The Atkins Boys' favorite vacation spot is the Burns family farm near Leon, West Virginia. Due to the generosity of its current owner, Juanita Burdette, many wonderful memories have been created there.
With no phones, no television, and nothing else to distract, the necessity of amusing oneself takes over and peace descends. It's a place where guys can practice target shooting, have paint ball battles, and fish to their hearts' content. When all else fails, there is the option of sitting on the porch or walking over to explore the barn and confirm that nothing has changed since last year.
Evening brings the joys of reading or fast moving games such as dominoes. One can also examine the wonders of a square-winged dragonfly up close.
When the lights go out, the youngest Atkins boy experiences dark like no dark he has ever seen before and silence like he has never heard before. There's nothing to see except moonlight and starlight and nothing to hear except the croaking of the bullfrogs at the edge of the pond and, occasionally, a whippoorwill.
No wonder that, given the choice between an Alaskan cruise and one more week at the farm in Leon, the Atkins boys chose the farm for their 2004 vacation together.
