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 41

As I slipped out of the tent this morning I was excited to be able to catch a little sunrise from behind our campsite. The boats were already out fishing and the sun was fully up shortly after.

So I admit it's a little nutty. I was excited about breakfast this morning. When Dave and I traveled to England about five years ago I became slightly addicted to crumpets. When we first arrived back home I tried to find them but couldn't. I tried to make them and they flopped. So I actually squealed a little when I found them a Trader Joe's the day before. I was going to initiate my children in the wonderful work of crumpets for breakfast today.

I toasted them just so on the camp stove and slathered with butter and jelly. I added fruit to everyone's plate and waited patiently for their reactions. And that's where I usually go wrong with my kids. I have these expectations and they completely defy what I *think* they are going to do or say. I got nothing. I have to say they were a bit dry and not as chewy as I remember, but they were still good. Well, if you want to make me anything for my birthday, just make me some crumpets. Forget the kids.

We headed first to Jamestown Settlement today. As we were driving into town the day before I saw a sign for Yorktown as well so we made sure to buy the combo ticket for both places this day.  Yes they were about 150 years apart, but we were there so we might as well go see more history.

The docents had some furs for the kids to look at when we first walked in. They loved it when he told them to tell everyone at home they'd "caught a skunk" when he threw it to them.

After we took some time to watch the movie, we went upstairs to learn about bartering.  Once the kids earned the peace medal to show they understood everything, we headed to the Powhatan Village to begin their trading.  When the Powhatan saw their medals he gave them some corn to take to the colonial village for trading.

We stayed in the village for  a little while trying the different activities set up. The kids ground some corn and practiced hitting some targets. They also scraped some deer hide and tied some knots for a fishing net. We'd already done much of this at home or at other pioneer days so the kids were old pros showing other kids how to do things.

  

Our next stop was a quick tour of a recreation of one of the three ships that brought colonists over to Virginia in 1607, the Susan Constant. We couldn't believe how small the bunks were for all the sailors!

All the kids enjoyed trying their hands at steering the ship with the whipstaff.

After chatting with one of the guides we headed over to the colonial settlement for more exploring and a chance to trade. They all offered their corn for trade to the merchant and she gave them each a small bracelet in return. 

We also watched a musket demonstration as well as asked bunches of questions about the practice of medicine in the 1600s to the settlement doctor. He showed many of the tools they used and pretty much grossed all of us out to the point we were no longer hungry fr lunch. It was very interesting though!

We walked through most of the houses arranged like the settlers may have lived.  We had a hard time imagining a large family living in rooms the size of our living room for their entire house.

The kids had a ball trying on all the armor and finding the chickens too. It was blazing hot but there was enough shade, water, and shelter to keep us going.

I would have loved to spend a little more time inside as there were tons of exhibits set up in chronological order of Jamestown as well as what was happening in England at the time. The kids were way more interested in dressing up so I'll save that for another day. Ryan was having a bit of trouble keeping up her pants!

They had a great little display with some swords from the Revolutionary, British, and French armies. The difference in the weight of all of them was amazing! The French sword was unbelievably light.

We made our way through the gift shop and hopped in the car for sandwiches on the way to Yorktown. This museum was undergoing some big changes so much of the inside portion was closed and there was considerable construction going on outside in their transition to the American Revolution Museum. The plans for this place look awesome and we'll definitely have to make a trip there again.

 

They had a bunch of stations set up for the kids to experience life in the revolutionary times. The kids enjoyed carrying water (heavy!), ironing (annoying!), and washing dishes (takes too long!) among other things. 

We learned how they made linen thread, handled medical issues, and toured the military encampment.  Again we were amazed six soldiers shared these tents. No wonder these camps were rampant with disease!!

This was the size of George Washington's tent - much bigger!

To Ryan's dismay there were musket and canon demonstrations next. As long as I held her ears she was ok with the musket demonstration. This guide did a fantastic talk about the weapons as well as a detailed demonstration of what it took to fire the gun. It must have been at least ten instructions they followed from the commander to fire!

Next up was the cannon demonstration and there was no way Ryan was going near it so I handed off my camera to Laney and we hung out by the stockade. Ryan got in trouble in the few minutes we were there! The other two enjoyed the talk and we still held our ears as far away as we were!

And that's where our fun day ended. The kids decided to fight for the 4,278th time over silly stuff and I wasn't interested in hearing it anymore so we left without a visit to the gift shop, ice cream, and a trip to the pool. We headed to Barnes and Noble for some wifi time for me and they were left to read. It was the quietest they'd been in a month. I guess they figured out I was over it.

When we were getting in the parking lot Brayden spotted some planes flying over us. They were the Blue Angels!! It was awesome to see our guys up in the air again!

Once we made it back home it was time for us to read and go to bed. The next day was going to be Williamsburg and I knew we'd be spending the majority of the day there for sure!

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.

Day 1

We were packed and ready to go by 7:30 this morning just in time for a wonderful breakfast treat from Grandpa.  It's always wonderful to not have to cook on a travel day!  Dave was also able to join us so the kids got just a few more minutes with him.  We've had a lot of goodbyes the last few days and they're never any easier!!

After a few errands we were hitting the Alabama State line in no time!  Brayden is over taking pictures at the state signs but the girls convinced him to get out since we stopped at a different Alabama state sign than last year.  This is him acting so very excited to be taking a picture.

This route has been well traveled by our family with frequent trips to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Atlanta so I decided to plan plenty of stops along the way to keep my bordom to a minimum. The kids aren't the problem on this day as it's so exciting to get going, read new books, and play on coveted electronics!

Our first stop was a favorite from when I was a kid heading to Birmingham every summer and major holiday - Priester's Pecans!  I'd never taken the kids because the viewing rooms were always closed when we traveled on weekends, but not today!  There are some benefits to leaving in the middle of the week!  The kids stood there for 15 minutes and discussed favorites, debated recipes, and waved at the friendly candy creators!

Next Brayden fell head over heels for the key lime pie pecans.  Then of course the divinity, fudge, and caramel clusters got them hooked and I practically had to drag them away.  They settled for a scoop of jelly beans each and we were on our way again.

The next 30 minutes were full of oohs and aahs as they tried buttered popcorn and cotton candy.  I was surprised I remembered all those flavors by their descriptions of the colors!  Next up we decided to take Dave's sister's advice and stop in a downtown Montgomery splash pad. It was very refreshing and fun as always.  And bonus - no injuries!

And if you know my children you know they can't resist racing down a huge hill!

After grabbing a snack for the ride we were on the road again to our park.  After about a mile of interstate, the gps took us backroads the whole way - my favorite!  The small towns of less than 3 square blocks always catch our attention as we read all the store signs as we slowly drive through.  The last 10 miles or so were pretty curvy so Laney sat with her head up and enjoyed our latest audio book - The Penderwicks.

This park had first-come first-serve campground spots so we drove around to find the recommended spots of the Lutz family.  With our new tent purchased on the road last year we need quite a bit of area, so we were struggling deciding between stellar views and bathroom proximity.  The kids spotted a deer at one site and just had to have that one!  It was much like European Vacation as we circled through the one-way campground loop 8 times!

We finally settled on a spot but I was nervous to set up as (you guessed it!) a very ominous rain cloud was just hovering all around us.  We heard thunder all around so I made a quick snack dinner and we headed to the shelter to eat.  With the motivation of pool time, we set up the tent lighting fast and headed to swim.  What a beautiful view!

While I got everything set up for night, the kids busily made houses for the gagillion roly polies near our site.  We even were treated to two more deer munching near us.

After a chapter of our newest book, 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel + 1 Dog = Chaos, and promises of a fun day hiking tomorrow, the kids passed out without a peep.

Quote of the Day: Brayden - "Momma I have a question.  Why do people talk so different in Montgomery even though we are only a few hours away?"  Maybe Aunt Kelly can answer that one.

Day 18

We were up and moving bright and early again to get on the road to Maine.  I knew it was going to be a long day in the car, so I tried to fill the two little people I had up with breakfast.  They had breakfast burritos, yogurt with fruit and granola, toast, and an orange.  And what did I hear?  "Is there anything else?"  Hopefully the mountain of snacks would be enough for the day.

This is the mountain we were camping next too - absolutely beautiful!

Once Grammie made it to us, we got on the road in our little caravan of 3.
After some gps worries and an unproductive stop at McDonalds for wifi, we made  it to our first stop - the Penobscot Narrows Observatory.  But first....we made it to Maine!!

The year before our first summer trip I'd bought a book called "Off the Beaten Path" to aid me in planning stops around our drives or where we were camping.  Flipping back and forth through the years of planning, a picture of this place would always catch my eye.  Well, finally we get to stand there next to it!

This is the tallest bridge observatory in the world and the only one in the country!  It was build to replace a bridge across the Penobscot River and rumor has it, a woman came up with adding an observatory at the top for tourists instead of having a toll on the bridge.  Women are genius!  The unique thing about this observatory is the top 2 floors do not have elevator access so there is no elevator shaft in the middle of the room.  You have a complete 360 degree view from the top!

Brayden seemed a little nervous, but warmed up to the view after a minute or so.  It was pretty spectacular.

Here is a view of the other support from the top:

Here are some views:

After visiting each window for their particular view, we headed down to Ft. Knox for a visit.  The 3 adults instantly turned out heads to the side in a questioning look as if to say, "Is it THE Ft. Knox?  The one where everything is locked up as safe as Ft. Knox?".

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Here is a view of the bridge and observatory from the fort:

And a cool little city actorss the river:

We searched and searched, but never quite found the answer.  This fort was build to protect Maine and other eastern territories in several wars - 1812, the Spanish American, and the Civil War.  Soldiers in this fort would fire on ships as they entered the river aiming to take over the land nearby.

Our tour was quick with a lot of similarities to our beloved Ft. Pickens.  The kids enjoyed the semi-spooky walks through the darker tunnels.  This place would be a great place for haunted Halloween fun!

And of course, I have to take pictures in the tunnels all this wonderful light!

And what is it with every kid's fascination with cannonballs?

There was much more information in the visitor's center than we could digest with kids anxious to get on the road, so we left and headed to our final stop - Acadia National Park.  While the park was very confusing to navigate, I caught glimpses of the rocky coast and islands in the distance.  I was ready to sit still for awhile as we were staying here for 3 nights!

We were excited to grab a flyers with tons of programs for the days we were here as well as a bus schedule - NO DRIVING!!  Let's just hope the lines aren't like Disney World!

While we were setting up the kids make some friends with a couple boys just down from us and attempted to teach them their camp ball game.  It's similar to a home run derby but with points subtracted for strikes and a race to ten.  I do believe it's still evolving as I heard a new rule tonight.

After a quick dinner, we were off to read and for me to plan what programs we could attend. So many choices!

Quote of the Day: "Boys?  Where?"  This was Sofia after learning the kids had a few new friends tonight.  She abandoned unloaded and immediately had to investigate!

Day 18 - Views and Settling