Was there a point to this family vacation or was it completely pointless? A murder of angels and a charm of devils convened for a week in Virginia in mid-April to compete for the highly coveted family traveling trophy. Imaginary points were given for being kind and imaginary points were taken away for being rude. Points flew around like bees at their hive. Family members randomly participated in events and games to earn lots of points for their respective teams. Winners earned even more points. What initially started as a plan to vacation with our siblings and their families quickly became a competitive journey – at least for those of us born with winning in our hearts.
A Murder of Angels
A Charm of Devils
Ten out of 13 family members joined together in McGaheysville, VA, at a VRBO home with seven bedrooms and four bathrooms. Denise, being the eldest, divided us into two teams where significant others competed against each other. She named Dennis and me as captains of A Charm of Devils and A Murder of Angels, respectively. With each team having five members, you would think we would have been evenly matched. However, once we totaled the points for the week, we could clearly see who thought the competition was pointless and who thought the trophy was necessary for living.
The Giving Challenge
Quincy the Cat
Teams had all week to complete the Giving Challenge, and the Angels started off strong because of this challenge, which allowed team members to act individually, with an opposing team member acting as a witness, or to come together as a team to give to a local charity, with a photo to prove they made a donation. With each team member receiving $20 for this challenge, $200 was available for giving – an individual could decide to keep the $20 for themselves if they wanted.
As I indicated earlier, the Angels started strong when Lex was the first to give on our very first night there. He tipped our server an extra $20. The rest of Team Angels pooled our funds later in the week to give to the local pet shelter, and I got to hold Quincy the cat for our photo op! After our strong start, though, the Angels just didn’t prove as competitive as the Devils. Gosh darn it!
Much Love
Non-dominant hand coloring
Besides competing for the traveling trophy, we spent time at wineries and breweries, golf courses, a petting zoo, an arboretum, a mall, a Civil War battlefield and an emergency room. We spent time coloring. We even changed to coloring with our non-dominant hands to show some love and support for Austin who ended up with stitches on her finger and therefore couldn’t color with her right hand.
As an aside, much love goes to Austin who asked her dad to join her at the kitchen sink while also telling me to leave the room NOW. That niece of mine definitely knows my weakness. Also, thanks and much love to my sister-in-law Kris who ended up cleaning up the mess so that I didn’t have to while Dave and Denise took Austin to the ER. For those of you who know me, you know exactly what I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t, please ask someone else what I mean because I just can’t discuss it (smile).
AND Dave, Kris, Denise, Austin and Lex cooked and baked delicious food for us all week.
Games Galore
Laughter Abounding
We hung out in the mornings drinking coffee or hot chocolate and talked about random topics and personal challenges and achievements. We mixed and matched our groups based on the day’s activities and personal preferences. We played double-deck euchre, court whist, Skipbo, Fire in the Library, Twice as Clever, Crazy Eights, Apples to Apples and old-time, old-fashioned Password. We laughed a lot!
With some help from my fellow vacationers, I shot an Angela Jane’s New Mourning Photography on-location experience for a customer. I also got to meet a Virginia friend for lunch, where we enjoyed catching up on each other’s lives in the beautiful outdoors.
All of these things and more made our first siblings et al. vacation a point-filled success. The only two things I would change are no one would get hurt and a Murder of Angels would win in the end.
Sending you all-forgiving, all-supporting love – the kind I get from my siblings,
Angela Jane