This is a hot topic on my mind this month. I'm planning our first family vacation and I find myself running into a brick wall: What can we do with our 18-month-old toddler that involves minimum tantrums? It's made me think about what I do with my toddler here at home, and I thought I would share some of our favorite things to do in the spring and summer:
1. Nature walks. By far this is one of my favorite summer activities. I go for mild hiking trails or we simply explore around a few trees. My daughter loves stepping on leaves and pointing out birds! Sometimes we bring the stroller, but if it's a safe area we hold hands.
2. The Mystery Hole (http://www.mysteryhole.com/). This is geared more toward young children than toddlers, and I enjoyed taking my cousins to visit. The name says it all!
As Gauley Season approached, I was ready for the river trips, the weather, and the scenery. I love driving in West Virginia, and nothing compares to my morning commute in the fall.
When talking about commuting to work, most envision crowded 6-lane highways, waiting on exit ramps, and a million stoplights. On a day-to-day basis, those sights blur together into a timeline: 5 minutes until the next landmark, or 10 minutes until the exit.
I usually don't pay attention to the sights on my commute, either. It's a 15-minute drive with one traffic light (totally avoidable). The details are a given, the background of my day, until I feel fall approaching.
Fall signals many things in these mountains, and these are my favorite season changes:
I've been reading the ACE blog all summer, and I'm finally making my dive into the world of blogging. I'm Brianna Jackson, Adventure Consultant extraordinaire and outdoor junkie.
I would say it's in my blood, but my mom didn't become a raft guide until I was older. If it is in our blood, it's a recessed gene that must be discovered.
My mother, Tracy Jackson, found her niche here at ACE as a river guide. In contrast, I am a sampler of everything, master of nothing. I love rafting, hiking, mountain biking, the zip lines, swimming, caving — the list never ends.
I have spent several summers employed as an Adventure Consultant. If guests ask if I am from the area, I emphatically reply that, yes, I am local. This is my home; I love West Virginia.
