One Year, 12,000 RV Miles, 10,000 Tow Vehicle Miles, 22 States and Still Living the Dream

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night quite certain that we have lost our minds. Other times I sit bolt upright as though awakening from a nightmare, sure that we have destroyed our childrens' lives. But most often (in fact, VERY often) I am positive that we are among the sanest people on earth. This journey we're on is not necessarily the one we intended to take, but it is the one we needed to take. Over the last 12,000 miles some of the romanticsim and lofty goals (learn Spanish in one year, read all of the classics, become perfect humans etc.) we had envisioned in the planning phase have faded into the distance, but we have seen and learned and accomplished so much with gusto and unparalleled gung ho-edness. We have had our highs and lows, our days of delight, our hours of happiness, our moments of madness. We have all stomped off, from time to time, to our respective corners and one or more of us has driven off in a huff, but we have grown stronger as a family and have begun to really look at what it means to each of us to have made this leap into the unknown. A year on the road. That was the plan. It has turned into so much more.



The picture above represents how I feel on this one year anniversary. Behind the wheel of our Acadia and hurtling down CA 1 on a return trip from Hearst Castle I braved a brief glance to my right to catch a glimpse of the Pacific. Expecting the blueness and the sheer drop off to the rocks below, all I needed was a fleeting look to lock that image in my mind's eye. I never expected the couch ( and somehow it didn't surprise me), but I had to stop the car and photograph it to take in the incongruity of the scene. To me, that's the best part of this journey. It has made us take a second look at everything and has given us the space, good bad or indifferent, to interpret what we find.



To mark our year we thought we'd put together some Top 10 lists. Enjoy. We know we have.


Top 10 Favorite Places


1. Acadia National Park, ME


2. New York City, NY


3. Carlsbad Caverns, NM


4. Yosemite National Park, CA


5. Big Bend National Park, TX


6. Sequoia National Park, CA


7. Las Vegas, NV


8. Disneyworld, FL (yes, really!)


9. Gila National Forest, NM


10. The Mendocino Coast, CA

Top 10 Favorite Camprounds/Resorts

1. Searsport Shores Camping Resort, Searsport, ME http://www.campocean.com/

2. Patten Pond, Ellsworth, ME http://www.barharborcampingresorts.com/content/4005/PATTEN_POND/

3. Pinewood Lodge Campground, Plymouth, MA http://pinewoodlodge.com/index.php

4. Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort, Nas Vegas, NV http://www.oasislasvegasrvresort.com/5. Danforth Bay Camping Resort, Freedom, NH http://www.danforthbay.com/

6. Liberty Harbor RV Park, Jersey City, NJ http://www.libertyharborrv.com/

7. Flying Flags RV Resort, Solvang, CA http://www.flyingflags.com/

8. Jetty Park Campround, Canaveral, FL http://www.jettypark.org/

9. Gregory E. Moore RV Resort, Santa Rosa Beach, FL http://www.floridastateparks.org/topsailhill/default.cfm

10. Stillwell Ranch, Big Bend area, TX http://stillwellstore.com/


Top 10 Favorite or Most Awe-inspriring Moments

1. Whale watching cruise out of Bar Harbor, ME.

2. Watching Elias win the Mutton-Busting Championship in Houston and Bandera, TX.

3. Riding the subway from Jersey City and arriving unexpectedly in the crater of Ground Zero. Humbling.

4. Seeing the orignal US Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Also humbling.

5. Sledding the dunes in White Sands National Monument.

6. Seeing the rings of Saturn through a high-powered telescope at the McDonald Observatory in TX.

7. Hiking into Seminole Canyon to see ancient cave paintings.

8. Encountering a bear and her cub in Sequoia National Park and similarly watching a parade of moose walk through our campsite in Maine.

9. Watching Gabe cliff jump in Sedona, AZ.

10. Airboat ride in the everglades


All-time Favorite Moment: The day Gabe told my mom on the phone, "Grammy, we got our imaginations back on this trip."


Top 10 Meals/Food Experiences

1. Lobster/clam bake on the beach in Searsport, ME. The owners of Searsport Shores campground do this a few times every season and we were lucky enough to be visiting during one of those times. Clams, lobster, corn on the cob, freshly baked bread all served at picnic tables on the beach. Yum.

2. Mother's Day brunch at Bally's, Las Vegas, NV. Unlimited Perrier-Jouet champagne+ mother's day=long nap and even longer lasting headache. If you go, make sure you ask to be seated as far away as humanly possible from the actual buffet. It's a nice place to visit, but....

3.Shibuyu (Japanese+sushi) at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV. Amazing sushi and even more amazing sake menu. Very dark and hip and happenin', but the kids were very comfortable and welcome here. Julian ate his weight in sushi. We're still paying finance charges on this meal!

4. La Posta de Mesilla, Mesilla, NM. The best, most authentic Mexican we've had on this trip (even after going to Mexico). The chile rellenos are to die for and their Chile 'Rita is one of the best cocktails I've ever had!

5.Taste of India, Bangor, ME. We loved this place for the food, but also because it was such an unexpectedly authentic find on the coast of Maine.

6.Red's Eats in Wiscassett, ME. The lobster rolls and fried zucchini at this Maine landmark are worth the wait. We stood in line for over half an hour at this shack on the harbor. The boys loved the fish and chips.

7.Hitchin' Post, Solvang, CA. Old- style steakhouse made famous by the movie Sideways. Great steaks and fantastic house wines.

8.11th Street Cowboy Bar, Bandera, TX -BYO Steak! This place was pure Texas-cold beer, live country music and grill-your-own-steaks followed by washing your own utensils in the kitchen. Mike caused one Texan to comment, "I seen a lot of things in my life, but I ain't never seen no man doin' dishes". Toto?

9.Peking Mongolian and Japanese Restaurant, Williamsburg, VA. A higher-end buffet with live cooking stations and great desserts. Like an interactive food museum for the kids.

10. Ukranian Christmas dinner hosted by Ivanka Hromiak and family, Wilmington, NC. You can't beat a dinner party where you're greeted at the door by a tall, handsome Ukranian bearing vodka shots! The food was awesome, too.

Honorable mentions:

1.Apple cider donuts from Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Stowe, VT. Still trying to figure out how to make them!
2.Corn dogs at Houston rodeo, TX. The right balance of grease and crunch.
3. Fried dough at the Blue Hill Fair, ME. Same. I've loved these at this fair since I was a little girl. It was fun to introduce my boys to them.
4.Beignets at Cafe du Monde, New Orleans, LA. Worth the hype.
5. Jelly Belly Beans from Jelly Belly Factory Fairfield, CA. Or so my kids tell me....
6.Grilled rainbow trout caught by the boys in Helen, GA. Nothing better than fresh-caught trout!
7.Thanksgiving dinner with The Bogerts in Atlanta, GA. A tradition since 1995! Why is it that we make the same stuffing every year and still have to consult a recipe????
8. Mad Greek restaurant in Themiddleofknowwhere, CA.
9. Pizza on the beach in Fort Myers Beach, FL.

10.Falafel in Tuscon.

Top 10 Worst Experiences
1.. Waiting for RV parts in Houston, TX.

2.Getting locked out of the RV barefoot, alone (save for a certain cockapoo who decided this would be a great time to poop 17 times with no pick-up bags in sight!) and in the rain for 4 hours (Liz).

3. Encounter with irate non-English speaking truck driver at gas station in New Jersey (Mike).

4. Driving through CA forest fires and smoke.

5.Seeing the devastation in New Orleans and relizing how little has been done in 2 years.

6. Seeing the devastation at WTC in NYC and realizing how little has been done in 7 years.

7.The Unfortunate Enchilada Incident of 2007 (don't ask, but suffice it to say it involved 2 tired parents,a tray full of enchiladas, an uneven rv, a slippery microwave rack and 2 carpets-one of which we threw away and subsequently [and alarmingly!] found hanging on our neighbors clothesline the next morning).

8.Heatwave in Groveland, CA and dealing with the most (and really only, to date) unpleasant campground employees at Yosemite Pines Campground who, in their infinite wisdom closed the pool just as temperatures reached 612 degrees.

9. Every time we push the retract button for our levelling jacks. It's a 50/50 crap shoot. Will they retract or will we have to spend the day waiting for a mechanic?

10.The moment we acknowledged the reality that diesel prices were never coming down again and we would have to adjust our budget and our lifestyle accordingly.

Top 10 Lessons Learned

1. Never, ever travel with an unsecured and open jar of honey. Ditto bottle of soy sauce.

2. Bold type on a map does not neccessarily translate into a bold place in reality.

3. Campground websites rarely tell the truth and pictures can lie.

4. We Americans are, by and large, really cool people.

5. It pays to read the suitcase full of manuls that come with a new RV, especially the ones with a giant stop sign on the front cover with words that say, "DO NOT OPERATE UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS FULLY AND COMMITTED THE INFORMATION WITHIN TO MEMORY AND SIGNED A BLOOD OATH THAT YOU WILL OBEY" or something to that effect. Had we done this we may have saved ourselves from ponderances such as, "Hmm, I wonder why our water is brown?". The RV learning curve is slow. Manuals speed up the process. A little.

6.RV park laundry rooms are microcosms of American life. Every laundry room must, by force of nature, have one ranting radical republican, one babbling liberal democrat and 1 middle of the road person (usually me) quietly folding her laundry. There is also always 1 person of a "certain age" doing a monologue on their ailments, diseases and "lucky to still be alive after my fifth triple bypass and emergency spleendectomy" tales.

7.It seems that it is a law in California that every Californian must a) own an RV and b) use it on the weekends rendering all RV parks full to over-flowing c)wear those funky wool hats even when it's 106 dregrees in the shade.

8.We would starve to death (or be a lot skinnier, anyway) without the GPS Navigation in our car to tell us where to find the nearest Walmart or McDonalds.

9.I'm the best teacher my kids will ever have. And vice versa.

10.380 square feet of space is more than enough for our family.

Leaving the Big Easy Behind

We had been warned by many not to go. "Too depressing", said some. "Too dangerous", said a few. "It's just not the New Orleans we remember", said others. Yet, having never been, we were curious. Much like rubber-neckers passing the scene of a horrific accident on the highway, we were intrigued by what had traspired in this place. On that front, we were not disappointed. In almost every other way imaginable we were very disheartened.

Driving from the Florida panhandle we began to see Katrina's path of devastation almost as soon as we crossed into Alabama. For as far as the eye could see were broken tree limbs, shredded billboards and not many signs of life. Crossing lake Pontchartrain on the bridge from Slidell to New Orleans we immediately flashed back to those horrific days in the autumn of 2005. We rembered the news footage we had seen of this very bridge being torn into pieces by Katrina. Its current state is not much improved. Huge sections of the five mile long bridge have been patched with temporary pieces cannibalized from what remained and most of the guardrail is missing, twisted into bent reminders of the power of the floods. Apparently, the federal government has spent about $600 million for a new, six-lane Interstate 10 bridge over Lake Pontchartrain that will replace the existing four-lane twin spans by 2009, a full four years after the obliteration of Katrina. Until then, we'll all have to risk our lives as we traverse the puzzle piece structure masquerading as a bridge. Neither Mike nor I frighten easily, but this was not a bridge we'd like to be crossing on a daily basis.

As we continued westward into the city we began to see what we had read and heard so much about. Entire neighborhoods had been abandoned, their insides left to rot while their exteriors looked almost normal save for the missing windows and water stains. Piles of debris, grim reminders of all that was lost, were on nearly every street corner. How long had they been there? Could these poor people still be digging themselves out nearly three years later? It was truly a sobering sight to see and reminded our family of the feelings of helplessness we had had watching the events on tv back in 2005. It was not one of our prouder moments as a nation and seeing the horror today I felt even more ashamed. How could we have done so little in so many years?

After driving through miles of despair we finally arrived at the French Quarter RV Resort. When your RV park is the nicest real estate in the neighborhood you know there is a problem. A mere two blocks from the French Quarter and surrounded by a low brick wall with miles of razor wire, the resort is entered through a grand wrought iron fence. Inside the resort is a gorgeous tree-lined courtyard replete with bar, pool, jacuzzi and mini movie theater. Meanwhile, across the street in an empty lot behind a chain link fence are occupied FEMA trailers. Still...in 2008. Directly in front of the park is a closed and shuttered Winn Dixie, apparently a bad investment in an area directly impacted by the 100,000+ evacuees who made the decsion not to return to New Orleans. The backdrop of the resort is the infamous Canal St. overpass tent encampment. Hundreds of homeless are living in tents under the bridge in a scene reminiscent of the shanty villages in New Delhi or Bangkok. How could this be in America? How did we let this happen? The homeless population, by many accounts, has more than doubled since Katrina, yet where is the assistance? The irony of this situation screams for attention. In the shadow of the Superdome, where people died waiting for help after Katrina, now sleep hundreds of homeless. The Superdome was completely operational less than a year after Katrina, yet thousands are still without a place to call their own.

The French Quarter, largely untouched by the flooding, still draws hundreds of thousands of party-seekers each year. We were among the many who flock there for the beignets at Cafe Du Monde, oyster po-boys, gumbo and etouffe. We ate well, enjoyed the street performers and admired the architecture. One afternoon the boys and I took refuge from a downpour in the cathedral of St. Louis and lit a candle for those we have lost in our lives. As a family, we stood on Bourbon street, looked left and right and decided to keep walking. Maybe this scene would have appealed to Mike and me at another time in our lives, but this time we were content to just walk and look and listen (and taste).

In the end, we were glad we came, but felt that we would somehow never get to see the real New Orleans. It is probably gone forever. I think when something this catastrophic occurs the spirit of a place is forever changed, yet what remains is both inspirational and demoralizing. New Orleans, in my eyes, is just that-a city of paradoxes. It is a bewildering and frustrating mix of recovery and loss, rebirth and death, joy and sorrow. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

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