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 26

For our last full day in Philadelphia we decided to tackle a few more museums. After a filling breakfast of Grammie's french toast we drove to Independence Center and headed toward the museums. On the way we stopped by the beautiful cemetery where Ben Franklin is buried and dropped our pennies of respect.

  

This was the day of no photography as two of the museums didn't allow much if at all.  It seems we are destined to not see the U.S. Mint in action as they had shut down due to the heat earlier this morning. We still walked through and learned the way coins are made again. The girls didn't really remember much so they had a good refresher.

We then walked next door to Constitution Hall for a wonderful interactive experience. After doing the kids' presidential portraits (Ryan's looks more like a mugshot!), an inspiring live presentation first about the history of the country. Upstairs there was a beautiful display of the articles of the Bill of Rights above us etched in glass. There were tons of artifacts and videos about different important events in history below them.


The kids' favorite part was the presidential trivia game Ryan wanted to play. Ryan and Brayden teamed up against me and Laney for a Jeopardy-like game. I let Laney try if she thought she knew them and to give the other team a fair shot. There were some I didn't even know though! Laney and I still did manage to eek out a win 140-110. We all learned a little bit in the process!

I was finally allowed to pull out my camera in signer's hall among bronze statues of the signers of the Constitution. We walked around the room looking at the brilliant men who created and signed one of the documents that shaped our nation. Ryan sat in Ben Franklin's lap, Laney played London Bridge with two man, and Brayden thumb-wrestled Nicholas Gilman of New Hampshire.

The kids really enjoyed being able to sign the Constitution and email it to themselves!















While I was refereeing and argument, Grammie found us a little cafe for a snack as we were all a little hungry with plans for dinner far away at 6pm. On our way back to the car we stopped by the visitor's center for a photo Laney had been asking for of another sculpture.  We write "xoxo" to each other all the time so this one she especially loved.


Our next stop was the Philadephia Museum of Art for a children's art program the owner of our apartment let us know about. The kids had a blast making their own stamps to make repeating prints. They got ink everywhere, but had so much fun creating. They also enjoyed completing many, many drawings using architect tools and learning how many buildings are made in Africa.


The highlight though was definitely the interactive art strings they could walk through.



We checked out a few more of the art rooms then headed out to meet up with old friends for dinner. It just so happened our Boffin friends from Italy were in town the few days we were so we made a date to meet for dinner!  The kids had a blast playing after we ate and we closed the place down!

After a lot of catching up, we headed home and started pre-packing to be ready for the next day. Grammie would be leaving early in the morning so the kids said goodbye just in case they missed her, but secretly two of them were adamant that I wake them up no matter what. I stayed up checking the weather and updating the blog as I wouldn't have wifi for about a week. I also started some laundry in hopes it would hold us for another week. Laundry takes a while when you can't do 3 loads at once!

Day 25

We we are officially halfway through our trip. It seems like 3 months ago that we left and stayed in Alabama so long ago!

Today we were headed on a history whirlwind which started at the Visitors Center. After checking in and grabbing our tickets, we got junior ranger books and some trading cards. Brayden loved this idea and couldn't wait to answer more questions from park rangers for more!

Our first stop was the Declaration House. We saw the rooms where all three branches of government for Pennsylvania once resided. It also just happened to be where the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution were signed.  Our guide was fantastic and engaging and an obvious teacher.

  

We walked next over to Franklin Court where we first enjoyed the Ben Franklin Museum. The girls wanted to do a scavenger hunt of sorts so I was paired up with Ryan for most of our exploration. Brayden explored on his own and worked on his Junior Ranger book.

We were all surprised by just how many things Ben Franklin invented or founded like the first public hospital, the fireplace damper, swim fins, the odometer, and the first public library! Ryan and I are thinking about inventing fart glasses so we can see who the culprit is of our family stink bombs.

 

We were buying post cards in the gift shop when we heard about the first post office that hand-stamps the cancellation of Ben Franklin's signature. The kids grabbed a few more postcards when they heard this! So everyone pay attention to your stamps if you get a post card from Philadelphia!

We learned about his time working a printing press and visited there next to watch 1776-style printing of the Declaration of Independence.  By the end of this spot the kids were up to about 10 cards already!

     

Next we visited the uncovered section of Ben Franklin's tenant house that held all kinds of fun artifacts of the time. We also met up with our park ranger again who gave the kids more trading cards and shared a bunch more knowledge with us. If only all the park rangers could be this much fun!

  

Our next stop was the Liberty Bell since it is a very popular attraction in the area. The last time we'd been here the line was wrapped around the building so we just peeked in through the glass windows. This time the line wasn't terribly long so as the kids worked on their books we snaked around through security. The exhibit was lengthy so full of information but the kids had one goal in mind so we walked straight through to the bell. I half wished the line would have snaked around the informational displays so I could have read them while we were waiting! Next time.

The kids studied the bell intently trying to find the hairline crack the ranger had told us about that had actually decommissioned it. They also had a few things to complete in their books so we circled it and imagined how loud it would be if we rang it.

  

There was a fun kids stop Brayden spotted so we enjoyed the air conditioning a little while longer while the kids played. Ryan rang the virtual Liberty Bell to see how it sounded before and after the crack. Brayden played with the toy he tries every time we see it that is just about impossible but he knows he going to get some day. And of course after trying some of the activities, Laney dressed up.






















They had a wall where the kids could post what "Liberty" means to them - I like Laney's answer!



Our next stop was a place we all wanted to take Grammie - Reading Terminal Market. We'd been there last time and it was about time for lunch so we walked the 8 blocks sweating away. It felt like Florida this day!  We found her a cheese steak and we returned to get By George pizza the kids had enjoyed before. The ranger told us not to miss getting an ice cream at Bassett's so we made sure to stop there as well. This ice cream rivaled all the delicious tastes we'd had in Michigan last year! My raspberry truffle was outstanding!

Rumor had it there was a museum that had the most trading cards so the kids could finish their Philadelphia collection.  Brayden asked me 142 times if we could go there.  We headed to the Second Bank and had a great tour by one of the rangers who pointed out things to the kids they really enjoyed. It was, as you would imagine, the second bank in America. There was an extensive portrait gallery inside which the ranger told us about and pointed us in the direction to finish a page in the kids' junior ranger books.  They asked him for some trading cards and he was surprised they had most of what he had!

Our last stop was the visitor's center to check back in with our favorite ranger and turn in their books. We were supposed to bring her chocolate, but we sacrificed Ryan and told her she'd eaten it. It was obvious with the chocolate drip down the front of her shirt!

She loved to see how many trading cards they had which meant they'd been learning and answering questions all day. After looking through their books and talking to them about their answers, they were sworn in as Independence National Park junior rangers. They were thrilled to get the nice wooden badges this time as well as a Happy Birthday badge for the national park centennial.

We walked through the kids area at the visitors center and of course the kids had to dress up again. While Laney was again a colonial lady, the other two decided to be park rangers.

One of the statues Ryan remembered from our last trip was the Rocky statue outside the art museum. I'm not sure if we did this picture before, but she was excited to see a painted version this time and get a picture! 

We hopped in an uber car with Ox who had just returned from living in Orlando so we had a nice conversation about the weather. This was our earliest return to the apartment yet so we relaxed and watched the Olympics as the kids ate through the leftovers in the refrigerator. Ryan and I tried out a new game in the closet that she instantly loved called Labryinth because of the mazes and strategy. We have been so fortunate to be able to relax and spread out in such a wonderful place.

Day 24

After 3 weeks on the road, I can't tell you how nice it is to be inside, have a kitchen, and have a bed. The girls were up early this morning to help us cook breakfast. They were excited to set a lovely table for all of us!

  

With all of us very rested, we decided to start out our stay in Philadelphia with a trip to the Franklin Institute. I'd heard wonderful things about the museum and we hadn't had time to get to it the last time we were here. Everyone was especially excited about the Pixar exhibit Grammie reserved for us first thing in the morning!

To say this exhibit was fun, interesting, and informative would be a gross understatement. I think we could have stayed in this area for hours! We learned about the entire process of animated movie making with help from Pixar employees then we were let loose to try some of those things ourselves! The kids learned about all the different stages of production as well as modeling, lighting, simulation, and animation. 

  

The kids were just about finished and I got through about half of the informational videos and demos I was interested in before an enormous summer camp group came in so we moved on. I want to work at Pixar!!

  

Next up was Brayden's favorite area in every museum we go to - sports. This area was pretty crowded but I think everyone ended up getting to the activities they wanted to do.

  

  

Next up was the simple machines area which we'll be studying more of next year. Laney just would not give up trying to lift some blocks with an excavator arm and she finally got it!

They definitely all had a bunch of fun at the domino exhibit not only because they're inherently fun, but also because it would record your domino toppling and add it to a stream of about 15 other videos to make a very long chain reaction.  They came up with some great ideas for their video additions!

Another exhibit Grammie had already reserved for us (she's so awesome!) was the Lost Egypt area. This was another exceptionally well done activity that we could have spent hours enjoying! We do some archaeology at home, but we learned quite a bit more here. The kids even planned an expedition and decided on the tools and supplies they would need to go including a budget and weight allowance. 

  

They even had a mummy of a teenage girl with very interesting notes about how they knew who she was physically and in society.

Since we'd been learning for about 5 hours we decided to take a break and have a snack. We found the historical memorial statue of Ben Franklin too!

Next up was the brain! This exhibit was huge and covered everything from neurons to memory to motor function. It even had a playground neuron climbing structure!

   

We tricked our brains for another hour in a very fun optical illusion area. The kids especially a room that had your brain thinking you were going upside down but actually were not. I acted like I was terrified the whole time and Laney loved it!  I was stumped for quite a while on this one so I asked Grammie to try it too. She got the same answer I did! Try it!

$5000 right?!  Nope - not the answer at all!

One of the kids favorite parts of this section was the driving with distraction activity. They all had to drive a friend around while she talked and asked them to text her mom. Brayden hit a soccer ball, a cat and a dog, Laney was in a multi-car accident, and Ryan went the wrong way into oncoming traffic.  I don't think we'll be going for driver's licenses any time soon! Even Grammie had some difficulty!

   

The last section we had the energy for was Laney's request - the heart. We learned all about cells, blood, healthy food, and even climbed all through the chambers of the heart the size the Statue of Liberty would have!

We were all starving by the time we were finished so I found Stella's Cafe very close by with vegetarian fare. I was thrilled to see a vegetarian philly cheesesteak on the menu! There were also some delicious veggie burgers Brayden and Laney loved. We need more places like this in Pensacola!!

We got home in time to watch some Olympic gymnastics and finish our rousing game of Pictionary. We even had time to Skype with Dave!  Grammie and Ryan came back from behind with an exciting win! We may have sampled some of our cannoli too.