Soaking up South Carolina

We woke up early to catch our 9:30 ferry ride to Fort Sumter. That is the one site that the kids added to the trip. It was Alastair that suggested that we visit Fort Sumter because he had learned that it was the location of the first shot of the Civil War. Upon seeing the fort, I think he was a little disappointed to learn that there is not much left of the Civil War fort due to the fact that it was shelled to rubble. There is about one story left of what had been a 55 foot high outer wall. We listened to the park ranger describe the history of the fort and the sieges which took place there and milled about the grounds for an hour or so before our ferry took us back to Charleston.

We had a quick lunch at a local bar and grill and had about the worst waitress one could imagine. It was not busy and she seemed much more interested in flirting with a regular at the bar than in waiting on the McLains on the Road crew. We made it through lunch, annoyed but satisfied and visited the Old Slave Mart Museum, which had once been used as a sales room for the interstate slave trade. We learned that in the 70 years between the drafting of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil War, more than 1,000,000 American-born slaves were sold away from plantations in the upper South to work in the lower South. In Charleston, the customarily sold on the north side of the Old Exchange Building until a city ordinance in 1856 prohibited the sale of slaves in public. As a result, the Old Slave Mart was opened along with other sales rooms, yards, or marts. We have spent so much time learning about the civil war we felt it necessary to learn more about the atrocities of slavery and its role as a causative factor of the Civil War.

After the Old Slave Mart, we walked over to tour the Old Exchange Building & Provost Dungeon. We learned a little about the history of the building, its various uses over time and the famous people who had hallowed its halls, but we were mostly there to see the dungeon. It was not as scary as the kids hoped and we didn't hang around too long. We made it back to the RV as it started to rain and we settled in for the storm. The kids watched a movie, Jll and I did some laundry, and everyone is turning in early. We have a long drive to Orlando tomorrow and the kids want to get an early start.

- Dave

A few days on the down low.

We slept in yesterday and decided to not spend the day driving for five hours to tour the Biltmore Estate. Instead, we revisited the McLain Estate in Winston-Salem. We unleashed the kids in Uncle Bruce's backyard. We were more than happy to spend the day lounging around in the pool. I felt bad for Uncle Bruce because by the end of the morning, it seemed like he had pulled every pool float, ball, diving ring, and lounge chair cushion out of storage. What he didn't know was that the kids would have been happy with much less. As fast as he could bring out more toys for them to play with, they would add it to their ever-growing flotilla. Uncle Bruce and Jll ran to the store to buy grillables for lunch and I did my best to ensure that the kids didn't drown each other in the process. We had a nice lunch on the patio and the kids were soon back to the pool. As the afternoon wore on, Uncle Bruce got his vengeance on Jll and me for the pool toy mess in his backyard by announcing to the kids that for dinner he had cherry pie and ice cream. He was not joking. We cleaned up the yard, and headed out to Old Salem. Though everything was closed as it was Monday, it was interesting to see the Moravian settlement and buildings. We said our goodbyes to Uncle Bruce and headed back to the RV.

Today was relatively uneventful as we packed up our belongings and left North Carolina in the rear view mirror. We pulled in to Charleston at about dinner time and ran out to do some quick shopping. A downpour of rain squelched our plans to grill dinner, and we searched out the best barbeque we could find using the interwebs. We ended up at Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ. Jll left unimpressed by the brisket and the kids and I polished off a rack of ribs in nothing flat. We got back to the RV, got everyone cleaned up and tucked in for the night.

- Dave

Uncle Bruce

Hey this is Addie. The first night with my [Great] Uncle Bruce in NC we went out to a delicious dinner. The next day we played in his pool and we had a good lunch. And guess what? He even gave us each a miniature car from his collection. We saw his two pianos, slot machine, and his amazing house. I'm going to miss him. Goodnight, Addie

Goodbye Virginia, Hello North Carolina

We woke up fairly early yesterday so we could pack up and drive over to Staunton to meet Reese Roper and his family for church. I have known Reese since sixth grade. He also made up part of the contingent of kids from southeast Denver that trekked to East for high school. I tell my children often that what other people think of them is none of their business. To me, Reese always embodied this idea. I remember when he ran for head boy at East, he thought it would be funny to put on a puppet show in front of the whole school instead of giving a typical speech. It was funny, and Reese didn’t win. After several unsuccessful attempts to park in front of Reese’s house, one involving me hitting a telephone pole with some part of the RV (perhaps the awning), we decided we’d park in a more RV-friendly spot and meet the Ropers at church. We worshipped together at the Trinity Episcopal Church, which Reese’s three year old daughter refers to as the whisper church. It was an enjoyable service and we moved on to brunch. We had a great meal at the Byers Street Bistro and had a good chance to catch up with Reese and Amy. Hopefully they will move back to Denver in the near future.

After brunch we loaded back up for the drive to Winston-Salem. It was fairly uneventful but for some schmo that decided he would use the gas pump as a parking place while he ran in for lunch, leaving us waiting behind him for 10 or 15 minutes until Jll went in to wrangle him. Our RV park in NC is the worst one we’ve stayed in so far. Upon checking in, Jll was instructed by the owner that if we could just keep our fireworks, firearms, liquor, and foul language in check we’d get along fine. We unloaded quickly and got the hell out of here to head into Uncle Bruce’s house. Uncle Bruce had set out a spread of fruits and cheeses for us and he gave us a tour of his home before heading to dinner at the Village Tavern. Apparently the restaurant has another located in Broomfield, but I’ve never been there. We enjoyed dinner and were able to catch up with Uncle Bruce. He invited us back to his house for pie, which we declined so he loaded us up with peanut butter cookies for the ride home. Luckily we didn’t hear any fireworks, firearms, or foul language last night and we all slept well.

Little mountain equals big fun

This morning my Z family hosted us for breakfast and more time together in Warrenton.  They live on a former holly farm that has beautiful views and walking paths, some that lead to a protected wetland area.  We had a really nice walk around the property looking for wildlife.  We spotted one turtle but were also rewarded with wild raspberries and lots of butterflies. 

I was so glad to have time with my aunt Joyce and uncle David and cousin Michelle.  We have always lived pretty far apart and visits don't come as often as we would like.  We had fun looking through old photos and laughing at old hair styles.  I am glad the kids have solidified more memories of my Hull side of the family.  I hope we have many more in the near future.

Michelle has gained some serious "cool cousin" points for gifting the kids with the most amazing toy called 20Q.  If you haven't seen this thing you should Google it for sure.  Essentially it is a little artificial intelligence computer that plays 20 questions with you and can actually identify the object you are thinking about in 20 questions.  We are all fascinated by it and each of the kids promises to make it the first item they share at school during show and tell.  Michelle, thanks for elevating my kid's status on the playground with this most amazing toy.

We said our goodbyes before noon which was hard because we also said goodbye to Grandma.  She will stay with the Z's for a few more days.  Without a doubt she will have fun but we have missed all of the grands this summer and it is sad to say goodbye again.

We logged a few more miles and are now outside of Charlottesville, VA.  We spent 4 hours this afternoon at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home.  Monticello is old Italian for "little mountain" and 4 out of 4 McLain children think Monticello is better than Mount Vernon.  So there you go!  It is pretty fabulous.  We LOVED the extensive gardens.  Watch out aunt Julie, Addie is already devising a plan for all she wants in her garden next spring and she is going to hold you to your word to come to Denver to help her.

The mansion is beautiful and has such really cool European influence.  Alcove beds are super fun.  Addie wants one of these too (not likely to happen).  My favorite items were the double facing clock at the front door that faces into the foyer and out to the front porch, the dumb waiter made just for wine to come up from the wine cellar and his 8 burner stove in his kitchen.  I also really liked the special little revolving door between his servants and the dinning room so the trays of food were spun through a special passage to the butler.  I would like one of those revolving doors and a butler. 

We all find it very interesting that at Jefferson's death he was in terrible debt.  Probably would equate to 2.5 million in today's dollars.  His entire estate had to be liquidated to cover his debt.  Also interesting that he opposed slavery and still owned hundreds of slaves and probably fathered 4 children with one of his slaves after Martha's death. 

The children are asleep and David is busy plotting our activities for tomorrow.  Hopefully a really fun new worship experience, some yummy food, and a nice visit with David's uncle Bruce in Winston-Salem, NC. 

Jll

School

Hey this is Addie. Now I know it is a little early to be talking about school but I have been thinking about 5th grade constantly. I miss my friends and can't wait to see them. I'm sad that I am missing out on the pool with all my friends but I love the trip so much. People often ask my what is my favorite part of the trip so far and I say the historical sites. I like history like my teacher Mrs. Collins. In fact, I got Mrs. Collins a present. I also got my friend Stephanie a present at Yankee Stadium. (She likes the Yankees). When people ask me what the worst part of the trip is so far I say missing my friends. I only have 6 words to explain this blog post... I can't wait until 5th grade.

Goodnight,

Addie

Bull Run was no picnic

We had a really simple and calm morning this morning which was so nice.  Alastair received a new LEGO set from my mom yesterday of a space shuttle so he was busy working on it first thing this morning.  Addie was busy cleaning up and making omelets for the family.  Magnolia created a make-believe game where she served me two choices of pie, either peach or kiwi.  Clearly the peach pie was much better.

Dagny and my mom had a very nice sleepover in the city and a fabulous breakfast at the hotel as well.  They took the Metro to meet us in Springfield and we were quickly underway to our next destination. 

This afternoon we visited the town of Manassas and the site of the two battles there at Bull Run.  We always opt for the introductory movie at the visitor's center which highlights the main points of each of these historical sites.  This movie was very good and the kids always seem to do so well to listen quietly.  They are learning a lot but still get confused sometimes.  During the movie Maggie leaned over to my mom to ask, "which ones are we rooting for?"  We all agree the Civil War was a nasty time.  We also discuss how both sides could have done a better job of "using their words." 

One of the things that we found particularly interesting about the First Battle of Bull Run (or First Manassas) was that both the south and the north had townspeople pack picnic lunches and spread out blankets on the outlying hills to watch the battle.  Everyone believed their side would win and the war would be over in a flash.  I think the first battle had 5,000 casualties and a year later at the second battle there were 22,000 casualties.  Terrible.

My aunt Joyce, uncle David Zelinsky, and my cousin Michelle all live in Warrenton, VA and we had a really nice dinner together at their home.  My aunt and uncle have always been world travelers and their home is beautiful and full of such interesting items from around the world.  We had a really nice evening together and a great dinner too.  Today is our 16th anniversary and my aunt, uncle, and cousin surprised us with a giant cake, balloons, champagne, and singing.  The kids loved it and so did we.  It is hard to believe we have been married for 16 years and that so many wonderful things have happened to us during those years.  I feel so fortunate to have my husband and healthy children and loving extended family.  Our marriage is a gift and we still have so much fun.  We are waiting for all of the kids to fall asleep so we can go have a second piece of cake.  It is ours after all.

- Jll

Capitol with a capital C

This District of Columbia is fabulous and has worn out my little family.  We have enjoyed it very much but it is clear to me we are ready to be finished with big cities for a while.  Stacking up Boston, NYC, and DC has been pretty tiring.

While my mom is here in DC she is staying in a lovely hotel in the city.  She has allowed each of the girls the opportunity for a sleepover with her.  The first night was Addie's turn.  So yesterday we drove to meet them at the hotel.  We all took a quick drive over to the National Cathedral.  It is a beautiful Cathedral and I am so glad we were able to see it.  It was damaged in the recent earthquake and it was interesting to see the pieces that had broken off and fallen on display on the ground close by.  They are working to restore the damage.

We also did a quick drive by American University where my dad, Tim Scates, attended Law School over 40 years ago.  I know my mom was disappointed that the streets were so crowded and we didn't find an easy way to park and look around.  She and I would have liked the chance to walk and talk without so much busy life going on around us.  My sister was born here in DC so the 3 of us will need to repeat a trip here in the coming years so my mom can retrace all of those steps for us again.

We stopped for a quick picnic lunch before heading onto Washington's home, Mount Vernon.  I loved it!  In fact, I think we all did.  It wasn't too hot and we had plenty of time to walk the property and the mansion and really get a feel for Martha and George's wealth and lifestyle.  One fact that stood out was that in a single year the Washington's would have hosted over 600 house guests in a single year.  Dave thinks that sounds awful but I think it sounds fantastic!  The Washington's had several hundred people working for them on the property so I am thinking all we would have to do is talk, eat, drink, and play parlor games.  I could do that for sure. 

Of note, the day gave me and Maggie our very first opportunity to view a Magnolia tree and a blossom.  Yep, beautiful.  Just like my precious version 4.0.

Dagny liked the day because she was able to pet sheep, pick up leaves and flowers, save bugs from certain death in spider webs and she even found a snake skin.  Each day reinforces her love of plants, animals, and insects.  I am even more certain now that she should be a CSU Ram and pursue a degree in horticulture, biology, botany, or something in which the Aggie's specialize.

Lehigh and Delaney were able to be with us again so I think Addie and Alastair would have said that they liked playing on the grass on the Potomac side of the mansion with Delaney the most.  They liked the ha-ha wall (a low brick wall that is tricky because you can't always see where it ends on a grassy hill so sometimes children fall off the wall making them laugh) and swinging each other around by the arms.

My mom and I both think Martha was pretty unattractive.  A picture of her in her downstairs parlor was not so pretty.  But Martha had as much wealth as General George, and frankly I don't think he was much of a looker either, so maybe they were a match made in heaven.  Pretty cool that they are both buried right there on the property and that we have been able to learn so much about our Nation's number 1 President.

We said goodbye to Lehigh and Delaney and drove a little bit back to Becky's house to see Bill and Kris and Becky one last time.  My mother-in-laws are amazing cooks and even when Kris doesn't cook she buys really yummy stuff.  Last night we had an indoor picnic of yummy shrimp, olives, pate, breads, cheeses and my new most favorite food in the whole world.  Some sort of blue cheese pecan pie filing apricot preserve deliciousness.  Heaven!  I am pretty sure I am making this when I go back to Denver.

Last night was Maggie's turn to sleep over with my mom and she was so excited.  When you are 5, 6, and 10 you look forward to the following as it relates to hotel room stays with Grandma: a cab ride, room service, soft robes, bubble baths, and the fact that Grandma lets them watch TV before they fall asleep.  I would have liked to have been invited for a sleepover too.  That all sounds REALLY good to me too.

This morning the RV crew slept in really late.  We are starting to have too many late nights pile up on each other and we are tired.  Some mornings just start of badly and mine was not a great start.  Silly little things like forgetting to pack things I needed in my bag and having to turn the car around to go back and get them.  Making wrong turns and doing an overall bad job of driving.  I put my skirt on inside out and had to ride the entire subway ride into the city with my skirt inside out (not kidding).  Once we got to the Capitol half of the items in my day pack were considered hazardous items and I had to throw them out. 

Good thing we had such an awesome tour.  My mom managed to arrange a tour for us through Senator Michael Bennet's office.  She knows him because of her career in DPS and a really lovely and knowledgeable intern from his office spent the afternoon with us educating us about the Capitol.  She obtained passes for us to view both the Senate and House from the Galleries and I think that was very interesting as well.  A great experience.

We walked about a mile to the Air and Space Museum.  It has been on our list of places we didn't want to miss mostly because we thought Alastair would like it.  It is a very good museum and has tons of great exhibits and hands-on activities.  We sat in on an interactive demonstration about the international space station.  It was fantastic!  As usual, 2 out of 4 McLains were invited to participate in the demonstration.  We all laugh at this phenomenon.  We think it is because we sit front and center but we are pretty sure it is because we just have a greater chance of being selected because of the 4 kids.  It happens all the time and it is funny.  It really reinforces the kids love of learning because of the experiential element.  Plus, it makes for good photos.

Oh yeah, guess who I ran into at the museum?  Lehigh, Max, and Delaney.  I have seen them more in the past 3 days then I have in the past 3 years.  Giant kisses headed out to them again. 

Tonight Dagny is having her sleepover with Grandma.  Without a doubt I am sure they are having a great time.  The rest of the crew is settling in and I hope they all sleep late and catch back up on some z's.  Speaking of Z's, tomorrow we get to move south and have plans to meet up with the Zelinsky's (my mom's only sister and her family),  We don't get to have enough visits with them so I am really looking forward to some time with them in their hometown.

Thanks Washington, D.C. for delivering.  You are beautiful, educational, historical, and I am so glad we could spend these few days here learning more about why the U.S.A. is the greatest country in the entire world.  Love it.

Jll

My favorite things of Washington, DC

What I liked about DC is the Lincoln Memorial because I got to stand where Martin Luther King stood when he gave his I Have a Dream speech. I also like the FDR Memorial. It has a lot of fountains. I also like the Jefferson Memorial. It's 19 feet tall. I also liked the World War II Memorial but the fountain was broken. We also went to the Viet Nam Memorial. I did not like it. I also like the Washington Monument. It looked like hay. We also went to the Korean War Memorial. It had statues.

Goodbye, Alastair

In Washington, DC

In Washington, DC what I liked the most was when I was with Max and Delaney. We went to a parade and we had cookies for dessert. The parade was great, there were red coats and blue coats. The red coats played music and the blue coats danced with guns. Then we were catching fireflies on the way to the Metro. When we got on the Metro we sat down. Then we went home. The end.

- Maggie

Molly, if you are reading this, I really miss you. I hope when I get back that we'll have lots of time together. 

Our saint in the city.

This morning, after being roused by an early alarm clock, we had a hurried breakfast and rushed to the Franconia-Springfield Metro stop to meet Andrea "Lehigh" Diehl. Lehigh is a friend of ours from our days at Colorado State University. After college she married Brian Diehl, who had been my roommate at the Beta house and again at the University of Edinburgh. (Kids, the Beta house was at 801 S. Shields in Fort Collins. Swing by there when I'm 70 and let me what is there). We travelled with Lehigh and her daughter, Delaney, to the National Archives so that our clan could visit the Rotunda and see, with our own eyes, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. After visiting so many sites from the Revolutionary War, and especially Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and Constitutions were signed, and Congress Hall, where the Bill of Rights were enacted, it was important to close the loop by seeing the actual documents. I was somewhat shocked to see how faded the Declaration of Independence has become. You could hardly tell there was anything written on the parchment. Jll and Lehigh were constantly hounded by security while we were in the Rotunda. They let about fifty people in at a time, and you mill about without any real order until you've had your fill. Jll and Lehigh left two strollers at the bottom of the stairs where we had been in line to enter the Rotunda. A few minutes after we entered, we heard security calling for the owners of the strollers to retrieve them and bring them up into the Rotunda. They were politely asked to set them aside on top of the stairs. About ten minutes later, we heard security calling again for the owners of the strollers, telling them this time to just keep the strollers with them. The kids and I got a laugh out of the situation by announcing stroller security breaches wherever we went for the next half hour. Lehigh packed a lunch for her family and ours, and we ate together at the café in the National Archives before heading back out onto the streets.

The next stop was the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I wanted to see the newly redisplayed flag which had flown over Fort McHenry and which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the Defence of Fort McHenry, which was later set to music and became the Star-Spangled Banner. Even though we missed seeing Fort McHenry in Baltimore I wanted to see the flag, and it was impressive. I appreciate that kids spend time reading exhibits. They particularly like the interactive displays. Adelaide informed me after leaving the exhibit that the missing star was actually removed from the flag and given to Abraham Lincoln as a gift. I will have to ask her tomorrow where she read that because in preparing to write this blog, I can't find any information to substantiate that story. Lehigh and Delaney had to leave to go get Lehigh's son, Max, from baseball camp and we were joined by my mother-in-law, Lynne Scates, who flew out from Denver this morning to be part of McLains on the Road. We left the museum and made our way to Arlington National Cemetery. On our way out, the kids found Harry Potter's uniform and asked that I take this picture. Incidentally, Jessica and Amanda, Adelaide wanted me to inform you that she has now finished reading the Harry Potter series.

We took a quick tour of the cemetery, with an extended stop at the Tomb of the Unknowns. After watching the changing of the guard ceremony, watching a little more guarding, and walking around the amphitheater, we realized that the next guard change was only five minutes away, and the kids voted to watch it again. Adelaide, Alastair, and I opted against the central viewing area and stood right next to where the commanding officer inspected the rifle and uniform of the incoming guard. After the ceremony we followed two of the Honor Guard to the flagpole where we watched them retire the colors for the evening. It was truly impressive to watch men perform with such precision and perfection. I admired most the fact that they never leave the post, day or night, rain or shine. As the city evacuated for Hurricane Sandy, the Honor Guard performed their duty. I read on one website that the 24 hour guard start on July 2, 1937. If that is accurate, that means that there has been a soldier pacing back and forth continuously in front of the tomb for the last 76 years and 22 days. That is a lot of pacing back and forth. We knew that the kids were impressed by the changing of the guard also because afterward, they were marching around and Alastair was performing precision drill movements with an empty water bottle. Unfortunately we missed our chance to visit the interior of the Arlington House, but I did enjoy reading about the familial relationship between George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

We left Arlington Cemetery just in time to meet Lehigh, with both Delaney and Max in tow, to walk over to the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial to watch the Sunset Parade. Lehigh was kind enough to pack in a dinner for all of us and we enjoyed a picnic dinner on the grass before the start of the parade.  The parade features the music of "The Commandant's Own," the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, and a precision drill by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. This was also an impressive thing to see, and certainly a much more memorable way to see the Iwo Jima Memorial. Afterward we walked back to the entry to the Arlington National Cemetery and parted ways. Adelaide and Lynne jumped into a cab to head in to Lynne's hotel for the evening, the Diehls jumped into their car to head home, and the remaining McLains on the Road headed to the Metro to get back to our car. Jll and I remarked as we drove back to our Pohick campground that it amazes us that every day, we have the greatest intentions of getting our kids to bed at a decent our and every day, we are dragging back to the RV way too late. All in all it was a great day in the city and we owe a huge thanks to Lehigh for shepherding us around safely and feeding the hungry. She is a saint indeed.

- Dave

We see, D.C.

The alarm went off a little early this morning but we knew we had so much to see.  We gathered up Dave's dad, Bill, after saying a quick good morning to his step-mom and her sister, and headed in on the Metro to see the sites.  We started at the Washington Memorial and moved through each of the following Memorials: Jefferson, FDR, MLK, Lincoln, Korean War, Vietnam War, and WWII.  I am very glad I was able to see them all but have to put Jefferson and Lincoln at the top.  Very cool to finally see in person.  The kids did a good job and I think they really enjoyed seeing them as well. 

We made a visit to Ford's Theater.  We have all received a LOT of information about President Lincoln during the past 6 weeks.  I know we all felt like we needed to see the theater to wrap up the history lesson.  It was interesting as well. 

We made plans to meet up with Dave's step-mom, Kris, and her sister, Becky, at the Old Ebbitt Grill.  This is a very interesting restaurant and bar right near the White House.  The food was great and the company was even better.  It is so lovely to have a greater number of adults present at a meal than children; especially adults my children love so much.  Normally when I sit down at a restaurant (or at church, on a train, on a couch, at the doctor's office or anywhere else) there is a battle for who gets to sit down next to me.  It should be lovely, but it gets to be exhausting keeping track of whose turn it is to sit next to me.  Guess how many children wanted to sit next to me at dinner? Zero, nada, none.  I love my in-laws and that my children love them all so much too.  What a gift that we can all be together and that the kids feel such total joy in their presence.

We parted ways with the adults after dinner and the 6 of us walked to the White House.  It is beautiful and we really do wish we could have had a closer and longer view of it.  We are not sure why, but the McLains and all of the visitors near us were very rudely hustled away from the White House from the Secret Service shouting at us "The fence line is closed.  Move to the left or the right."  We all agree it was not the hospitable welcome we were hoping for.  I hope our next stroll past is not so snippy.  After all, don't they know we are the McLains on the Road?

- Jll

Just a bunch of Pohicks.

We had to get up early this morning so we could finish of our time in Pennsylvania in grand style. We made the eight o'clock church service at the Hershey First United Methodist Church. I picked it because it is a beautiful stone church across the street from the Hershey Story Museum, which I saw when we visited the museum. The service was enjoyable, and the church had bright blue, very ornate stained glass all around the sanctuary. What we noticed about our visit to this church was that it was not very welcoming. Every other church we have visited on our stop has had members who will ask us who we are, where we are from, and how we found the church. This usually involves us then telling the story of our three-month trip across the country. In Hershey, however, I don't think anyone from the congregation even said hello to us, much less engage us in any discussion. The kids even noticed this and we talked about it as we drove away. It did make me question how friendly I am to people I don't recognize on Sunday mornings at Wellshire and I am certain to go out of my way to talk with visitors when I get home. I do not want anyone to leave Wellshire how we felt leaving church this morning.

After church we made it to the Hotel Hershey for breakfast. It is an old, grand hotel, and reminded me in certain respects of the Broadmoor or the Hotel Del Coronado. We enjoyed a big spread of a Sunday brunch in the Circular Dining Room. While not as great as the Sunday brunch at the Terrace Dining Room at the Broadmoor, we didn't quite make the full Sunday brunch. This was the hotel's normal breakfast buffet. The buffet shuts down at 10:30, so that the staff can pull out all of the stops for the Sunday brunch, which starts at noon. Given that we had to make the drive to DC today, we couldn't wait that long.

So we enjoyed our delicious, though modest, buffet and walked through the formal gardens. The children were taken by the koi ponds, which I learned were actually reservoirs for the growing town in the early 1900's and were actually 30 feet deep. As it started getting too warm to be comfortable, which we typically gauge by the sweat accumulating on Alastair's head, we returned to the RV park to pack up and leave for DC.

It was an uneventful trip, though the congestion through DC and Virginia was a little interesting at times in a 32' motorhome, towing a mini-van. Changing lanes takes patience. When that doesn't work, it takes the guts to just start changing lanes, knowing that the person next to you doesn't really want to get hit. I haven't had anyone not make room yet. After setting up at the Pohick Bay Campground, we headed to Springfield to meet my dad and step-mom at Kris's sister house.

My dad and Kris arrived today to help Becky pack up her house. We had dinner at Becky's house and the kids remained fully entertained with Nana and Papa's host of iPads, Nooks, Android phones and, for Maggie, a carved wooden bear that she decorated with Jll's sunglasses, a few strings of Mardi Gras beads, some random bits of cardboard, a yogurt container, a grocery store receipt, and whatever else she could find. My dad, Kris, and Becky came back to the campground to get a first hand look at the RV, and Addie gave them the grand tour before walking Nana and Papa through the journal she has been keeping. Papa put it together for her before we left and she has been diligently keeping up to date. When our guests left, we turned in relatively early knowing that there is a lot to see here over the next few days. It is going to be busy in DC, I hope the town is ready for us.

- Dave

The kids will still hold my hands, and that's good enough for me.

We could not hang out in Hershey, PA for as long as we have without making a trip to Hersheypark. After getting up and at 'em this morning, we caught the shuttle to the theme park and made our way in with the throngs. It was a hot and humid day, reaching 89 degrees in the mid-afternoon, and Jll and I were worried that the kids would wilt and wither. We kept them properly hydrated and we had a great day in the park. After the lack of success trying to get the older kids onto big roller coaster and thrill rides at Cedar Point, I adjusted my expectations and stuck with the family, riding a few wooden roller coasters, log rides, and the ride where the kids drive the cars, bouncing back and forth against the metal rail in the center of the lane. Dagny had a hard time staying off of that rail. One highlight of the day was the Tilt-a-Whirl. No matter where we are, or how fabulous the newest attractions may be, I will never turn down an opportunity to ride a Tilt-A-Whirl. Upon reading the sign, Dagny pointed out that she previously believed, incorrectly, that the name of the ride is Tilt-a-World. At one point, we rode it three times in a row, with Jll watching from the nearest bench. We tried different configurations to see which one would produce the fastest spinning. As it turns out, if I was on the right-most seat, we would spin the fastest.

Our day at the park ended with the Jasen Magic show. He picked Alastair to participate in one of the illusions and Alastair did a fine job standing on stage letting the audience stare at his nose. At the end of the show, for his last trick, Jasen asked for a small child to volunteer. Magnolia quickly shot up her hand and was crushed when she was passed over in favor of a blond haired boy. As the boy was laid out on a board between two folding chairs about to be levitated, Jasen made a big show of showing him a thumbs-up, indicating the trick was about to begin. The blond haired boy quickly shook his head, and looked towards his parents. As Jasen let him down on the ground and began to explain that he needed another volunteer, Magnolia ran onto stage without having been invited and without missing a beat. Jasen approved of her can do attitude and rewarded her by levitating her. She is not much of a magician, though, because after getting tucked in for bed tonight, I asked her how she levitated and she informed me that she was actually laying on a small board, and when the big board got pulled away, she was still on the small one. She also relayed the instructions she had been given, to lay on the board very rigidly with her feet slightly lifted.

As we headed out of the park, we stopped by the Tilt-a-Whirl again but the line was just too long. We decided we'd head back to Chocolate World, take the factory tour ride, and end the night with another free sample of Hershey's chocolate.

All in all is was a good day, and I noticed that as we walked through the park, one child or another would walk up and take my hand. I took great pleasure in walking with my children hand in hand. With Adelaide being ten, I don't know how long this will continue, so I will enjoy it as long as I can.

- Dave

Hanging out in Penn's woods.

I continue to count my blessings that things are going so well.  We are past the halfway point and I am so pleased we have yet to have a single cold, flat tire, or any real drama at all.  I feel so fortunate that even the little hiccups are minor. 

Yesterday we left Downigtown, PA (near Philadelphia) after breakfast to drive the 2 hours to Hershey.  It takes about a half hour each time we leave a camp site for us to put the motor home back into driving condition.  I am in charge of interior items like putting plates and coffee pot away, clean up all the counters and move/store all small items that would move around while driving, put the two slides back in place, reinstall car seats, etc.  Dave is in charge of the outside and it is a much more difficult job, mostly because it is dirty, gross, and in the humidity.  It involves unhooking power, water, and sewage (gross) and then reattaching the car dolly to the RV and the Honda to the dolly.  He is really good at these things but I am guessing he doesn't love this chore.

Yesterday we only made it about 2 miles before we made a wrong turn that had us pointing up a steep private drive that dead ended.  Not exactly how we hoped the morning would start and certainly was a bit stressful at the time.  Dave kept his cool as we found a relatively flat portion of the drive to unhook the Honda, then the dolly and drive the car out of the way and push the dolly out of the way.  I am still impressed that Dave was able to find a way to turn the RV 180 degrees around and get it pointed back down the hill.  He is impressive.  I still haven't driven the RV a single mile and I am so grateful he is so capable.  After he hooked the dolly back up and the Honda we were back on our way.

We arrived in Hershey, PA about 1pm and headed straight over to Chocolate World.  We didn't really know what to expect.  It is a giant building dedicated to chocolate, the commercialization of chocolate, and the eating of chocolate.  You have your choice of 5 different ways you can spend your money on activities and about a million ways to spend your money on stuff and eats.  We decided to go with the free factory tour.  I use the phrase "factory tour" loosely as it isn't the factory at all.  It is an automated ride (like the six of us in a plastic brown car that hooks onto the track in the floor) that goes through a simulated chocolate factory to describe the process.  The ride is made complete with 3 singing automated cows.  Needless to say, it was not what Dave and I were hoping for.  The free chocolate sample at the end of the ride was enough to fuel us for the half mile walk in the heat  to the Hershey Story Museum which is a great little museum which outlines the entire life of Milton Hershey and how he struggled to become a great businessman, created a community and not just a company, and then gave all of his millions away at the end of his life to a boys orphanage here in Hershey.  Really a great museum and we all learned a bunch. 

We walked back to Chocolate World to reward the kids with their own chocolate making experience.  It was fun to see us all in our hair nets and aprons and we did get to select our individual ingredients, watch our bars as they were created on the Hershey assembly line, and we were each able to create our own personalized labels.  It was fun for us all and the kids were thrilled with their creations.

It is worth mentioning that we rode the factory tour ride a total of 3 times because it was free, there was a free chocolate sample at the end, and because we wanted to make funny faces at the camera that snaps your picture toward the end of the ride.  Again, another opportunity to spend your money.  We passed on buying the pictures but sure had fun laughing at ourselves on the giant photo screens.

Today, Friday the 19th, we actually set an alarm to get up and get going.  We had a very busy day planned.  We drove the 1 hour to Gettysburg  to visit the Gettysburg National Military Park and Museum.  As part of our visit we watched a film called A New Birth of Freedom which was a really good overview for the kids and we also visited  the cyclorama which is a 360 degree painting/diorama of Gettysburg during the battle.  Also great.

The museum was very comprehensive and had some really great artifacts and interactive tools.  In all I think we were there for 3 hours or more.  The kids have done a great job learning along the way.  I think Alastair has the greatest interest in American history of all the kids.  At museums he and I often hang out together.  Even though he is a very strong reader he wants me to read to him about the exhibits.  I am sure it feels like I am reading him a story.  The stories of these exhibits are perfect for him because they involve battles, weapons, amputated limbs, and the like.  Days later he will say to me, "Mom, remember that story about that guy who was stabbed 7 times but didn't die until 9 days later?"  These are the moments he will remember and so will I.

We rounded out our Gettysburg experience with a trip to the Soldier's National Cemetery.  This cemetery is were about 3,500 of the Union soldiers were finally buried after the 3 days of brutal fighting left thousands of men dead.  Of the 3,500 about 1,000 of those buried there are unknown soldiers.  The cemetery is also the site of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.  Yep, the McLain family has witnessed some amazing parts of our American history.

At about 1 we had a snack of granola bars and pretzels and headed back across PA another 90 minute drive to Lancaster County.  Dave and I had our hearts set on lunch at the Plain & Fancy Farm.  At about 2:45 we sat down for our Amish Farm Feast.  I won't list all of the items which were placed on the table but let's just say that we managed to eat an entire day's worth of calories (and then some) in a single meal.  We all agreed that the homemade breads were our favorite part of the meal but it was all delicious.  We tried sour cream apple crumb pie and wet bottom shoo-fly pie for dessert.

We visited a multimedia movie called Jacob's Choice regarding rumspringa.  This gave the kids (and me) some understanding of Amish culture.  You might be born into an Amish community but you are not yet Amish.  You take your rumspringa when you are about 16.  This is when you venture out to explore the world and English culture to decide if you want to live in the world or with the Amish.  If you choose to return you are baptized and live in the Amish community for the rest of you life.  If not, well, see ya.  Apparently the Lancaster Amish are about 30,000 and have a 95% return for their kids after they leave on their rumspringa.  Interesting little tidbit.

We had the opportunity to take a buggy ride with an Amish man and visit his neighbors' farm.  Dave and I both found it a bit odd that the plain and humble Amish are willing to commercialize  themselves to the tourists as well, but we did enjoy our experience and it is the American way to try to make a buck, so I guess, good for them.  At the farm the kids had a blast petting horses (Oops, McLains have week DNA when it comes to animals and allergies.  We should never be allowed to pet horses.) seeing a litter or 11 four week-old puppies, 3 day-old calves, milk cows, chickens, pigs, and seeing the parents and 5 Amish kids that live on the farm. It was a great afternoon, and again, I think we learned a ton.

The crew is fast asleep and catching up on their beauty rest in the hope that we will spend the day with them in the Hershey Amusement Park.  Lord help us.

Missing all of you and wishing you could witness this amazing trip of a lifetime with us.

Hugs from PA.

Jll

Pennsylvania

Right now the location of the RV is Brandywine, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. We have been visiting a lot of great historical sites here. Yesterday, we saw the site of Washington's Crossing. I got to see the Delaware River. I learned that when the Patriots attacked the Hessians in Trenton, the Hessians were not drunk as some reported, but they were outnumbered and fought hard. We also saw Valley Forge. We saw a lot of cabins that the Patriots stayed in during the brutal winter. We also saw the house where George Washington stayed. The guide pointed out that the Patriots not only stayed at Valley Forge for the winter, but they stayed there until the beginning of summer when it was 95 degrees out.

Today we went into Philadelphia. We saw Independence Hall, which is where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. We saw Congress Hall which is where the old Senate and House of Representatives used to be. You know, DC wasn't always the Capitol of the US. We also saw the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross's house. Betsy Ross made the first American flag. We came home and swam at the pool here at the RV park and we played Mexican Train. Then I started writing this blog.

Good night,

Addie

2 days in Philadelphia

On the first day in Pennsylvania we went to the museum of Washington's Crossing. I learned that not only did Washington cross the river, but his 2,400 troops crossed too. After that we went to Valley Forge. I learned that the group of men in each regiment that finished their hut first received a $12 bonus, that is like $266 now. Today we went to Independence Hall. I saw the room where they signed the Declaration of Independence. I learned that on one of the copies of the Constitution was corrected by George Washington. Then we went to Congress Hall. We went to the Senate chamber. It was very cool that they learned how to use the Constitution there. Then we went to the Liberty Bell. It actually had a crack in it and it was cool. Finally, we went to Betsy Ross's house. She sewed the first American flag when she was 24. Good bye, Alastair

Stalking George Washington

I felt like we spent our day stalking George Washington. We started by visiting the spot where he crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776 to take the British forces by surprise the next morning in Trenton, NJ. There is a nice National Park visitors' center located there, and the kids enjoyed looking at the artifacts and replica uniforms from the Revolutionary War. There were not a lot of people at the park, and I am not sure if that surprises me or not. Sure it is out of the way, but the ten days after Washington crossed the Delaware changed the course of the war and the country's history. I did not appreciate, until touring the visitor center and watching the movie there just how instrumental this period of time was in changing the tide of the war. We grabbed some pub grub at the Patriot's Crossing in Titusville, NJ before heading back to Pennsylvania. I tried to convince the kids that this was the bar at which George Washington and his troops ate after crossing the Delaware, but they wouldn't bite.

Our next stop was at the Valley Forge National Park and visitors' center. Again, there is a nice museum, though with less artifacts than at the Delaware crossing site, and movie at the visitors' center. After watching the movie and learning a little bit about the Colonial Army's encampment at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78 we drove around the site, stopping to look at some of the recreated huts and the home used by George Washington during the encampment as his home and headquarters. There were two actors dressed in period costume at the site of some of the huts, but they weren't very good at staying in character and instead of interacting with the kids in an educational manner, we listed to the man tell us that being in nature calms him, that he would like to move to Colorado or Oregon, and that he would like to see a moose but not a bear.

Of the sites at Valley Forge, I liked George Washington's headquarters the best. The park ranger stationed there was very informative and told us a lot about the living conditions in the home, who was there, what they did, and what it was like during the encampment. He also let us know that unlike other site on the property that were recreated, or partially restored, the headquarters is still in the same condition as it was in 1777-78. The house was already lived in by the time George Washington used it and for being some 240 years old, it still looked pretty good. What I liked best about the house was that parts of the home were still original, including the floorboards, wall paneling, and bannister hand rail. It was strange to think that my hand used the same hand rail as did George Washington's. I remarked to the park ranger that it was hard to imagine a cold wintery day in Valley Forge because it was 93 degrees and humid when we were there. He informed us that the "winter" encampment actually lasted 6 months and that when Washington's army left in June of 1778, it was in the mid-90's and humid. Upon hearing that, I felt better for not having to wear a wool military uniform and carry 50 pounds worth of gear.

On our way back to the campground, we did a little grocery shopping in order to restock the RV. The kids and I swam in the campground's pool as Jll organized the RV and we had a quick dinner of sandwiches and assorted fruits. It was then time for me to part company with the family and find a local poker room. As I drove to the Harrah's Casino in Chester, I recalled that I dislike driving at night when I don't know where I'm going and I'm blindly following GPS directions. I have no idea where the GPS is taking me, or through what kinds of neighborhoods it is taking me. At one point tonight I drove around a prison, which I can't imaging is in the best part of town. Despite questioning my decision to drive around in an unknown city at night, I made it to the casino and back safely. The money I make playing poker should be enough to cover the gas for my roundtrip journey this evening.

That's it for now, tomorrow we head into Philadelphia to stalk more of the founding fathers. As we make all these stops, I can only hope that our kids will someday appreciate this trip. I do not expect that they will remember everything about what we learned along the way, but I hope that as they sit in history class through their educations that when they get to the parts about the Revolutionary War or the Civil War where we have visited, that they will remember at least that they've been there. I also hope that that memory will be enough to spark their interest, and to learn more about the people, places, and events that formed and shaped this great country.

Dave

NYC

NYC, a great definition for noise. We spent 4 days there. We took a lot of trains (subways). I hate the subways. Something I learned about myself is that I hate noise. I kept finding myself with my hands on my ears. I also noticed how much more construction there is in NYC than in Denver. Oh, I forgot to tell you we actually stayed in NJ and took the subway under the Hudson River to NYC. The only thing I hate more than subways are subways that go under water. Something I learned about NY people is that they do not care about personal space, like when I was walking and someone was heading towards me. I thought that there were going to move over, but she just walked right into my shoulder. Or like when there is a big crowd and I'm smushed, it's like "Hi, how are you? I'm a little smushed. Just kidding, I'm really smushed. Hello. Hello!" We did lots of things, so much that I can't list them all. I am sore. We left yesterday and stayed in Pennsylvania last night. We relaxed by the pool.

See ya,

Addie

Church in the city

We hustled the kids out very fast this morning in an effort to get to church on time.  We had struggles with the subway this morning due to closures on the weekend.  It was challenging.  But we continue to follow Dave all over the place and we always see interesting parts of the city.  Adelaide is becoming very good at figuring out the subway. 

This morning we worshiped at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the fourth largest church in the world. It was a very beautiful and large church with the largest rose window in the United States.  Lots of worship traditions which were new to the kids and it is interesting to watch them figure it all out.  Today the kids learned about incense.  I guess none of them have ever seen or smelled it before, but they were very confused.  Alastair kept asking Dave, "What is the smoky stuff that smells?" 

Mass was a little longer than the McLains are accustomed to so we followed the fancy phone to Crepes on Columbus and the phone was spot on.  We had a really fabulous brunch as a family and we all agreed we ordered well.  I had a crepe with roasted turkey, goat cheese, and ratatouille.  It helped to explain my meal to the kids by referencing the kids movie of the same name.  I was only able to convince Alastair to try it.  Delicious.

We walked all over the place and took a peek at Radio City Music Hall.  To do list item for the next time; Addie wants to see the Rockettes.  We visited Rockefeller Center and peeked through the windows of the Today Show (no Matt Lauer sightings). We window shopped and discussed all that we were not interested in buying.  Holly cow, there is an awful lot of stuff I have no interest in owning.

We took the kids to FAO Schwartz by Rockefeller.  Is this a new location? Neither Dave or I remember the store looking like this and didn't think it was as good as we remember as kids.  Regardless, the kids had fun looking around.

We made a pass through the Plaza and even stopped into the Eloise store just for fun.  For some reason Dave and I have a much better memory for the Eloise books than the kids do.  Who have we been reading that book to all these years?

We returned to Jersey City early enough to have ice cream for dinner (not kidding).  Thanks for the good times NYC.  We are out of here in the morning.

Jll

For as tired as I am, you would think that we would have done more today.

Since we wrecked the kids yesterday, we encouraged them last night to sleep in this morning. It worked, partially. Maggie and Alastair were still up fairly early and, because we've used the television so infrequently in the RV, they could not turn it on to entertain themselves this morning. Thankfully, Jll got up and put on a movie, buying me a few more minutes of rest. Then, because she was up, Jll agreed to round up another assortment of pastries for breakfast. By the time we got out of the campground, it was ten thirty, pretty late for us. We took the Path train from the Grove Station to 33rd Street Station and walked up to Grand Central Station. After walking around the main terminal for a few minutes, we took the subway to 161st Street.

We picked up our tickets at will call and headed in to Yankee Stadium. I don't know if it's because he plays baseball, or that he is older, but watching Alastair watch a game now compared to his first game is night and day. The first game he attended was when John Miret and I took him to a Rockies game at Coors Field. Being his first game, I sprang for club level seats. Unfortunately, he was interested in everything going on in the stadium except what was happening on the field. Today, Alastair actually sat and watched the game. Unfortunately for him, I did not spring for club level seats at Yankee Stadium.


In lieu of the best seats available option on Ticketmaster, I used the "cheapest way to get my family into the stadium" option. We could not have been further from the field. Despite being in the last row of the stadium, the view from our seats was not bad and we enjoyed being protected from the sun. The Yankees lost 4-1 to the Twins. On our way out, we stopped at the team store to pick up a jersey for Alastair. He has not asked for anything on the trip so far, and very much wanted a jersey. On our way back to the campground this evening he asked if he could wear it every day for the rest of the trip.

On our way back through Manhattan, we stopped in Central Park to walk for a while and so that the kids could explore some of the playgrounds. We enjoyed the walk, though we were detoured by a Mariah Carey concert. I don't much care for Mariah Carey and did not appreciate the detour. We toyed with the idea of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it was getting a little too late, and the kids were getting a little to punchy. We walked a little further through the park and then found our way back to the Grove Station and our home on Marin Boulevard. We cleaned up and made a random dinner out of yogurt and leftovers. Not very enticing, but it did the trick. The kids were so worn out that they didn't even fight bed time. I think that the cumulative days of walking around the city is taking its toll on everyone. I know that I am tired. I can't fathom how people live here and commute through the city day after day. It makes me appreciate my five mile commute from the house to Cherry Creek.

- Dave

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow.

Holy cow! We really managed to pack in the fun today and we are exhausted!

Dave and I made the rookie mistake of letting the kids know we would go to Carlos' Bakery as soon as they woke up for breakfast since we missed our chance last night.  They were up at 5:45 instead of their usual 7:30.  Yowza!  We beat the crowds for certain when we strolled in when the bakery opened at 7am.  The kids enjoyed cheese Danish and apple turnovers.  A fun way to start the morning.

We were on the subway with the commuters by 8:30 and headed under the Hudson River to Manhattan.  We strolled through Battery Park and landed at the 9/11 Memorial just before it opened.  A somber way to start the day but I am glad we did it.  Where the towers once stood,  now two beautiful fountains sit with the names of all of those who lost their lives on 9/11.  Very glad I have seen it.

We walked the financial district, Wall Street, and NYSE.  I don't think the kids fully understand the significance of this part of the city because our explanations of stocks and the market still leave them scratching their heads.  We have some room to improve on this topic.  We did manage to stop into Tiffany and Co. on our way through just for fun.  The kids don't really understand the significance of the little blue box either.  I guess that comes when you start to figure out the stock market. 

We hopped the subway to Time's Square just around lunch.  You could see the kids were getting tired and nearing sensory overload.  Adelaide seems to be the one most bothered by the noise of NYC.  So much traffic noise, sirens, music, crazy loud everywhere.  I expected at least one of the kids to fall in love with the bustle of the city, but they all seem pretty set in their love of Colorado.  This was a large dose of city for one day.

We had a slice of pizza for lunch and headed to see Annie at the Palace Theater.  Dave got good seats for us and the kids were so good.  After each of the first 5 acts Maggie would ask me, "Is it over"?  I had to explain that the audience would clap after each act, then an intermission, then many more acts.  She finally settled in after that.  The kids really did love it, maybe Magnolia the most.  She really didn't want the play to end.  We will remember it always I think.  I thought about my first Broadway show many times today when I was about Adelaide's age.  My parents took us to see 42nd Street and I can still remember the pretty girls tap dancing on giant metal coins on stage.

Visualize our efforts to manipulated the city.  Magnolia rides in her sad, little, umbrella stroller that has probably seen 2000 miles in the last 10 years.  I push the stroller and drag Dagny along in my left hand.  Dave takes the lead with Addie in one hand and Alastair in the other.  We hold onto them pretty tight here in the city.  Dagny is by far the biggest risk.  I am becoming more and more aware of her spaciness.  I have observed this over the past 30 days especially.  She will find something of interest (usually an insect) and stop.  She doesn't see us moving on and will stay engaged in whatever she is watching until I physically walk back and get her.  I am now saying several times a day, "Dagny, focus."  When we return to cities and towns with a slower pace I will be sure to carve some more time out for her to stand and observe nature.

Broadway is so close to the Empire State Building that we couldn't head home
without stopping.  Adelaide had to be convinced to go to the top (she claims a fear of heights).  We visited the observation deck on the 86th floor and a good time was had by all.  Such great views even though the rain was starting to fall.

Back on the subway and across to Jersey City again.  We stopped into a fun Cuban restaurant for dinner.  Dave and I enjoyed our dinner but the kids were practically falling asleep at the table.  Bad luck, still raining pretty hard when dinner was over and we needed to walk about three-quarters of a mile home still.  Dave drew the short straw and ran back to the car so he could drive back and pick us up so we didn't have to drag all 4 kids the distance home, exhausted, in the rain.  What a good guy.

The kids feel asleep in a flash and I am hopeful they will sleep a solid 10 hours or more.  We are all tired and will probably take a bit slower pace tomorrow.  Good night NYC.

Jll

Lady Liberty

Hi, this is Addie. Today was the day of Lady Liberty. We started out eating streusel and scones for breakfast. We played a game of mini golf at the campsite and then we started driving to Jersey City, in New Jersey, which is right next to Manhattan, New York. We played Phase 10 on the road. When we got to our campsite, we could see Lady Liberty. I got to go onto the roof of the RV to take pictures of her. We got ourselves ready and then headed off. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the place that would board us onto a boat that would take us to the Statue of Liberty. Once on the boat, we headed off to the island. On the way, we saw Ellis Island. I learned that my great grandpa, Mike Szatkowski, was came on a boat as an immigrant from Poland and passed through Ellis Island. When the boat was turning around the Statue of Liberty I took a bunch of pictures. When we got off the boat, we got our audio tour. It was a little machine that told me about the history of the Statue of Liberty. I wish I could have seen the statue when she didn't look green. The person who narrated the audio guide acted as if she was a falcon. We went in a circle around the statue and I thought that she was beautiful. We got back onto the boat to take us back to New Jersey. I was sad to leave the Statue of Liberty, but I knew I would come back sometime. When we pulled into the dock, I was looking over the railing and I could see it coming. The side of the boat crashed into the side of the dock. For a second, I was really scared because I thought the boat was going to sink. Fortunately, all the boat did was bounce off the dock. I was relieved. We got off the boat and went back to our car.

We drove into Hoboken and got a parking space right in front of Carlo's Bakery. That's the famous bakery on the TV show "Cake Boss." We went to dinner at a pizza shop. Then we went to Carlo's Bakery. We saw tons of people in line. We asked the people in the front how long they had been waiting and they said two hours. We decided instead of eating there, we would find a different dessert place. We chose a German bakery. I got a delicious chocolate piece of cake, filled with Nutella and whipped cream. After dessert, we decided to wake up early tomorrow morning to go to Carlo's Bakery for breakfast. We drove back to the RV. That's it.

Goodnight, Addie

The Statue of Liberty

Hi, Alastair here. Today we went to the Statue of Liberty. We didn't get to go inside it but we got to go on the island it's on. It's green but it used to be the color of a shiny penny. Then we had dinner at some pizza joint in Hoboken, New Jersey. Then we went to the Old German Bakery for dessert. Goodnight, Alastair.

Connecticut and New Jersey

It’s strange to thing that we woke up Tuesday morning on Cape Cod. We had an unremarkable start to the day as we had a leisurely breakfast at the campground in Eastham and began the drive to Middletown, CT. Traffic was easier getting off of Cape Cod than it was getting on. We arrived on a Saturday, and we found out that all of the vacation rentals run from Saturday to Saturday, so that is not an ideal time to be travelling. We made it to our campground just across the Connecticut River from Middletown in Portland. It was a funny campground, which I chose because it is the closest one to Middletown. The main business is as a marina and dry boat storage facility, and it happens to have ten camping spots in the back corner. When we first drove up I was a little confused because I saw far more boats than RVs. In any event, we set up our campground, and headed to Bristol to visit the American Clock & Watch Museum. As it turns out, there are not a lot of kid’s activities in Middletown, other than a children’s museum, which seemed all too logical. I learned that the American Clock & Watch Museum had a special exhibit on art deco watches and the temptation to drag the kids another half an hour in the car to see was just too great. It was a nice museum and I enjoyed the art deco watch exhibit. I may just have found another thing to collect in addition to fountain pens and Dunhill lighters. Anyway, the kids did better than I had expected at the museum and we headed back to Middletown. We walked around Main Street a little bit, stopping in a bakery that advertised donuts made from croissant dough. Unfortunately, they only make them on the weekend. They did have some taster samples, though, and they were delicious. We will be on the hunt for cronuts in NYC. We ended our walk down Main Street when we reached the homeless men on the street next to a police car with its lights flashing. On the way back to the car we ducked into the Emporium and enjoyed some mid-afternoon crepes. Since we had a little time to kill before dinner, we made a run to the grocery store and restocked the RV.

For dinner we met Kristi Overton and Terri Carta at Eli Cannon’s Tap Room, back on Main Street. I know Kristi no longer goes by Kristi, but I cannot help myself. I told Kristi we needed a suggestion for a place where our kids would be able to act like kids and not have other diners looking at us funny. As it turned out, it was a great selection. By the end of the night our waitress gave our kids pieces of chalk and invited them to tag the walls, ceilings, and anything else they could reach. Addie tagged the restaurant with the McLainsontheRoad.com address, so we’ll have to see if that causes a bounce in our web traffic. I have known Kristi for as long as I can remember, as our parents were part of the same neighborhood social group. We attended school together through high school and it was Kristi and her twin sister, Suzie, that first invited me to attend the senior high youth group at Wellshire Presbyterian and encouraged by to attend the confirmation class with them, which I did. We had a great time catching up over dinner and afterwards we retired to the back patio, which is equipped with Adirondack chairs in an oversized sand box. We were therefore able to continue our conversation as the kids made sand castles and dug holes. The night ended far too quickly, but it was nice to be able to catch up.

Yesterday morning we loaded up and left our marina home. We started the day by meeting Jll’s cousin, Mark Zelinsky, for breakfast at Mitchell’s on Main in Cromwell. During our discussion, we talked about the fact that it had been nine or ten years since we’d seen Mark. As with a lot of our visits, it was great to catch up but far too short. Mark did make a recommendation for a show in New York, so now we’re set to see Annie Friday afternoon. On the way out of Connecticut we stopped at the PEZ factory and visitor center. The kids enjoyed it and we are now the proud owners of an assorted set of PEZ dispensers. Mine is the one with the Cubs hat on top. Unfortunately, I think we ran out of PEZ by the time we crossed the state line into New York. For some reason, the PEZ seemed softer here. I don’t know if it is because they were fresher or whether the humidity prevents them from getting rock hard. Either way, they still tasted like compressed sugar with some artificial flavoring.

Driving through Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey yesterday, I was struck by the number of boarded up and dilapidated factories. It made me wonder what this country even makes any more and what it would be like if we had a greater manufacturing base. What happened to the segment of society that used to work in the factories? It was depressing looking at the history of the country’s great manufacturing and industry slowly crumbling down. It made me want to buy an old factory and make something, anything. Unfortunately, it turns out that my skillset lies elsewhere and the chances of me becoming the next manufacturing mogul are slim to none. Sorry kids.

We passed through New York pretty quickly and made our way to our campground in Andover, NJ. We set up camp and headed to Sparta to have dinner at my cousin, Jennifer’s house. We were joined by Jennifer’s husband, Bill, her son, Billy, and her daughter, Brooke. We were also joined by my other cousin, Karen and her two sons, Conner and Parker. My aunt Kathy and Uncle Charlie were also there. Although we had just seen Aunt Kathy and Uncle Charlie in Chicago, I don’t think I’d seen Jennifer or Karen since my sister graduated from grad school in New York nine years ago. Luckily for Jll and me, Jennifer has a pool which kept the kids busy so we were able to catch up with family. Jennifer and Karen’s sister, Missy, comes in today and all of their families are making their annual trek to Nag’s Head. I am sorry that we missed Missy, but hopefully we can catch up with her and her crew when we swing by Dallas on the way home.

Have I mentioned how much I love my motor home?

In the planning and preparation of this trip I expected to appreciate the practical necessity of my motor home, but I certainly didn't realize I would like it as much as I do.  Here are some reasons why:

1. My beautiful little cherubs sleep less than 30 feet away from me.  When they wake up in the morning they simply take a few steps to me or hang over the side of their bunks to begin each day with cuddles. 

2. Captive audience with Dave and the kids.  We have spent almost every second together in the last 4 weeks and we are having so much more fun than I expected, even in our small house on wheels.

3. Almost no TV (although Dave and the kids did watch The Gremlins last night).  I really don't love television and we have seen very little.  I have not watched the news in over a month and it is fabulous.

4. We can clean our little house with a dust broom and some Clorox Wipes in about 3 minutes.  Super fabulous!

5. I am a bad cook but in a motor home I am amazing if I put cream cheese on a bagel and cut up an apple.  So far I have used my microwave, coffee pot, toaster and boiled water.  No actual cooking or baking yet.  Dave grills outside and we eat out or picnic.  I could live my entire life this way and I am pretty sure my grandmother and mom could too.

6. Having a motor home as a home base is awesome.  I think it would be hard on me and the kids to travel as much as we are if we didn't have a constant home to return to each night.  I love that we can see so much of our beautiful country and still feel like we have a safe, fun, relaxing place to unwind each night.

7. Fewer choice and fewer things.  I have 1 coffee mug instead of the 12 I have at home.  As it turns out you only need 1.  I love that one cup is good for coffee, water, wine, seltzer, and milk.  At home I must have 200 cups or glasses.  I love the simplicity of less.

8.  I love that my motor home moves when we walk through it.  This causes me to go to bed earlier and stay in bed longer in the morning to protect the sound sleep of my beautiful little people.  I am not compelled to get up early to do laundry or empty the dishwasher.  Oh right, I have neither of those things.

9. I love not have a dishwasher and watching my little people wash the dishes and work as a team to dry and put them away.  They are very good to help and think it is kind of fun.

10.  Clothes and laundry have been a breeze.  Limited clothes choices make getting dressed really easy and doing laundry is great when you do it 5 loads all at the same time at the laundro-mat.  Plus Dave helps me put it all away here in the motor home 100 percent more often than he does at home.  I love our team effort.

Now, onto the details of all of the fun we are having.

Sunday, July 7th

We have had 4 very different worship experiences thus far and we had a great experience yesterday at First Congregational Church of Chatham.  This church was beautiful and small and was founded in 1720.  I love the looks we get when we visit.  My crew is so "churched" that the kids are always willing to participate in the "word to the children" portion of the service and my husband is so well dressed that he makes friends wherever he goes simply by wearing a bow tie and seersucker.  This Sunday all 4 kids headed off to Sunday School during the sermon portion of the service and I love that they all wanted to go.  Addie let me know that she "loved" Sunday School because they made paper dolls and hers was the best.  Too funny. Also, we are keeping an informal survey of churches who offer the Lord's Prayer with "Forgive us our (debt/trespasses) as we forgive (our debtors/those who trespass against us).  This week the Congregationalist threw in "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Alastair looked at me like they had all lost their minds.  It was really funny.

After church we asked the minister for a lunch recommendation and walked a few blocks to the Wild Goose Tavern at the Wayside Inn in Chatham.  The oldest 2 are bonkers for seafood and want to order from the regular menu as the kids menu doesn't contain the yummy seafood.  Alastair and I split a pasta dish with lobster, shrimp and scallops and Adelaide ordered a fried scallop roll.  Delicious!

We packed a dinner and headed back to Nauset Light Beach to play in the sand and surf for a few more hours.  This beach has seals that live and play in the waters right near the beach.  They are easy to spot if you pay attention so I keep one eye on Magnolia and one on the horizon always looking for the seals.  The seals swam within about 25 feet of Dave and the oldest 3 at one point.  Very cool, and a little creepy.

Monday, July 8th

A funny thing about my motor home is the smoke alarm.  It is on the ceiling right above my stove.  Let's just say that it is very sensitive and any cooking (even the toaster) sets it off.  So, I made pancakes for the kids outside on Dave's fabulous camping stove.  Works great and fun too. 

We hustled into the car for the 30 minute drive to Provincetown for the day.  We walked along the harbor and watched a fisherman clean fish and feed the fish skin to the seagulls.  Interesting for the kids for sure.  We toured the town hall and then caught the Provincetown Trolley for a one hour tour of a 10 mile loop of Provincetown.  It was a great way for us all to see the town and learn some interesting facts.  Like...3400 residents are "year rounders".  70,000 people visit Provincetown on busy days like the 4th of July.  Yowza!

We visited the Pilgrim Memorial Monument & Museum and climbed all the way to the top of the tallest all granite structure in the US.  Great view and fun for us all.

The kids were patient to follow us all around town and we promised them beach time in the afternoon which we found next to the fisherman's wharf.  It wasn't an overly impressive beach but it was perfect for the kids because it was a protected cove with no waves, abundant crabs and other fun creatures to catch and the kids made friends with triplet 10 year old boys from Parker, CO of all places.  In addition to the crab catching, Dave rented a paddle board for the afternoon and we all took turns paddling out into the cove and giving it a try.  I liked it a lot and I think it is very relaxing. The kids want one when we get home to Denver.  I tried to explain that our only choice for water is Cherry Creek Reservoir.  That doesn't seem to bother them.  They are pretty sure they could also use it in the pond out front of Aunt Julie's house.  Pretty funny.

Alastair and I stuffed ourselves on more seafood again tonight.  Thus far he and I have had lobster, shrimp, sautéed scallops, steamed clams, fried clams, fried fish, steamed mussels, and fried scallops.  We need to move onto CT tomorrow because he is eating us out of house and motor home. 

Sleep tight all.  We do.

Jll