The ups and downs of life on the road

June 12, 2013: Today started out well. The kids slept well in the tent, and in the morning we packed up and set off around 8 am. We drove on a windy, hilly, back road that brought us onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stopped at The Peaks of Otter area where we wanted to try a hike on Sharp Top mountain. It originally caught our eye because a B25 bomber crashed there in 1943 and we hoped to see the wreckage but its location is closely guarded and we were unable to find it. Anyways, it was a great hike and it was the first major hike for both Casey and Julia. Both of them walked all the way up without being carried at all. It was a 1.5 mile out and back hike with 1,540 ft elevation gain. I was very impressed w the girls effort. Casey was so cute encouraging everyone and saying how her legs were tired but that it made her happy because she knew it meant her legs were getting stronger. Even Molly asked to get out of the backpack and hiked for awhile. We made it to the top in an hour and 20 minutes. The views at the top were 360 degrees of the Shenandoah Valley. We had a snack and took pictures then headed back down. I let Molly out of the backpack for the last 5 minutes or so of hiking where it was pretty flat easy going. She did well and we made it to the very end where there was a flight of stairs from the trail to the parking lot. She fell face first down the steps and had a big egg and scrapes on her face. We got her cleaned up and hit the road. We drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway into Salem, VA to Roanoke College where Mark and Jen went. We had lunch at their favorite old spot, Mac n Bobs. The kids passed out and we were trying to get to Asheville NC. About two hours from Asheville the car died while we were driving on the highway. We had the kids out of the car but there was nowhere to go. It was so hot too. We took slingshot practice and tried to keep calm. Finally after an hour and a half the tow truck arrived and we all rode in it an hour to the nearest Toyota dealership in Bristol, TN. We dropped the car and Roger, the tow truck driver, dropped us at a hotel. We showered, ate pizza and now the kids are asleep and we're watching game 1 of the Stanley cup on mute.