being a good wifey that I am (wink, wink), I was more than happy to accompany him. Last year, we also made a quick trip to Baltimore, in the heat of summer (103 degrees!) and got a mean sunburn. Happy memories, hehe.

Flugtag, schmugtag. The hubby had a great time. So that makes me happy, too. Besides, I like going on little weekend trips like this. It’s fun and experiencing the vibe of a different city is always a plus. There’s a thrill in narrowly missing exits, navigating in unfamiliar streets, finding free parking and deciding what and where to eat. The hubby and I share that boost.

After Baltimore, we then rushed to attend Stefan’s 3rd birthday. The hubby took lots of pictures of the birthday boy. He and his little friend Dača enjoyed hamming it up for the camera. It was a fayuh truck-themed birthday- from fire truck-shaped birthday cake, fire truck piñata to fire truck toys. Boys will be boys! In a mad dash opening the presents, he smugly ignored the clothes presents. He only wants toys. (Sigh), to be three! Speaking of presents, we got him a Dominoes set, which was easily overshadowed by the trucks and bikes and airplanes, hehe.

Neither of us managed to get up early on Sunday. Surely, after one hectic Saturday, taking it easy on Sunday would be a welcome respite. But we had other things in mind. After a quick breakfast and hurried lunch on the road, we were on our way to The Great Country Farms in Bluemont, VA. They had these pumpkin patch, hayrides, pig-racing, and all sorts of things and we wanted to see it. We initially planned to go to WV or back to Shenandoah to watch the fall foliage, however, we were not sure about the peak. So we ditched the idea and went to the farm instead.

Well, well. I guess we’re the only ones there who don’t have a kid in tow. It was heaven for the kids. Lots of animals, pumpkin-colored jumping pillow, hayrides, pumpkin cannon, mazes, slides, the whole shebang. What I enjoyed the most was the hay ride to the pumpkin patch. Every 30 minutes or so, two tractors pull a hay cart full of visitors to the pumpkin field around a mile away. And then people can pick their own pumpkins right there on the field. What a ride, what a sight. Dangling my feet on the cart, the brisk cool breeze on my face - I liked the simplicity and the cheap thrill of it all.

It was a wonderful opportunity to take pictures, too. The hubby lent me his other camera, and I took some nice pictures, too. There were burros, miniature horses and a donkey with the most wonderful big donkey eyes I’ve ever seen. On the way back from the pumpkin patch, we spied a burro hiding in the thicket. David was amused by the pumpkin cannon- this Great Emancipator. They blow up pumpkins somewhere into the fields. And the pig races was hilarious. We thought there’d be race-adorned pigs, but there were only like six piglets who probably got scared by the tolling of the bell, so they ran on the make-shift race track. It was hilarious. Too preposterous for the grownups, but totally smashing for the kids.

So that was it. Our Sunday spent at the country farm. Ahh, to be young once again.