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....
