Hocking Hills

A three day weekend trip, why not??

I have to admit that I was not a happy camper about going on this trip because I was struggling with Whitney's sleep schedule and wouldn't you know the two nights right before we leave....she sleeps though the night for the first time in WEEKS!!!  Thanks to Ryan we ended up going and truly had a blast.  It was honestly just what we needed.  We are back now and I am happy to say that Whitney slept through the night the past three nights as well :)  Whew.

Its only a two hour drive so the four parents (us and the Heimanns) decided to have the girls nap in the car on the way up.  30 minutes was all we were able to get but Whitney was SO good in the car.  I was so happy because we haven't gone more than a hour tops!!

We got to our cabin around 3:00 in the afternoon and loved what we saw.  The cabin was down this long gravel road, very secluded and beautiful.  We honestly heard a car pass by like every 15 minutes if that...

That afternoon we went to Ash Cave and then to dinner.  Seeing as how non of us had been to Hocking Hills before, we had no idea what to expect.  When we pulled into the parking lot it looked like any other park with trees and a walking path.  However when we walked inside a little bit we started to see some amazing views.  It was just amazing.  There was a waterfall and even a couple getting married in the back of the cave.  

That evening we tried a local restaurant but both girls were super tired and poor Ellie had a cold.  We headed back home and got the girls ready for bed.  Whitney took another 30 minute nap in the car and therefore was up until after 9 that evening!!!  After the girls were in bed we all sat outside, listened to the sounds of the animals/bug, watched a bat swooping around our cabin, and were even cold if you believe it!!!  It was a very nice time, even though we all knew Ryan was a little nervous about that bat!!!

The next morning Ryan, Whitney and I were off to Old Man's Cave.  Unfortunately Ellie continued to feel badly and the three of them ended up going home Saturday afternoon :(((    

Old Man's Cave was WONDERFUL.  We have never seen anything like it.  Ryan carried Whitney on his back as we saw some amazing sites.  Unfortunately we got to what we thought was the end and it  turned out to be a little bit trickier part of the trail...we had to turn around and walk up what felt like a thousand stairs because we didnt want to risk our safety with Whitney in tow.  While we were judging if we should continue on or turn around though we saw the scariest thing ever.  

A mom and dad had three small children, under the age of five plus a stroller, that decided to go on through the rougher part.  They were three or four steps up when their son, about two or three, leaned over the stairs that had no railing and FELL.  The mom caught him by the end of his pants and he was just dangling there.  Nobody was close, including us, so we just watched helplessly as the dad left the stroller and older two up on the higher steps to race down and rescue their son who was hysterical.  If his mom didn't catch him, he would have fallen about 10 feet onto rocks which had no ledge so we assume we could have fallen all the way down which is hundreds of feet.  It was the scariest thing we have ever seen and that sealed the deal whether that upper trail was too scary or not, we turned around immediately!!!

After that adventure, we decided to take Whitney to a petting zoo and enjoy a quiet afternoon.  She loved seeing the animals but her favorite part was riding the pretend horses.  Its funny how "normal" it is for me to see these horse things because when I was little they were in every grocery store to entice kids as their mom's checked out.  Boy am I glad they aren't there now haha:)  

After the petting zoo we went home and grilled out at the cabin.  It was a gorgeous night, we even had to put a jacket on Whitney because it was cold.  Can you believe that in August??  While we cooked dinner she loved playing with these stuffed bear foot stools.  She moved them all over the cabin telling them what to do and how to stand.  Too cute.  Ryan is trying to convince me that we need them in our basement..hahaha no thanks:)

The next morning was Sunday and before we left we wanted to check out one more place.  We went to Conkel's Hollow.  It is a nature preserve that had a paved path.  Turns out there aren't too many places in Hocking Hills that are stroller/kid friendly. We only had three choices but that was fine with us, they were all fun and good for Whit.  She again, had to wear her jacket, but walked most of the way with Ryan...making big steps on the trial.  She enjoyed picking up leaves and looking at the pretty flowers along the way.  On the way back out she spotted this log and asked to sit on it, I couldnt resist taking some pictures of my little princess!

It was a very refreshing weekend at a wonderful place!!  I believe we will be back again!!!  And yes we could have spent three days at our house (as I wanted haha) together but it truly was wonderful to get away from cleaning and everything else being home brings. 

:)))