After two blizzards in one week (see Snowmaggedon), we were ready for a long weekend away. Elise wanted to visit her Aunt Barbara, who had recently moved to a hospice in Hampton, Virginia. So we decided to head down that way and also spend a few nights at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Lodge has a giant indoor waterpark with a wilderness theme. More a theme park than a hotel (there are animatronic animals that sing and dance and costumed characters that roam the halls), the entire enterprise is designed to give kids (and their parents) a break during the long winter months. Thanks to his swim lessons, Henry enjoyed playing in the waterpark, which has a section just for toddlers. He even ventured into the three-story water fort, the lazy river and the giant wave pool. However, his favorite part of the stay was evening storytime when the children gather around the lobby fireplace and listen to a story in their pajamas. It was a nice change of pace, but after a long week stuck indoors, we were tired and a little out of sorts. Mostly we just wanted to get back to a normal routine.
On Sunday we headed down to Hampton and stopped at the Virginia Living Museum, which was a surprisingly nice little diversion. It was “reptile weekend”, so Henry got to touch an iguana and a boa constrictor. Vivian mostly
just slept. On Monday, we visited with Aunt Barbara and her son Barrett at the hospice. Barbara was moving a little slower, but seemed as feisty as ever, especially when dealing with her incorrigible nurses. Elise and Vivian stayed at the hospice and had lunch with Barbara while the boys retired to a nearby playground. Barbara seemed to enjoy our visit, especially seeing Vivian and Henry again. This proved to be our last visit with Barbara. She passed away shortly thereafter. We hadn’t expected her to go so quickly but were grateful for the chance to see her once last time before her passing.
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