Johnson's Farm is a farm nestled at the Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It housed three generations of Johnsons and they now own a nearby orchard that we like to visit in the fall: Johnson's Orchard.  The farmhouse is refurbished to look like it did in the 1930's and during the summer months there is an interpretor on hand to answer questions about what life was like on this quiet mountain farm.

We had a wonderful trip there. First we had lunch at the picnic area below Abbot Lake. The children had fun playing in the creek. Then we met at the Visitor Center where Ranger Jamie Parker told us a bit about the history of the Parkway, the Johnson's Farm and about the area fauna.  Then we were off on our mile long hike to Johnson's Farm. It has been unseasonably hot and humid and the kids were setting a brisk pace (all eager to be out in front). So we quickly reached our destination. 

When we arrived, Ranger Rob showed us around. It was Ranger Rob's first day on the job and he was a bit nervous still had a lot to learn about the history of the farm. But he tried to answer our questions and was very friendly.  We really enjoyed looking around and getting a feel for what a depression era farm in the mountains would have been like. After about 1 1/2 hours there, we realized the sky was getting a bit dark and we headed back down the mountain.

Here are some photos we want to share of our visit!

This has got to be the coolest pencil holder I have ever seen! It is made out of walnuts sliced through. Inside the glued together walnut pieces there is a plastic medicine bottle to hold the pencils. I thought this was lovely, unique and I am planning on showing it to my dad so he can have something new to do with his walnuts instead of letting my children throw them in the creek!

Ranger Rob was telling the kids about the meat curing shed.

Not sure what these two were studying next to the front porch, but it must have been interesting!

Homemade toy boats. The kids had a blast floating these in the water from the spring.

This young man is mastering a puppet on a stick!

A homemade guitar and some other items that I didn't recognize.

These kids were enjoying playing checkers and the checkers were interesting. the dark ones were made of dried, sliced corn cobs and the light colored ones were made of sliced saplings or branches.

And finally, no trip to a farm is complete without someone climbing in a tree! Game Master particularly enjoyed this activity!

Today my homeschool group met for a storytelling session. We had popcorn, hot chocolate, a fire in the fire place and over 20 eager faces in a circle waiting to hear what we would do.

The original purpose was to take a winter day and talk with the kids about how people used to entertain themselves before televsion, radio, video games, etc. We did have three people in the group who told a story they had made up. The others opted for a book review which was very successful.

It was fun hearing each child talk about their favorite book, trying to give us enough information to make us interested in reading the book without giving away what happen, and having them tell us why they liked the book. I thought back to book reports I had given in days gone by and how many kids would rather take an F than get up in front of others. These kids did a great job, ages ranging from 4-12, they contributed and at the end, we were writing down the titles of our books to share.

Today I read about a Toy Museum in Wheeling, West Virginia.  This seems like a delightful place to visit.

As I near my 40th birthday, I enjoy seeing things from yesteryear. In fact, that is the basis for my online Ebay store: Yesterday's Hopes. I deal in books, toys, games, and other interesting items, most of which are from days gone by. Come visit when you have a moment to spare!

Today, as part of our time in Williamsburg, VA, we visited the brand new New England Candle Factory here.

The building is enormous and when we first walked in, we thought we had entered Hogworts! The ceiling was just as blue and beautiful as it was outside! We meandered through the candle shop (thrilled to see everything marked 50-75% off) and the kids couldn't get over the bins and bins and bins full of candles in all different scents. We walked through the rest of the mini-mall full of shops with toys, candy, Christmas decorations, and Williamsburg souvenirs.

Walking into the Christmas area was amazing...the ceiling was dark and dotted with stars, we were walking among beautiful Christmas trees and a light snow was falling on our heads! Yes snow! It melted when it landed on us. I don't know how they did it, but we were thrilled! Especially since it was 65 degrees outside, not typical January temperatures in Virginia.

We found a place where we could dip our own candles. There were white molded ones (shaped like animals, fish, tapers, and Santa). For a modest fee, you could then dip them into any of the six different colored waxes they had. I made rainbow tapers. Katrina got a squirrel and insisted it be brown, so she experimented with the lady behind the counter until the got a beautiful brown. Jack got an orca whale with a fish attached and made the orca a beautiful black and the fish a rainbow color.

We revisited the playground and I watched as Jack quickly made friends and took off with some of the older children there. Good thing he was getting in some socialization;)