Day 44

Finally we are back to some evening cool camping weather! We woke up this morning to a 65 degree morning with plenty of sunshine ahead.  We decided to have a fun day of exploring the area today so after a quick breakfast we hit the almost a loop trail at the top of the mountain. 

This area of the mountain was used 1000s of years of quarrying for rocks suitable for arrowheads axes, and knives.  All along the trail there were shards of rocks as if we were walking on a mountain of oyster shells in Apalachicola. The views were nice, but the company was even better. 

  

The hike was less than a mile and it was already hot.  At the end of the trail at the other end of the parking lot we saw the best view of the morning. I'm sure Dave thought we should have started there and quit!

If there is a museum nearby you know my kids have to go so that's exactly what we did to the natural history museum in the park. This tiny one-room museum was a bunch of fun showing how arrowheads can be made, how to pan for gold, the area animals and habitats, and the rocks of the region.

Our next stop was the Pee Dee lake. I don't really know why that name is so hilarious, but it makes my kids giggle every time they hear it! Ryan wanted to rent boats and float on the river so we did just that! Of course, I was the one voted to row us across the lake, but we did see a very neat dam around the bend.

By the time we made our way back to the boat house I was drenched and we were all pink-faced so we took a few minutes in the shade of the dock to eat some ice cream. Our cheapest ice cream yet! 

Once we were mostly full and cool off we hopped in the car headed for the Town Creek Indian Mound. We had such a great experience last year at the Serpent Mounds and we were hoping this place would be interesting as well. 

We were greeted and told of a movie and scavenger hunt in the museum first. This guys knew the secret to getting my kids excited! After the movie, in which they said "Pee Dee" about 47 times, we walked around the exhibits in the museum to mark off the scavenger hunt items.  

We learned a little more about the mound itself and the culture of the Pee Dee Native Americans. When the kids received their tattoos for finishing the hunt, the guide offered to do a weapons presentation for us he normally only did for school groups.  We'd been able to try the atlatl at the other mound last year, but had never seen a demonstration of a blow stick. This guy really knew his stuff and we learned so much about the history and progression of the weapons used by area Native Americans.

Next we toured the Indian Mound. The entrance was built to only allow one person through at a time to help them identify each person that was coming as well as guard from ambush from enemies.   

There were a few buildings set up that showed how they lived based on archaeological evidence they'd found about 80 years ago.  We learned about the burial custom and how the buildings were constructed. When we made our way back to the visitor's center the kids found the coldest water fountain! Of course they drank all the cold water by the time I got there so I only got a sip of the luke warm water.

   

When we were driving to the mound, Ryan spotted a fun playground so we just had to stop for some fun on the way back! After exploring all the paths around the structure, the kids decided on a lumberjack-style wobble competition. Laney beat everyone! We played a rousing game of hide and seek and I spun the kids until they were too dizzy to see straight. By that time we were all sweaty again and needing a little air conditioning.

On our way back to the campground it started raining pretty heavy so we decided to wait the storm out and have a picnic at the ranger station. I knew Hermine was supposed to be heading our way eventually, but I didn't think it would be quite this fast. We didn't have cell service in the park to check so once it didn't let up we headed into town to get some school shopping done. It has been a tradition ever since our first trip for Dave to take the kids shopping for a book, new shoes, and some clothes. We thought since it was raining this would be a good use of our time.

Dave's dad sent him a text shortly after we were finished telling him the storm was headed our way so we took a few minutes to figure out a new plan. The storm we were in was to be moving east over us and wouldn't be finished until early the next morning. The hurricane was supposed to be near us by the next day. We made the decision to pack up and check into a hotel a few hours away closer to where we were planning on being the next day.

I've been so very fortunate on all my trips so far. Yes we've had our fair share of rain for 15 days straight. Yes we've had some pretty intense wind and storms over the years. But until this night I have never had to pack up in the pouring rain. 

It was raining enough that Ryan, our storm watcher, was a little freaked out so once the girls had their stuff packed I had them jump in the car and just wait on us. Brayden was a trooper helping us as much as he could and Dave was a trooper helping as much as he knew how. I have a method that works for us that I haven't really shared so it can be difficult to help me pack up I admit!

Dave and I were muddy and completely soaked by the time we finished, but we had a hotel to look forward to so we were ok. We were not looking forward to the three hour drive beginning at 9pm however. I was actually very surprised my husband-that-falls-asleep-after-ten-minutes-of-driving ended up being good for about 2 hours! That last hour was tough though. I'm sure I looked like a zombie when I walked into the hotel lobby trying to check in. 

My two barefoot kids, my one flip flopped kid, damp and muddy husband, and I walked into the hotel aiming for the elevator to find the quickest route to a bed. I brought nothing except my phone and my laptop. Easiest check-in ever.

Day 43

I was not a bit thrilled when my alarm went off this morning, but I opted to start getting things packed and take a shower so I wouldn't stink Dave out of the car!

The kids were about half as thrilled as I was to wake up early, but before too long and after so much nagging, we were finally in the car with a five hours drive heading to the airport.  We were about one quarter of the way through our latest audio book that the kids were really enjoying so that was a good motivator for them to get going.

We only had about 15 minutes of wiggle room so unbeknownst to my backseat drivers I was speeding a little more than normal to get a few more minutes ahead. I've been known to miss a turn or three around those oh-so-confusing airports so I wanted to give us enough time to navigate the area. By the time we needed gas I'd gotten us about 15 extra minutes so we grabbed some smoothies and hopped back in the car for the last hour.

We made it to the airport with only about 10 minutes to spare after having to circle the airport once and trying to figure out how to get to the arrival area through all kinds of major construction. We finally made it with about 5 minutes to spare before Dave walked through security. He was attacked by kids with hugs once again!

With big sighs we hopped back into the car for the hour drive to the mountain where we'd be spending the next two nights. Upon check in we learned the Civilian Conservation Corps had built an Olympic size pool here so we were pretty excited to cool off.  Until we found out it had closed for the season because the life guards were back in school.

We had plenty of daylight to set up and play some card games though. With me handling all kinds of jobs on the road, we don't have too much time for games so it's so nice to be able to get back to our family games when Dave is with us.




After some delicious mexican rice bowls we headed down to the lake for a very exciting game of camp ball. We made some significant repairs to our camp balls with duct tape and Ryan and I proceeded to dominate the other three. Tempers were flaring by the time we left so we had to wrap up the game and head back to our campsite.

We read a few chapters of our book and everyone went to bed a little early. We were hoping for a cool night and a dark morning for a comfortable bunch of hours to snooze.

Day 35

Dave and I were up early to begin packing and getting the kids moving. Once everyone was sufficiently clean we enjoyed a nice breakfast Joann had left out for us again and finished up laundry. Joann and her home had been so welcoming and comfortable, we were sad to leave! The kids mentioned several times to me they would rather stay with her than a hotel!

We said goodbye to Uncle Mike and Aunt Sue and were surprised also be able to say goodbye to Natalie and Samantha. It was a beautiful, cool morning and they were all out getting some yardwork done. Aunt Sue directed us to a 7 Eleven for the kids to get Slurpies and we stopped by Target to stock up for the first few days of our stay in D.C. After a couple hours on the road we were there!

This time we were staying in Maryland just a few minutes from the train that would take us to the city. We were in a horrible spot with barely any room for our tents but I didn't want to deal with the hassle of picking out a new spot, figuring out if it was open for our six days, and wasting our precious potential time with Dave in the city. Once we got the tents set up for the night, we hopped on the train to explore. The night before I'd booked us a night walking tour of the monuments we were all looking forward to.

We made it to the National Mall just as they were closing many of the food options so I turned to Zamato for the 19th time this trip to find us a quick and delicious place for food. We found the Elephant and Castle Pub and were all starving after just snacking all day! We all ate as quickly as we could as we only had about 40 minutes before the start of the tour, but it was delicious!

Tonight's tour was a little bit different than the tours we'd done before. I believe the tour was called D.C. by Foot, but it was free and we were encouraged to pay what you thought the tour was worth and the end or what you felt you could give. If everyone were honest and generous, wouldn't that be a great way to do business? I do believe it might make some people in the service industry work a little harder!!

   

We were greeted by Ingaborg at the Washington monument, a native of Washington D.C., ready to learn and explore. We were treated to an extensive history lesson as well as a city background at each stop along the way.

Here we all are!!


We visited the Washington monument, World War II memorial, Vietnam memorial, and Lincoln Monument. This tour was definitely one of my favorite things of the trip.


   

   






This was definitely one of my favorite pictures from the tour. This statue of Abraham Lincoln is so big! The kids were almost as impressed as I was too!

This tour was such a nice look at all the monuments at night. The reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Monument reflected the Washington Monument beautifully. It was definitely a moment I will never forget.








We stumbled on a monument Dave and I had accidentally found in our travels here before the kids loved. Albert Einstein was just sitting on the steps free to climb all over. We might just have to come back here one day.

   

We made it back home shortly before midnight exhausted and ready to collapse. The kids were all packed in like sardines in their tent and had a difficult time settling down from the day. Dave and I however, were asleep within minutes.

Day 30

Seeing the day number on today's post is crazy! I can't believe we've already been on the road for a month until I take a minute to think about all we've done. Then it seems like three months!

Today we were just trying to waste time until my car was expected to be ready so we stayed up late the night before watching gymnastics. The floor routines have always been my favorite and the kids chins dropped when they saw some of the things those girls did. Once the USA was winning gold and silver for sure we decided to call it a night.

We all slept in until way past 7 then headed down to breakfast. The kids had thirds again while I started laundry and packing. The kids came upstairs to catch up on their journals while I folded laundry and finished packing. The day before I'd reserved a factory tour for this afternoon Laney spotted, so after a quick stop at Walmart for more photos and snacks we were on our way.  Brayden wanted me to add this very neat soda display to the blog we saw.

As with all the tours we've done, there were no cameras allowed so I didn't get any pictures besides this one on the drive in!

Yep, we were touring another potato chip factory. Apparently this place is only in the mid-Atlantic states and has been since the 1960s. We learned all about the process of making pretzels, chips, and all the flavors they have and have tried over the years. We watched as thousands of pounds of potato chips rolled through 26 machines and straight to the bagging and boxing area.  The kids' favorite part was when we got to taste chips freshly made pulled right from the line. At first the kids were bummed they had to wait for everyone else since we were at the end of the line. That is until our guide handed me the tray and said we could finish the rest. You'd have thought my kids hadn't already had three breakfasts and a snack on the way. I felt like I was being attacked by vultures!

At the end of the tour everyone got two bags of chips and we were ushered into the gift shop. There were tons of bags of chips in there that were only 17 cents because of mislabeling or misweighing so we made sure to grab a few of those. After seeing the the pretzels being made we definitely wanted to pick up a bag of those and Brayden was very excited to taste all the wacky flavors like dill pickle, bacon, and ketchup.

With plenty of snacks for the road we headed to the dealership to pick up my car. I'd received a phone call earlier in the day to say it was ready but since I'd already scheduled the tour we decided to still go. It was a big pain to try to fit everything back in my smaller car once we'd gotten so spread out in the minivan, but we made it work.

When the rental car finally dropped us back off at my car we were finally off to our next spot - Wharton State Forest back in New Jersey.  Dave wanted to meet up with us on a weekend so we were basically just hanging out here until he flew in three days later.  We hit a bunch of traffic and roadblocks on the way so we didn't end up in the area until well after 7pm.  My gps and my phone were sending us all crazy places so we didn't end up getting there until 8:30.

The kids quickly set up the tent while I got some cereal for them for dinner. We were all excited to get back to ready together so as they ate I read two chapters of our book. It's getting better and all of us are enjoying it more.

I'd checked the weather before we left and the area was expecting some rain overnight so the kids brought some activities into the tent in case they couldn't sleep if there were thunderstorms. I'm not sure how she finagled this, but Ryan would be sleeping with me for the next three days after being with me the three days at the hotel. It was a good thing though with the storms coming.