Day 35

G3 is difficult to please. He doesn’t like to give me credit for anything — even this vacation. He even went so far as to comment, “The only reason you take me on vacation is because you always had so much fun when Grandpa took you on vacation. So really, I should thank Grandpa for the trip.” Well, it was Nona and Grandpa who took me on vacation but I guess he’s right — in a way. I take him away because summer vacation when I was a kid was always the best part of the year. Nothing beat going somewhere new and seeing different things. Plus, being on the road is an opportunity to learn. And it sure beats sitting in a classroom.

For our last night on the road, we picked up extra firewood and headed back to our campsite. A campfire, at our site on the banks of the New River, seemed the perfect way to end our vacation. The sun set behind the mountain and bands of pink streaked across the sky. We could hear the cicadas and the wood crackling and absolutely nothing else. Peace. I don’t want to go home. Neither does G3.

While we were sitting by the campfire, G3 said, “When I go off to college, you should drive around the country collecting orphans.” I’m not sure if that was an insult or a compliment.

A lonely man out camping alone came over to chat with us for awhile. He’s a few years older than Kati and he lives thirty miles from the campground. But he’s on vacation and since it was allegedly raining in Virginia Beach he decided to come here and do some fishing.

I woke up before the family and read for awhile by the river. At 8:30, I woke everyone up. We needed to get on the road for our long dive home. As soon as I packed up the car it started to rain. G3 is terribly sad. He does not want to go home. The rain, however, makes it a little easier.

Just kidding. We are NOT going home today. This delay, however, is not our choice. We were three hours en route home when I noticed on Facebook that the water in Middlesex is not safe to drink. The water is so bad that it is advised we wash dishes with bleach. Residents are also being asked to use water sparingly. So why go home if we can’t shower, cook, or do laundry? In the car G3 was begging us not to go home. He wanted one more day on the road. Is Dad really powerful enough to have sabotaged the Middlesex water supply so that he could grant yet another one of his grandson’s wishes? If he is — Dad I could really use a literary agent. I promise that would also benefit your grandson.

We stopped at Rebec Winery and Kati cashed in another of her no whine wineries. While there our neighbor called — she knew we were due home today — to inform us of the water problem. She said hazardous waste got into the water source and the cutoff valve is under a swamp. To shut it off they need to send divers into the swamp. It will be several days until the water is safe. I can’t say I’m complaining. The less time I am in Jersey the better.(Sorry Julia!) I do feel bad for Mom. I was planning on picking her up and taking her to Long Island on Thursday, but that will need to be postponed a day or two. Also, G3 was supposed to resume taekwondo training tomorrow. That too will have to wait.

Anyway, the wine was good — 16 tastings for $10. Some of them were very unique — the herb infused white was very good. The desert cherry paired with dark chocolate was also enjoyable.

G3 has decided to teach himself Russian. He is sitting in the back of the car, taking advantage of our unlimited data to learn the alphabet and some vocabulary. This is what happens when you scold you child for wasting brain cells on stupid cat memes. We told him he would lose phone privileges if he used the phone for frivolous purposes.

I have been wanting to take G3 to Appomattox to see where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. Today, we finally got there. Kati would have preferred not to take the detour but she graciously gave in so that G3 could see where a key event in American history took place. I’ve already written about how bored Kati is every time I drag her to a battlefield. I asked her if this was a tad bit more exciting. She twisted her lip and curled her nose before responding that they were the same.

We got there late, too late to experience any of the Ranger Talks which I would have liked. We also didn’t have time to explore the surrounding area which I would have enjoyed but I won’t complain. We saw the McLean house. We stood in the same room where Lee and Grant ended the Civil War. We got to knock one more place off our list of Must See Historic Sights. I think Dad — if he is anywhere looking down on us — would be happy we used this unintended and unplanned detour to touch a piece of history. Now we could go home…if only the water wasn’t poisoned.

We were all happy to see that mask mandates are back — at least in some places. Masks were required in all Appomattox buildings regardless of vaccine status. With the Delta Variant surging and breakthrough infections rising I hope to see more mask mandates in the coming weeks, especially in grocery stores and schools. Actually, I think vaccines and masks should be required in all public schools. Public safety and health should trump everything else. After all, parents who object have the right to send their kids elsewhere or to educate them at home. Why do they always conveniently forget that?

By the time we left Appomattox we were all famished. We stopped at Burger King because they have a vegetarian option. Only the drive through was open because they were severely short staffed. The manager complained that she can’t get anyone to work because everyone wants government money. We were quick to counter that maybe they just want a decent salary. But I’ve heard a great deal about this wonderful government pay check. Where exactly does one sign up for it? Because you can’t get unemployment if you quit and those government stimulus checks aren’t enough to cover a month’s rent.