Lessons

So yeah, this year's lessons are a little late. We seriously hit the ground running when we got home and have barely stopped to breathe! I miss being on the road exploring all the little towns and big towns. I miss learning something each and every day, sometimes every few minutes! I miss connecting with my kids and laughing so hard with them that my belly hurt.

I don't miss fighting kids. I don't miss the long miles on the road. I don't miss packing up camp. I don't miss hours in laundromats.  And I definitely don't miss days on end with only part of our family together.  And now on to the lessons....

• A child listening to their new music smiles wide and sings loudly.
• Listening to a headphone-wearing child belt out wacky lyrics to songs is guaranteed to make me laugh.
• Seeing a sign for an area of town called "Butt's Corner" is guaranteed to make all of us laugh.
• New music can keep a child entertained for hours.
• River otters have coverings for their eyes, noses, and ears for swimming.
• River otters can hold their breath for 8 minutes.
• River otters are known to be lazy by targeting the slower fish, taking over beaver dens instead of building their own, and playing most of the day.
• River otters do not know how to swim when they are born.
• The only building that was locked on a mountain farm was the smokehouse, which contained a families most prized possessions and precious food.
• A 60 degree night is a welcome end to a 95 degree day!
• Sitting in the middle of a beautiful park with 50-ft trees, it's hard to believe this area was once clear cut for lumber with no habitats for native animals.
• The Oconoluftee River is exceptionally cold.
• The woosh of the river at night is a much better lullaby than the cicadas and frogs.
• The best gas prices I found were in Georgia - $1.74 - I almost filled up again just on principle!
• A mink can hold it's breath underwater for up to 16 minutes!
• Moths are relentless trying to dive bomb a tent when they see light inside.
• Crawfish aren't only in Louisiana!
• My kids are obsessed with camp ball.
• The wildflowers in West Virginia are just beautiful along the roadside.
• Sometimes the air of Pennsylvania country roads smells like there is a cow in my passenger seat.
• Don't let Brayden be in charge of cleaning up snacks on the ground of our campsite.
• When the kids can try anything on a pretzel, I will be surprised what the end up liking.
• In the 1830s, coffee pots did not have filters. Eggshells and codfish scales were used to settle the coffee grounds to the bottom of the pot.
• A porcupine has 30,000 quills.
• There are 28 hospitals in Boston.
• I was surprised several times by the amount of information my kids actually remembered from history stories we'd read together!
• Hollyhocks used to be planted to discreetly guide visitors to the outhouse.
• The mosquitoes in Rhode Island are as big as house flies!
• When you had a kid a camera for a few minutes, there's no telling what crazy pictures you'll find they've taken.
• Boston's subway system is so much easier to understand and find than New York's.
• There is an unreal number of Dunkin Donuts in Boston. Seriously, on a map you are never more than 2 blocks from one!
• We need to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt. Some of his quotes are so inspirational!
• The Liberty Bell weighs 2,080 pounds.
• The only person to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was Ben Franklin.
• I need to stop complaining about having to find $1 to go over the Pensacola Beach bridge as the Ben Franklin bridge into Pennsylvania costs $5!
• A ton of all kinds of math goes into animation.
• Amish children only go to school until 8th grade.
• Amish boys usually receive their own horse and buggy at 16 years old.
• A married Amish man starts growing a beard once he is married and does not trim or shave it.  He does not keep a mustache.
• You have to be born into the Amish culture. You cannot just choose to be Amish.
• The Washington Monument is 555 feet 5 inches tall.
• The Washington Monument sat unfinished for 20 years when the project ran out of money.
• The World War II Memorial has a few secret "Kilroy was here" cartoons on it.
• The Kennedys had another son that died when he was one.
• Abraham Lincoln is the only president to hold a patent.
• There are no direct living descendants of Abraham Lincoln.
• Robert Lincoln was eerily present at the assassinations of Presidents Garfield and McKinley.
• Americans throw away 300 million tons of plastic every year, much of it ending up in the oceans.
• An elephants height  at the shoulder is about twice the distance around its front footprint.
• We miss Michigan ice cream.
• There is quite possibly a Mattress Firm in every suburban city. And I thought there were a lot of Dollar Generals!
• While I miss communicating with my kids and listening to their audio books, there is something to be said for NPR undisturbed for hours.
• Every year as dusk comes and we see the first lightning bugs, we all point and run around like we've never seen them before. It's easy to forget about those little guys when we only see them a little each year.
• This year for some reason I was terrified of losing my keys so I used a lanyard. Best. Purchase. Ever. 
• Leaving the quiet woods for the city was startling each day.
• Rhode Island has the shortest stop lights on the planet.

While we learned SO much and enjoyed time in the cool museum buildings on our travels, I sincerely missed being in the woods this year. I think we only participated in a handful of programs and hikes which is usually the foundation of our trips.  

We will see you again here next year! Our plans are in the works....

Day 29

The night before I'd researched about 8 tour options for the Pennsylvania Amish Country. While I'm fascinated by the culture, I try to be sensitive to invading the privacy of the people. I decided on an experience that would show the kids how a typical family might live including a bus tour.

The kids slept in again while I got everything ready for the day. I'm beginning to think I need to send the kids down to breakfast 30 minutes before me because they take so long to feast! Once they were finally finished with their three breakfasts, we got on the road to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This community boasts the second largest population of Amish in the world.

We arrived at the property just in time for the house tour. The house on the property was built in 1805 and was occupied by an Amish family at one time but now was simply a museum. We were taken around the house as our guide described the customs and culture of the Amish people.

We learned about the typical dress of all ages of boys and girls, ladies and men for work days, church days, and wedding days. We learned the history of the culture, how they typically make a living, and the reasons why some are moving out of the area. Once the house tour was over the kids couldn't wait to go see some of the animals on the farm. 

We met the donkey, miniature horse, travel horse, baby goats, chickens, quail, and peacock. The kids would have loved to stay with the baby goats for the rest of the day. I have to admit they were pretty adorable and loved the attention.

With the promise of returning we hopped on the bus for a 90 minute tour.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the area as well as the Amish culture. We heard some of what our home guide had told us but much more about their work, life, and farms.  There were many farms where the men were working on the buildings, with the animals, or in the field. We passed several horse and buggies along the way full of families.

About 30 minutes after we left we stopped at an Amish roadside stand with all kinds of interesting things to buy. A young boy offered us a pretzel sample and we made sure to be first in line for our own. These pretzels were the best I have ever had in my entire life. They were warm and just melted with each bite. Sorry, I hope you're not reading this at lunch time!

Our next stop was at a quilt shop that had some stunning designs. The lady running the shop has about 75 Amish women making quilts and other items for her to sell. This was the only instance where we saw any kind of wire coming to the property for a telephone outside the office. The families didn't use the phone as it was only there in case a liability issue with tourists occurred.

The kids and I walked down to the pond on the property to see the pair of swans. They came right up to us expecting to be fed but alas I only had a quarter. They were so elegant as they spun around in the water in front of us.

The fact that the Amish live without electricity is true. They do not want to be connected to the outside world. They have lights fueled by propane or kerosene. They have propane stoves and refrigerators. There are no radios, tvs, cell phones, or ipads. There are no cars or modern farm machinery. They have indoor plumbing sometimes pumped by windmills or water wheels.

Their simple lifestyle is fascinating to me and their emphasis on closeness of the family is something I believe we all could strive for. I especially love how the family all lives together and takes care of each other as older family members do not go into nursing homes.

We walked around the farm a little while once we got back and made sure to stop by the one room school house. It's always interesting to the kids how other kids learn. We also got to test out the "push and go" scooters the kids rode to get around. We'd seen a bunch parked at the roadside stand and several older kids riding them down the streets. I do believe they liked these better than their own scooters!

After milking the "cow" we walked through the gift shop to pick up a few things then headed home. The kids were excited to finish their olympic races and watch possibly our last night of Olympics. Lucky for us we made it just in time for chocolate chip cookies! We had to wait out a storm before swimming, but we did make it out there with plenty of time for fun.