Beignets anyone???

The boys at Cafe du Monde, New Orleans...Notice the powdered sugar all over Elias. It was all over the floor as well. Pity the guy with the mop!

Greetings from the Confederacy!

In the brief time we've spent in Alabama I've begun to wonder if an entire portion of the population here failed to get the memo that the Civil War is indeed over (I'm not even getting into who won and who lost!!!!...shhh). Yesterday the boys and I took a trip out to Dauphin Island off the coast of Mobile and were really blown away to see so many Confederate (Dixie, rebel..whatever!) flags flying. Now, being somewhat aware of the world around me, I do know the controversy over the flying of this flag, but to actually see it in such ABUNDANCE gave me the heebeegeebies. Maybe the memo is coming in the mail....

Out on Daupin Island we visited the Alabama marine biology lab's Estuarium, a very compact yet informative aquarium-ish facility. We then visited Fort Gaines, a Confederate fort that played a role in one of the Civil War's most famous battles (the Confederates lost, btw). The boys really enjoyed the canons, the magazine and particularly loved seeing the latrine which consisted of 10 holes in a row. It made our RV facilities seem like the Ritz. Dauphin Island itself was interesting. After coming from the very touristy, glitzy, BUSY panhandle of Florida it seemed very laid-back and almost forgotten. If you go, don't go hungry. We had a very hard time finding something to eat and ended up having a lunch of slim Jims and Funyuns. The kids were thrilled and I felt like I was going to throw up when all was said and done!

Today we spent the day in Mobile. The big draw for us was The Body exhibit at the Gulf Coast Exploreum. This is the exhibit that features actual plastinated human specimens. We have wanted to see it since we first heard about it and were glad, for the most part, that we did. I say for the most part because Gabriel stressed his way through the entire thing. He kept saying, "I wonder why my stomach hurts so much?" At first I thought maybe it was the tuna sandwich he had for lunch, but then it hit Mother of the Year (another self-awarded title)-THIS CHILD IS STRESSED OUT BY THIS EXHIBIT! DUH. Anyhoo, once I figured that out we pretty much picked up the pace, DEFINITELY skipped the section on reproduction (that probably would have pushed him right over the edge) and wrapped up our time with the dead bodies. I personally found it fascinating and very tastefully done. I have read about the 20/20 expo saying that some of the bodies may be executed Chinese prisoners. However, the founder of these exhibits now SWEARS (yeah, okey dokey) that the current specimens are from Europe and willingly donated their bodies. At any rate, it was cool.

Having worked up an appetite (peeled, dissescted and plastinated bodies will do that to you, no?) we headed over to Wintzell's Oyster House on Dauphin Street for some Happy Hour half priced raw bar (or nude oysters as Mr. Wintzell liked to call them) and dinner. The place has been around since the 1930's and is a trip. The walls are completely covered with J. Oliver Wintzells many sayings. My favorite: "Some of the deepest footprints in the sands of time were left by heels." We had an awesome waiter who told us in no uncertain terms to skip the etouffe until we get to New Orleans and order the gumbo instead. Mike had the gumbo and loved it-I'm not a an okra fan. I had the crab soup (hint of sherry)and the fried green tomatoes with crawfish sauce. I could have just eaten the sauce-fantastic! The kids menu was great and they comped them each an ice cream for being such good eaters.

We then went home and watched American Idol. Some things are the same, even on the road. Sometimes the best part of the day is doing something ordinary in an out of the ordinary situation.

P.S. We stayed at Shady Acres RV park just outside of Mobile and right off I-10. While this park is basically a trailer park and quite run down, I would recommend it for 2 reasons. Firstly, the owner Charlie Siebert is a lovely man. He not only stayed late to greet us, but then personally walked us to our site and made sure we were okay. He gave us many suggestionsof things to do and even came over the next morning to see how we were doing and to recommend Wintzells for lunch. Secondly, the location was perfect and very central to Mobile's attractions.

Okay, So Now That We're All Caught Up....

Wait a minute...we're not. Now I have the last two weeks to catch up on. This blog thing is hard work!

Tonight's the last night of our 2 week stay at the Gregory E. Moore RV Resort, a part of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa, Florida. We have loved our time here and have very mixed emotions about moving on. We are sad to leave Florida (yet again!), but so excited to see what comes next. It's been a great place to kick back for a bit, but now we're ready to head west.

We couldn't recommend this park more highly. The sites are, for the most part, spacious and private and the facilities are fantastic. We made good use of the half mile bike trail to the VERY pristine beach as well as the beach itself. The boys (especially Gabe) even swam in the FRIGID, but crystal clear blue-green water and they really enjoyed all the washed up neon purple (?!-not sure they exist that way naturally) jellyfish. We even played a game of baseball on the beach with the Neumann family, our campground neighbors. They had three boys as well-almost a full team between the two families!

As far as sightseeing, we really took it pretty easy these two weeks. We took a "field trip" to Fudpuckers (no, not a typo) one day for lunch with about 100 alligators. Luckily they were too cold to eat that day, so we ate and they, well...sat. Seriously, though, only in Florida could you have a burger and then hang out with alligators. We went with our new friends Deb and Jonathan (Elias' age) Smyth. The following Saturday we went to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola (again with the Smyths). Tom Smyth is retired from the Air Force and knows just about evertything there is is to know about aircraft (and most other things-truly!), so we felt like we had our own personal docent with us. He also shared some hilarious stories about his days working on airplanes. We were sad to see the Smyths go on Sunday, especially as Deb had been just a fantastic motivator to get up and hoof it on the beach every morning!! The second week we pretty much just relaxed around camp, did school and tried to stay dry. I have never seen rain like that in my life and we did not particularly enjoy the tornado warnings. Where do you hide in an RV/tin can? By our last weekend the weather had improved a bit, so we headed over to Seaside, the town where Jim Carey's The Truman Show was filmed. A little to cutesy for me, but we had a great lunch at our private dining room (see photo) overlooking the beach. The following day Mike took the boys (even Julian) on a six mile hike to a lake in the park. It was dark by the time they returned and I was about to send the ranger on a search and rescue mission. I had visions of Mike keeled over on a sand dune with the boys trying to revive him. They had a fantastic time, however, and saw many creatures, puddles and creatures in puddles. I, on the other hand, stayed behind, read my book and took a nap. Bliss-testosterone free BLISS! The boys are writing about their adventure in their journals as I write this.

So, I think now I can truly say we're caught up. I'm going to do my best to keep it that way. Don't anyone hold their breaths...

6,000 Miles Later...Post #1

As the self-coronated Queen of Procrastination I have spent the last eight months and 6, 000+ miles saying, “I really should start blogging today". Well, my friends, today has arrived. Never mind that we have blown through 17 states without a single blog entry…that all ends here and now! Fear not, however, for I have a mind like a steel trap and have forgotten nothing of our journey so far! Okay, I’m so totally lying. It took me about six days to compile the recap below and I had to rely on the much YOUNGER memories of my children and the attention span (I tend to space out around Tuesday of any given week) of my husband to piece together the last eight months enough to be able to put together a brief travel log. I share this with you here. Happy travels!

6000 RV Miles, 5000 Tow Vehicle Miles
and Counting…
July 3, 2007 to February 2008
Destinations, Campgrounds, Trip Highlights (and just a few “lowlights”) and Memorable Meals

Disney World, Orlando, FL
Fort Wilderness Campground
Animal Kingdom
Epcot
Dinner at Boma, Animal Kingdom Lodge

Helen, Georgia
Enota Campground and Resort
Smokey Mountains
Brasstown Bald Mountain
Blood Mountain/Cherokee Trail of Tears
Hiking on the AT
Fishing on the Chattahoochee River
Guided fly-fishing trip with Unicoi Outfitters-Mike
Panning for Gold and Gems at Crisson Gold Mine
Liz locked out of RV for 4 hours-not even the locksmith could pick our locks and had to break into a window!

Camden, South Carolina
A farmer’s field, perhaps??
Overnight

Wilmington, NC
Wilmington KOA
Pier Fishing on Johnnie Mercer Pier
Playing on Wrightsville Beach
Dinner at Brasserie de Soleil-Izzy and Gabe got their own table.
MarineQuest Marine Biology Camp @ UNCW-Gabriel and Elias (with cousins, Izzy and Isaac)
Airlie Gardens

Williamsburg,VA
American Heritage RV Park
Colonial Williamsburg
Jamestown Settlement/Powhatan Village
Yorktown Victory Center
Dinner at Peking Mongolian and Japanese Restaurant – Kids loved the Mongolian barbeque.
Unexpectedly ran into old friends/neighbors from VA-Their son was Gabe’s best friend. Fun to catch up!

College Park, MD
Cherry Hill Park Campground
Overnight

Plymouth, MA
Pinewood Lodge Campground
Plymouth Rock
Mayflower II
Plimouth Plantation/Wampanog Indian Village
Fishing on Pinewood Lake

Searsport, ME
Searsport Shores Campground
Gabriel’s birthday - 1st time to cook live lobster at home. One jumped out and we had to chase it. No joke. Still traumatized.
Labor Day Lobster Bake on the beach
Tide-pooling
Ocean front campsite with sunrise through the front window
Belfast
Rockport
Camden Windjammer Festival and lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant
Witch’s Foot, Bucksport-spoooooky!
Fort Knox
Verona Bridge Observation Tower
Freeport-Home of LL Bean and great outlet shopping
Red’s Eats in Wiscasset-world famous lobster rolls. YUM!
Blue Hill Fair - a childhood tradition of Liz’s. Introduced the boys to fried dough, a little bit of heaven on earth.

Ellsworth, ME
Patten Pond Campground
Acadia National Park
Bar Harbor
Deer Isle
Blue Hill
Brooklin

Brooksville-Holbrook Island Sanctuary
Bangor Children’s Museum (bonus: saw Stephen King pumping gas)

Bangor-Dinner at a fabulous Indian restaurant called Taste of India
Sedgwick-Liz grew up here.
Stonington-lunch at Fishermen’s Friend. Best clam chowder so far!
Whale watching cruise (or maybe we should say LACK of Whale Watching Cruise..grrr…)
Alamoosic Lake and Craig Pond Fish Hatchery
2 moose strolled through the campground right past our site
Canoeing/Fishing on Patten Pond

Greenville, ME
Moosehead Family Campground
Fishing on Moosehead Lake
Moose watching
Hiking on AT
Mt. Kineo
High-centered RV leaving the campground – lots of sweating and swearing and that was just me sitting comfortably under a tree watching Mike dig!!

North Conway, NH
Danforth Bay Camping Resort
Conway Scenic Railroad Fall Foliage Tour
Outlet shopping
Hiking on AT
Mt. Washington

Twin Mountain, NH
Twin Mountain KOA
Crawford Notch State Park
Hiking on AT
First snow

Stowe, VT
Gold Brook Campground
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory Tour
Cold Hollow Cider Mill factory tour-the best apple cider donuts in the world!
Percy Corn Maze – way beyond Liz’s attention span
Hiked Hogsback Mountain
Fly fishing lessons for the boys on Gold Brook
Montpelier- Dined at New England Culinary Institute restaurant. Magnificent food and they treated the boys like royalty!
Visited Goddard College-Mike got his BA there and Liz got her MA there many moons ago.
Amazing fall foliage

Gloucester/Salem, MA
Cape Ann Campsite
The Fisherman’s Memorial
Wingaersheek Beach-photos, tipepooling and freezing!
Rocky Neck Artist’s Colony
Salem Witch Museum
Jack ‘O Lantern carving by the campfire

Mystic, CT
Mystic KOA
Halloween-Trick-or-treating in Historic Mystic. The boys changed into their costumes behind a Chevron station and then we just sort-of blended in with the local crowd. They made out like bandits!!!
Dinner at Mystic Pizza
Mystic Aquarium
Bouncing at KOA’s famous bouncing pillow – boys had the playground to themselves.

New York City, NY
Liberty RV Park and Marina (Jersey City, NJ-overlooking the Statue of Liberty and WTC site)
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Manhattan-WTC site, Trinity Church, China Town for lunch, Little Italy, Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockefeller Center
Dinner at the Stage Door Deli

Philadelphia, PA
Timberlane Campground (Clarksboro, NJ)
Independence National Park-Independence Hall, Benjamin Franklin House and Museum
Lunch at deli-ordered Philly Cheesesteak of course!!
Ron Paul Speech and Rally (not on our agenda, but stumbled upon him nonetheless)

Washington, DC
Cherry Hill Park Campground (College Park, MD)
Friend visited us for dinner at campground
Met friends for lunch and shopping at Eastern Market
National Air and Space Museum-Dulles
Visited South Riding, VA-our neighborhood from 2000-2002
Capitol Building, Washington Monument, White House
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
National Archives-viewed original Constitution and Declaration of Independence
Union Station
Mike spent 2 days at his corporate HQ – had to dig out the tie.

Somewhere in Georgia
Wal-Mart parking lot
Overnight-1st and only foray into the world of “boondocking”.

Atlanta, GA

Bogert Home
Friend’s home for Thanksgiving. Fun, fun, fun!

Wilmington, NC

Marshall Home
Liz’s mom’s home for Christmas/New Year’s
Julian’s birthday
Mike to Amman, Jordan for business
Santa brought a Wii!!!!!!
Enchanted Airlie-Christmas light display and Santa
Shrimp boil and Texas Hold ‘Em tournament
Mike’s dad flew in from Detroit for Christmas
Celebrated Ukranian Christmas with (Ukraninan) friends-fantastic time, fantastic food!
Golf at Inland Greens with friends and family
RV repairs

Myrtle Beach, SC
Myrtle Beach KOA
Miniature golf

More KOA bouncing!!!
MagicQuest-the boy’s favorite!

Hilton Head, SC
Hilton Head Harbor RV Resort and Marina
Toured island
Lunch at Sea Pines Plantation

Disney World, Orlando, FL (again!!!)
Fort Wilderness Campground
Magic Kingdom-Julian’s first time!!
Dinner at Rainforest Café-Downtown Disney

Cape Canaveral, FL
Jetty Park Campground
FOTR (Families on the Road) gathering.
Watched giant cruise ships float by as they were leaving port
Drove across Alligator Alley to get to Naples-very cool!

Naples, Fl.
Crystal Lake RV Resort
Dinner at Riverside Café in Tin City
Toured Marco Island
Everglades City-Airboat ride
Everglades National Park-Chokoloskee Bay
Dinner with new FOTR friends at campground

Sanibel Island, FL
Sundial Resort
Tarpon Bay Eco Cruise/Wildlife Refuge
Chatting with the birds at Jerry’s, the island grocery store
Sanibel Lighthouse
Captiva Island
Swimming, shelling

Ft. Myers, FL
Red Coconut RV Resort (apparently resort is a loose term on Fort Myers Beach)
Pizza at Junkanoo on the Beach-YUM!!! The owners are from Cape Cod and they know pizza!
Adopted (finally, after 5 months of begging) 3 land hermit crabs-Pineapple Sno-Cone (Julian’s), Blueberry Smoothie (Elias’) and Root Beer Float (Gabriel’s).

Cedar Key, FL
Sunset Isle RV Resort (another very loose interpretation of the word resort!!)
Shell Mound Archeological Site
Manatee Springs State Park – Otters, Deer and Scuba Divers – Oh My!
Nature Hike and picnic
Nature Drive