Yes dear, I'm watching the flare

How did we choose our retirement home?

2011-02-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

We get this question frequently, so Linda has begun a little summary in her new blog

New Year, New Home, New Blog

2011-01-29T08:12:00.001-08:00

OK - I really am starting a new blog and here's the very brief intro. If you click on the title of this post, the new-fangled internet technology will take you to it. It's called 'Home Sweet Homestead' and the address is http://tnhomestead.blogspot.com. Now I'm off to help finish the chicken coop that our family has been busy building this month. The new baby chicks arrive on Monday or Tuesday and I'll include some photos and stories about that on the new blog. When we get to Utah in our pop-up, we'll have to document that here - the map just looks so odd with that hole out west!

Linda's new thing

2010-12-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all your works;
I muse on the work of your hands.
Ps 143;5

Now that we have settled in our home in Tennessee, I have noticed that I miss blogging. In different seasons of my life, journaling has been an invaluable experience and I suppose blogging is simply a more public version of doing just that. So, I'm going to sort out a new blog name and a link to it from here, for those that are interested enough to know snippets from my pea brain! As the busy-ness of Christmas preparations and celebration settle, everyone seems to reflect in preparation for turning the page on the 2010 calendar. In exploring thoughts about meditation and 'remembering the days of old', I came across the verse above and could not help reflecting back on the beginning of our RV journey across America.

God showed us a special verse while we were contemplating our new season as Craig's retirement approached two years ago. We had been praying about the opportunity of his retirement and what should we do within it. In our many discussions and prayers, the possibility of selling the house and travelling the country in an RV came to light. In some ways, we dared not think about it too much as it seemed unrealistic, too unorthodox and even frivolous. Yet, the idea did not fade and further research eliminated many of the arguments about the practicality of this venture. A strong feeling of anticipation took root in the both of us. Then, this verse appeared before us through two separate sources on the same day:

Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

Isa 43:19

My mother sent Craig a retirement card with the verse and the same verse appeared in our daily devotion book that we share each morning. Coincidence? We believe not.

We took that as confirmation that God did want us to take this journey and equipped with that knowledge, we joyfully proceeded with preparations - learning all that we could about RV's, campground facilities, and pricing RVs while we placed the house on the market. Lo and behold, the house sold 3 1/2 months after Craig's retirement in a declining market with houses on our street that had not sold after being being advertised for significantly more months and, in some cases, years.

December of 2008 brought the closing on the house, a flurry of 'normal' Christmas events such as piano recitals and play performances, moving preparations and much more significantly, Craig's father became critically ill in a small town in Missouri over 18 1/2 hrs away by car, 8-10 hrs by plane and rental car. Strapped by the schedule of vacating the house and moving our belongings to storage in our selected home base 400 miles away, Craig made plans to travel to Missouri as soon as we could get the moving van unloaded. His dad's condition improved, so Craig then made plans to travel the day after Christmas to stay with his father and prepare him for transition to assisted living. He spoke with his father on Christmas morning and all was well. Then, a couple of hours later, his brother called with news that dad had suddenly passed away.

Within the week, Craig and I travelled north to attend the funeral. We drove the 1200 miles in the large pickup we'd acquired for our RV plans. The familiar but somber drive had mostly memories of anticipation of family visits from the years past and also the difficult travels to monitor his mother's declining health and passing several years before. Such a very bittersweet journey that was poignant with symbolism of endings and beginnings.

As we grieved the loss of this loved one, we celebrated the prospect of joining these and other loved ones for eternity through the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The promise of that future grand reunion provides such great comfort when mourning the loss of the earthly life of loved ones!

In this reflective moment, during a season in which we celebrate God coming to earth, as the newborn babe Emmanuel, I can't help but also be reminded of His purpose - to make the sacrifice for the sins of man and all men through His death on the cross a mere 33 years later. I'm so thankful for all the blessings in our lives, most importantly the people in our lives. I'm immeasurably more thankful for Jesus' departure from His heavenly realm to purposefully dwell amongst men and complete God's covenant to make a way for us to live forever with Him.

Watch for a link to the new blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T04:37:00.000-08:00

Our table won't look like the famous Norman Rockwell image. As a matter of fact, we still don't have a table in our dining room. The one we had was damaged beyond repair in our move a couple of months ago. At the time, it was a very sad day. That big table was usually only used for festive occasions and represented many happy memories of gatherings of friends and family. I was so looking forward to planning and preparing dinners to gather around that table again after our 2 year adventure in the RV. I loved the time spent travelling and we have many happy (and a few not so happy) memories from that terrific journey. One thing that was quite impossible was to have a big dinner. The tiny oven and scant counter space was fine for our every day meal prep and I learned a lot about efficient space management! Special days like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter all have entwined a special meal with some family traditions well established in our minds. I truly enjoy planning and preparing those special meals for my family. The clean-up, not so much, but my family - especially my husband, takes care of that for me (what a blessing!). So, the table being damaged was a temporary painful blow as it was so much more than a piece of furniture in my mind.

As part of the many things for which I am thankful, however, the realization that even that table was just a 'thing' and my very special memories are more about the people and more importantly the love for and from those people in my life is the treasure that I value.

As we sit down today around a fold-up table with a tablecloth thrown over, I will have so many rich blessings for which to be thankful to God:

God Himself, with His everlasting and ever plentiful provision for all our needs (spiritual, emotional, physical and material)
my husband - such an amazing blend of strong and sweet
my kids - each with their unique personalities that bring joy to my life
my family - most reliable in their ongoing support, not always for everything I do - but always there for me
my friends - wonderful companions in this life, whether near or far
my country - with its' own set of challenges and worries at the moment, but by far the country that provides us with liberty 'to pursue happiness'

So, whatever your table looks like on this day, however the meal turns out, no matter who wins the football game - it is my hope that pursuit of the 'perfect' Normal Rockwell table in the photo doesn't get in the way of being blessed by remembering what you have to be thankful for. I know that I am so much more thankful for this little fold-up table than I ever would have thought!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Losing weight (about 12,0000 lbs.!)

2010-09-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

Long time, no post! We've been very, very busy. We looked in all kinds of nooks and crannies in Eastern TN for a home with a view of the mountains. We found plenty, but scared ourselves half to death on some of the climbing roads! We also found many that just didn't fit the foggy idea in our heads of our future home.

Finally, on a trip back from Nashville to Bristol, we scheduled an appointment to see a home near Crossville, TN. We loved it! It fit everything to a tee except for being on a quiet road. It's on a fairly active highway, but everything else was so perfect that we made an offer before the end of the day. Within 24 hours, the offer had been countered and we accepted the counter. Now, about a month later, we have closed on the property and look forward to moving in within a month or so. We've got a few hurdles to overcome, including getting our two storage units full of stuff from Texas to Tennesse. We remain in absolute awe of our God and His amazing blessings for us!

Now - about that title! Our 5th wheel has a gross vehicle weight of around 15, 500 lbs. We've loved travelling in it and have appreciated the space and conveniences that it provided for our family to dwell in while seeing all kinds of sights around the country. We remained comfortable in temperatures varying from 14 F to 105 F and enjoyed the enhancements of cooking in a well-equipped kitchen, showering with a decent amount of hot water, watching TV and movies, hauling our 4 bikes and 2 dogs all over the place, and laundering our clothes whenever needed. For our next season, however, we don't really require those conveniences and didn't want to deal with maintaining the trailer in storage for most of the weeks of the year. We decided to downsize and put a minimal amount of effort into selling the RV. Cory made a flyer that we left in a couple of RV Park offices, we posted advertisements in a couple of online RV forums and posted 'FOR SALE' signs on the trailer.

We had a couple of nibbles in the last month, but no offers. We were beginning to contemplate where we were going to put the thing after a couple of weeks when we will begin moving items to the house. As we headed out to do some shopping yesterday, we decided to drop in an RV showroom to browse smaller trailers and even pop-ups. We found a pop-up right away that was only slightly used and met our idea of how we might camp for up to a week or two. The sales staff was very attentive, as you might expect. When asked what our plans were, we chose to be brutally honest with them, expecting that they would not be interested in a trade in which they would have to fork over cash to us for the difference in our current, really large 5th wheel for the rather diminutive (by comparison) pop-up. There was the typical 'I'll go talk to the boss in the back room' series of events. We weren't expecting anything to come of it. Lo and behold, the offer came back in favorably. By favorable, we mean that they offered about what we hoped to gain in a FSBO (for sale by owner) arrangement. We lose about 12,000 extra lbs of trailer, that we don't need, and gain enough cash to help out with purchasing a 2nd vehicle or a tractor or something yet unseen for our new home!

Talk about our cup running over! Only one day after closing on our house, we couldn't have even come up with the idea that this could be handled so quickly and generously! We accepted the offer, made a deposit for the pop-up, and agreed for a representative to come back and verify the value of our 5th wheel.

Here's a link to our new camping buddy:

http://www.cheyennecampingcenter.com/HW27SC

This post is not the dealer we're talking to, but they have some nice photos of the camper and it's exactly the same model.

Now, what say you about our God's ability to absolutely knock our socks off with His blessings that are above and beyond what we ask or even think?!? We are so amazingly blessed and hope our little story provides a testimony to you of how generous God can be in all the little (and big) details of our daily lives!

Now what?

2010-07-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

We're complete with our journey...for now. We had a goal of 48 states in 2 years and we completed 47 states in 17 months. We found that each state has enough unique attributes and attractions to easily absorb at least a month, if not six. We do not want to dedicate that much of our time to travel in this season, so we will call this journey done. Our biggest disappointment? That we didn't figure out incorporating Utah! We will not rest until we return to the west and see that terrific state and it's unique beauty. But, we have not tarnished our desire for travel, as a matter of fact, this journey has whet our appetites for further journeys in states we have already visited and yes - return to Utah!

As of this writing, we still need to post pictures and a few paragraphs of our visit to West Virginia. On the heels of that trip, we began exploring eastern Tennessee as a prospective home site. We love all mountains and have been drawn to the beauty of the Smokies and the Appalachians. The state favors well economically with a reasonable cost of living and favorable tax laws for stretching our dollars further than some other areas. In case you are curious, other contenders for our home state included New Hampshire, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Although Texas holds a warm spot in our hearts, there are precious few mountains and they are in rather desolate areas of the state. Several of the states fell in priority as having laws that are unfriendly to home schools. States that assess income taxes, including retirement pensions also fell to a lower ranking. When I say ranking, I mean just that - we made a spread sheet! Imagine two engineers doing anything without a spread sheet!

We're continuing to pray and browse this beautiful state and all the property listings. We'll not enter much of our deliberations here, as we don't see that as fitting our intended purpose of the blog. As truly newsworthy events transpire, we will post here.

Thanks for reading our travel blog. We plan to review it at a future date and publish it for our own memoirs. It's been a terrific adventure and we likely will do a '17 months reflection' post. We're a little road weary and happy to move into a new season full of things we cannot see from here!

Smoky mountains round 2

2010-06-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hello, it's Cory again. My parent's didn't have the courage to write this post, so I decided that I would take one for the team and tell it like it is.

We went back to the National Park yesterday. The weather was slightly rainy, so we decided instead of hiking to drive up to the highest point in the park to see the view.

The drive up was pretty, with all the flowers, streams and trees. We also saw some poor guy trudging up the mountain with a lawn mower (in the rain). On a slightly scarier note we also saw a car wrecked on the side of the road with windows that appeared to have been shot out with a shotgun.

Finally, we reached the top observation point. The bad thing about being really high up is that the most likely view is cloud. Which is exactly what we saw. So we decided to wait a bit and see if the cloud would blow over. While we were waiting, I was listening to the radio and looking around the parking lot. There weren't very many cars. Then, a guy got out of one of them and walked to the back (hang on, this story is actually going somewhere). He then took off his shirt and started rummaging around in the back. He came out wielding a bar of soap. Logically, I thought he was heading for the public bathrooms that were less than 50 yards away. Apparently, however, this guy has nothing whatsoever in common with logic. He walked around to the side of his car and started splashing himself with water from a puddle (he was standing in the rain, by the way. As if he wasn't wet enough). I ask myself why I kept on watching. Perhaps it was due to boredom. Perhaps I was just too shocked that this guy had no common sense. Whatever the reason, I will regret it forever. Why? Because after he finished splashing himself, he walked to the driver door, opened it, removed his shorts and threw them in (sadly, he was wearing no underwear). Screams echoed throughout the car as everyone ducked for cover, sheltering their eyes from the horrible hind end of Sir Showersalot. I will never get that image out of my head.

Once we were assured that the horrible scene was past and Mr. Free To Be Me was back in his car, we dared to look around once more. After a bit, the cloud did blow away a bit and the view cleared up slightly. Then it truly was a beautiful sight.

Again, I felt an odious and evil presence. My gaze was drawn back to the car of Mr. Mooner. Where just before the windows had been mercifully fogged up, there he was, cleaning them with his sock. I squealed and hit the floorboard again.

Needless to say, we did not linger on the peak. We may go back again today, and hopefully no one will get any ideas about taking a public shower.

Coragon, over and out.

"Blue moon. I saw you outside your car. Without a brain in your head. How very naked you are."

Smoky Mountains

2010-06-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

We toured through Tennessee several months ago, but we didn't see the mountains in the northeastern portion of the state. We had two reasons: 1 - snow was still hitting various parts of the country and we had seen quite a lot of it, 2 - we wanted to visit portions of Georgia and South Carolina before tornado season hit. We've been pleased with our planning in that regard but were anxious to return to one of the most beautiful sections of the country. We waited out the weekend crowds with necessary chores of laundry and checking out the layout of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The closest comparison we've seen to those areas is Branson, MO. A long strip of theaters and bizarre attractions line the main roads. Live musical performances, themed miniature golf courses, go kart tracks, 'Believe It or Not' venues and buffet restaurants all compete for your entertainment dollars. We're not planning on pursuing any of those and choose instead to focus on seeing the Smokies, specifically the national park. We've not been disappointed and are thankful that we can visit the park during the week when the crowds are a little smaller. We wove our way to do the auto tour of Cades Cove. A lot of folks visiting the park don't get out of their vehicle, but we truly don't believe you get the best appreciation without a walk or two. Our destination was about midway around the drive with a 5 mile round trip hike to see one of several waterfalls in the park.

Along the way, vehicles were stopped to see these deer in the forest. As long as we were stopped on the one-way drive, we took our own photos too!

The shade of the forest is so dark that we have trouble adjusting our flash to reflect the true colors of green.

The mountains are visible across meadows from time to time. We'd experienced a lot of rain over the weekend and were glad to go on a clear day for our hike.

After parking at the trail head, we were met by a couple of rangers. Several hikers had reported bear sightings along the trail and they were passing along warnings to hikers just arriving. While encouraging caution, they were not at all discouraging folks from carrying on with their hiking plans - so off we went.

Several of these single log creek crossings appeared along the way and we really liked the trail. Classified as moderate, most of the path is downhill to the base of the falls leaving the return trip as the more difficult portion.

The creeks become rivers and provide the refreshing sound of small rapids and a cool breeze all along the way.

Near the falls, the large boulders in the creek were irresistible to Cory.

The park map and other signs warned of the danger of climbing on the wet rocks, but this one was more pointed!

Our reward was well worth the 2 1/2 miles to the falls. Upon reflection, the 2 1/2 miles back was also worth it!

We were getting tired on our return and met folks in flip flop sandals that were going to struggle. While not too difficult of a climb, sections of the trail were climbing rocks and picking your way through tree roots. Traction from at least athletic shoes or boots was needful! We wonder if the sandal bunch was able to make it to the falls or if they had to turn back?

While stopping for rest and water at this spot of rapids, we spied river otters across the way. Two large and one small, they kept their distance but carried on with dipping, diving and climbing over tree branches and rocks. They are impossible to pick out in our photo, but we were so delighted to spend a few minutes watching their playful maneuvering we wanted to share.

We're taking a day to rest, tackle studies and see Knoxville but will return to the park again while we're here. It's absolutely irresistible!

June 5, 1993

2010-06-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Celebrate with Craig and I - it's our 17th wedding anniversary tomorrow!

For some reason, this song has been on my mind frequently and we've chosen it as a virtual anniversary dance. While the message of the song must be balanced with the appropriate source of our peace and existence with God first, the haunting melody of this music reminds us of sweet gift of our spouse as the answer to God's observation that 'it is not good for Man to be alone'....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inb4jomYtcc

What are you doing for the rest of your life?

North and south and east and west of your life

I have only one request of your life

That you spend it all with me

All the seasons and the times of your days

All the nickels and the dimes of your days

Let the reasons and the rhymes of your days

All begin and end with me

I want to see your face in every kind of light

In fields of gold and forests of the night

And when you stand before the candles on a cake

Let me be the one to hear the silent wish you make

Those tomorrows waiting deep in your eyes

In the world of love you keep in your eyes

I'll awaken what's asleep in your eyes

It may take a kiss or two...

Through all of my life

Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall of my life

All I ever will recall of my life

Is all of my life with you

Mammoth Cave

2010-06-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

We landed near Bowling Green, KY to take in the sights around Mammoth Cave National Park. The cave is reputed to be the largest in the world and we have no reason to doubt. The fee structure for visiting Mammoth Cave is different than Carlsbad Caverns. The park requires no entrance fee, but tours have fees and guided tours are the only way by which to gain access to the caves. We took in two tours during our stay (not on the same day!).

The first tour was labeled the Historic Tour and took about 2 hours to cover the 2 miles in and out. Unlike Carlsbad Caverns, there's no elevators to help you out of this cave. The routes do not change elevation so drastically either, so they are actually much more friendly to those averse to a continuous stair-master exercise to exit!

Here's a couple of photos that we copied from the internet:

While the formations are terrific, there are not as many of them as you might imagine. The cave is 'dry' for the most part, so formations are only in limited areas. We enjoyed the temperature inside the cave (54 F) as a break from the 85-90 F temperatures outside in very high humidity!

While we had a good time, we did not enjoy touring with the large crowd. Some of the tours allow as many as 120 people at once to accompany the ranger through. There are only a few stops along the way with discussion from the ranger, so most of the way is filing through in single file and browsing as you go.

There were several places where the passageway was very narrow - the one below was titles 'Fat Man's Misery'. We didn't think it was a tough as several places where the height of the opening required stooping as while walking.

We took another tour in an evening. Some of the path was the same as our daytime tour, but we liked it better for several reasons:

The group was smaller - the size was limited to no more than 40 people and we toured with about 20.
The atmosphere was very different - no artificial lighting! Lanterns were provided to every 4 people to share and the interior of the cave was completely different. The limited lighting heightened our sense of hearing and smell!
The tour was more of a historical presentation than geological. With the fresh dose of the Creation Museum, listening to the millions and millions of years talk gets really tiresome to us. Presentations of factual information regarding the cave's discovery and visitors since were very interesting!

The rangers conduct frequent programs that are educational in nature. We attended an evening session with a discussion of bees and beekeeping that was very enlightening and enjoyable.

The park itself is very pretty with heavy forests and surface trails. We're planning to enjoy at least one surface hike which will require no guide. Private concessionaires provide rental canoes or horses for alternative touring, but we didn't choose those.

Next stop, the Smoky Mountains!

Memorial Day Tribute 2010

2010-05-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Creation Museum

2010-05-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

From Niagara Falls, we drove due west across Ontario to enter the US at Port Huron, MI. Although there certainly are beautiful portions of Michigan, we were anxious to reach our next major attraction, the Creation Museum. We stayed at a terrific campground near Flint, MI to catch our breath and enjoy some activities such as archery, canoeing and kayaking. Then, we headed south to stay near the intersection of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. We drove through a portion of Ohio, before stopping overnight just over the border into Indiana. The next day, we then drove a meandering path (thanks to an unforeseen construction project and our GPS) through portions of Ohio and Indiana and stayed near Rising Sun, Indiana. A pleasant 30 minute drive along the Ohio River brought us to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. We enjoyed beautiful weather for our 2-day visit.

We were anxiously waiting outside the entrance at 10 am on the first day.

We knew we could expect some terrific presentations, but were not prepared for the excellent finesse in the design of this tremendous attraction. The details in the construction and presentation are on a par with any contemporary exhibition in Disney World. We were thrilled to see that extremely talented artisans and builders had been hard at work to build a facility to help our society to get the straight scoop on the origin of our world!

The visit began with a theater presentation regarding The Created Cosmos emphasized the dimensions of the tremendous universe. A nice blend of astrological wonders of light years and relative dimensions of the sun, the planets and other stars in the solar system and beyond, we found the information entertaining and humbling!

'Men in White' was the next theater presentation with a satirical but factual discussion of God's created world versus the evolutionary theory discussed in most public education forums.

By that time, we were ready for a lunch break. The boys enthusiastically downed individual sized pizzas while we ate some hearty sandwiches. Tables alongside the beautifully landscaped pond enhanced our meal on this terrific spring day.

Refreshed, we began the primary feature - Walk Through History. A series of exhibits that begins with a discussion of paleontology and thought provoking questions, the museum guide recommended at least 2-3 hrs for completing the tour. They're not kidding. We made it through about half the exhibits before deciding to take a break. We wanted to pace this tour appropriately for observation, contemplation and absorption and there's a ton of information provided along the way.

We wanted time to ask and answer our own questions, and especially questions from our kids!

Information digestable by all ages is available and museum staff had provided a 'treasure hunt' activity for our 9 yo that helped occupy him when the presented material was a bit over his head.

Exhibits included presentations to validate the truth of God's Word.

The most colorful and detailed exhibit was the depiction of the Garden of Eden.

Everyone enjoyed taking a stroll in the garden and imagining what it might have been like - with no worries of illnesses, troubles, or fears of anything.

Next were depictions of the Fall of Man that could be a little frightening to young children. Loud noises and darkness are part of the displays that help make the point of the evil that entered God's perfect creation. The distance through this exhibit was short, but we'd strongly recommend parents with children younger than 8 yo to preview this portion first before taking the kids through.

The scaffolding before the boys is beside the Ark, under construction! A life-size scale model of 1/100th of the Ark demonstrates the magnitude of Noah's work and God's provision.

Several dioramas show the full model with details of the animals to scale to show that there was room for every one and every thing that God commanded to go in the Ark.

This was hardly a little tugboat but a massive cargo ship - without an engine or sails!

One section of the museum is dedicated to presentations of dinosaurs and the guys really enjoyed the up close look.

The lunch meal completely forgotten, we took off for the RV park to see if the pool was open. It was, and the guys jumped in for about an hour. Then, the hunger pains returned and we set out to try something new to us - Cincinnati Chili. Skyline Restaurant is a chain famous for this dish and one was nearby.

Here it is, in two favorite serving styles. Cincinnati chili supposedly is prepared without any chili powder. That's right - no chili powder. As a matter of fact, it has several ingredients very foreign to Texas chili consumers: cinnamon, allspice, cloves and unsweetened chocolate. The chili has beef, but it is more of a consistency of spaghetti sauce. As a matter of fact, it is commonly served on top of spaghetti noodles. Then, additional toppings can be added as follows:

1 - just the chili (apparently no one eats it plain)

2 - spaghetti topped with the chili

3 - spaghetti topped with chili and huge quantities of grated cheddar cheese (known as 3-way chili)

4 - spaghetti topped with chili, huge quantities of grated cheddar cheese and either chopped onions or red beans (known as 4-way chili)

5 - spaghetti topped with chili, huge quantities of grated cheddar cheese, chopped onions and red beans (known as 5-way chili)

Or, you can bypass the spaghetti version and enjoy the chili on a hot dog.

And we remembered Cincinnati as the locale of WKRP!

We slept well that evening and were anxious to return to the museum for another day the next morning.

Each day, the museum offers lectures at least twice during the day and a children's session with museum staff. There was no time for that on our first day's visit, so we checked the schedule and purchased tickets for lectures for Craig and Cory and the children's session for Will. Then, we picked up where we left off with the Walk Through History. We picked up at the flood and several exhibits explaining evidence of the flood in the Grand Canyon and other locales in the world. Next was a depiction of God's judgment of man by dispersing the population after the Tower of Babel. The last portion includes a theater presentation of Jesus' death and resurrection with a presentation of the gospel.

We returned to the cafe for lunch, then Craig took Will to the children's session on dinosaurs while Linda and Cory visited the botanical gardens, petting zoo and a revisit to 'Men in White'. Then, Cory and Craig attended a lecture entitled 'Three Ways to Create an Apeman' by Dr. David Menton while Linda returned to the botanical gardens and petting zoo with Will. Those all wrapped up about the same time and after purchasing several books and DVD sets in the bookstore, we headed back to the RV.

Overall, we found the museum to help provide clarity and strength for our faith in God. We also found inspiration to equip ourselves for any future discussions in which we might be able to provide that same clarity and strength to others.

2 Peter 3:15 "...always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you..."

We're confident that we will return again and encourage anyone that has ever been even remotely interested in the offerings of this museum to make a visit. We're confident that you will not regret it.

Ahhh...Niagara Falls!

2010-05-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Niagara Falls is one of the major milestones along our family journey. We wanted to see the falls from both sides, Canada and New York. Each side has a very different feel as well as a very different view of the famous natural wonder.

We stayed at an RV park in Canada on the banks of Lake Erie, a few miles beyond St. Catherine. The drive to Niagara took about 30 minutes and we made an early start, intending to dedicate the day to the Canada side. The route to public parking passes right alongside the Falls and through Victoria Park. Parking is a premium! We paid $18 for all-day parking near the visitor center. We saw other lots close to the restaurants that advertised $13 parking, but there are a limited number of spaces. The weather was so beautiful and our fascination with the falls so great that we didn't mind the walk at all. Before seeing the Falls, we saw the mist rising high into the air.

The visitor center is a very attractive structure with a pedestrian walkway from the parking area to the falls and several attractions.
Do you see the wet walkway on either side of us? That's mist from the Falls on the other side of the building!
From the Canadian side, the view of the Falls is straight on. The Horseshoe Falls on on the right, an edge of the American Falls is on the left.
Our first look at the Horseshoe Falls! The mist was so thick rising from the crashing water below that we could not see the falls on the other side.
From the walkway along the river, the American Falls come into view.

Looking back at the Canadian Falls, you can see the mist in the middle of the 'horseshoe'.

This structure provides a frame for the American Falls behind the boys. The age of the walkway is obvious everywhere along the path. Hard to imagine the millions of people that have passed along this way with the same view!

We skipped the Imax presentations that are heavily promoted everywhere to go straight for a voyage on the Maiden Mist. The boats board from either side, US or Canada, pass by the American Falls and head straight into the Horseshoe Falls before returning passengers back to the boarding dock. A narrator was speaking to us the whole time, but either crowd noise or noise from the falls obliterated the message. The blue ponchos are provided upon boarding the boat.
The boys led the way to a railside view front and center on the boat.
Getting closer....last photo before getting too wet to take out the camera!

The blue poncho is really more like saran wrap and the turbulent air with all that mist prevents it from working very well. At least our clothes were mostly dry!

The Canadians win the prize for spring landscaping! The bright floral beds were covered in blooms all along the riverside walkway.
Since we made it before summer break for the schools and were visiting on a weekday, the crowds were minimal. The mornings were especially quiet and allowed us to really enjoy ourselves!
The plantings were and framed the falls beautifully! These are the American Falls again.

Later in the afternoon, the sun was behind us and rainbows appeared everywhere in the falls. This is a view of the Maiden Mist taking a load of spectators in close for the look and sound of the falls. Remember...we were right up front and center of the bow on our turn!

A more dispersed prism is visible in the American Falls with another Maiden Mist trip passing by.

The boys are posed below our dinner spot - the rotating restaurant in the Skylon observation tower. The restaurant turns 360 degrees in an hour. When we arrived, our table was directly across from the Falls and we were back at the Falls in time for dessert!

The food was great with generous portions. The ticket was a little pricey, but considering a ticket to go to the observation tower was $13 by itself, we didn't feel too bad about the cost. The elevators climb along the outside of the tower, so the view is terrific all the way up.

The trip up is well worth the trouble, providing a grand perspective to the mighty wonder on display below!

After dinner, we had some time to kill as we waited for nightfall when the Falls are illuminated with huge spotlights across the river. We found a black variety of squirrel that was a new sight for us!

We visited Starbuck's to enjoy while we watched the sky display beautiful sunset colors. Finding an unoccupied bench across from the American Falls, we enjoyed the leisure of simply sitting with no agenda!

At last, the lights came on and we found it worth our wait!

Oh, that's not the end of this extremely long post - we've got to show the New York side of things so that you can decide for yourself where you should see this amazing sight, should you take the opportunity!

This is the view of the falls as we crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

A fellow American on the Maiden Mist had tipped us off to a free parking area on the New York side. In New York, the area is a state park with no admission fee. Three parking areas are available: Lot 1 (closest and $10 per day), Lot 2 (next closest and $8 per day) and Lot 3 (no charge, but the furthest walk). We chose Lot 3 and enjoyed the walk along the river toward the falls. It seems like it only took about 10 minutes of walking at a very leisurely pace.

The sights and sounds of rapids are with you every step of the way.

Before long, here's a preview of the coming spectacle. Those tall buildings are hotels on the Canada side of the river.

As we approached, the more of the beautiful rainbow presented itself for our morning treat!

It was such fun that it absolutely took our breath away! God is a masterful designer of beauty, isn't He?

We purchased an excursion called 'Cave of the Winds'. No longer a cave, it's actually an elevator ride down to the river level with a series of boardwalks to bring you close to the American Falls. Years ago, tourists walked behind a section called Bridal Veil, but a large boulder protecting them from the rush of the water deteriorated and finally was removed. No longer safe to allow tourists to go that direction, the stairs climb up alongside the falls for the closest look on foot.

As we approached the boardwalk, we found a vast flock of gulls perching in the riverside rocks.

Then, we noticed the babies!

This mama was very indifferent to the close proximity of people and allowed us a peek at the still wet hatchling beside her other egg.

The hatchling is on the left, well disguised by the nesting material.

On to the main attraction in our souvenir ponchos, yellow this time but equally ineffective as the blue ones of yesterday! We also were furnished water sandals - not optional!

We paused for a moment before tackling the wettest part of the trail.

And here it is - the Hurricane Deck where the force of the turbulence as the falls hit the boulders is equivalent to hurricane force winds. Craig and the boys are up there on that upper deck. The camera got wet and several other shots had big water bubbles in the middle.

After we rode back up in the elevator and dried out a bit, we took this photo looking down on the decks we had walked just a few moments ago. The trails along the river on the New York side are not formally landscaped and allow a closer look a the river rapids.

This photo demonstrates the view across the American Falls toward the Horseshoe Falls in the distance. Completely different in its perspective, the US view is very worthwhile with the unforgettable sounds that accompany the spectacle.

In closing, a few footnotes about the two sides of the falls. To capture that Canadian view, you now must have a passport or other proof of your citizenship to cross the international border. Children accompanied by both parents doe not require a passport at this time, but a birth certificate demonstrating both citizenship and proof of parents is necessary (at the time of this writing). Before scheduling the trip, check the current international border crossing requirements for documents to assure a trouble free crossing. The Canadian side has a river view look at the Horseshoe Falls similar to the Cave of the Winds. We saw the folks at the base of the falls and it didn't seem to compare well for getting as close as possible. You also wouldn't get nearly as wet! There are no towers that really provide the view of the falls on the US side. The Canadian side is full of casinos, but we found them to be set back from the beautiful park that allows continuous strolling along the river. The walks on either side are flat and paved, so good walking shoes are needful, but it's hardly a hike! Trolleys and buses provide some relief for foot sore or the physically challenged, but if able - put on those tennies and enjoy the exercise!

Where've we been?

2010-05-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

We've not posted lately due to lack of internet access for the past week or so. We stayed at a terrific RV campground in Canada that allowed us to easily visit Niagara Falls. The park also had a marina with WIFI at the restaurant. We were very busy with visits to Niagara Falls, however, and were not up to toting the laptop over to the marina at the end of our day trips. A couple of the nights were also chilly and we were back after the restaurant closed - necessitating working on picnic tables under the covered patio - brrr! We further were hindered by our AT&T air card service not being international. The charges were going to be really expensive, so we didn't use the air card or our cell phones until we were back within the US coverage.

From Niagara, we scooted across a section of Ontario to enter the US at Port Huron, Michigan. We parked at another terrific campground that has an even more terrific overnight rate - but no WIFI except at the office. We can use our air card with no problem, but will not load photos until we are using WIFI. We've not tested our limits on how many photos can be downloaded within the data limits, but don't really want to! We'll just wait for photos until later.

As long as we're talking about no photos, I can share with you our border crossing adventure. Not really that dramatic, but for those that are curious, we can share stories - but no photos!

The easiest way to cross the border into Canada - a very tourist friendly country, by the way is to follow a few simple tips:

1 - Travel light - don't take anything into or out of the country

2 - Travel without children - border crossings are monitored for potential child trafficking or kidnappings (including those nasty cases of divorced couples taking a child out of the country without the spouses' knowledge or approval)

3 - Travel without pets - no one likes the critters sharing germs across the borders

4 - Travel without firearms - border officials just get touchy about these things

5 - Travel without food or live plants - not sure the real reason behind this one. Supposedly based on health issues, but seems more likely to be a ploy to assure that you will purchase as much as possible from the country you are visiting (and pay their taxes while you're at it).

Here's our experience with our crossing at Lewiston, just north of Niagara Falls, NY.

1 - We're not travelling light. We're dragging a 7 ton, 40 ft. long, 13 ft. tall RV with about 1 ton of baggage and belongings with us with lots of nooks and crannies for stowing items that may or may not be OK with border officials.

2 - We're travelling with children. Minors must have identification such as a birth certificate, passport, or resident card. Both of our children have passports, but one of them is not a US passport. Our youngest child was born in Guatemala and has a passport that was issued after the completion of his adoption. Fortunately, due to the process we followed within the adoption proceedings, he also was granted US citizenship as soon as his feet touched ground in the country. Because his passport is not a US passport, we have to show his citizenship certificate as well. It wasn't a 'problem', just one of those things that gets your vehicle pulled over so that you can be interviewed inside the office rather than at the booth on the international bridge.

3 - We travel with our dogs. Proof of a rabies vaccination and the pet's age and breed is required. No one really checked this, but we were glad that at the dogs' last vet visit and updated shots, the vet's office provided a photo identification with all the information about the vaccinations, breed, gender and age on the card. We thought that was a bit over the top at the time, but were glad to have it when we elected to take them to Canada!

4 - We travel with a shotgun. We looked up information ahead of time for this issue. The
Canadian government provides a form online that you can complete in advance of crossing. We completed it online, printed three copies and had it ready at the time we crossed. Procedure requires that the gun owner sign the document in the presence of Canadian officials, so that part is left blank until you enter the country, there is also a $ 25 fee charged to process the form. Once completed and on file with the country, it is not necessary to do so again for 6 months. We had absolutely no intention of deliberately taking a firearm to Canada and hadn't given it a lot of thought until our plans were made. If making the trip to Canada frequently, I'm sure we would reconsider taking a weapon with us. Some blogs suggest not disclosing the fact that you have a firearm with you. Chances are, you might find a little cubbyhole somewhere where the weapon would escape detection, but then how do you look to those officials if you are found out? We didn't think it worth the risk and the review only took about 30 minutes. Once justified by our carrying a firearm for an inspection of our trailer, I might note that the officer prowled around pretty thoroughly with a flashlight. I later found that the drawers had been tussled around (we waited outside the trailer while he looked around). We were not concerned nor offended by the inspection. We're travelling as guests in this country rather than citizens and if they wish to be careful about who is allowed in, that's their prerogative.

5 - We deliberately didn't have a very full refrigerator. Stories are out there on the internet about some food items being discarded at the border crossing. Again, we checked the website for allowances and were sure that we remained within the allowable limits. The government is very clear about the authority of the border officials to use their discretion within the limits also, so we were prepared to let some items be thrown out if questionable (dairy and produce items seem to be the sticky issue).

If you're considering crossing the border and especially with your RV, we suggest perusing this website.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5082-eng.html#s1x2

Firearms are regulated by the Canadian Mounties and this link provides specific information for visitors bringing firearms:

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/information/visit/index-eng.htm

Because we invested time in our homework online, we weren't surprised that we were asked to pull aside from the general flow of border crossing. The official at the booth indicated that the firearm was the initial reason for asking us to pull aside. Our child's Central American passport just added to their reasons for additional scrutiny. Everyone treated us with respect but had no room for humor or chit-chat. We, in return, treated those officials as people that were performing an important job and we're thankful that they are there to protect their country. Our suggestion to anyone travelling in another country is always to bear that in mind, rather than take offense when questioned.

Our crossing back into the US was uneventful. Possibly, it always would be the case when returning to your home country and having decent documentation to prove that is the circumstance. We also were travelling on a Friday preceding a big holiday weekend for Canada, Victoria Day. Traffic was backed up at the international border - at least 1 1/2 hrs of waiting and that was at noon. Traffic handlers told us that it would be much worse as the afternoon bore on. They also told us as they were routing us into designated lanes that no one was being pulled in. We're not sure that they were supposed to divulge that bit of information, but were happy that the 1 1/2 hr traffic delay was all we would have to suffer through to get back across!

The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.

2010-05-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to link to this article in our Philadelphia posting, but couldn't figure out how. Rush Limbaugh's father wrote and delivered this speech on multiple occasions. We believe it is a striking account of a portion of history that is too frequently ignored. Enjoy!

The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.

Philly!

2010-05-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Our day trip to Philadelphia began with a terrific preview of the skyline as we drove in on IH 95.Parking was the first part of the adventure. A very limited number of street meters are available and most only allow for 2 hour parking. None were available and none could accommodate our 22' long pickup. We circled the Independence Hall visitor center twice before trying the underground garage that announced a limit of 6'-6". As we pulled in, we checked - we must have 6'-9" apparently. What the garage didn't say was the length for making the corkscrew turns down into the bowels. We believe the length limitation to be about 22' - 2". After spending 1/2 hour taking care of parking, we were happy to be out near Independence Square on a beautiful sunny day!

There's George, ready to welcome us in. We stopped in the visitor center and were advised there were a few tickets remaining for Independence Hall tours that would begin after 4:00 pm. We were fine with that timing, as we knew the day would be dedicated to a walking tour of the historic area. Someone had returned several extra tickets for a tour that began within 30 minutes, so we revelled in the unexpected blessing and enjoyed waiting in the peaceful square immediately behind Independence Hall.

Taking photos of the buildings is a little tricky as large tour buses crawl past in a steady stream, but Craig managed to get this photo with only one of the many carriage tours in the background. At least you can still see the building!

We were glad to have made the stop here where the roots of our country's government were established.

The informative ranger led tour was well worth the trouble of obtaining tickets. The tickets are no charge, but you will not gain access to the interior without them. This is the room that prior to its fame as the place of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, served the citizens as a courtroom.

Everything in the building is either a reproduction or an age appropriate substitute furnishing. Many hours of research and labor have restored the hall to an image as historically accurate as possible.

Deliberations regarding the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution transpired in the assembly room across the hall. While only the head chair is a preserved item, original items have been located to embellish each of the delegates' tables; such as Thomas Jefferson's walking stick and ....

The ranger not only explained the items in the room, but also provided insights as to the happenings in the time period. We also learned of the building where Thomas Jefferson stayed for the two weeks when working on the Declaration of Independence. hmm...I was trying to link to an article that came to mind, but I believe it linked as a separate posting. Either way, it's a worthwhile read. Rush Limbaugh's father prepared an excellent speech regarding the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Sadly, their sacrifices are not commonly known. If you are not familiar with this account, take a moment to read it now. You'll have a greater appreciation for the freedom we enjoy as a result of their courage.

The line to the right of this photo shows the folks waiting in line to enter the building displaying the Liberty Bell. Many field trips were touring on this day, but we managed to maneuver between and around most of the hordes of school age children and their weary chaperones.

Made it! The long building has many displays of the history of the bell and the many famous visitors through the years. The bell is at the opposite end from the entrance as the grand finale. No tickets are necessary to enter - just a bit of waiting in line. The display is appropriate with the former residence of the bell in the background.

Here's our close-up view of the engraving. Imagine a National Park Service ranger nearby continually yelling 'Don't TOUCH the bell!' and you'll have a complete sense of visiting the bell.

As we took off for more of our walking tour, we passed this tribute nomered 'the Signer'.

Father of American Surgery and creator of the first carbonated soft drink, Dr. Philip Syng Physick lived in this house. While not on our planned sights, we were amused to find this along our stroll.

Along Market street, we found Franklin Square. Among Benjamin Franklin's many successful ventures, he also owned many of these buildings. His home is no longer standing, but is marked by a framework in the square.

The boys lead the way as we found one of our highlights, Sonny's for an authentic Philly cheese steak sandwich. We skipped the Cheez Whiz and opted for provolone. We were definitely not disappointed!

We circled back toward the parking garage and paused at the sight of Benjamin Franklin's burial. We remembered where his family is buried in Boston and understand his desire to be buried in his beloved Philadelphia. The city remains a special place!

Not bad progress for a day trip! We snaked our way back out of the underground parking garage with another milestone of our trip accomplished.

New York, New York

2010-05-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

We left Maine behind, rolled down the east coast through New Hampshire and spent an overnight on the outskirts of Boston. The decision to make the stop in Boston was related to comment that we received on our blog. This was from a home school family in Boston that is planning an adventure similar to ours. They had some questions about how we did things and what challenges we faced as we acclimated to RV life.

Several emails were exchanged, but the easiest way to describe RV life is to see it. Carl and Barbra offered to take us to dinner after they had a chance to look at how we had the RV set up, what things we had learned and our routine for the traveling home school. We got together in the early evening and we were all at ease right away. As we toured the RV, we talked about the many things we learned, what worked and what did not. Our boys and their daughter seemed to hit it off. The guys love to show off their room and stuff and I think she was better able to visualize herself in this lifestyle.

Carl and Barbra generously treated us to a wonderful Italian dinner at a great restaurant near the campground. It turns out that Carl spent many years working in New York City and he was gracious to give us advise on places to go and things to do in the city. We had a great evening together and felt we had found some new friends.

From Boston, we scooted across Connecticut into New York and on to the little village of Florida, about 60 miles upstate from New York City. Our main reason for choosing this campground was that they provide a van tour into the city. Monday morning found us loading the van and before long we were looking at the Big Apple through the window from the New Jersey side of the river. We unloaded at the terminal where we could board a ferry.

Just a few minutes later we were on board a ferry looking back at the classic looking old terminal and embarking to Ellis Island.

Pulling into the docks at Ellis Island, we could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

The boys pose by the sign in front of the wonderfully restored immigration center.

Linda captures the guys looking at one of the displays at the museum. We could have spent much more time at this facility enjoying the rich history, but we wanted to spend the greatest part of our time exploring the Statue of Liberty.

Re-boarding the ferry, in short order we were watching the statue through the window.

It was a beautiful day, but there was enough morning chill and with the breeze off the water that we were happy to watch from the inside seating.

Cory is a fan of big cities, he is all smiles as we exit the ferry and see the one of the biggest spread out before us, just across the Hudson River.

There she is, such a glorious symbol. Familiar as it is from movies and pictures, it is so different to view it up close. It is big and impressive, it evokes emotion and pride that you only feel from this direct contact.

Now the way to Cory's heart as it nears lunch time is through food. We were pleasantly surprised by the concessions. They had a good cheese burger at a decent price that disappeared pretty quick.

We were fortunate that the timing worked out for us to go on a ranger led tour around the statue. The ranger gave us a great history and memorable tidbits of information that was a wonderful enhancement to our visit to the statue.

The ferry brought us back to the New Jersey shore where we got back into the van and motored through the Holland Tunnel and into the city. The density is astounding, every available square foot behind the curb of the street is occupied by people stacked into towering buildings and you watch as they scurry in or spill out onto the sidewalks. As we drove around in the canyons of the city, our guide told us where we were, what buildings we were seeing or the history behind the area we were in.

We even found where the "bull market" has been hiding, but I can't say we were able to talk him into coming out again.

We spent some time walking around "Ground Zero" and reliving some of that terrible time. This moving memorial to the firefighters is located on the wall of the fire station around the corner from the twin towers. All of the firefighters in this station were lost on 9-11.

There are photos of all of the firefighters lost and families bring flowers and remembrances on birthdays and anniversaries.

It is good to see the work is in progress to rebuild towers and finish the memorial. A large part of defeating these miserable terrorists is to move forward and refuse to allow them to alter our progress.

We saw a poster for the USS New York that has part of its hull formed from steel salvaged from ground zero. A proud and fitting tribute.

St. Paul's chapel sits across the street from the site of the Twin Towers. Buildings all around were destroyed, but amazingly this church was untouched. It became a place of rest for the many workers engaged in the recovery. It stands now as a memorial to that effort.

In the courtyard of the church is a bell sent to the city from London, England. This bell was made at the same foundry that forged the Liberty Bell and Big Ben. The bell is rung every 9-11 and was rung for the subway bombings in London.

The bell swings over a map of Ground Zero.

Around the corner was a T-beam found amongst the rubble from the towers. Upon its discovery, it became a gathering place for those seeking comfort. When it became a hindrance to the recovery work, it was moved from the site to this wall of St. Peter's where it has continued to serve as both a reminder and a source of comfort for those that seek it out.

This message was at the base of the cross.

Word has it that a couple of groups do not want the cross preserved at the memorial. It is our hope that those groups will not succeed in denying the cross a proper place amongst the elements preserving the history of that terrible day.

We were interested that Con. Ed. produces and sells steam as well as electricity. This allows the buildings to heat without having individual boilers. Also, the steam lines running through the streets providing deicing in the winter.

We caught a glimpse of the Brooklyn Bridge.

This was either 5th Avenue or Park Avenue - we saw both.

Rockefeller Center was easy to recognize from all those morning news shows!

The taxis pushing and shoving their way down busy and crowded streets was just what we imagined New York to be.

Theaters were all over. On Broadway and off Broadway. This was also a good place for Dad to score the obligatory hot dog from a street vendor (and it was good too).

Times Square and the theater area was huge for Cory. With his love of acting and fondness for big cities, this is as good as it gets.

After our trip to Hershey PA, we could identify the Hershey building right away.

There is where the ball will drop. (Will Dick Clark make another year?)

Junior's was our stop for New York cheese cake and a jumbo cup of coffee and it was as good as we imagined. This was a sweet way to wrap up the day's visit to the Big Apple. Of course, there is so much more to see and do that will have to wait for another time for our family. We'll be back!

Ft. Knox (but no gold)

2010-05-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

Linda was in need of some alone time, so the "boys" headed out for some adventure (...and to do some Mother's Day shopping). Not to far from the campground, near the city of Bucksport is a historic fort that is operated together with an observatory housed within the cable tower of a huge bridge across the Penobscot river. Looking down from the 420 foot high observatory window, you can see traffic on the new bridge and you can see the abandoned 1931 bridge that was state of the art in its time.

Cory and Will are taking in the view down river and reading from view scape plates that identify the different things that can be seen out each of the windows.

The views are magnificent. Incorporating this observation platform into this beautiful bridge makes such a wonderful enhancement to the function of the structure. In my previous life as a highway engineer, I was working on a new harbor bridge in Corpus Christi and we had discussed including an elevator and observation area in that bridge.

Here the boys look at a more interesting view of Bucksport across a bend in the river.

I have corralled Will and I am explaining how cable stayed wing segmental bridges are built and function. (Cory got away)

Even with the extensive bridge engineering lessons, the guys thought the observatory was good fun as well as being educational.

From the perspective of the observation window our big black truck looks pretty dinky.

We then turned our attention to exploring Fort Knox. In studying the history of the fort, we learned this area of the country was invaded and occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812. Congress approved the construction of this fort to defend the river in 1820, but funds were not available to begin construction until 1840.

There was a very informational visitor center that documented the history of the fort and included many items from the years the fort operated.

This massive and imposing structure was built with 5 foot thick granite blocks set on solid local bedrock. It was the first to include iron blast shutters into the cannon portholes to protect the guns. In fact, the fort was so imposing that it was never fully outfitted with cannon and never completely manned. It was used as a training post during the Civil War, but Confederate forces never got anywhere close to this area. In the entire life of this fort, from opening to closing, never a shot was fired.

Just because there were no battles here, it does not mean you can't have fun exploring the place. As a matter of fact, with no famous battles and no famous generals, there is nothing to distract our attention from peeking into all the nooks and crannies and passageways this thing had to offer. We were packing a flashlight and we used it.

I think these guys really enjoyed running around this huge fort imagining all kinds of battles and heroic war play with no quiz to come later about what happened here.

When in Maine...eat LOBSTER!

2010-05-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

We were happy to schedule a trip out on lobster boat. The season for taking tourists out to see how lobsters are gathered from the traps was not to begin until the Saturday we were scheduled to leave. We found one boat that was planning to take a trip out before the weekend, however, and made plans to drive back to Bar Harbor. We had to leave early to be sure to arrive in time. As the snow clears, apparently every road in Maine begins receiving sorely needed repairs. It seemed everywhere we travelled, we were greeted with flagmen to funnel us in to one way detours around all the work. All that to say, plan to take a little longer to get around! As we arrived in Bar Harbor, a light rain began to fall and we received a call from the lobster boat. The captain was concerned about an incoming front and wanted to postpone the outing until 1:00 pm. Who were we to argue? We were fine with a later departure and spent the time looking at the shops in Bar Harbor. We did get very wet as we walked around. Parking in Bar Harbor is a precious commodity, even in the pre-season! Add to the limited number of spaces a one ton dually pickup and be prepared for some hoofing around. We decided to dry out at Jordan's - a restaurant claiming to have the best blueberry pancakes in Maine. We don't know about that, but they're certainly worth the stop. We enjoyed blueberry muffins with our breakfast and coffee and cocoa to warm up.

Between showers, we walked along the main streets to do some window shopping. After the cruise, we returned to this shop that had several dozen flavors of ice cream - including lobster ice cream. Three of our party of four tasted it - can you guess which one declined?

The showers were pretty strong at times, but we had no problem finding several shops in which to take refuge.

The lovely park graces an area near a public pier.

We spotted 'the LuLu' that was our vessel for the afternoon journey. The weather was a bit more clear by the 1:00 departure time and we joined six others to meet Captain John Nicolai for a couple of hours on the water.

This was a glancing photo back at Bar Harbor as we set out to Egg Rock.There wasn't much rain, but the cloudy weather and cold breeze had us taking advantage of blankets offered by the crew.Egg Rock, we learned was named for the duck eggs that were plentiful on the banks. Harbor seals live on the island and we spied on them with furnished binoculars. The captain entertained us with stories (legends based on fact and some on rumor) as he showed us around. We came back to calmer water closer to the harbor and began checking several traps set out a few days before. The first few offered a variety of crabs. We learned that crabs are somewhat of a nuisance to lobster fishermen as they steal the bait and easily escape the traps.

We learned not only about catching lobsters, but more about the lobsters themselves. This one is just barely within the legal limits to be kept.

After checking the traps, we made one more stop at this island to check out an eagle's nest.

Taking our leave from Bar Harbor, we stopped in Bangor at a market recommended by the RV park to purchase some fresh lobster for our dinner. The park delivered a lobster cooker and all the accessories necessary for cooking and eating the lobsters and also offered a few cooking tips.

Yes - it's true - a watched pot never boils!

Here's our dinner waiting for the pot to boil...

Finally, it was time and lobster number one is loaded into the bag.

Lobsters 2, 3 and 4 followed closely behind...

The boys did the honor of lowering the bags into the boiling water...

Then, we waited for the water to return to a boil and set the timer for 13 minutes as recommended by the RV park staff.

There they are - now a bright red!

Add some clarified butter, a loaded baked potato and salad...

Tie on your bib - and enjoy!

What a great day! We all had a terrific time and will never forget our lobster day!

Do you know the way to Moosehead Lake?

2010-05-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Moosehead Lake is a very large lake about 80 miles north-northwest of Bangor. You'll know that you have nearly arrived when most signs along the way begin mentioning 'moose' in the name and everything from mailboxes to yard decorations includes the moose theme. Many warning signs alert you that one might be crossing your path at any moment. In the vicinity of the lake are several landmarks; such as, the community of Moosehead, Moose River and Big Moose Mountain. We stopped at Greenville to check in a a visitor's center and were clued in for most likely moose sightings, a place for lunch and an unexpected hiking trail that led to some waterfalls. Another frequent sign referenced 'fiddleheads'. "Cleaned Fiddleheads Here", "Fiddleheads", "For Sale: Fiddleheads". When we stopped in the cafe in Greenville, the soup of the day "Cream of Fiddlehead". They were sold out and a couple of the locals were very upset about it. We had guessed it was a type of crab. Not so - check out the picture below:
Fiddleheads are the coiled fronds of the ostrich fern. Growing in river marshes in Maine in late April to mid-May, they are hailed as a sign of spring's arrival and begin appearing in salads, soups and served as side dishes. We bypassed the offerings at roadside stands, primarily due to our ignorance of what exactly they were. Now that we're more knowledgeable, we'll have to give them a try if we are in Maine in the right season!

You likely will not be able to spot the moose in this photo. We saw one grazing alongside the road as we drove along a portion of Moosehead Lake.

We thoroughly enjoyed the unique scenery along our way.

We found the head of the trail mentioned by the visitor center. Several trees were down across the path, but we maneuvered them just fine. The dogs were along for this hike and seemed to enjoy the adventure. Ginger clambered or leaped over the downed trees while Pepper chose to go under all but one of them.

A short distance into the woods, about 7/10ths mile, we heard the sound of the rushing water.
Several platforms offered safe viewing of the falls.

It's always worthwhile to take a few moments to just listen to the sound of the water crashing over the boulders. We did so for just a bit, then the buzzing of gnats and other bugs encouraged us to be on our way!

East of Eden

2010-05-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

We settled into an RV park near Bangor, ME as soon as we possibly could. We could not find an RV park in the state that would accomodate us prior to May 1. Many don't open until May 15 or later even and many cannot accomodate an RV longer than 35'. We wouldn't change a thing on our 5th wheel purchase due to the ocmfort level with the space provided in a longer unit. Many of the older campgrounds and parks have been established long before anyone envisioned the length and wide slideouts that are more common in models produced today!

We learned this term 'East of Eden' when we discovered that Bar Harbor was a relatively new name for this area in Maine. The town was called Eden while the harbor itself was commonly known as 'Bar Harbor'. Knowing the history explained the many references to 'Eden' along our path!

We drove over to Bar Harbor several times, and of course, the guys had to get as close to the water as possible. As cold as it was, however, they had no interest in actually getting wet!

Acadia National Park is every bit as beautiful as reputed. We drove up to the peak of Cadillac Mountain as soon as we arrived.

The wind was extremely gusty and strong, sometimes feeling as if it could blast us off the mountain.

The large mass of rock was inviting to the guys.

Both of them wanted photos with the bay in the background.

Another day's journey into the park took us down to the waterfront to explore tidal pools.

We had learned about tidal pools and the creatures that thrive within them when we were in San Diego.

Low tide occurred mid-morning, creating a terrific opportunity to see several varieties of sea creatures.

Mostly, it was a great excuse to spend some time enjoying the sunshine, sea and rocks!

The dogs joined in on part of the exploring this time - even Pepper enjoys her own scale of rock climbing!

We felt spoiled to have such a beautiful spring day for a picnic in this park - what a view!

We continued around the island to find the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. The lighthouse still provides living quarters - not for the keeper, but a commander in the Coast Guard.

We drove through several small harbor towns with picturesque marinas.

We also explored some interior roadways to seek out Jordan Pond. We loved the drive and nature trail, but were disappointed that the famous tea and popovers are not served until later this month. I suppose we'll just have to return again to this gorgeous area!

More posts to come of our inland journey and lobster cruise!

Amoskeag Fishway

2010-05-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

Never heard of it? In Manchester, New Hampshire, this fishway provides a ladder for salmon to migrate around one of the dams on the Merrimack River. This facility provided a place to observe the fishladder and learn about the salmon migration and conservation efforts.You know you're there when you see the big salmon in the sky! The river provides a nice backdrop where ever you are

On our way into the visitor center, we peered over the edge to see if the fish were there.

We didn't spy a single one and were confused as advance information stated that fish had been 'stocked'.

Upon arrival, we found out that the staff had stocked a holding tank with several large salmon from a nearby fishery. The gates to the ladder and to the river were not open to allow the fish to maneuver as yet. Also, the season for migration begins in the fall - not spring. It's unlikely that the fish would have any desire to randomly climb the ladder out of sheer boredom!

We did have a chance to see the freshly stocked fish - if you could see through the murky river water. Ick! That is the true color of the water from the fishy point of view!

The boys clowned around with a 3-D mural of natural predators for the salmon.

The aquarium stocked with a few of the fryes was much more pleasant to view.

Now, we knew where to look in the tank. We could glimpse the salmon from above the holding area.

This photo shows more of the climb from the river to the higher river level upstream of the dam.

Once finished viewing the fish, we took a few minutes to enjoy the Merrimack.

And, here's the other side - downstream from the spillway.

Not a bad way to spend the day and learn about one of the most famous migration stories in our current world.

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow

2010-05-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yes - we saw snow yet again along our travels!

Not that much, but snow just the same. The title for this post also comes from one of Linda's favorite movies 'White Christmas'. Bing Crosby and crew sing all about snow on a train ride to Pine Tree, Vermont. We took a couple of day trips into Vermont from our base in New Hampshire.

We tried to capture the largest flakes falling at the RV park in this photo. We had no accumulation, but areas in northern New Hampshire and Vermont received as much as 12-18". Fortunately, our plans were flexible enough to work around this weather.

We captured this glimpse of late April snow at this Vermont ski area.

Norman Rockwell, one of our favorite artists, spent great amounts of time in Vermont. Near Rutland, a museum has been established that displays all of his Saturday Evening Post front cover illustrations. Craig and I enjoyed a trip down memory lane and the boys enjoyed the humor. The illustrations capture a bygone era of patriotism, family and 'clean' humor. We would love to see our country return to its roots where everyone could enjoy the light hearted humor and sentiment expressed in these illustrations.

We took a detour to see the capitol, Montpelier with it's beautifully domed seat of state government.

A major stop was in Burlington, alongside Lake Champlain. We were blessed with a gorgeous sunny day to enjoy lunch with a view!

Along another trek to see Calvin Coolidge's birthplace and boyhood home, we enjoyed roadside views of forests and pristine lakes.

A sugar shack, at rest, caught our eye near Plymouth Union.President Coolidge's family lived in this remote area of Vermont and we can see why in later years, he chose to vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota - beautiful mountains, rugged rocks, dense forests and clear running streams!

Driving through the town of Woodstock was a treat with it's broad boulevard.

We'll close with our photos of several covered bridges along our way. We've seen them throughout areas of New England and made a point of taking photos when we spotted these.

Spring on the Farm

2010-04-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

We found the Remick Family Farm online while searching for maple sugar shacks. We learned that we were late for the syrup making season, when the maple tree sap is heated and processed into delicious syrup. The trees 'run' with sap during February and March typically and while the rest of the country had an incredibly cold and snowy winter, Vermont and New Hampshire did not have an unually hard winter. Great for the residents, not so great for the syrup makers!

After finding out more about the farm, we drove up anyway as the farm has been reworked to become a teaching facility about farm life. Here's the sugar shack where the syrup is made. When in season, the tell-tale sign is reported to be a lot of steam rising from the building. Too bad we missed it, but we did buy some syrup - very tasty!

The most charming thing about spring on a farm are the new babies everywhere. These kids are only 3 days old!

The kids were charged with creating fences with stones and long timbers.

They did a great job and didn't have to work too long. We are happy to see how well they work, though, as we hope a farm is in our future!

Another baby was across the field - this little week old lamb.

Craig had a nice chat with mom...

The lamb flopped over when it got too fast for its little wobbly legs.

No worries - it found its feet quick enough!

These two Heritage breed turkeys were not particularly charming nor were they happy to see us! We were happy to be on the other side of the fence as these two guys were wishing for us to leave them alone.

These two wanted to see us, until they found out we didn't have any feed for them.

The town of Tamworth now surrounds this part of the farm, which covered 400 acres at one time.

A wagon ride closed out our farm visit, with these beautiful twin sisters pulling us around.

Very strong Belgians, they had no trouble pulling the wagon around the farm for a short visit.

We stopped at the hardware store before leaving, where they also sell homemade ice cream - Moose Tracks is a nice flavor with chocolate and peanut butter mixed into vanilla. Another little adventure is done for the day.

Live Free or Die

2010-04-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Bonus points if you can guess the reason for this blog title? If you knew that this is the motto for New Hampshire you get the prize! After the hustle and bustle of Boston, we are enjoying the rural New Hampshire sights.

We started with a trip into Portsmouth. Billed as a nice New England town and the building place for submarines, we found the city to be very neat (as in tidy) and somewhat eclectic. Our first stop was a house designated as the home of John Paul Jones. Actually, his time here was brief and he only rented a room in the house. At the time he was here, however, he was supervising the construction of the America, a ship for the newly established United States.

Now established as a museum for Portsmouth, a hard working group of volunteers continues work on the garden. We enjoyed the early fruits of their labor in these tulips!

We continued carefully around the town. The streets are narrow and meet at odd angles amongst very tall, compactly placed houses and shops.

Everything had a look of being well-kept and preserved and we enjoyed the glimpse of life in this busy town.

We also wanted to see the Albacore, an early submarine research vessel. Launched in the late 1950's, we enjoyed learning about efforts to develop a boat that was both fast and quiet!

Exporing further in the town, it wasn't long before we found ourselves in Maine! The New Hampshire coastline is relatively short. Lots of homes and docks are nestled in quiet coves along the coastline with evidence of many buoys with lobster traps attached.

The boys smiles are a little frozen and it's not just because of the pose. The sun was deceptive as the breeze off that Atlantic water was very cold! We didn't stay out in it long with our light jackets!

Ready for a break, we found an interesting old grocery store that offered us coffee and Coca Cola in the old fashioned small glass bottles! Cory is an enthusiast of Coca Cola in a glass bottle, so we couldn't pass this up. The grocery is well preserved, inside and out and we enjoyed the trip back in time as we took a little break from the driving and looking.

Across the street is an old delivery truck belonging to the grocery.

All in all, our day was a nice change of pace - to simply looking around at a place that was new to us - very nice!

Oh - and the prize for knowing about New Hampshire's motto? Isn't just knowing you are that smart prize enough? Well, that'll have to do as we don't have a reward system worked out! Congratulations anyway!

Freedom Trail of Boston

2010-04-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

Up for some history? Boston is a terrific place for seeing some famous landmarks recorded in American History! From the Tea Party rally on "The Common", it was a short walk over to the golden dome of the state capitol where we found a map and guide for a walking tour of Boston called, "The Freedom Trail". The trail is marked on the sidewalks and streets by either a strip of red bricks or red paint, so it's very easy to follow. The capitol building, although constructed in 1795, is called the 'new' State House by Bostonians. The 'old' State House was the one used by the British government during colonial days. We'll show you a photo later as we pass by.

The Park Street Church was our next milestone. Built in 1809 on the site of a town granary, the church served practical purposes as well as religious. During the War of 1812, the crypt stored gunpowder! Amongst the 'firsts' for this church, were first Sunday School in 1817, prison aid society in 1824, and missionaries to Hawaii in 1819.

Behind the church is the Granary Burying Ground, where many famous Americans are buried. Three signers of the Declaration of Independence, nine governors of Massachusetts, the victims of the Boston Massacre, 'Mother' Goose, Benjamin Franklin's parents and Paul Revere all are buried here.

On we walked to the King's Chapel - a symbol of what Puritans fled. After more than a half century of the Puritans exercising their religious freedom, King James II order the establishment of an Anglican parish in Boston. When no Puritan would sell the Anglicans land, the Governor seized a corner of the burying ground - assuming that the dead could not complain! In Britain at that time, church and nobility were enmeshed in corrupt politics and Bostonians wanted no part of that. When the American Revolution caused the British Army to evacuate Boston, many of the church attendees left with them. Eventually, the church became the first Unitarian church and continues today.

At the site of the first public school, Boston Latin School, this statue of Benjamin Franklin stands. Although he actually dropped out of the school, Bostonians are still proud of his attendance, along with other scholars such as, John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

In the early 1800's, this building functioned as the home of the nation's leading book publisher. Known now as the Old Corner Book Store, several now famous authors gathered here including Longfellow, Hawthorne, Emerson and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Charles Dickens also visited here.

This is the famous South Meeting House where the original Tea Party members masqueraded as Mohawk Indians before boarding British ships to dump the tea in the harbor.

And just down the block, the Old State House - the seat of government during British Rule.

Cory recognized the symbols of the lion and the unicorn at the top of the building as being identical to the banners and shields displayed at the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg.

After all the Tea Party and more than half of the Freedom Trail, we were ready for lunch and found delicious clam chowder at this restaurant on the harbor. All around us, business folks were ordering huge lobsters, but we were quite happy with the New England style chowder and fresh rolls. Our feet were also happy to get some rest!

Refreshed, we strolled out the pier to see if we could spy the location of the ship emptied of its tea. The exhibit was closed during our visit to Boston and it could not be made out from here. We enjoyed the beautiful spring day on the harbor anyway!

On we went and found Paul Revere's House...

And this tribute to his famous ride to warn the colonists of the British approach...

And here's the North Church with the tower housing the location of the warning lamps 'One if by sea, two if by land'.

We deviated from the full tour due to our tired feet and legs from standing at the Tea Party for 3-4 hours before beginning the trail. We would definitely continued on across to see the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill, but were just too tired to make it on this day. We looped back through the downtown area and enjoyed a close look at many of the taverns.

Several markets are centered around Faneuil Hall. Restaurants, shops and modern chain stores are all mixed in four large buildings.

And amongst the several offerings, we were pleased to see 'Cheers' - a copy cat of the famous bar in the TV series by the same name. The boys didn't have a clue!

Our walk back toward the train station took us back by the Old State House.

Next to the traffic signal on the right is a circle of pavers that marks the spot where the colonists fell during the Boston Massacre. They were shot at very close range from that balcony visible ont he second floor.

Successfully making our way back to the train station, we got the boys to pose for one more photo!

Well, two...they're just so handsome! We made it back in plenty of time for the commuter train we wanted back to our spot at the RV park.

Boston Tea Party - 2010

2010-04-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

We left the RV Park at Lancaster, PA and pulled a long trek (for us!) to an RV Park near Boston, MA. The timing of this journey was to line up with the "Tea Party Express" who had an event planned for Boston on April 15 with Sarah Palin as the featured speaker. Our family attended a "Tea Party Express" rally in Amarillo last year and we support this effort to change the direction of the country. It seems such a great opportunity to attend this event and at the same time explore the city where a tax protest lead to the war for our Independence and the founding of our country.

If it seems like we left out a couple of places in our itinerary (like New York City and Philadelphia), that would be true. We will backtrack a little later in the spring as the parks we want to use are not open or do not have options we want (like day tours from the campground) until May 10th or so.

This itinerary will be a little challenging with heading north and looking for open campgrounds in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. We have already had to alter our length of stay near Boston due to projected snow, and are glad we did. We've enjoyed snow....several times...this year. We've frankly had enough of it with our current accommodations!

We allowed ourselves a day to recover from the long drive over and to determine how to best get into the city for the Tea Party, held on the 14th. Having a positive experience with the Metro commuter system in DC, we found a similar offering and the RV park staff cheerfully directed us to the nearest station and even troubled herself to print out the inbound and outbound schedules from her computer. Contrary to the reputation for rudeness, we found most Boston folk to be very upbeat and helpful. We did find a few that were not cheerful or polite, but we feel that those are in the minority of the population. I suppose everyone has stronger remembrances of nasty encounters, so there lies the root of the reputation of the 'rude' Bostonian!

On the day of the scheduled Tea Party, we rose bright and early and arrived at the train station around 6:30 am. We normally are up early, but we are NOT normally out in public at that hour! The kids were pleased to see a new kind of train - a double decker! We climbed aboard and took our seats on the second level and had a great view of the countryside on our way in to town.

We lacked an easy map to follow from Union station to Boston Common, but we made do with a trolley system map and the help from some fellow Tea Partiers we found along the way at Starbucks. Ann, a Bostonian that had taken the day off to attend, and her parents from Maine guided us along and chatted with us for the few blocks through the chilly streets to the park.

The Tea Party Express is a group that had made their 3rd cross country journey to this point. This trip started for them in Searchlight, NV - hometown of Harry Reid, with an emphasis on their 3rd trip slogan "Just Vote Them Out". This trip was born out of a feeling that congressmen and senators in Washington are not heeding the voices of their constituents that want the excessive spending to stop and to put the brakes on government intervention (bail-outs, auto maker and student loan take-overs, etc.) We were pleased to attend their rally for the 2nd time along our own journeys and were particularly pleased to meet up with them at the location of the very first Tea Party so many years ago.

We found a pretty good-sized crowd upon our arrival (about an hour before the scheduled speakers) and a whole bevy of media vans with their high flying satellite antennae and huge strings of power cords stretched along the ground. Several media members interviewed us. We think partly because we were on the outskirts of the developing crowd, partly because we had kids with us and partly very curious upon hearing we were from so far out of town. Even Will was interviewed, but he didn't have much to say. He was not accustomed to anyone sticking a microphone in his face and was caught off-guard by their questions. Cory, on the other hand, was not intimidated at all by a microphone or the opportunity to voice his opinion. Craig, from whom Cory must derive his comfort level with audiences in general, was equally comfortable and familiar with media attention from his career. Linda was not nearly as intimidated as Will, but also was not nearly as comfortable with the mike! Here we are posed to stand as background for the local Fox affiliates interview with another bystander. As the reporter was waiting her cue, however, she found out our Texas roots and family travels and promptly interviewed us all without warning after asking the original participant a couple of questions.

Later, her crew sought Cory out after hearing his statement to a Boston Globe reporter. After making his statement, the reporter offered on air "Very well spoken. Perhaps we have a future presidential candidate in our midst!" We were so proud! A couple of other kids were interviewed in the same segment and one of them overcame his speech dyslexia moment to be able to say 'deficit' correctly. Nerves just overcome your normal ability to articulate at times, don't they? The other one was not very well prepared for an impromptu interview. We were so affirmed in our parental philosophy that we must prepare our kids to be able to speak articulately of issues that are important to them. Thank you to Mrs. Hallock and Mrs. Seaman of the homeschool drama productions and to Communicators for Christ, a group organized to teach children to be effective communicators.

The crowd continued to grow. We saw media reports that varied between an estimate of 5,000 to as many as 13,000 rally attendees. We have no good feel for the number, but were pleased to see the large group. We also were pleased that reports of nasty counter-protesters were not noticeable to us. Counter protesters are great, of course, as they certainly have the right to free speech. Also, you never know when you might be able to persuade someone to consider your perspective and how do you accomplish that if those that differ with you never show up? Nasty folks that have a single purpose of damaging the reputation of those gathered for a common, positive purpose, however, are not welcome to do so in any setting! We later heard of a couple of incidents, but again witnessed absolutely none. We did find some dissenting views and odd folks, but nothing too distasteful or inappropriate for our kids.

Here's a few photos of the crowd around us:

Craig brought Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue" with him instead of a sign and we found matching tee shirts with our flag. We were glad that we could express ourselves with positive aspects of our country and our freedom.

It was easy to relate to most of the people in the crowd.

What we saw was people a lot like us who are worries about the direction our country is headed.

We talked to several that, like us, were very worried about their children and grandchildren.

Mostly we saw a lot of flags and some very funny signs, pins and stickers.

Here's a shot of the crowd's reaction when the featured speaker, Sarah Palin, was introduced and arrived onstage. Lots of enthusiasm!

We zoomed in a bit here...notice the sign that says 'We can see NOVEMBER from our house'.

While so many were excited to see and hear Sarah Palin, the view for Will was pretty much a sampling of a bunch of peoples back pockets.

Craig hoisted Will up on his shoulder at one point during Sarah Palin speech. He peered over the heads of the people in the crowd and exclaimed, "Hey Dad, the lady looks just like the picture on the book!".

The crowd thinned quickly after Ms. Palin's speech. We like her and feel that many others do for similar reasons. She's very professional, sharp in wit and has a common sense approach to solving problems that is very refreshing. We were very pleased with the time and effort spent to attend this event as a family and we were ready to spend what remains of our day experiencing Boston.

Gettysburg Battlefield

2010-04-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Just as we have done for a couple of battlefields before, we began with a trip to the visitor center to purchase an audio tour. Loading the CD into the player and shifting the truck in gear, we listen as the narrator guides us through the countryside and describes the battle unfolding outside the window glass of the truck.

Along the roadways and peppered across the fields are monuments and markers identifying the place where lines were formed and firefights occurred or where leaders fell.

Gazing out on the peaceful beauty, it stands in stark contrast to the ugly fury of the battle described by the narrator. The three days of battle between two large and desperate armies raged within view of this small city with thousands of soldiers killed on both sides and surprisingly, resulted in only one civilian casualty by a stray bullet that killed a woman as she was baking bread in her sister's kitchen.

One of a very few eternal flame memorials, the Eternal Light Peace Memorial burns a flame of remembrance that we should never forget the terrible brother versus brother warfare that occurred here.

The battle began in the rolling hills north of town as advance forces from both sides ran into each other on Wednesday, July 1, 1863. For a more detailed analysis of the battle, you may want to check out Cory's blog at http://coragontheclown.blogspot.com/ . He really does a great job of describing battles!

As we drove around, there were many fetchers, like this low rock wall that were either preserved or restored to the way they were at the time of the battle.

Linda was more interested in the flowering trees and other signs of spring that were evident around town than in the historic details of the battlefield.

This is not a reenactor, but as we viewed this lone horse, we had some perspective to imagine the hundreds of Calvary, artillery and supply horses at work in this tremendous battle.

Driving along the audio tour, we encountered several tour buses full of people taking in the sights and story of the battle. We were glad to be able to tour in more of an 'off' season!

There were hundreds of antique cannon set up in locations where they were actually deployed in the battle.

The more modern guns were generally on the Union side.

Cory was good about describing the type and size of the artillery as we came upon them.

This very interesting artwork is the North Carolina Memorial. Dedicated in 1929, it is one of the earliest southern state memorials.

This memorial was crafted by Gutzon Borglum, the artist who created the massive monument at Mount Rushmore. It so happens that Linda is currently reading a book about the building of Mount Rushmore and it details the artist work on this very memorial as well. The artist was working in San Antonio at the time he created this memorial.

Here is Virginia's monuments that depicts Robert E. Lee upon "Traveler" as he surveys the battle.

This was around the center area of the battle where the tragic "Pickett's Charge" occurred.

This monument, "The Soldiers and Sailors of the Confederacy", was dedicated in 1965 to honor all the men who fought in the Confederate armies and navies.

This a view to the north from "Little Round Top" that was one of most critical areas of the battle.

The Clark boys are taking in the great amounts of information from the story boards that give details of the battle in this area. The monuments extend as far as the eye can see in the valley behind them.

This impressive monument was dedicated to the union defenders of "little round top" that held this position on the end of the fish hook line. The experts who study this battle believe that if the confederate attacks on this hilltop would have been successful, the South would have likely won the whole battle.

Looking down the gradual slope on one side, you can visualize the battle weary southern forces trudging uphill into union rifle fire raining down from above.

This view overlooks a rock formation called "Devil's Den" where the fighting was steady for two days as both sides exchanged the position several times and the whole area was covered by snipers from each side.

Cory caught a picture of Will on the monument on Llittle Round Top".

Even with the historic monuments and markers surrounding us, boys just can't pass a big pile of rocks without climbing...

....or a hole in the rocks without exploring.

As we ended our tour of the battlefield, Linda wanted to capture another glimpse of spring budding out on the trees. Perhaps as a symbol of life going on, by God's grace, long after the last cannon fires.

Washington, DC - Pt 2.

2010-04-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

After the big rain during the night bus tour, the remainder of our visit to DC was blessed with sunshine and warm temperatures. These photos were taken during our own walking tour of the monuments on a very, very lovely spring day. Back to the Washington monument.

the World War II memorial,

the reflecting pool between the Washington monument and the Lincoln memorial,

one of the sculptures near the Vietnam memorial,

the Vietnam memorial,

the Korean War memorial,

alongside the Tidal Pool with the largest concentration of cherry blossom trees (and tourists),

the Jefferson memorial (see Thomas in the shadows?),

and our favorite 'postcard' shot of the Jefferson memorial with cherry blossoms!

We also ventured a few blocks beyond the Mall to see the alley behind Ford's Theatre where John Wilkes Booth was spotted after the shooting....

and also to the National Gallery of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery. A complete collection of presidential portraits is on display in chronological order of their service.

Then, we turned back to the RV park to rest our weary legs and feet!

Washington, DC - the prequel

2010-04-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

We're a little out of order with our posts - thus, the prequel. We're backing up to the beginning of our DC adventure with this batch of photos.

We booked a night bus tour with Gray Line upon our arrival in DC. We didn't want to waste a bit of our time near the city. The RV park is well suited for visitors to the city, with a bus connection to the Metro line and a pickup point for Gray Line as well. The driver took us directly to Union Station and as it turned out, we didn't have to change buses. Big Al, the driver and guide, was terrific. Dusk was just falling as we came to the station, thus the blurry photo of the cherry blossoms. Rain was predicted, but we only had overcast skies as we began.

As dark settled upon the city, we arrived at the capitol - just in time for the glow of the interior lights to begin a preview of the night view. We were glad to glimpse those cherry blossoms before it was too dark.

We could tell that they were spectacular and this preview whet our appetite for a return trip on our own during daylight!

The night tour included many of the monuments and landmark buildings - beginning with the Capitol and the White House and continuing on to include:the Washington monumenta night skyline that showed the Capitol, Washington Monument and Lincoln MemorialWe stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial and it began to rain. By the time the bus stopped at the Lincoln memorial, it was raining really hard.

Fortunately, we took over at Abe's feet and loved reading his infamous addresses on the interior walls of the memorial. We long for statesmen in our time that can speak with such wisdom with very few words!

The next stop was the Jefferson Memorial, but we passed so that we could dry out a bit. We did get out at the Kennedy Performing Arts Center. We learned that three large halls are within the one building and can now appreciate telecasts from that location much better.

We can highly recommend the night tour on the bus. The special lighting on the various monuments is very beautiful and we would never have the courage to venture out after dark on our own! The preview was terrific for gaining our bearings for our self-guided tours the rest of the week.

We took advantage of the local bus stop at the park to make our way to the train station. The station isn't far and has adequate parking, but we were a little taken back by the number of vehicles we saw with plastic where windows once were and duct tape holding car trunks together. We liked the secure feeling of our truck being parked behind the security gates at the RV park.

Our daylight adventure began with a trip to the Library of Congress. Our group includes some avid 'National Treasure' fans, so it was fun to see the sights included in the movie.

The interior of the Library of Congress was quite surprising to us, with a trend towards lots of gilded surfaces and fancy touches like this stained glass ceiling.

Very ornate with tons of sculpted images of both authors and historical figures and philosophers.

Next was a stop in front of the Supreme Court.

We stopped in at the Capitol, but didn't take a tour as lines were very, very long! The downside of visiting during cherry blossom season was the length of lines everywhere. We focused on touring the exteriors and catching some prioritized stops on the inside of the many, many options! One of the Capitol staff members surprised us by tracking us down with tickets to enter the House side of the Capitol. The tickets are free, but normally you must wait in line or make advance reservations to gain access. We had chatted with the staff on our way in and were browsing the most public visitor area of the Capitol when the very accommodating young man tracked us down, tickets in hand. We weren't allowed to photograph anything inside the Capitol for Homeland Security purposes.

We took our tired feet back to the train station and saved more touring for the next day!

Ponies!

2010-04-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

While in the Maryland/Virginia area, a 'must-see' for our family were the ponies of Assateague/Chincoteague. The Assateague Island is in both states and the ponies are handled differently according to which side of the state line they reside. Virginia ponies are the ones that are guided across the bay from the island to Chincoteague once a year for a 'round up'. The volunteer fire department manages the ponies by agreement with the National Park Service. Some of the foals are auctioned off and the ponies are returned to the island.

In Maryland, the ponies are treated as wildlife, with one exception. The NPS has determined a need to manage the pony population. They shoot the mares with an injection 'dart' once a year with a vaccine that prevents pregnancy. That's right....pony birth control! Each mare is allowed to have one foal after they have reached prime age (around 6-7 years old). Then, the injections continue.

We watched a brief film about the ponies in the visitor center, then drove the park on our own to find the ponies. We didn't have to wait long before seeing a few here and there along the roadways.

We took a couple of strolls through the marsh areas in hopes of seeing some in more natural settings, but we only saw one lone pony well off in the distance.

The beaches are beautiful in this area, so we took advantage of the warm day to take in some rays...well, some of us did - these two decided to imitate Arabs in the desert with their beach towels...

That didn't last long - nor did their trip into the icy water!

The guys had fun playing in the sand for awhile - trying to build a fort wall that would withstand the surf. We enjoyed just sitting on the beach for awhile, listening to the breaking waves and feeling the breeze in our face.

A cold front was due to blow in and we could feel the wind change direction and temperature. We hightailed it to the truck and caught a few photos of ponies on our way out of the park.

This scene reminded us of spotting buffalo at Yellowstone Park. The ponies may be wild, but they certainly have adapted to human contact being in close proximity. Park officials warn of their unpredictable nature, so it's best to keep your distance!

In nearby Ocean City, we had a lunch of Maryland crab cakes. Most restaurants were closed for another week or so, but we finally spotted a local diner that advertised the local specialty - delicious! We then drove up to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware before making a circle through the farming areas back to the RV park.

Here's a sampling of the Atlantic views along the way.

As for the farmland, we were so entranced, we forgot to take pictures! With the trees beginning to get their leaves, the view had a slight variation and we could only imagine the autumn changing of color.

Birth of the Star Spangled Banner

2010-04-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

We took a day trip from Washington D.C. to Baltimore MD to take in Fort McHenry. This fort was constructed after the Revolutionary war and was the main defense of the busy and strategic port of Baltimore. In our rematch with the British in 1812, we were getting roughed up pretty bad. The British attached and sacked our capital and burned many buildings including the president's residence. Afterwards, the British marched the troops toward Baltimore and sailed their fleet up the coast to the port.

The commander of the fort had commissioned a huge flag to be made to fly over the fort, "that was big enough for the British to see from a long way off". Prior to this visit, we had some exposure to the war of 1812 as we toured Andrew Jackson's home in Nashville TN. We also learned a bit as we saw James Madison's home in Virginia. As we filed into the National Achieves in DC to look at the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights we learned that the first lady, Dolly Madison, saved these documents just before the British stormed in to burn the capitol.

The centerpiece of the Smithsonian American History Museum, that we just visited, was the very flag that flew over this fort during the British attack and inspired Frances Scott Key to write the poem that became our national anthem. The visitor center did a very good job of describing the battle of Baltimore. (They even had a model of the rockets with the red glare in the display above)

They also did a good job through displays and a movie of telling the story of the poem and how the country embraced it as our national anthem. It struck me how little of this whole story I knew before this trip. I thank God for blessing us on this journey and allowing me the opportunity to give this great gift to my boys.

Linda was feeling a little under the weather, (...and I think she was a little tired of the tools of war), so she stayed at the visitor center while the boys and I trekked out to explore the fort. You see them here checking out the bomb shelter. It was a good one too. There were only 4 dead from the bombardment.

The fort was well designed and used. We see a well placed and protected magazine that effectively serves guns on the star points of the fort.

The boys pose at the entry gate with the massive doors of the fort.

Will looks at the guard house and says, "this is serious time out".

The door was open, so we decided to see if we could get two boys to a cell.

Boys look pretty small at the base of the pole flying the big flag.

A good view of enlisted barracks life around 1812. Nothing fancy.

Will would not have to grow much to fit an artillery man uniform.

Cory liked the officer uniform, especially if it comes with the cool pistol.

They did a good job of telling the story of the battle through the displays.

This shows one of several punch bowls that the towns people made out of the mortar shells that the British fired at the fort. Who says learning history can't be fun.

He Is RISEN!

2010-04-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

Craig and I remember a message in which we were told that early Christians greeting one another with 'Christ Is Risen!' or 'He is risen!'. Well, we don't remember Christ in that way in our everyday greetings, but we can certainly do so on this day when we remember the miracle of the empty tomb!

We have modified our tradition for Easter this year, but we kept the resurrection rolls for our breakfast. We take frozen rolls, let them thaw and rise, place a marshmallow (Jesus), cinnamon and sugar (embalming spices) in the stretched dough, close the dough around the marshmallow and seal it tight, then bake. When the rolls are done, they each are empty inside - just like the tomb.

This year, we didn't seal the rolls up too well, the marshmallow melted on the outside instead of within the roll, the sugar smoked and the smoke alarm went off in the RV. We still enjoyed the rolls, could still see the emptiness in the roll and refresh one another with the Biblical account of Jesus death and resurrection.

Whatever way you and your family celebrate Easter, we pray you will be blessed by the memory of Jesus sacrifice and God's love for you.

'HE IS RISEN!'

Visiting Washington DC, Part 1 - Smithsonian

2010-04-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

We couldn't believe that our timing to visit Washington, DC coincided with the peak of the cherry blossoms. Word from those in the area had it that the blooms were a little earlier than usual - very fortunate for us! Having only seen DC in January on one other limited visit, the contrast was amazing and the views of all the traditional sights were tremendously enhanced with the banks of luscious blooms.

The only downside of hitting the cherry blossoms and the long holiday weekend for Easter was the size of the crowds, particularly at the Smithsonian museums. Actually, there were only a few that were extremely crowded: the Air and Space, American History, Natural History museums and the National Archives. Touring the interior of the Capital, the White House and riding the elevator in the Washington Monument backed up with very long lines in all directions. To introduce our kids to the various aspects of DC, it was still fine. If you want to actually take in these particular offerings, go at a time when most schools are in session. Although there are still many field trips, we found a large number of field trips to be those from out of state, touring the Capitol during spring break.

This gorgeous spring scene was on the 'backside' of the Smithsonian Castle (facing away from the Mall). We were delighted to find this by chance and also delighted that the large crowds were not aware of this very lovely spot.

We arrived at the Air and Space Museum about 15 minutes before opening time and found a very long line with several large field trip groups. Once the doors opened, however, the crowd moved through security at the entrance very quickly and the museum is large enough to disperse the crowd. Because we've already toured the Kennedy Space Center, NASA in Houston, the Pensacola area military museums and Kitty Hawk, we didn't require a lot of time to see the exhibits here. The Smithsonian has added another museum that houses more recent aviation exhibits (such as the Concord) several miles from the Mall buildings. We didn't take the time to go, but would highly recommend it if you've not had the opportunities to see the other wonderful aviation and space exploration facilities in the country.

The displays of milestones in aviation and space exploration are terrific to take in and are displayed in a very inviting way.

We couldn't resist capturing the guys with the Spirit of St. Louis!

In the space exploration area of the museum, we took advantage of the very unique display of the solar system with everything in accurate proportions (Jupiter is so very, very large!). The moons of the various planets are also included for perspective. Truly terrific for our 9 yo!

Even with the exposure to the various rockets at NASA and Kennedy, their size still takes a moment to absorb!

Speaking of absorption, that's about enough for one post - DC will be continued in later installments, as will Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg from our Virginia trek. We've been very, very busy!

Monticello

2010-04-01T04:11:00.001-07:00

Backtracking a bit on the blog - we're now in Maryland, drove along the Delaware coast and head for Pennsylvania tomorrow. Have we shared about Virginia? No! Better catch up!
One of our family's favorite places is Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home near Charlotteville. The home is beautifully preserved and tour groups are managed very well. When you arrive, the Visitor's Center is a huge building that houses a very large gift shop, several education facilities and a large auditorium. We were pleasantly surprised to receive a 50% discount as a homeschool family. With your admission, your group is assigned a specific time to be escorted through the home with a guide. The discussion in each room is informative and the guides are very accommodating of questions. The tour is not rushed and there's time to absorb the contents and the information. No photos are allowed inside the home and some areas are not open to the public.

The home highlights Thomas Jefferson's talents as an architect and his quirky blend of elegance and practicality. For example, the stairways are tucked into small areas on either side of the central foyer/dining area. In contrast to the grand staircases that greet visitors at many southern homes, Mr. Jefferson felt that too much space and heat were wasted, so the stairs are designed purely for function and basically tucked into spaces smaller than a lot of entry closets in modern homes.

Mr. Jefferson's bedroom and personal study are the most intriguing rooms, adjoined by an alcove for his bed. No need for a fancy headboard - just put the bed in an opening between the two rooms! In many ways, I was reminded of our visit to Thomas Edison's winter home in Florida. Both men loved ingenuity and were experimenting with plant life for many purposes. What an interesting conversation those two could have with one another!

After completing the guided tour of the interior, visitors can browse the grounds and the peripheral portions of the home independently. The exterior is very lovely and you can just see the daffodils making an appearance at the base of the poplar tree. In a couple of weeks, the floral beds are going to be amazing! As the blooms arrive and the garden comes in, outdoor tours are available - but we were too early in the season.

The fruit trees in the orchard alongside the garden did their best to demonstrate spring for us!

Workers were very busy in the garden, preparing the soil and placing seedlings. Several varieties of lettuces and cabbages, strawberries, chives, rosemary, thyme, and lavender were getting started. We were inspired for a garden we hope to have in our next home - probably not this large! Less vegetables - but also less weeding, right boys?

The weeping willows line the path behind the boys to the Jefferson family cemetery.

We enjoyed a nice walk back to the visitor's center from the cemetery, watched the film that told a little of Jefferson's life and the home, and browsed the gift shop.

We couldn't resist purchasing a copy of 'Jefferson's Ten Rules' that we will frame later for our home. See if you agree with us that they are nice, practical and timeless:

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
Never spend money before you have earned it.
Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap.
Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.
We seldom repent of having eaten too little.
Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
How much pain the evils cost us that never happened.
Take things always by the smooth handle.
When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count a hundred.

Satisfied that we had thoroughly explored the plantation, we drove on and stopped at the nearby Michie Tavern to browse. Look at this amazing weeping cherry tree that was next to the tavern.

While in the neighborhood, we drove over to James Monroe's home 'Ash Lawn-Highland'. We arrived with only 30 minutes to spare until closing time, so we only took in the exterior of the home.

Not as elegant as Monticello, but the tree lined drive is very grand.

The setting provides much more of a farm type feel - a beauty that is less formal, but very pleasant and peaceful.

We returned to the RV with tired feet, but very content with a wonderful day in the spring weather.

Carolinas, Family and the Wright Bros

2010-03-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

One terrific benefit of our travels is the opportunity to visit extended family at their home base. This time it was one of Linda's nieces in beautiful South Carolina. Even more beautiful is her family with three little kiddo's. Craig was unable to make the visit due to an unexpected plumbing issue. Just like in our 'normal' house, when it gets to plumbing, our approach is to back away - call a pro! Just like in our 'normal' house, that means you stay put and wait until the professional arrives to deal with your issue...thus, Craig had to miss out on the drive to visit Heather and her family.

The rest of us drove over to their hometown and enjoyed wonderful spring-like weather with a visit to a nearby park.

The photos really don't capture the lovely park with daffodils just ready to pop open among other buds on the trees. We had a really nice visit and Heather and David prepared a delicious dinner - Thanks so much guys! Give those little ones another hug for us!

Here's a couple of shots with the boys fishing while we stayed near Charlotte. While cramped in season, the park was relatively unoccupied and they gusy enjoyed trying to catch something in the ponds. We saw plenty of ducks, but no fish - still a nice way to while away a bit of an afternoon.

This down the road shot shows a lot of the view through the Carolinas - trees...lots and lots of trees.

On to North Carolina, we looked forward to our visit to Kitty Hawk. Unfamiliar with many of the eastern states, we did know about the Wright Brothers infamous first successful flight and our oldest had made a model of their flyer several years ago.

We had a break in the daily showers and made our way to the National Park.

A large boulder behind the boys commemorates the approximate location of the take off spot with several smaller markers showing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th flights taken on December 17, 1903.

A short walk away is the memorial erected on the Kill Devil Hill where prior efforts of the famous brothers were attempted with gliders. Reading the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright is inspirational in their diligence to pursue a dream through study and determination.

Inside the visitor's center is a scale replica of the successful flyer. No, Cory didn't break rules to touch it!

He was selected as a volunteer from the audience to assist the park ranger in a demonstration of the plane's features.

Here he is receiving the gloves (not kid - but necessary!) that anyone must wear to touch the replica. The park ranger and Cory did a great job explaining how the plane was designed and what transpired on the takeoff day.

Beyond the memorial is a replica overlaid with bronze that the public is allowed to touch. The guys had a great time posing with the life sized model and figures.

Here they're pretending that they helped Wilbur keep the wing steady during the initial take-off.

The RV park that was our home base for exploring was a very roomy one with a large pond. We did see signs of some fish, but again the boys came up empty handed with their angling efforts.

We don't always find parks like this with plenty of space between sites. As I type this, for example, we could reach out our window and touch the camper next to us. We have to balance our priorities in campground selection: adequate size sites for our camper, desired hookups, proximity to the things we want to see, cost of site rental. Some are terrific, some are not terrific and some are downright distasteful. We remember the terrific ones fondly and are grateful for short stays at the downright distasteful!

Out on the Outer Banks of North Carolina

2010-03-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Another highlight of North Carolina is the Outer Banks. While cold, we were glad to visit during off-season to enjoy seeing the sights with no crowds..actually, more accurately, we were usually the only tourists!

We had received information on Roanoke Island, Fort Raleigh and the Lost Colony at the Wright Bro's. Memorial.

This is the only photo of the visit to Fort Raleigh. The visitors center is under reconstruction, the dramatic interpretation for the Lost Colony is seasonal and the 'fort' is reconstructed dirt mounds that we didn't even take a picture of. The story of the first English settlement is intriguing, if sad but we suggest skipping touring this site until things are restored and in season.

Nearby is an Elizabethan Garden built by the Women's Garden Club of North Carolina to commemorate the unfortunate colonists. Fortunately for the boys' sake, Linda decided it wasn't worth the admission or time to see the garden this early in the growing season.

Although the planned activities didn't work out so well, we did enjoy driving through the island and village. The architecture and beauty demonstrate that while the first colonists didn't fare so well, the current residents are doing quite well in this very lovely spot.

Next was to drive down the outer banks and see the light houses. Bodie Island was under a pretty intense remodel.

Pressing on down the islands, we took the ferry over to Ocracoake Island and saw this one.

We also saw a collection of Ocracoake ponies being kept at one of several national parks.

Last on our journey, but not least was Cape Hattaras.

We also ventured out to the beach at Cape Hattaras, but didn't stay long - very cold!

Now we've moved on to Virginia and have a rental site with water access - too bad we don't have a boat! We still like taking walks to the water...and the boys are still looking forward to catching a fish at some point along our travels...

Have you contacted your Congressman to express your view?

2010-03-18T04:48:00.000-07:00

We've been very busy with sights lately and somewhat limited on internet access, so our blog is due a catch-up. But today, I (Linda), am going to deviate from news of our travels to encourage those reading this blog to contact your Congressman today.

We'll not back away from our devout belief that government involvement in health care is not a good idea on any level. The track record with Medicare/Medicaid is not a good one. The program is going broke. We've known that for years but the government has faithfully extracted money from our incomes to feed these programs for years. We've felt for years that we would never benefit from the dollars that we contribute, but took a little comfort that our aging parents would at least gain something from those programs. Well...they have...a little, but not as much as they nor we have contributed into these monstrous bureaucracies. So, our tax dollars have gone into a giant hole in the US coffers and those dollars have been doled out to goodness knows what. Year after year, politicians gather in Washington and make mention of how broke this program is and 'something must be done'. They don't get anything done except increase the financial requirements from the population and authorize more and more wasteful uses of the money. We, typically, say nothing, grumble at times and go about our daily lives without much more thought about it, but remaining very disgusted.

Now, and for at least the last 20 years, politicians have been talking about increasing government involvement in health care. Their concern is touching. They have horror story after horror story of individuals in serious health circumstances and wave an accusing finger toward wealthy doctors and greedy insurance companies as being hard hearted, money grubbing monsters. However, for at least 20 years, their concern does not extend toward an effective program that provides any genuine relief for those in need. Now, in their deep compassion, they propose a very extensive role for government into all of our lives in our health care programs. Their deep compassion is only exceeded by the depth of their probe into our pockets to fund this valiant cause. Oh, they say that it's actually going to save money over time, but then again, none of them will likely remain in office when the benefits are made available in 2014. But, the increased taxation will begin immediately. What is this...lay-a-way health care? We continue to pay for our own insurance programs AND contribute more toward the government for their involvement in future health care now and possibly at some point after 2014, this tremendous savings will kick in, we'll never have a worry again with respect to availability of health care at a decreased cost. Hmm...have these folks told us big fat lies before? Really....what credibility do any of these folks have with you? Has your tax burden ever been lightened? Ever?

What in the world is written on these 2700 pages of legislation? How much of it produces anything of help to anyone? How much of it produces harm to at least someone? Does it resolve any problems of greediness on anyone's part? In the meantime, the legislators lead lives paid for on our dime, fly around the country making speeches professing their deep concerns for the American people and expounding on their tremendous wisdom and abilities to solve these problems.

I obviously could drone on about this and provide no further enlightenment for anyone. It's just cathartic to voice some of my complete and total disgust over the waste of time and money that has already been spent on this issue - not just this year, but the years past.

We have deep concerns that THIS proposal and all of the deep secrets within the 2700 pages that no one has read hold damaging impacts for us, our kids and our grandkids.

We may not sway your thinking or inspire any action on your part. If you are not concerned about the current (this week) actions in Congress, no action is necessary. If you are concerned, a phone call or email may not really make any difference. The deal making amongst the real deep pockets is surely going fast and furious. But, what if your phone call or email along with many, many others can make a difference and stop this mess? Are you willing to take 5 minutes to make one phone call (even if you only get a busy signal)? Are you willing to take 15 minutes to make a handful of calls? Are you willing to take an hour to make a dozen calls?

For the past two days, we've taken an hour and used our phones and email to express our views. We intend to do the same today, tomorrow and the next day if this thing has not gone to vote yet. The determination to ram this thing through indicates to us an urgency that belies a genuine concern for the American people. We do listen to Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin with some regularity. They are all singing a chorus this week that what is at work is damaging to our country. Thirty-seven states are considering or pursuing action to block the federal government's venture into this area. All of this together causes us deep concern and spurs us into more than our normal grumbling response to the news.

Are you grumbling? Consider taking your grumble to your legislator or go to the sources mentioned above for contacts of those legislators that are supposedly 'on the fence' and do not know which way to vote on the bill. Why not help them make up their mind?

OK - thanks for reading. We'll return tomorrow to the more cheery posts of our travels and life on the road...and likely more grumbling to ourselves about disgusting goings on in Washington.

The First Shot

2010-03-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

With all these tours of Civil War battlefields and monuments, we certainly couldn't pass up visiting Ft. Sumter. Charleston, SC is certainly worth visiting as well with it's own charm and beauty. There are hundreds of majestic old homes bundled close together for block after block from the harbor. The streets were dandy for horses and carriages (..and we saw quite a few), but they were a challenge for the 1 ton truck to slalom along between the parked cars.

The only way to visit Fort Sumter is to book a boat trip for access. We took the concessionaire affiliated with the national park service, but apparently there are other water taxis or you could take your own boat.

The small visitor's center was definitely a good stop before and we easily spent an hour with the various exhibits that framed the beginning of the war and the story of events transpiring in Charleston during the Civil War.

The boat ride took about a 1/2 hour each way and we enjoyed viewing Charleston from the water - it's really a beautiful port city!

It's hard to imagine how the fort appeared prior to it's being reduced to rubble for the last 20 months of the Civil War. With 50 foot high walls 4 foot thick on the exterior, there were at least two floors of solid brick structures all around - this photo shows the remains of the officer's quarters and gun powder magazine.

Several massive cannons are on display, as well as much more recently constructed battery that was built during WWI and in use throughout WWII as part of the early 20th century shore defense system.

Cory and Will pose next to a huge gun that the northern troops brought into Charleston to use to re-take the fort. These were some of the first "rifled" barrel cannon and fired a 100 pound projectile.

Taking a last look from inside the fort, we could see the tour boat as it prepared to take us back across the bay to the city. We all enjoyed the rich history of this monument and better understand this internal struggle that has shaped our national character.

Georgia on My Mind

2010-03-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

While parked on the outskirts of Savannah, our neighbors included these very well-fed and content chickens. Our dogs didn't care too much for them and really wanted to give chase, but we restrained them and the chickens were entirely unbothered by the ruckus. The city of Savannah is so very beautiful and encaptures very well the image of the 'Old South'. In several locations, it's noted that General Sherman wouldn't destroy Savannah because of it's beauty and we're glad that he did not. The setting of the beautiful homes and buildings is most definitely enhanced by the vast amount and size of the trees - everywhere. There are no less that 20 squares in the city, similar to this one. Originally built as sources of water wells for neighborhoods, they are retained a individual gems throughout the city.

We ventured down to the street known as River's Edge and it was an extremely bumpy ride. The cobblestone street has it's charm and we didn't mind for the few blocks, but were very appreciative of the more advanced streets elsewhere!

On foot, it was much easier to enjoy the shops! This was one of Linda's favorites and we took the photo in honor of our friends, the Marrs family and their sweet schnauzer with Savannah as her name!
Alongside the river, this substantial park preserves several memorials and tributes.

Even the 'back' ways have their charm.

We indulged ourselves with a trip to Forsyth park with several acres of beautiful landscape and open spaces.

These homes have this park as their focal point out their front door!

And LOOOK! We found spring is on it's way!

What a restful afternoon with tons of 'eye candy' with parks, giant trees and graceful buildings - thank you, General Sherman, for leaving it alone!

Oldest City in the Country

2010-03-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

We flew across Georgia not unlike General Sherman to get to the southeast corner. We had unfinished business from last year's travel in Florida - St. Augustine. Our haste is driven by our experience with spring weather with tornado warnings keeping us awake every night for a week as we exitted Florida and we were on a mission to see the sights in this area before the tornado season descended upon us and our frail house on wheels!

We drove right past St. Augustine to the site of a Spanish fort, Fort Matanzas. While not very spectacular, another story unfolds of the fighting between French and Spanish for territorial rights along the southern coast. Before exploring the fort however, we were treated to a nice surprise - a great horned owl nesting with a young owlet - right outside the entrance to the park office.

See the baby to the right of the mama? We should have taken a picture of all the spectators observing this little family in great detail. Apparently, several snowbirds have taken interest in these creatures to make a daily jaunt to monitor the owlet's growth and development. Our camera wouldn't capture the dad in the nearby treetop - he was heavily camoflauged and perched very high. On to the fort - across the channel from the visitor's center and not very spectacular, but very well placed to protect the 'back door' to St. Augustine. The story of an occurence of a Spanish victory over French challengers demonstrates the wisdom of the fort's placement. French challengers sailed toward St. Augustine from a slightly northern position to challenge the Spanish defenders, were caught in an untimely storm, shipwrecked south of this fort and were attempting return on land. The 250 French men were killed and thus the fort earned it's gruesome name meaning 'slaughter'. The fort structure was constructed much later to protect against a new Spanish enemy, the British.

We enjoyed the natural setting more than the history at this location - and easy trees to climb!

On to St. Augustine, we were reminded of another annual event this time of year in Florida - Bike Week in Daytona. Harleys and other impressive motorcycles were everywhere with a wide variety of enthusiasts, some more well-preserved than others. Lots of 'Wild Hogs' with greying hair, pot bellies and wide expanses of black leather with fringe. But...to each his own (and not all fit our stereotype...we just couldn't help but chuckle a bit).

A new drawbridge was under construction with special attention to architecture reflecting the Spanish heritage.

And just across the river, Castillo de San Marco, a well preserved monument to demonstrate the military presence of Spain.

Good thing we had set aside a few hours to tour here - just look at the boys' faces in anticipation! Thanks guys, for patiently posing for your mom's photo first!

The presentation is enhanced by park staff and volunteers performing a detailed canon firing demonstration.

The ranger told us that the schooner photographed below 'fires' their 3-lb. cannons at the fort as they provide tours from the water side of the port. They didn't do so during our visit, but we had fun imagining firing the cannon at them from this vantage point.
Fort touring appetites being satisfied, we took a brief walking tour of Old St. Augustine with the cobblestone streets and very old residences and storefronts.
We found the country's oldest school house, among many 'firsts' tucked in the old streets.

And, of course, we couldn't leave without our own search for the Fountain of Youth. We didn't actually go in the very tourist-y presentation, but the drive down the old streets with the moss-draped canopies was well worth the drive!

Finally, we could close the chapter of Florida in our journeys and move on to explore a bit more of Georgia - and BEFORE the tornadoes! Mini-mission accomplished!

Chattanooga Choo Choo, Moon Pies and the Trail of Tears

2010-03-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

Besides visiting Civil War battlefields, we did find a few other things to see in Chattanooga. We set off to find the train that was made famous in the 1940's song. Our first sighting was atop this impressive building in an old downtown section of the city. We pulled on past the building and found an almost deserted parking area and explored on foot. We found an extensive collection of train cars and engines - and there it was - THE Chattanooga Choo Choo.

Everything was shut down in the area, but there were interesting shops and a restaurant housed in the train's dining car. We are hopeful that there is a busier season as these things were worth doing for the experience of a bygone era when travel by train was much more common and needful.

Exploring further, we found a much newer section of downtown with grand landscapes and spectacular buildings near the river.And, much to our delight, we found the Moon Pie General Store and yes....they have Moon Pies, double Moon Pies and Moon Pie t-shirts, Moon Pie clocks, Moon Pie posters...you get the idea. Also, the shop is a bookstore - what a terrific combination! The only thing missing was RC Cola (you probably need to be at least 50 years old and from the south to appreciate why). The kids agreed wholeheartedly that a Moon Pie was a wonderful invention

OK - we did go to one other civil war battlefield before leaving the vicinity. The entire area within and surrounding Chattanooga was a multi-faceted campaign over several months. Having already taken in the battle at Chickamauga, just south of Chattanooga, we pursued Lookout Mountain. The mountain itself can't be missed, the road to the top is a twisting series of switchbacks through woods and residential homes. We strongly advise against taking anything larger than our crew cub truck up this trail! Once at the crest of the mountain, a very lovely residential area filled with gorgeous old multistory houses looks down on the city from very precarious perches. We picked our way through the neighborhood, found a detour around a road repair project and finally arrived at the national park. Parking is very limited and we had to circle the neighborhood a couple of times to find the designated parking lot for the park.

The weather was overcast and very cold. We had only selected light jackets based on the temperature at the campground and the cold wind at the top of the mountain took our breath away. We quickly ran into the visitor's center to warm up and take in the exhibits that described the battle on the mountain.

This spectacular mural (measuring 13' x 33') was painted by an eyewitness of the battle, James Walker. The intricacy and detail is quite remarkable - the boys were spellbound, studying the details of fighting captured on the face of the mountain as well as surrounding the base of it.

We gathered our jackets around us and ventured into the park itself, with the very grand entrance created by the Corps of Engineers. If you've visited Corps of Engineers facilities, you've seen their logo that copies this grand structure (the tiny people in the arch are the Clark men).Beyond the boys is the valley, the city of Chattanooga and the Chattanooga River. Do not step off any of the trails on this mountain top - it's a loooong way down!The other side of the mountain offers the vantage of more of the valley and river.Atop this spectacular monument are two soldiers from the opposing armies, shaking hands...a tribute to the war's end and reconciliation.Had we been dressed more appropriately, we could have spent several hours on the trails on the mountain. Cold and thirsty, we took off to find coffee and hot chocolate.

When in Oklahoma, we had taken note that we were going to trace the route of the Trail of Tears toward it's origin. The Cherokee nation had been headquartered in northern Georgia and the chief of the Cherokees was born just south of what is now known as Chattanooga, TN. Rossville, GA is immediately adjacent and retains the name of the community as it was founded by this chief's family. John Ross was dedicated to preserve the Cherokee nation and their individual rights, but did not choose to do so in physical battle. In as admirable an approach as Martin Luther King, he faithfully persued the rights of the Indian nation through the courts. Sadly, although he won in court, the authorities refused to enforce the legal rights of the Cherokees and eventually, the nation was forced to relocate. A very shameful mark on our nation's history, we were pleased to share the forthright accounting with our kids so that they recognize that even the leaders of the land make terrible mistakes at times. We had terrific discussions as we toured the original childhood home of John Ross.

We continued in our quest to find this marker that acknowledges the name of the community before it was changed to Chattanooga.And finally, the marker for the beginning of the sad journey for the Cherokee nation is noted by this historical marker. Human greed is very ugly and it's tragic for our nation's leaders to have been so hard-headed and heartless at this point in history. Beyond the relocation of the people is the horrible timing of forcing the men, women and children to make the journey in winter, resulting in hypothermia and illness that killed so many. We're pleased to introduce our kids to unsung heroes along our journey. Chief John Ross was certainly a valiant warrior in a non-violent way for the civil rights of the Cherokee people, but is not recognized with national holidays, street names or multiple museums for civil rights in the manner of Martin Luther King. Even within the community of Chattanooga, where this hero was born, his birth home is tucked away in a run-down neighborhood with only a single sign pointing the way from the main road to the Chickamauga battlefield. Knowing these significant tidbits of history are off the beaten path inspires us to keep seeking them out. The full story of our country's history and heritage just cannot and is not captured in typical textbooks! OK, thanks for reading as I step off my soap box - now you can relate to our kids' perspective of history lessons in our house! Class dismissed...;)

Chicamauga

2010-02-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

Hello! It's me, your friendly neighborhood Trailblogger...again. Due to the rave reviews (thanks Mrs. Brooks!) Mom and Dad decided to bring me back. Once again, I am honored to be a guest writer on this blog.

Well, after Shiloh, we headed to a battlefield called Chicamauga. This was slightly before Shiloh, but about the same size. This is the story of the battle:

After his Tullahoma Campaign, Rosecrans renewed his offensive, aiming to force the Confederates out of Chattanooga. The three army corps comprising Rosecrans’ s army split and set out for Chattanooga by separate routes. In early September, Rosecrans consolidated his forces scattered in Tennessee and Georgia and forced Bragg’s army out of Chattanooga, heading south. The Union troops followed it and brushed with it at Davis’ Cross Roads. Bragg was determined to reoccupy Chattanooga and decided to meet a part of Rosecrans’s army, defeat them, and then move back into the city. On the 17th he headed north, intending to meet and beat the XXI Army Corps. As Bragg marched north on the 18th, his cavalry and infantry fought with Union cavalry and mounted infantry which were armed with Spencer repeating rifles. Fighting began in earnest on the morning of the 19th, and Bragg’s men hammered but did not break the Union line. The next day, Bragg continued his assault on the Union line on the left, and in late morning, Rosecrans was informed that he had a gap in his line. In moving units to shore up the supposed gap, Rosencrans created one, and James Longstreet’s men promptly exploited it, driving one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, from the field. George H. Thomas took over command and began consolidating forces on Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass Hill. Although the Rebels launched determined assaults on these forces, they held until after dark. Thomas then led these men from the field leaving it to the Confederates. The Union retired to Chattanooga while the Rebels occupied the surrounding heights.

The layout was much like Shiloh, however. They had memorials throughout the battlefield, but they told much more of the story of the battle. We bought a CD that told the story of each memorial and the battles that took place there(much to Dad's exasperation, it cost 20 dollars. For those of you who don't know, Dad is the value menu king. He hangs on to a dollar tighter than a cliffhanger to a branch.) I really enjoyed actually being able to imagine the battles happening, where they happened, and the soldier's perspective of the battle.

Mom said I had taken enough pictures of cannons at Shiloh, so I did not take as many pictures of guns this go round. Though I did talk about them quite a bit. I do love visiting these places, it just causes me to almost have a hernia. I have to admit, I am somewhat of a tactical geek. I can make a thirty minute speech out of the difference between a howitzer and a field gun. And the rest of my family doesn't seem to share my zeal for tactics. Right about when I stop to gasp for breath for the tenth time, their eyes start to get vacant. So if you're ever visiting a civil war battlefield, either don't bring me or bring earplugs.

Well, it looks like we have reached the end of another post. Well, thanks for reading another one of my posts, and seeing as you haven't sued me yet, you must have enjoyed it. Hope to write to you again soon!

Trailblogger, signing off

Old Hickory, Hermitage and Grand Ole' Opry

2010-02-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

Our first stop in the Nashville area was a visit to Hermitage, home of President Andrew 'Old Hickory' Jackson . President Jackson was quite the controversial figure in his day and still has his fans and enemies to this day. The museum at his home provided a lot of information to provide perspective on his life and decisions made at the time. Hearing of his difficult childhood where he began working for the American Revolution at 13 years of age and lost his entire family by the time he was 14 yo, made it easy to see how he had to develop a strong personality to survive. Not only did he survive, but accomplished a successful professional and military career before venturing into politics. Although firmly rooted in support of slavery as a plantation owner, he was also deeply rooted in the belief that the country should be united. Had he been around another 30 years or so, we would not have been surprised if he was not an ardent supporter of President Lincoln.

Displays within the museum clearly showed his appreciation for the material goods he was able to acquire and also an appreciation for big parties, along with his beloved wife. The grounds were easy to appreciate for their natural beauty, even in the winter dormancy.

The grand entry to the mansion is still framed very formally.

Under restoration, the current presentation of the mansion is very faded and tired. The appearance will be much more grand when the touchups are completed.

The original home that preceded the grand mansion is preserved on site as well.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the mansion that was hosted by costumed interpreters as well as strolling the grounds. We easily spent over 5 hours absorbing the history and the nature and would highly recommend dedicating at least 3 hours if you choose to visit the Hermitage.

We took a drive around Nashville to see the other sights, which started with the famous Grand Ole Opry.

We were taken back by the development in the area which included a huge shopping mall, riverboat rides and amusement parks.

Inside the mall, we found the continuing theme of 'guitar pickers'.

On the exterior is evidence of the recording industry's presence at every turn.

Downtown is the home of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

You don't have to be a country music fan to see the evidence of the vast industry in the city. The area, while certainly busy with people and traffic, still hosts beautiful scenery within and surrounding the city that creates an atmosphere quite unique from Memphis. On to Chattanooga!

Shiloh

2010-02-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

Hello, blog! This is Cory. I have been added as a guest writer to Mom and Dad's blog. I guess they were so envious of my blogging talents from Trailblogger(please visit that blog, by the way) that they had to have me write some on this blog.

We are currently parked in Chattanooga, TN. Apparently, for every city we visit there is a song recorded by someone who died before I was born. When we were in Nashville, it was Nashville Cats. Dad was really proud to find that one. But that was nothing compared to Chattanooga Choo Choo. I haven't heard that one yet. While we were in Memphis, mom found the Elvis channel on XM satellite radio, and I still haven't got Hound Dog out of my head. She was listening to a song, when I asked, "Mom, why is Elvis so famous?" and she replied, "He was famous for how he could curl his lip." I blinked. That's all it takes? But she said it was harder to do than it looks. So we all tried to do it while parked in a Shell gas station while Dad was inside getting some drinks. He came back to the car to find us all looking like angry chipmunks.

But before we arrived here in Chattanooga, we saw the battle of Shiloh. This was a battle fought during the Civil War, in which Generals Grant, Buell, Sherman, Beauregard, and Johnston all played a part. Grant and Buell, in an attempt to attack and secure Confederate railroads(an essential means of communication) Memphis and Charleston, and Mobile and Ohio. the Union forces settled a command post on Shiloh hill, with forward camps by Shiloh Church. General Johnston, knowing about these camps, planned to attack the Federals and take them by surprise, stopping them from reaching Corinth. Grant, unaware of the attack, waited for reinforcement from Buell. On April 6, Johnston attacked the surprised Federals and forced them to retreat to an area called the Hornet's Nest. The Confederates soon fell into disorganization, seeing that their element of surprise was starting to slip. This was heightened tremendously when Gen. Johnston was shot in the leg, killing him. Gen. Beauregard was then placed in command of the Confederate army. Wave after wave of the Confederates attacked the Hornet's Nest and were repelled. But, finally, 12 southern batteries were brought out to try to blast the Federals out of their defensive position. It eventually worked. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Federal troops retreated back to Grants position, where they would be able to repel the confederates. Happy with their victory, but exhausted, the Confederates set up camp, to attack Grant's position on the next day. Buell arrived with reinforcements that night, however, and when the Confederates attacked the next morning, Grant was able to easily repel them. The battered Confederates then retreated back to Shiloh church, where Beauregard rallied them and retreated them to Corinth.

We watched the film at the beginning of the tour, then toured the museum for a while. I nearly had a hernia trying to explain to Will about the guns used and the tactics that were used in the battle. I admit, I am a bit of a fanatic about the subject. As we took the driving tour, I was constantly singing out, "12 pound Howitzer!" or "6 pound Field Gun!" The driving tour took us past the Hornet's Nest, the batteries of the Confederates, and Grant's last Line. Unfortunately, some of the minor roads were closed. When we started the tour, one of the roads for the beginning of the tour was closed. Next to it was a road that said "Do not enter." Mom took one look at that, then said, "Let's go that way." Dad blinked. I looked at all the warning signs and said, "Hey...hey mom? Are you sure that's a good idea?" "Yes, of course I'm sure! Drive!" So Dad hit the gas and we took off the wrong way down the trail. About halfway up the trail, we realized that the whole thing made a big loop, and that we were going the wrong way up the loop. So we quickly turned around, or as quickly as we could in our Panzer (that's what I call our truck) and sped back the right way down the trail. We then passed the Union Cemetery (unfortunately closed) and the Confederate Burial trenches. We also took pictures of all the memorials erected for each of the units of Militia that played a part in the battle.

Unfortunately, we had to turn back home, as our very unhappy dogs were waiting to be fed. I've placed Shiloh on my list of top ten favorite battlefields.

Well, looks like my first post is over. Thank you blog, you've been a wonderful audience and I'll be back soon! *crickets chirp* Goodnight, Chattanooga! *more crickets* I'm...leaving...now *thunderous applause*

Walking in Memphis

2010-02-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

The next stop for our family was Memphis, TN. We actually stayed in an RV park in West Memphis, AR - Tom Sawyer RV Park, right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi.

After settling in, we drove over to Memphis and had to see Beale St. If you haven't muted the music from our playlist, you can hear the song recorded in the early 90's that mentions several landmarks and famous artists from Memphis - and appropriately, we were touring in the rain!The downtown portion of Beale is blocked for vehicles and reminds us of 6th Street in Austin, TX. We thought it probably is mostly for night crowds, but we were glad to check it out.While downtown, we also couldn't miss the huge Pyramid (as tall as the Statue of Liberty). An auditorium that is owned by the city, it's sad to discover that this structure is abandoned for now. Originally built as a venue for sporting events, it has been displaced by newer and grander facilities in town. Similar to Memorial Coliseum in our old Corpus Christi stomping grounds - everyone's scratching their heads to determine the best use. The architectural theme was driven by the name of the city as the home of pyramids in Ancient Egypt. Thus, the statue of Rameses in the front.On to older structures in town, the Sun Studios where Rock-n-Roll was born in the '50s still stands and has been used by contemporary artists, such as U2 and John Mellencamp. Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl Lewis and many others recorded here before the music industry expanded to other studios around the country.And, speaking of Elvis, we had to stop by Graceland. Bypassing the formal tour, however, we were happy to snap a photo of the mansion from the street (Elvis Presley Blvd).All along the street were businesses such as this one....We couldn't resist driving into the Graceland RV park...note the street signs (Heartbreak Lane and Jailhouse Drive).Here's Shook Up Lane...Others included Teddy Bear Lane, Don't Be Cruel Lane, Blue Suede Lane and Hound Dog Way.

And what did we find at the end of Lonely Street?Heartbreak Hotel, of course!We were amused while the kids were baffled. Since they were born long after the Elvis era, a lot of these things were lost on them - although we did make them listen to the Elvis station on our XM radio while we drove around.

We returned to the RV park about dark and about an hour later, snow started...again! A light dusting for this round. Here's a view of the Mississippi River with the light snow on the banks the following morning.

Hot Springs

2010-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Another peaceful weather day allowed a drive over to Hot Springs, about 40 miles southwest of Little Rock.

Construction is nearly complete on a new visitor center for the park with a terrific old fountain front and center of the entrance.

After driving in past the huge Rehabilitation Center (formerly the Army/Navy Hospital), we found Bathhouse Row. Once immensely popular and luxurious, only a few of the bath houses are now operating, but it appeared that several were being restored.

In the roaring 20's, people flocked to these bathhouses either on vacation or in hopes of restoring their health. The buildings are quite a spectacle in their attempts to replicate classic features of the bathhouses of ancient Rome and Greece. After seeing a short video on the history and what transpires with the baths, we decided to try it ourselves.

The Quapaw, named for the friendly Indian tribe that helped the French at the Arkansas Post, offers more of a hot tub experience for groups of people in addition to the private baths.

We chose the Buckstaff since they allow children as young as 10 to participate and we didn't want anyone in our family to be left out.

No photos of the inside, as this truly is a bath house...meaning bath, not swimmin' hole. The ladies and men are in completely different areas of the facility. So, Linda went to the left and Craig and the boys to the right and we didn't all meet up again until everyone was finished, dried off and dressed!

We all received spa treatment by going first to a dressing area. Swimsuits are allowed, but the staff incorporates sheets and towels for modesty sake. First, guests are escorted to a row of large tubs, separated by privacy walls. An attendant helps you into the tub filled with swirling mineral water that mixes the 140 F spring water with cold water for a temperature around 100 F. Bathers relax in the tub for about 15 minutes, then the attendant scrubs your legs, arms and back with a loofah, then escorts you to a sitz bath where you relax again with mostly your posterior and lower back soaking for about 5 minutes. Once again, the attendant arrives to escort you to tables for hot packs. The attendant places hot, wet towels on the neck, upper back and legs. You are left lying on a table to wrapped in the wet towels for about 10 minutes. At this point, the boys reported that Craig started snoring. Next is a vapor cabinet where you are steamed for about 10 minutes. Last is a needle shower, where you are sprayed from neck to foot with cooler water. At this point, the bath is complete and you are escorted back to the dressing area. Craig spoiled Linda by purchasing a 20-minute massage for her. Very, very nice!

Here are Linda and the boys feeling very refreshed in front of a central fountain in the downtown area. Several fountains spray the hot mineral water in the area. We noticed some folks filling gallon jugs with the water at no charge. We were content with the baths and the small cups to drink during our spa treatment.

Note for those considering participating in the baths...the men (guests) were not as modest as the ladies, choosing to forego their provided sheets and towels.

Arkansas Post

2010-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

When the snow passed on to the eastern states, we were able to venture out to see more of Arkansas. Heavy snows to the north and west of Little Rock prevented any trips toward the Ozarks, but we found sights toward the south. European settlements began along the Arkansas River during the 1600s so we set out to find out more.

Along the way, we crossed the river just as a large tug was pushing a flotilla of 15 barges upstream. Fortunately, traffic was light so we could stop on the bridge long enough to take the photo! After about 1 1/2 hours, we arrived at our destination in the midst of the delta region of the state.

We thought we spied beavers, but discovered a different tail! Nutrias were everywhere. We'd seen the damage these critters can cause during visits to Linda's family at Lake Brownwood in Texas. They create burrows and tunnels along the bank, destroying the root systems of trees and vegetation. We later learned from the park ranger that the nutrias were introduced in this area in an attempt to stimulate interest in their fur. That didn't work out, so years later, alligators were introduced in an attempt to curb the nutria population. As it turns out, alligators don't care for nutrias - preferring snakes and fish.

We saw many varieties of birds along our way, including this large group of white pelicans. This area is close to where the Arkansas joins the Mississippi river and bird watchers enjoy the accompanying migratory paths.

Once at the park, we took a stroll amongst the former town that was once the capital of the Arkansas territory. The buildings are long gone, primarily lost during the Confederate war, but markers guide visitors along a self-guided tour. Several exhibits explain the role of the post during early exploration, settlement, territorial squabbling amongst France, Spain, Britain, Indian tribes and the Civil War.

As we took our walking tour, we found this little guy:

He put up with us for awhile, then took a closer look at us and hopped away to the nearby cover.

The park is very serene, especially at this off-season period. We were the only visitors on this cold day and enjoyed the opportunity for the quiet of the woods and river, the silence only broken by the calls of geese and birds.

Sometimes, the best lessons are learned in the perfect stillness of God's amazing creation!

Here we are...when does it start to snow?

2010-02-08T16:38:00.001-08:00

We had a great travel day to get us almost 350 miles further toward the east - Little Rock, AR. Around midnight after our arrival, however, here came snow again! We enjoyed horsing around in the snow a little with the guys - the wet snow was perfect for snow ball fights! The rest of the day was spent working on school, reading and enjoying the view of the Arkansas River right outside our front door.

It's beautiful and very...winter-y! We're glad to be parked under deciduous trees instead of these mighty pines! We heard some loud cracks, pops and crashes as several large tree limbs fell from the evergreens!

We're hoping for the weather to clear enough for some sightseeing tomorrow!

Eastern Oklahoma

2010-02-08T14:00:00.001-08:00

To broaden our experience in Oklahoma, we took a drive to Claremore (northeast of Tulsa) and Tahlequah for a couple of new sights.

Claremore, OK is near the birthplace of one of the most famous Oklahomans, Will Rogers. We visited this rather large memorial which was built on land that he purchased for a homesite. Never having had the chance to build the home on the property, the family used the land to house a memorial for this amazing entertainer, athlete and statesman.

The Rogers family is interred near the gravesite for Will Rogers and is marked with the striking statue of a mounted Mr. Rogers.

The memorial is surrounded by a large plot of land, as shown in this photo taken from near the mounted statue.

Being a museum, photos weren't allowed of most of the exhibits. We toured several rooms within the museum that documented Will Roger's achievements as a cowboy, entertainer, actor, author, columnist and statesman. We enjoyed seeing more of his famous quotes within context, such as:

'When I die, my epitaph or whatever you call those signs on gravestones is going to read 'I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn't like'. I'm so proud of that I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved. And when you come to my grave, you will find me sitting there, proudly reading it.'

The museum offers a comprehensive review of this man's life - from the humble beginnings in rural Oklahoma, to the independent working as a cowboy, to the surprising jump to entertainment and the Ziegfield Follies, to acting in movies and of course, the columns and radio work. We enjoyed several highlights of his rope tricks and couldn't leave without picking up a video, a CD highlighting his Sunday night radio broadcast and a small book of quotes.

We think his life demonstrates a real American success story and find his humor refreshing, even today.

From there, we moved on to the city of Tahlequah - chosen because of its status as the capitol of the Cherokee nation and designation as the end of the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee Heritage Center pays fitting tribute to the Cherokee history and also serves as a research center for tracing family roots to the Cherokee tribe. We didn't have much daylight left by the time we made the drive over, but we enjoyed touring the grounds and enlightening ourselves regarding the Trail of Tears.

The stories told here seem to share a common thread with other sights we've seen in Oklahoma - of a population with great resiliance and determination despite circumstances beyond their control. The tribe not only survived after being relocated, but has preserved their heritage (including language), emphasized education amongst the descendents and achieved a prosperous future for many members. We'll be reminded of their stories as we trek eastward along some of the same ground crossed in their infamous journey.

That adventure closed out our sight-seeing in Oklahoma and we were off to Arkansas before another snow storm arrived. Along our way, we saw evidence of Okie humor in the dog walking section at a rest area:

Off to beat the snow and Arkansas....

Fast forward - Oklahoma!

2010-02-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

We wrapped up skiing in Arizona and high-tailed it across New Mexico to Amarillo. After a quick detour to Abilene, we returned to the panhandle to find we had a lapse in judgment. We had left the trailer in an RV park during our trip to drop off Christmas decorations, etc. in the storage unit and celebrate a couple of family birthdays. During our absence, Amarillo had received 10" of snow and had had temperatures well below freezing. We had left the furnace on, but had not left the automatic switch over feature on the propane tanks - so the propane had run out sometime before our return. We also had disconnected the water hose, but didn't drain the lines. The housing around the water filter had completely exploded, incapacitating our water systems. Fortunately, Craig was able to handily replace it and everything else was fine. Whew! Lesson learned with a very inexpensive consequence - less than $20!

We also took advantage of an on-site RV tech to coat the rubber roof for continued UV and water protection. The techs scrubbed the whole roof, brushed on the coating and had it returned in one afternoon. We feel like we're in good shape to continue our trek to the eastern states.

First stop - Oklahoma!

This RV park is centrally located in Oklahoma City, but has an attractive appeal with the beautiful trees. We parked well out of the limbs' reach, however, with recent ice storms on our mind! No falling branches for us! The club house features a huge sitting area with a large fireplace and several large screen TV's, a pool table, ping-pong, game tables and huge puzzles.

The park is within a mile of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, so that was our first stop. We forgot our camera on this outing, but more than 1/2 of the museum doesn't allow photos anyway. We enjoyed touring thousands of square feet of paintings, sculptures and exhibits for the entire afternoon.

The next day was a much more sober activity with a visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, paying tribute to victims of the horrendous April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal building.

The inscription reads 'Welcome here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort strength, peace, hope and serenity.'

The memorial is framed by the Gates of Time. Mounted over the former crosswalks on NW 5th street, completely destroyed along with the building, the monuments display 9:01 and 9:03 - marking the time of destruction 9:02 am on April 19.

The Reflecting Pool spans the width and length of the former street with a serene flow of very shallow water and gentle sounds.

The Field of Empty Chairs pays tribute to those killed in the blast and collapse of the building. Arranged in rows reflecting the 9 story building, smaller chairs represent the 19 children killed in the day care center.

Opposite the chairs stands The Survivor Tree, a 90+ year-old American Elm that withstood the horrific blast. The inscription for visitors reads 'The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated, our deeply rooted faith sustains us'.

At the entrance to the indoor museum is a precious wall, decorated with tiles created by hundreds of children in the aftermath of the bombing. One side of the wall is simple handprints while the other side reflects simple drawings and messages of hope and comfort - expressed as only children can!

Alongside the Survivor Tree, the Rescuers' Orchard was planted with nut and flower bearing trees to honor the thousands of helpers that rushed to aid the victims and their families.

We did not realize or remember that over 300 buildings were damaged within a 16 block perimeter of the Murrah building. Directly across the street from the blast stood a rectory for the oldest Catholic church in OKC, St. Joseph's. The rectory was so severely damaged that it had to be torn down. The church erected this statue, entitled 'Jesus Wept' in it's place. The church also sustained much damage, but has been restored.

As said before, this was a very sobering experience for us all - along the lines of visiting Mount St. Helens. This day was much more grievous since it was caused through human hands and the violence delivered with such callousness. We hold deep respect for the Oklahoma City community for their resilience and determination to recover from the tragedy and also to provide an appropriate remembrance of the victims. We can only hope that someday a fitting tribute for the 9/11 tragedy will be in place.

The sunny day did not stop a very cold wind from chilling us all, so after leaving the memorial, we sought out a Starbucks for coffee and hot chocolate at nearby Bricktown.

We enjoyed seeing the unique buildings and beautiful landscaping, but were not up for the water taxi ride!

Developed primiarily for night life, things were very quiet during our visit - suited us fine!

Warmed up, we returned to the RV for a quiet dinner - everyone seemed very reflective, as it should be.

Powder...courtesy of El Nino!

2010-02-05T20:06:00.000-08:00

OK - after the third wave of big snowstorms passed through Arizona, here's a photo of the 5th wheel... Just kidding! We couldn't resist taking this photo on our way to the Elk Ridge Ski area after waiting through the snows. Williams didn't get anywhere near the depth that piled up in Flagstaff and the RV park plowed us out nicely. So, on the firsst day that the roads were clear up the mountain, we piled on the snow clothes again for one more day of skiing and snowboarding.

The drive was magical with the still fresh snow and gorgeous blue skies!

Linda's favorite house needed some help with the driveway, but isn't it nice? On about 10 acres, backed up to national forest land...hmm...out of our price range but nice to dream about!

The main road from Williams to the ski area was cleared nicely and didn't have any packed ice.

The drive up the mountain on the forestry service raod wasn't as clear, but our 4 wheel drive made it just fine.

It took a little while for the ski area staff to arrive to issue our equipment, but soon we were on the fresh powder - really fun!

The Snow Bowl at Flagstaff wasn't open as yet and quite a few college students arrived, but we still enjoyed the mountain until the lift closed at the end of the day.

We were very glad we stayed for the extra snow, but watched for a break between the storms to head back to the east. We've got more states to explore yet!

Ski Arizona

2010-01-18T15:33:00.001-08:00

That's right...ski in Arizona! Part of our family Christmas present was to take some time and some of our vacation funds for some playing in the snow. Flagstaff has the Snow Bowl, but we decided to seek out something with easier access and hopefully fewer skiers and snowboarders. So we left sunny southern California and the beautiful Escapee Resort to drive long and hard across the Mojave Desert to Williams, AZ.

We did well on the drive, although it was at least 150 miles further than we normally tackle in a days' journey. We even left CA a day early to try to miss the forecasted high winds across the desert. We did miss the winds and skirted an eastern-bound front with rain. Nine miles from Williams, however, the light showers turned to a fairly dense snow. At first, it was no problem as the temperature (38 F) prevented any sticking. As we climbed in elevation, however, the snow began to stick and eventually we found ourselves in a huge traffic jam. A couple of trucks slid in the slushy snow on the incline and jack-knifed ahead of us on the highway. We were stuck in the mess for 2 1/2 hours and were beginning to wonder how we could fare overnight. The most beautiful big snowplow arrived and finally worked its' way to the front of the jammed trucks and made a wonderful path for all of us to work our way up the incline, past the stalled trucks and one broken down car. We arrived at the RV park only 10 minutes later, thankful to be in one piece and able to hook up our connections for a warm night's sleep! With our early arrival, we took a day to do laundry, clean house, review lessons and prepare our snow clothes for a day of skiing. We had spied the Elk Ridge Ski Area, just 3 miles south of Williams during the spring trip to the Grand Canyon. Because of it's proximity to the RV park, we could leave the dogs in the trailer and enjoy the day on the mountain. We knew nothing of the ski area other than it's location and that it advertised itself as a family friendly, beginner friendly ski facility - sounded great for us and it was! The first chore was getting our ski beginner into his boots while our older son tested snowboarding boots. We signed the kids up for lessons with their respective snow equipment and found ourselves to be almost alone on the mountain. We paid for group lessons, but received private instruction!Cory's snowboarding instructor, Erin, was a former snowboard racing champ.Will's ski instructor, Nancy, had only recently joined the staff, coming from Park City, Utah.Of course, learning has a few tumbles...But, as you can see, persistence and determination has it's rewards...We didn't know until we arrived that the ski area had only one lift and it was a rope tow. We had a few tumbles figuring that out, but eventually everyone was gliding smoothly up the slope.Linda got a little skiing in on the first two days, but did so carefully. Only one serious tumble and it was on the tow rope!Another feature of the area is a couple of tubing runs...And even football knee injury Craig could participate in that activity.As a matter of fact, he was the long distance champ on those runs - outdistancing even the boys!On the first day, the tow rope was broken down, so we all got extra exercise by hiking up the runs in order to come down. Because the ski area was not busy, near the end of the day when we were quite worn out from hiking, the manager gave each of us a ride to the top of the run on the SkiDoo. He even took Linda up to the top of the mountain beyond the tow rope lift to see the view and take photos of the Grand Canyon. That far line of blue is the north rim. Magnificent! The owners of the facility hope to have a chair lift in place by next season to have better access to the blue and black runs from the top. We considered this place to be a gem and absolutely perfect for our needs! We loved not having crowds of more advanced skiers and snowboarders having to put up with our beginners and the staff was the most friendly we've ever seen!

As a matter of fact, we extended our stay so that we can enjoy the mountain for another weekend. El Nino rains are bombarding the west coast in a series of storms. In order to travel safely, we either had to cut our time short in Williams and high-tail it for Albuquerque, or 'hunker down' to ride out the predicted heavy snowfall until the storms have passed. Having successfully kept ourselves warm in the previous snows in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, we feel confident we'll be OK. If not, we can always secure the trailer as best we can and take refuge in a local motel. Winter is not a big season for this little tourist town and the RV park obviously has availability....

We'll keep you posted on how this plan works out! Hopefully, it will be enough snow to have more fun with snow play but not so much that we can't make it to the slopes!

Hollywood!

2010-01-17T07:59:00.000-08:00

When we travelled through California in May and June, we promised our son that we would come back to visit Los Angeles when the weather wasn't so hot! Craig was born in Santa Monica and remained in the LA area until his early teen years. He didn't have any sentimental memories of his childhood there and I (Linda) have grown to generally despise heavy traffic, crammed parking lots and shoe-horned buildings of big cities. We could have skipped a visit to the city with no regrets; however, Cory's well-made point was that if the purpose of travelling the country was to experience different aspects, we shouldn't skip the big cities along the way. So, we made a short list of 'hot spots' and made our way into the city on a Sunday, so as to avoid as much traffic as possible. First stop - Hollywood Boulevard! We found parking very easily at the Hollywood & Highland Center - a large shopping center with restaurants and a large parking garage. We called ahead and were advised to talk to the garage supervisor for an adequate space for the big dually truck. We did so and were placed in an area reserved for oversize vehicles - no problem! Once parked, we were within easy walking distance to Graumin's Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, the Walk of Fame and could see the big HOLLYWOOD hillside sign from the centrally located open courtyard of the mall.

Cory found one of his favorite actor's prints - Robert Downey, Jr. next to the entrance. Apparently the premier for 'Sherlock Holmes' had been at the theater and the prints were made then. The HOLLYWOOD sign is waaay in the background to the left of Cory's head. Here...we'll zoom in with a cropped version.... We browsed the footprints and stars for the various famous performers, took in the sights of the various downtown theaters, sidewalk performers and tourist buses, then found a nice little shop serving crepes. The weather was perfect for sitting outside and leisurely enjoying some delicious crepes. The architectural features of the multi-level courtyard were quite spectacular and a large fountain added to the ambiance of the very uncrowded setting.

The cafe validated our parking stub, so with only an investment in breakfast and $2.00, we continued our LA tour. A short drive brought us to Universal City where we took in a movie in a large (19 theater) complex within the shopping area bordering Universal Studios. We had to invest more in parking at this stop, but it was worth it. In addition to the movie, the boys spent some time in the largest Game Stop store they had ever seen. Again, the timing of this visit made for a relaxing time to simply window shop and enjoy the pleasant weather and unique features of the area.

We completed our tour with a drive over to Manhattan Beach Pier. After a few trips around the blocks near the pier, we found a metered parking spot on the street and hoofed it over to the pier and beach. We watched a few surfers and beach volleyball games, let the guys entertain themselves in the edge of the surf (icy cold water) and watched the sunset.

A much more pleasant day with few traffic snarls and truly enjoyable stops along the way, we all contentedly headed back to the RV park.

Speaking of the RV park, we must invest some space here in featuring this very amazingly pleasant resort. The Escapee's Jojoba Hills Co-op was our first experience in an official Escapee park. We arrived on Sunday afternoon when the office was closed, so we had to park in the boondock area. Without a generator, we're not well-equipped for boondocking but the moderate temperatures allowed us to stay for overnight with no problems. When the office opened the following day, we were assigned to a very lovely spot that was nicely landscaped and offered terrific views of the hills and valleys surrounding the resort.

A side benefit for our family were the ponds that dotted the development. Our oldest son happened to need pond samples for a biology experiment and this one came in very handy!

He was able to obtain some terrific samples for his experiment and was even coached by one of the neighbors, a former zoologist! Here's a glimpse of our one room 'school house' with both guys busy with their studies.

The nicest feature of the resort is the clubhouse which includes a very large meeting room, several sewing/hobby rooms, a well stocked library with tons of dvd's, an exercise room, a billiard room, a card room (with several game tables), saunas in the restrooms and this lovely pool with two large spas.

We truly enjoyed spending a little extra time in this lovely spot and felt very welcome amongst the many full-time residents. Every evening offered spectacular sunsets and we enjoyed many bike rides along the driveways amongst the park.

We'll close with one of our favorite views which will explain why the chaise lounge chairs were facing away from the pool in the photo above!