We did two new chapters in the Values Development book and workbook. With all the rain and mom's tooth, delays and woes this past week we were getting a little discouraged and snarly. It's easy to start adding up all the things that are getting us down from customs trouble, clutter, broken teeth, rainy days.
Topic ONE: Snowball Effect of Your Thinking
When you get in a bad mood and things start going wrong it's easy to get caught up in thinking things are terrible and letting more bad thoughts in and roll with those. Instead recognize when you are stuck in that negative thinking and plant positive thoughts instead. Whatever thoughts you plant in your head are the ones that will grow! You may be stressed but dwelling on it makes it worse. It's hard to feel good, peaceful when you let your head get filled with worries and complaints. Retrain your brain!
Topic TWO: Develop Your Compassion
Benny has been an amazing model of this for us as a family. He is the most compassionate person we know besides Manny and we talk all the time about how important it is to put yourself in other people's shoes and show empathy for what other's are going through. The biggest piece of this is to remember: EVERYONE's Pain is real and their hardships are just as real for them as ours are for us. Don't compete with other's for whose pain is more or harder. Instead practice compassion for others. Like my cousin Tori who is always quick to offer help before it's asked for or is always excited for other people's vacations or adventures instead of being jealous. We should celebrate the good things in other's lives as much as our own.
Compassion can be practiced like an instrument. Instead of being wrapped up in your own life and your own struggles, frustrations or even busy lives... try doing these instead. Ask how others are, listen and find places to show excitement or support. Offer help or do a random act of kindness today without needing credit. Smile at someone, open a door or compliment them. Forgive someone for a long time grudge or ask for forgiveness for a regret.
INTENTION and ACTION. My mom has always said intentions are great but it's actions that people see. Intention is opening your heart and action is what you do about it. Mother Teresa said, "We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love."
I'm not going to be grouchy today or argue! That's my goal. What's yours?
Happy Trails,
Jack
Thank you to everyone who has emailed and taken time form your busy days to comment. It helped withthe homesickness
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Happy Halloween...Grave with a View
The New Haven man told us he had a movie of this man's life and would send us the DVD in the mail and took our address (how cool is that?). Mr. Smith grave is a large grass mound that has a cement tube that leads down to his face (ewwww!) and on top of that is a 14x14 inch piece of glass so he could see out and others could see in if were mistakenly buried alive. A bell was placed in his hand so he could ring it just in case. Pretty creepy but cool. When we looked inside with a light we could only see dirt, mildew and condensation by the way. But as we walked the cemetery we found interesting people. One was born on my mom's birthday, a bunch died in the big flood in 1830, one woman lived to be almost 100 and they listed it as 99yrs, 6 mos, 8dys...so close! We liked seeing the old stones and found many Betseys, Orins and last names Hoyt, Smith and Wilcox. It was a really neat way to celebrate Halloween weekend doing something creepy and reaching back into the past. Happy Halloween! (Happy Birthday Benny!!) Send us pictures of your costumes.
Happy Spooky Trails!
Jack
Weather Magnets escape to Burlington, VT!
We ARE Weather Magnets! No denying it now. (This is a combined blog of Jenn and Jack this morning as it's cold and we are in a hurry to get going). This will be the fourth time that the rest of the country is dry or clear and the only activity is directly where we were about to go that day or on top of us. Have you seen the radar and stories of snow? WOW!
We wanted you to know that we outwitted the white stuff and changed our plans just in time on phone with Benny (our fairy Godfather/Storm Tracker/Internet Map Genius/Storm Tracker when we cannot get internet) from heading to New Hampshire and Maine yesterday to heading North to Burlington, VT and this morning woke up to clear ground and skies. No snow! We know that one hour south of us has a few inches and some areas we would have been in got 10-14 inches. It's supposed to clear up this week so we are merely delayed in getting to the lobster rolls of Maine, uh, we mean the Acadia National Park and all the sights rich in history...AND LOBSTER ROLLS! We will not be denied so we will stay here until it blows over and be on our way to Vermont's Woodstock region to visit Sugarbush Farm where they harvest maple syrup from trees in March and make 14 varieties of cheese we get to sample for Benny in honor if his birthday tomorrow and our shared love for all things fromage (that's french for cheese).
Don't be sad for us, northern Vermont is a Leaf Peepers paradise, Lake Champlain rich in sunken ships, sea monsters and famous battles (look it up: Benedict Arnold's ships were here), downtown Burlington has a bustling downtown area with art, coffee house called Radio Bean (radiobean.com) which says they have amazing coffee (We shall be the judge of that hailing from Seattle), Flatbread company everyone in town raves about (American Flatbread Hearth www.americanflatbread.com/restaurants/burlington-vt/ ) a cool bookstore called Crow Books and for activities we will hit the giant park that holds a treehouse and earth clock made of giant stones and settle in for a few hours at the "Smithsonian of Vermont" the Shelburne Museum which has an amazing collection of original paintings by famous artists, a lighthouse they had shipped in and reconstructed, ships and barns full of weird collections of items that will keep us entertained as we wait out the weather. Check out the museum online. We wanted to be sure to let you know we were safe and dry.
Sidenote: We also got word that Mumford & Sons are playing dates n Seattle and Portland in December. You might want to go check them out as well. They are energetic and passionate musicians who put on a lively show.
We are glad we got a peck of honeycrisp apples yesterday at Garrison Orchards who also made cider donuts with maple glaze that were tasty because now we know how much a "peck" is. It was our first time encountering that measurement. We'll post a pic!
We got to take a crazy 6 minute ferry ride across Lake Champlain because the bridge isn't done yet and all the residents rolled their eyes when we asked about the opening bridge date for this week. The lady who made us beef tomato macaroni soup (Jenn's new favorite) and owns the Bridge Restaurant on it's VT side is so cynical about it she climbed on top of her roof and in black tape made giant letters NO in front of her restaurant's sign so we ate at the NO BRIDGE Restaurant and it was lovely bridge or not.
We wanted you to know that we outwitted the white stuff and changed our plans just in time on phone with Benny (our fairy Godfather/Storm Tracker/Internet Map Genius/Storm Tracker when we cannot get internet) from heading to New Hampshire and Maine yesterday to heading North to Burlington, VT and this morning woke up to clear ground and skies. No snow! We know that one hour south of us has a few inches and some areas we would have been in got 10-14 inches. It's supposed to clear up this week so we are merely delayed in getting to the lobster rolls of Maine, uh, we mean the Acadia National Park and all the sights rich in history...AND LOBSTER ROLLS! We will not be denied so we will stay here until it blows over and be on our way to Vermont's Woodstock region to visit Sugarbush Farm where they harvest maple syrup from trees in March and make 14 varieties of cheese we get to sample for Benny in honor if his birthday tomorrow and our shared love for all things fromage (that's french for cheese).
Don't be sad for us, northern Vermont is a Leaf Peepers paradise, Lake Champlain rich in sunken ships, sea monsters and famous battles (look it up: Benedict Arnold's ships were here), downtown Burlington has a bustling downtown area with art, coffee house called Radio Bean (radiobean.com) which says they have amazing coffee (We shall be the judge of that hailing from Seattle), Flatbread company everyone in town raves about (American Flatbread Hearth www.americanflatbread.com/restaurants/burlington-vt/ ) a cool bookstore called Crow Books and for activities we will hit the giant park that holds a treehouse and earth clock made of giant stones and settle in for a few hours at the "Smithsonian of Vermont" the Shelburne Museum which has an amazing collection of original paintings by famous artists, a lighthouse they had shipped in and reconstructed, ships and barns full of weird collections of items that will keep us entertained as we wait out the weather. Check out the museum online. We wanted to be sure to let you know we were safe and dry.
Sidenote: We also got word that Mumford & Sons are playing dates n Seattle and Portland in December. You might want to go check them out as well. They are energetic and passionate musicians who put on a lively show.
We are glad we got a peck of honeycrisp apples yesterday at Garrison Orchards who also made cider donuts with maple glaze that were tasty because now we know how much a "peck" is. It was our first time encountering that measurement. We'll post a pic!
We got to take a crazy 6 minute ferry ride across Lake Champlain because the bridge isn't done yet and all the residents rolled their eyes when we asked about the opening bridge date for this week. The lady who made us beef tomato macaroni soup (Jenn's new favorite) and owns the Bridge Restaurant on it's VT side is so cynical about it she climbed on top of her roof and in black tape made giant letters NO in front of her restaurant's sign so we ate at the NO BRIDGE Restaurant and it was lovely bridge or not.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tribute to Mumford & Sons: Grace
Our goal is to find Grace and perspective and along the way, right? We found some songs, quotes, lines we liked we wanted to share or get people thinking about. The world needs more gracious people, needs to be a safer place to mess up and make mistakes and have loving people around to let you fall and get back up.
It's finally HERE! We attend the Mumford & Sons concert today (my mom's 40th birthday present) and we are so excited to see them but also to be reminded of their amazing song writing. Mom and I want to write songs like them and today we will try our hand at it on the way to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They have lines that really make us think and remind us to be better people. (Line and then my though on it.) If you haven't heard Mumford & Sons, check them out!
"Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine..." (let's lower our defenses and meet in the middle)
"If only I'd had an enemy bigger than my apathy I could have won"
(you have to care first to get anywhere)
"Seems that all my bridges have been burned. You say that's exactly how this grace thing works. It's not the long walk home that will change this heart. But the welcome I receive at every start."
(this is our favorite I think. We appreciate people who let us mess up and then let us grow and try again. Mom says it's my job to mess up as a kid and her job to teach me what's right and it's nice when others help with that in a loving way. You'd think more people would be like this.)
Your grace is wasted in your face,
Your boldness stands alone among the wreck
Now learn from your mother or else spend your days Biting your own neck
Rate yourself and rake yourself,
Take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems
That you made in your own head
(learn from the past, your mistakes or be doomed to repeat them. Waste time obsessing on little problems and making trouble but you are missing out on life and people)
Snow Patrol song:Chasing Cars
"I need your grace to remind me to find my own." (Do unto others... and thank you for your kindness, forgiveness)
Quotes:
We frail humans are at one time capable of the greatest good and, at the same time, capable of the greatest evil. Change will only come about when each of us takes up the daily struggle ourselves to be more forgiving, compassionate, loving, and above all joyful in the knowledge that, by some miracle of grace, we can change as those around us can change too.
Grace comes about in spite of something....
Forgiveness costs nothing
Grace is power
It's finally HERE! We attend the Mumford & Sons concert today (my mom's 40th birthday present) and we are so excited to see them but also to be reminded of their amazing song writing. Mom and I want to write songs like them and today we will try our hand at it on the way to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They have lines that really make us think and remind us to be better people. (Line and then my though on it.) If you haven't heard Mumford & Sons, check them out!
"Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine..." (let's lower our defenses and meet in the middle)
"If only I'd had an enemy bigger than my apathy I could have won"
(you have to care first to get anywhere)
"Seems that all my bridges have been burned. You say that's exactly how this grace thing works. It's not the long walk home that will change this heart. But the welcome I receive at every start."
(this is our favorite I think. We appreciate people who let us mess up and then let us grow and try again. Mom says it's my job to mess up as a kid and her job to teach me what's right and it's nice when others help with that in a loving way. You'd think more people would be like this.)
Your grace is wasted in your face,
Your boldness stands alone among the wreck
Now learn from your mother or else spend your days Biting your own neck
Rate yourself and rake yourself,
Take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems
That you made in your own head
(learn from the past, your mistakes or be doomed to repeat them. Waste time obsessing on little problems and making trouble but you are missing out on life and people)
Snow Patrol song:Chasing Cars
"I need your grace to remind me to find my own." (Do unto others... and thank you for your kindness, forgiveness)
Quotes:
We frail humans are at one time capable of the greatest good and, at the same time, capable of the greatest evil. Change will only come about when each of us takes up the daily struggle ourselves to be more forgiving, compassionate, loving, and above all joyful in the knowledge that, by some miracle of grace, we can change as those around us can change too.
- Mairead Maguire
Grace comes about in spite of something....
Forgiveness costs nothing
Grace is power
FORT NIAGARA
Today we went to Fort Niagara. We had the place to ourselves except for a nice couple from Washington on a cross-country trip too! Seeing the massive fort, looking out on to Lake Ontario (which is like an ocean it's so big) and understanding how this was a major factor in trading and transportation made me re-think what a fort was. I used to think of them as wooden pole fences and some scattered structures with a lookout tower, utilitarian, rough and dirty.
The place is relatively untouched, with the bunks, rifle and musket holes, cannons, mortars and small details of what life was like in the 1700 and 1800's when it was changing hands from French, British and Americans all competing for support of powerful Iroquois Confederacy. That's why three flags fly here daily. It had tables, beds, candles and barrels set up in rooms like the boulangerie (bakery for bread) or Munitions house with it's four foot thick walls. We saw where the soldiers slept in long group beds. It was a new experience to not only hear and read history but see and feel it. Putting our hands on the same walls and heavy doors as countless soldiers must have. It was a new and changing experience for me. We walked down the network of staircases as they must have being called to gun practice and meals. The "home" or French Castle, was built in 1726 (the oldest building In N. American Great Lakes region) with the permission of the Iroquois indians who said they could build a home but not a fort or military building. They built a fort but made it look like a home on the outside. The windows for example looked normal until you went up to them and there are hollow spaces under the sill where men could drop things or fire upon enemies. Each group that overtook the fort added things and expanded the grounds and made more and more elaborate military defenses and offenses to it. You can check out it's very busy and interesting history here: www.oldfortniagara.org. The biggest thing that have is the restored giant flag that was captured and held for years and the museum got it returned and restored it and are preserving it in a climate controlled room that is dark but you can see it on display. This was a valuable and important place in America's history. Look it up!
While we were there, a man dressed in full uniform and carrying a musket walked over the field to the "peace" house and told us all about muskets, rifles, strategy and warfare of the time. He even showed us how to load a musket and fire it. He told us about myths and origins of sayings. For instance, the saying, "Don't let the cat out of the bag" and "Lobster Backs or Red Coats" came from British military officers being harsh and whipping soldiers. The "cat" in the bag was a Cat-O-Nine Tails whip kept in a red bag on the officer's waist. When the soldiers were whipped for disobedience or not loading your rifle fast enough or completing a task their backs were turned red or bloody. The man's name was Jordan Buckley I think which was funny since we were from Buckley, WA He was very smart and knew so much about history and weapons. He made it come alive for us and added a lot to the experience. I like the firing of the gun but the history behind it all was best part. Mr. Buckley reads a lot and mom says maybe one day, because I read a lot, I could work at a place like this teaching people history.
The fort was a sight to see with two towers, artillery, cannon rooms, and Lake Ontario and complete with the defensive mansion gives me a new way of looking at a fort and in a more picturesque way. It was very pretty for a fort with grassy mounds and cobblestone paths with big beautiful view. I'm ready to compare Fort Niagara with other forts. Anyone been to other forts on the East Coast we should see?
Happy Trails!
Jack
The place is relatively untouched, with the bunks, rifle and musket holes, cannons, mortars and small details of what life was like in the 1700 and 1800's when it was changing hands from French, British and Americans all competing for support of powerful Iroquois Confederacy. That's why three flags fly here daily. It had tables, beds, candles and barrels set up in rooms like the boulangerie (bakery for bread) or Munitions house with it's four foot thick walls. We saw where the soldiers slept in long group beds. It was a new experience to not only hear and read history but see and feel it. Putting our hands on the same walls and heavy doors as countless soldiers must have. It was a new and changing experience for me. We walked down the network of staircases as they must have being called to gun practice and meals. The "home" or French Castle, was built in 1726 (the oldest building In N. American Great Lakes region) with the permission of the Iroquois indians who said they could build a home but not a fort or military building. They built a fort but made it look like a home on the outside. The windows for example looked normal until you went up to them and there are hollow spaces under the sill where men could drop things or fire upon enemies. Each group that overtook the fort added things and expanded the grounds and made more and more elaborate military defenses and offenses to it. You can check out it's very busy and interesting history here: www.oldfortniagara.org. The biggest thing that have is the restored giant flag that was captured and held for years and the museum got it returned and restored it and are preserving it in a climate controlled room that is dark but you can see it on display. This was a valuable and important place in America's history. Look it up!
While we were there, a man dressed in full uniform and carrying a musket walked over the field to the "peace" house and told us all about muskets, rifles, strategy and warfare of the time. He even showed us how to load a musket and fire it. He told us about myths and origins of sayings. For instance, the saying, "Don't let the cat out of the bag" and "Lobster Backs or Red Coats" came from British military officers being harsh and whipping soldiers. The "cat" in the bag was a Cat-O-Nine Tails whip kept in a red bag on the officer's waist. When the soldiers were whipped for disobedience or not loading your rifle fast enough or completing a task their backs were turned red or bloody. The man's name was Jordan Buckley I think which was funny since we were from Buckley, WA He was very smart and knew so much about history and weapons. He made it come alive for us and added a lot to the experience. I like the firing of the gun but the history behind it all was best part. Mr. Buckley reads a lot and mom says maybe one day, because I read a lot, I could work at a place like this teaching people history.
The fort was a sight to see with two towers, artillery, cannon rooms, and Lake Ontario and complete with the defensive mansion gives me a new way of looking at a fort and in a more picturesque way. It was very pretty for a fort with grassy mounds and cobblestone paths with big beautiful view. I'm ready to compare Fort Niagara with other forts. Anyone been to other forts on the East Coast we should see?
Happy Trails!
Jack
It's Spamalicious! Spamtastic! SPAM Museum
Spam! Welcome to Austin, MN home of the Spam Museum! Mom wanted to go here because she grew up with SPAM, growing up in Hawaii, and she had the honor of being crowned SPAM QUEEN in 1989 at Camp Orkila. She had to go on stage in front of 650 people and carve a sculpture out of a can of SPAM in 3 minutes with a plastic knife, tell story and sing a song. She got one of the old SPAM Keys used to open cans until 1989 as her prize for carving the Sphinx! She can tell you her Spam jelly story it gross the kids out. So, we went the other day and it was SPAMTASTIC! Just driving into the town fills your nose with the spiced ham smell. Hormel Family have made a very nice museum with elaborate, expensive exhibits that were entertaining and fun. We went not knowing wht to expect, but found it was cool once we walked by the giant wall of SPAM cans in the lobby and met their mascot...a can of SPAM called SPAMMY. Their double doors were pig faces and they had a conveyer belt winding through with over 800 cans of SPAM on it. Our favorite part was the hologram military man who talks to you from his tent and tells you all about the history of SPAM and it's use in the military feeding troops an keeping them healthy and belly's full. Hormel was very concerned with germs and cleanliness and wanted a safe way to can and store meat for the troops and be able to eat without a kitchen on the battlefield. They pioneered new canning processes and used high quality ingredients that were difficult to use otherwise. The front legs of the hogs have huge bones that are usually made into spiral hams only and instead he cooked and mashed the shoulder meat as it was a good cut but hard to process commercially.
I really liked the Monty Python Spam act theater where they showed the skit form their old tv show. I like Monty Python a lot (You tube has the video). The museum had competitive trivia games and assembly lie packaging competitions, cooking and recipe area, tons of history and told the story of how Mr. Hormel gave the company to his son after 15 years of working his way up. Hormel Sr. retired to California to let his son run the company as he saw fit and under Hormel Jr. the company thrived becoming world-wide and very successful. Hawaii eats the most SPAM of anywhere in the world. There are lots of flavors of SPAM: cheese, hickory smoke, garlic, peppered and spicy. We couldn't believe how many things they had in their gift shop that involved..."gasp" SPAM! There was even SPAM singles, spam spread and my mom and I think there should be SPAM popcorn seasoning! They put a lot of thought into the voices, activities and best of all it's FREE! This museum is SPAM-ILICIOUS!
Happy Trails (and SPAM),
Jack
I really liked the Monty Python Spam act theater where they showed the skit form their old tv show. I like Monty Python a lot (You tube has the video). The museum had competitive trivia games and assembly lie packaging competitions, cooking and recipe area, tons of history and told the story of how Mr. Hormel gave the company to his son after 15 years of working his way up. Hormel Sr. retired to California to let his son run the company as he saw fit and under Hormel Jr. the company thrived becoming world-wide and very successful. Hawaii eats the most SPAM of anywhere in the world. There are lots of flavors of SPAM: cheese, hickory smoke, garlic, peppered and spicy. We couldn't believe how many things they had in their gift shop that involved..."gasp" SPAM! There was even SPAM singles, spam spread and my mom and I think there should be SPAM popcorn seasoning! They put a lot of thought into the voices, activities and best of all it's FREE! This museum is SPAM-ILICIOUS!
Happy Trails (and SPAM),
Jack
Monday, October 24, 2011
We got Haiku Yes We Do! We Got Haiku How 'Bout You?
We are in Buffalo, NY getting my mom's broken tooth fixed and have a few days to catch up on blogs and schoolwork so here are the haiku and I am hoping you guys will try your hand at them and send me some back! The dentist my mom went to was a history buff and gave us a list of cool places to go check out including the home where Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in when President McKinley was shot in 1901. Guess every cloud has a silver lining. She's been in a lot of pain and couldn't talk but is doing better now.
IOWA:
Corn Corn Corn and Corn/ Combines Small Towns Corn and Corn/Field of Dreams and Corn
Getting lost in Winterset:
Riding after dark/ Wondering where my mom is/ Ask for a ride home
or Lost in bobcat woods/ Tower wasn't worth the scare/ But friends we met were
BADLANDS:
Fossils in red stone/time laying in the bedrock/ our past revealed
Craters of the moon national monument:
Crevices of rock/desolate but is unique/Apollos trained here
bubble rainbow rocks/are all that the lava left/on eerie moonscape
Covered bridge Festival:
deep fried small town fair/honor the old wood bridges/madison county
Spook Cave:
Ducking hundred feet/ stalactites and stalagmites/ dark cavern secrets
Not gonna Do it/ Too Spooky for me she said/I'll hold your hand mom
rock ceiling so low/ bent over in boats the bats/can see you up close
Niagara Falls:
Lit up like rainbows/water like cotton candy/water carnival
Maid of the mist boat/ drenches us in fall's fury/ the thunder gods roar
Mom Turning 40!
Wake up this morning/ Feels like any other day/but you're 40 now
Canadian Customs:
Detained for an hour/they think we're gun runners/no big bust today
Mom's Tooth
After dinner mint/molar mayhem by tic tac/some birthday present
written by Jack and Mom
IOWA:
Corn Corn Corn and Corn/ Combines Small Towns Corn and Corn/Field of Dreams and Corn
Getting lost in Winterset:
Riding after dark/ Wondering where my mom is/ Ask for a ride home
or Lost in bobcat woods/ Tower wasn't worth the scare/ But friends we met were
BADLANDS:
Fossils in red stone/time laying in the bedrock/ our past revealed
Craters of the moon national monument:
Crevices of rock/desolate but is unique/Apollos trained here
bubble rainbow rocks/are all that the lava left/on eerie moonscape
Covered bridge Festival:
deep fried small town fair/honor the old wood bridges/madison county
Spook Cave:
Ducking hundred feet/ stalactites and stalagmites/ dark cavern secrets
Not gonna Do it/ Too Spooky for me she said/I'll hold your hand mom
rock ceiling so low/ bent over in boats the bats/can see you up close
Niagara Falls:
Lit up like rainbows/water like cotton candy/water carnival
Maid of the mist boat/ drenches us in fall's fury/ the thunder gods roar
Mom Turning 40!
Wake up this morning/ Feels like any other day/but you're 40 now
Canadian Customs:
Detained for an hour/they think we're gun runners/no big bust today
Mom's Tooth
After dinner mint/molar mayhem by tic tac/some birthday present
written by Jack and Mom
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wizard's Quest...Wisconsin Dells
Welcome to Tacky-ville! The most fun attraction I've been to on this whole trip so far was Wizard's Quest. The building was a large castle we spotted from the road and knowing nothing about it we decided it would be the one thing we would pay to go do as a family. When we went in, not knowing what it even was, we found it was like a scavenger hunt meets puzzle solving meets magical forest fun. You are given a quest and 90 minutes to complete it.
Armed with your book of questions and barcode to scan you set off into four realms: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. The realms are made up like movie sets meet playgrounds. There are places to crawl into, forests and bridges, slide tubes and mazes. Hidden in the realms are items, riddles, clues, treasure, scanner stations for bonus treasures and wizards to free (one from each realm). Your quest is to free the wizards by finding things, collecting treasures and answering questions. It is very hard and most people only free 1-2 Wizards on their first try. We freed THREE!
We were so close to the fourth because my mom kept finding secret doors and places where the Wizards were. We learned about fairy creatures and folklore as we went. We had so much fun in the different secret passages and tunnels we barely noticed our 90 minutes flew by. I decided my friend's Audun and Kajsa and I need to start a business and open one of these where we live. This place was so fun! I love solving puzzles and it was active as you really have to hustle through the realms. It's like living a video game like Zelda.
You have to check this out if you come and stay in one of Mt. Olympus tree houses. Our campground gave us free tickets to the amusement park where we went through a haunted version of the white house and raced real go karts ( this is the go kart capitol of the world) up a giant wooden trojan horse! The Dells is fun with all the crazy hotels, water parks, rides and attractions but it was also really pretty with it's cliffs and river. I wish we had time to see Witches Gulch but this place becomes a ghost town after Labor day. So, go in summer!!
Armed with your book of questions and barcode to scan you set off into four realms: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. The realms are made up like movie sets meet playgrounds. There are places to crawl into, forests and bridges, slide tubes and mazes. Hidden in the realms are items, riddles, clues, treasure, scanner stations for bonus treasures and wizards to free (one from each realm). Your quest is to free the wizards by finding things, collecting treasures and answering questions. It is very hard and most people only free 1-2 Wizards on their first try. We freed THREE!
We were so close to the fourth because my mom kept finding secret doors and places where the Wizards were. We learned about fairy creatures and folklore as we went. We had so much fun in the different secret passages and tunnels we barely noticed our 90 minutes flew by. I decided my friend's Audun and Kajsa and I need to start a business and open one of these where we live. This place was so fun! I love solving puzzles and it was active as you really have to hustle through the realms. It's like living a video game like Zelda.
You have to check this out if you come and stay in one of Mt. Olympus tree houses. Our campground gave us free tickets to the amusement park where we went through a haunted version of the white house and raced real go karts ( this is the go kart capitol of the world) up a giant wooden trojan horse! The Dells is fun with all the crazy hotels, water parks, rides and attractions but it was also really pretty with it's cliffs and river. I wish we had time to see Witches Gulch but this place becomes a ghost town after Labor day. So, go in summer!!
It's TOO SPOOKY! Cave
Today we went to the Spook Cave in McGregor, Iowa. Spook Cave is a low clearance version of Pirates of the Caribbean from Disneyland without the cute animatronics and sparkly decorations, for all of you who have ridden the ride. Full of stalactites, brown bats, chimneys and frogs you take a small row boat into the cave that's also full of stories. The man who discovered and developed the cave did so in 1950's with a flashlight crawling in the inches deep water that runs through the cave. Now they have it damned up so the water is a few feet deep to allow boats to move through it. He used dynamite to open a cavern and found a cathedral of rock formations inside and began giving tours in 1956. One of the stories is about a rock formation called the Hairy Stalactite. It is said that it drips water on your head 9also known as a "cave kiss" you will go completely bald in one week! I was smart and wore my hoodie. Also there were columns where stalactite (spike coming down from the top which I remember as hanging "tite" to the ceiling) and stalagmites (spike rising up from the floor which I remember as "it might reach the top someday) fused making a rare "column". One formation was 2700 years old, they know this because it grows at a rate of one inch per year. There was also a see-through formation called Bacon (YUM!) that looked like a strip of bacon and a narrow passage called Lover's Lane because you wither love your neighbor or the wall when you squeeze through it.
To explain how low and narrow the cave was, Mom and I were in a row boat sitting down and bent over at the hip for the first 100 feet and our backs almost touched the ceiling. The passage was just bigger than the row boat except one spot used for turning it around. The cave is always at a steady 47 degrees and water is always 42 degrees. The formations are very sensitive and can actually die from a change in conditions or from oils on the skin of humans touching them. It was definitely spooky and creepy with the bats inches from our heads and the dark dampness of the cave itself. It was worth the trip though. It's interesting to see cliffs and mountains and know in many of them are caves and caverns full of things yet to be discovered or rarely seen until a brave person goes to investigate the spooky sounds or the black opening of a cave to see what's inside.
Remember, if there are any cool attractions you think I should explore or you want to see EMAIL ME at jack@stellarvista.com or comment here. THANKS and Happy Trails!
Jack
To explain how low and narrow the cave was, Mom and I were in a row boat sitting down and bent over at the hip for the first 100 feet and our backs almost touched the ceiling. The passage was just bigger than the row boat except one spot used for turning it around. The cave is always at a steady 47 degrees and water is always 42 degrees. The formations are very sensitive and can actually die from a change in conditions or from oils on the skin of humans touching them. It was definitely spooky and creepy with the bats inches from our heads and the dark dampness of the cave itself. It was worth the trip though. It's interesting to see cliffs and mountains and know in many of them are caves and caverns full of things yet to be discovered or rarely seen until a brave person goes to investigate the spooky sounds or the black opening of a cave to see what's inside.
Remember, if there are any cool attractions you think I should explore or you want to see EMAIL ME at jack@stellarvista.com or comment here. THANKS and Happy Trails!
Jack
Pumpkin Pyrotechnics at Chicago's MSI
This Halloween you can try lighting your pumpkins in new ways (Disclaimer: ONLY under close adult supervision, Not under influence of drugs and alcohol and Do so at your own risk!)
We attended the Pumpkin Pyrotechnic class at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and watched the pumpkins glow, light up, explode and catch on fire! It was cool the way different substances burned different colors from yellow to pink to blue and green. We burned and mixed to falem and glow... sodium, copper, magnesium, hydrogen and acetone. At one point, Blair Witch the scientist, put a hydrogen filled balloon inside a pumpkin that had the eyes and mouth carved but not removed and when she lit the gas it blew out the pieces and looked as if the pumpkin had carved itself in seconds! I like museums but I really like museums that blow stuff up and light things on fire. Two thumbs up for MSI in Chicago for having a Halloween based pyrotechnic show. This is a great museum although being the biggest in the Western Hemisphere you need good walking shoes and a map to see it all. We were tired after two days! We saw a full zie Beoing 727, a Uboat, a train from 1930's and a 20 ft. indoor tornado!
Happy Halloween!!
We attended the Pumpkin Pyrotechnic class at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and watched the pumpkins glow, light up, explode and catch on fire! It was cool the way different substances burned different colors from yellow to pink to blue and green. We burned and mixed to falem and glow... sodium, copper, magnesium, hydrogen and acetone. At one point, Blair Witch the scientist, put a hydrogen filled balloon inside a pumpkin that had the eyes and mouth carved but not removed and when she lit the gas it blew out the pieces and looked as if the pumpkin had carved itself in seconds! I like museums but I really like museums that blow stuff up and light things on fire. Two thumbs up for MSI in Chicago for having a Halloween based pyrotechnic show. This is a great museum although being the biggest in the Western Hemisphere you need good walking shoes and a map to see it all. We were tired after two days! We saw a full zie Beoing 727, a Uboat, a train from 1930's and a 20 ft. indoor tornado!
Happy Halloween!!
Blog Housekeeping: Please remember to COMMENT, Post Questions, feedback and more! It's fun to see that people are following and to read what you think or have to contribute. Thank you for posting and subscribing! If you haven't yet, please do it now.
Don't forget my Mom's blog so you get the grown up take on all this stuff:
Waywardwind-e-bago.blogspot.com
Wayward Wind was the name of our farm and now it's the name of our Winnebago! We're lonely on the road so email, comment...anything!! Write us a haiku.
As of today we have traveled 3,825 miles and hit 13 states! Next up, Michigan and New York and Canada's side of Niagara Falls.
Jack
Don't forget my Mom's blog so you get the grown up take on all this stuff:
Waywardwind-e-bago.blogspot.com
Wayward Wind was the name of our farm and now it's the name of our Winnebago! We're lonely on the road so email, comment...anything!! Write us a haiku.
As of today we have traveled 3,825 miles and hit 13 states! Next up, Michigan and New York and Canada's side of Niagara Falls.
Jack
Amish Paradise
This morning I read about the Amish because we passed through farmlands with large settlements of Amish people. They live life without technology and preserve the old ways of living and working. Have you ever considered what your life would be like without technology or electricity? Imagine one day from beginning to end where you have no electronics, car or modern conveniences. If you want toast in the morning how do you get the bread? You make it. You want it hot? Build a fire. You want milk, go milk the cow and churn the butter. It was interesting to compare their lives to our own. The Amish do not feel that technology is a sin or is bad, they just don't like the impact it has on their lives and choose not to use it.
Their lives are slower paced, they are social people who stick to a few miles from their home and stick to what they know opening businesses that they know a lot about. The site, Amishpeople.org, asked a good question “Would consumers trust an Amish cell-phone dealer or an Amish computer repair guy to know what he’s doing? It’d be a pretty big mental and marketing hurdle to get over.” Take away technology and what is it they can do for a living? The answer is found about 100 years back or more. They are farmers, craftsman and carpenters. They own shops selling their handmade tools and wares and the women make baskets and sew beautiful patchwork quilts. One of our favorite things was the unique quilt patterns on the barn doors of the farms we passed all throughout Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. I think each family must have their own like a crest or coat of arms. I will look into that and ask around.
Young people in Amish community get to go out on what is called a "Rumspringa" which means "running outside the bounds" of their beliefs and lifestyle. When they are about the age of 16 they are encouraged to go out into the modern world and get as many experiences as they can before they make a choice to stay in the Amish church and community by being baptized. Most choose to return and few stay because to leave the Amish means you can never go back. They choose to be separate from the outside world today because in their history their ancestors were persecuted for their beliefs. So, they got used to living separated and on the outskirts of civilization which meant they had little cooperation and contact with other people. They are not bitter or rude they are social, humble and kind.
In thinking on which I would choose, and if you know me you know I hate to choose, I would want the best of both worlds. Living on our farm and raising and growing our own food is something that gives me great joy and pride. The work is sometimes very hard and unenjoyable but the result is yummy bacon, fresh salads and being responsible to the planet. On the other side I wouldn't like living without little things like lightbulbs, toasters, electronic gadgets and my electric assist bike.
How about you?
Haikus Mom and I wrote:
A buggy crossing/ Signal the old ways cross here/in amish country
An new way of life/stitched into the fabric of/an old Amish quilt
An old way of life/ horse and buggy crossing here/ feels like new to me
They'll never play my/bass guitar or nintendo/only air guitar
Their lives are slower paced, they are social people who stick to a few miles from their home and stick to what they know opening businesses that they know a lot about. The site, Amishpeople.org, asked a good question “Would consumers trust an Amish cell-phone dealer or an Amish computer repair guy to know what he’s doing? It’d be a pretty big mental and marketing hurdle to get over.” Take away technology and what is it they can do for a living? The answer is found about 100 years back or more. They are farmers, craftsman and carpenters. They own shops selling their handmade tools and wares and the women make baskets and sew beautiful patchwork quilts. One of our favorite things was the unique quilt patterns on the barn doors of the farms we passed all throughout Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. I think each family must have their own like a crest or coat of arms. I will look into that and ask around.
Young people in Amish community get to go out on what is called a "Rumspringa" which means "running outside the bounds" of their beliefs and lifestyle. When they are about the age of 16 they are encouraged to go out into the modern world and get as many experiences as they can before they make a choice to stay in the Amish church and community by being baptized. Most choose to return and few stay because to leave the Amish means you can never go back. They choose to be separate from the outside world today because in their history their ancestors were persecuted for their beliefs. So, they got used to living separated and on the outskirts of civilization which meant they had little cooperation and contact with other people. They are not bitter or rude they are social, humble and kind.
In thinking on which I would choose, and if you know me you know I hate to choose, I would want the best of both worlds. Living on our farm and raising and growing our own food is something that gives me great joy and pride. The work is sometimes very hard and unenjoyable but the result is yummy bacon, fresh salads and being responsible to the planet. On the other side I wouldn't like living without little things like lightbulbs, toasters, electronic gadgets and my electric assist bike.
How about you?
Haikus Mom and I wrote:
A buggy crossing/ Signal the old ways cross here/in amish country
An new way of life/stitched into the fabric of/an old Amish quilt
An old way of life/ horse and buggy crossing here/ feels like new to me
They'll never play my/bass guitar or nintendo/only air guitar
 |
| painting by paul richard james |
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff! Values Development.
For the Values and Character Development part of the home school stuff my mom and I are doing a bunch of different things. One of them is a book and workbook for Don't Sweat the Small Stuff book series. You read a chapter that has a story with a lesson and then turn to the workbook page that goes with it and it has questions for you to answer or things to discuss and consider. I liked the first one a lot. It talks about how in our daily lives we get all stirred up by the frustrations that pop up in life from traffic to people annoying us or things taking longer. It was saying there are two rules. The first is #1 Don't sweat the small stuff and #2 is It's all small stuff. Our goal on this trip, besides learning to stow stuff really well, was to find grace, perspective and knowledge.
Living in an RV is hard and small and requires a lot of patience. We find grace in moments where we don't yell at each other when we trip over things or don't have enough room or something breaks. I am working on my grouchiness as my first step as I can get snarly about things and snap at people. So, this week I am catching myself and working on my tone of voice and I have already caught myself three times today alone! It's working! Mom says we are "works in progress" and continually changing, growing, learning and improving. It's never too late to change and to start right now.
What bad habits do you have you'd like to change or other people wish you'd change? (Next week's for me will be biting my nails!)
We are also reading stories on growing up, what it means to be an American and studying different cultures and religions so we can work on tolerance and sensitivity. Goodwill has provided us a bunch of good books on these topics as we try to stop every state or so to see what's available in different places. The best goodwill so far was in Richland Center, WI. (Lexington, Missouri area was the worst.)
Happy Trails!
Jack
Living in an RV is hard and small and requires a lot of patience. We find grace in moments where we don't yell at each other when we trip over things or don't have enough room or something breaks. I am working on my grouchiness as my first step as I can get snarly about things and snap at people. So, this week I am catching myself and working on my tone of voice and I have already caught myself three times today alone! It's working! Mom says we are "works in progress" and continually changing, growing, learning and improving. It's never too late to change and to start right now.
What bad habits do you have you'd like to change or other people wish you'd change? (Next week's for me will be biting my nails!)
We are also reading stories on growing up, what it means to be an American and studying different cultures and religions so we can work on tolerance and sensitivity. Goodwill has provided us a bunch of good books on these topics as we try to stop every state or so to see what's available in different places. The best goodwill so far was in Richland Center, WI. (Lexington, Missouri area was the worst.)
Happy Trails!
Jack
If You Blog It, They Will Come...
Yesterday, we went to the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Ia. The movie is about a man who hears a disembodied voice in the corn field telling him "If you build it m they will come" and we did! The man, Ray, builds a baseball field in his corn field and it is now a free park-like attraction in real life. It's also someone's real house and the Lansing Family owned it for over 100 years. When we got there instead of a tacky and commercialized tourist attraction it was a quiet, peaceful and picturesque scene with a white-washed house, crisp dried corn stalks set against the greenest grass and bluest sky dabbed with white clouds. It was as if an artist painted a perfect Iowa summer day for us. The wind blowing across and through the corn stalks sounded just like a rainstick if you were quiet and listened. It is just like the place in the movie, exactly as you'd expect it to be. I'm very happy the family keeps it open and doesn't charge to visit. There is a souvenir stand that isn't obnoxious in the parking lot where you can buy t-shirts and baseballs.
My mom and I played catch, ran the bases, whispered in the corn and took pictures. It was a great experience as no one else was around. Just going there was magical but sitting on the bleachers talking to my mom about dreams for the trio, hope for the future and regrets of the past was the part that made it the most memorable. An 11 year old with regrets you ask? Only a few... like desserts I didn't get to try and getting the email address of that really nice girl in Powell's who talked with me for an hour about authors and book series we liked. We supported the family by buying postcards, a baseball for my Dad which we got dirty for him at the field, and a shirt for my cousin and the original book written by Mr. Kinsella the movie was based on called Shoeless Joe. My mom and dad and I are going to read it together on the trip. If you haven't seen the movie in awhile now is a good time to rent it and remind yourself of this amazing place.
I wondered what the game of the ghost teams would have been like if the movie had gone longer. I think you would see baseball in a new way. Instead of a competitive game (you will find my mom and I are not very competitive) you would find enjoyment with the people you came with and the setting, sights, smells and feelings. To enjoy this place you do not have to have played baseball or been a major league player or fan. Some people love baseball who come here, some Iowa farmlands and some are movie lovers. There is something here for everyone. Funny thing though, if you are going to pretend to be a baseball player DO NOT SLIDE INTO HOME PLATE, it's gravel and not dirt because just like in dust-bowl times dirt blows away in the strong breeze here. My leg paid the price learning this for you. My mom thought she was funny when she teased me saying the bag of frozen vegetables would "ease his pain". Don't ask who the disembodied voice is in the movie because it's a very carefully guarded secret. In the credits it's even just listed as "himself".
Now, go the distance... and comment any good places we should visit on the trip. Write a haiku for us based on places we've been or about the movie Field of Dreams. We are lonely out here... so write us!
Happy Batting!
My mom and I played catch, ran the bases, whispered in the corn and took pictures. It was a great experience as no one else was around. Just going there was magical but sitting on the bleachers talking to my mom about dreams for the trio, hope for the future and regrets of the past was the part that made it the most memorable. An 11 year old with regrets you ask? Only a few... like desserts I didn't get to try and getting the email address of that really nice girl in Powell's who talked with me for an hour about authors and book series we liked. We supported the family by buying postcards, a baseball for my Dad which we got dirty for him at the field, and a shirt for my cousin and the original book written by Mr. Kinsella the movie was based on called Shoeless Joe. My mom and dad and I are going to read it together on the trip. If you haven't seen the movie in awhile now is a good time to rent it and remind yourself of this amazing place.
I wondered what the game of the ghost teams would have been like if the movie had gone longer. I think you would see baseball in a new way. Instead of a competitive game (you will find my mom and I are not very competitive) you would find enjoyment with the people you came with and the setting, sights, smells and feelings. To enjoy this place you do not have to have played baseball or been a major league player or fan. Some people love baseball who come here, some Iowa farmlands and some are movie lovers. There is something here for everyone. Funny thing though, if you are going to pretend to be a baseball player DO NOT SLIDE INTO HOME PLATE, it's gravel and not dirt because just like in dust-bowl times dirt blows away in the strong breeze here. My leg paid the price learning this for you. My mom thought she was funny when she teased me saying the bag of frozen vegetables would "ease his pain". Don't ask who the disembodied voice is in the movie because it's a very carefully guarded secret. In the credits it's even just listed as "himself".
Now, go the distance... and comment any good places we should visit on the trip. Write a haiku for us based on places we've been or about the movie Field of Dreams. We are lonely out here... so write us!
Happy Batting!
RV Life Update
We are slowly getting the hang of it. Things seem a little easier for hookups, more routine. There are constantly new challenges popping up we've never faced before like leaking water tanks and things settling in the fridge which is then boobie-trapped when you open it. Although I knew some people do that at home too. It's easier to get used to the movements the RV makes at night with wind gusts or people driving by. Before it seemed like someone was pushing or rocking it outside. One of the fun parts is just driving somewhere and deciding we are hungry, we stop and turn on the generator and we heat or cook dinner up real quick and then keep on our merry way. We have driven from Buckley, WA to Marceline, Mo with a drop to Topeka, KS and now back up to Des Moines, IA in only 11 days. Feels like a lot longer. States whiz by and some blur into the other while a few really stand out. Idaho was the most barren and desolate. Wyoming was really pretty and Missouri might have been the prettiest if it weren't for Yellowstone. Space isn't really an issue now that we are getting better at stowing things. School is at the table mostly but the couch is where I blog a lot and read. My current projects are on Theodore Roosevelt and National Parks. I am also reading ahead for Chicago and East Cost where my mom says every corner is a monument to someone or a historical landmark. You can't spit without being somewhere a president has been doing something. It's going to be a busy month!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Places Rated Blog...Jax musing on where he's been
Not finding aliens at Devils Tower in South Dakota (Ditching Mt. Rushmore):
Drove the scenic road by Devil's Tower but didn't see any aliens or mashed potato scupltures like we hoped. Maybe in Roswell, NM. Mom says we will find loads of aliens there. The fall colors were extravagant and reminded me of jewels in red, green, yellow and some purple. It reminded there would be no leaves soon so we should appreciate the short time these colors are around. I will admit I get bored of staring at trees after awhile but the first state we really saw them was wyoming and South Dakota. The NW is late this year.
B B B B Bad…Badlands to the Bone:
Didn't know what to expect of the badlands or just how bad they'd be. To my surprise it was actually really scenic and we liked them a lot…they weren't so bad! :-) It was cool to see the layers of stone upon stone and tall spires you could drive through, and canyons you could see way into the depths of. It was kind of like being in Disneyland they almost seemed fake. We saw big horn sheep but none of the little foxes we hoped would run out. We did catch a whole acre or two of Prairie Dogs popping in and out of their dens. That was funny to watch as they twitch and wiggle a lot when they run.
Storm in Sundance, Wyoming Home of the Sundance kid (how town got it's name):
We arrived in Sundance minutes before dark and the horrible electric and wind storm that covered half the country. Dad sent us the radar maps as we were blown and tossed in the RV and in exchange we sent him video of it raging outside. We thought we would tip over. Mom didn't sleep until 5am. The winds were so strong the flag pole at the RV park almost blew over. We had just outrun the snow storm in Yellowstone and began to think it was following us or someone was trying to keep us from traveling. But the next day it was nice again and all was well.
The lightning was wide spread and lit up the sky. There bolts and flashes. We turned off all the lights and watched it and managed to get some videos and pics Dad can post. (Check the Flickr Account...watch the video closely...you might miss it and no, the lens cap is not on the camera.)
Battle of Little Big Horn: Custer's Last Stand and monument to both sides:
We weren't sure what to expect at the Battlefield and we knew very little about the fight. But when we got there it was really educational and horrifying to picture the losses on both sides. They did a good job helping you visualize it and we really liked the quotes on the walls of the Native American memorial. Hundreds of men died and they give first hand accounts of what happened and how it ended. It was sad thinking Americans died where we stood but more sad the two sides couldn't work out their differences peacefully. The museum there was unlike any other. It told us about Custer, Sitting Bull, the 7th Cavalry, weaponry and models of the two sides different soldiers. There was so much to take in there. It was also really beautiful.
Walking in Walt's Footsteps:
Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Hometown service and nicest people around!
Today we saw Walt Disney's hometown in Marceline, Mo. It looked juts like Main street in Disneyland! That's because he asked his imagineers to come to his town and model it after real buildings from his childhood home. There we saw the museum filled with sketches, cartoons, family history, recordings of him interviewing his parents one Christmas which was fun, movies and memorabilia. The town is sure proud of him. The museum itself is next to the train tracks where 70 trains a day pass by. Walt would have loved it because one quote said he'd rather toot train whistles than carry an armload of Oscars. He loved trains! There's even a window to watch trains go by.
Did you know the only retired ride sent to a different location was sent to the kids of Marceline? The original midget Autopia ride was redone and when it was removed he had it and engineers sent to his home to set it up to run there for families of his town. It's not still in operation today but they have one car left in the museum. He was supposed to attend the opening and dedication of the ride but couldn't due to a cough he developed that three months later he died of. We learned about his famous and not so famous siblings which was the most interesting part. Two of his brothers were not very close to their family and when asked to contribute money in their early poorer days as farmers the two boys slinked off and took a train out of town to Chicago instead of helping. Walt and his siblings had same parents and raising but they all turned out quite different. Roy and Walt were the closest.
Another cool part was Walt's Happy Place barn and dreaming tree. At the barn you can write on the inside of it a message for Walt. We all left messages and two haikus. My message was on the window sill where no one had written and it said: "Your dream became a reality which changed our dreams. Thank you." My Mom's Haiku was:
He had a back yard like no other. He took people on tours of it and rode them around on his miniature train he loved to drive and built a replica of his barn in his California home so he had a piece of Marceline. The town is cute with a great homemade ice cream place and a diner on the corner with meals that were tasty and really cheap. The dinner special of the day was $5.45. I had chicken friend steak, one of my favorites. I've been sampling them all over the states we have visited.
Every Disney fan should go here! Thanks Walt Disney for showing us big imaginations are important and can pay off. You've brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people.
Drove the scenic road by Devil's Tower but didn't see any aliens or mashed potato scupltures like we hoped. Maybe in Roswell, NM. Mom says we will find loads of aliens there. The fall colors were extravagant and reminded me of jewels in red, green, yellow and some purple. It reminded there would be no leaves soon so we should appreciate the short time these colors are around. I will admit I get bored of staring at trees after awhile but the first state we really saw them was wyoming and South Dakota. The NW is late this year.
B B B B Bad…Badlands to the Bone:
Didn't know what to expect of the badlands or just how bad they'd be. To my surprise it was actually really scenic and we liked them a lot…they weren't so bad! :-) It was cool to see the layers of stone upon stone and tall spires you could drive through, and canyons you could see way into the depths of. It was kind of like being in Disneyland they almost seemed fake. We saw big horn sheep but none of the little foxes we hoped would run out. We did catch a whole acre or two of Prairie Dogs popping in and out of their dens. That was funny to watch as they twitch and wiggle a lot when they run.
Storm in Sundance, Wyoming Home of the Sundance kid (how town got it's name):
We arrived in Sundance minutes before dark and the horrible electric and wind storm that covered half the country. Dad sent us the radar maps as we were blown and tossed in the RV and in exchange we sent him video of it raging outside. We thought we would tip over. Mom didn't sleep until 5am. The winds were so strong the flag pole at the RV park almost blew over. We had just outrun the snow storm in Yellowstone and began to think it was following us or someone was trying to keep us from traveling. But the next day it was nice again and all was well.
The lightning was wide spread and lit up the sky. There bolts and flashes. We turned off all the lights and watched it and managed to get some videos and pics Dad can post. (Check the Flickr Account...watch the video closely...you might miss it and no, the lens cap is not on the camera.)
Battle of Little Big Horn: Custer's Last Stand and monument to both sides:
We weren't sure what to expect at the Battlefield and we knew very little about the fight. But when we got there it was really educational and horrifying to picture the losses on both sides. They did a good job helping you visualize it and we really liked the quotes on the walls of the Native American memorial. Hundreds of men died and they give first hand accounts of what happened and how it ended. It was sad thinking Americans died where we stood but more sad the two sides couldn't work out their differences peacefully. The museum there was unlike any other. It told us about Custer, Sitting Bull, the 7th Cavalry, weaponry and models of the two sides different soldiers. There was so much to take in there. It was also really beautiful.
Walking in Walt's Footsteps:
Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Hometown service and nicest people around!
Today we saw Walt Disney's hometown in Marceline, Mo. It looked juts like Main street in Disneyland! That's because he asked his imagineers to come to his town and model it after real buildings from his childhood home. There we saw the museum filled with sketches, cartoons, family history, recordings of him interviewing his parents one Christmas which was fun, movies and memorabilia. The town is sure proud of him. The museum itself is next to the train tracks where 70 trains a day pass by. Walt would have loved it because one quote said he'd rather toot train whistles than carry an armload of Oscars. He loved trains! There's even a window to watch trains go by.
Did you know the only retired ride sent to a different location was sent to the kids of Marceline? The original midget Autopia ride was redone and when it was removed he had it and engineers sent to his home to set it up to run there for families of his town. It's not still in operation today but they have one car left in the museum. He was supposed to attend the opening and dedication of the ride but couldn't due to a cough he developed that three months later he died of. We learned about his famous and not so famous siblings which was the most interesting part. Two of his brothers were not very close to their family and when asked to contribute money in their early poorer days as farmers the two boys slinked off and took a train out of town to Chicago instead of helping. Walt and his siblings had same parents and raising but they all turned out quite different. Roy and Walt were the closest.
Another cool part was Walt's Happy Place barn and dreaming tree. At the barn you can write on the inside of it a message for Walt. We all left messages and two haikus. My message was on the window sill where no one had written and it said: "Your dream became a reality which changed our dreams. Thank you." My Mom's Haiku was:
You taught us to dreamDream Big or Dream Small Just DreamFind our Own TreeThen she signed all the names of our whole family. Our friend Benny signed the famous beam that was once at Disneyland and his haiku was:
Disney the DreamerInfinite InspirationMarceline Magic.The tree was damaged by lightning so only half of it remains. Walt would sit under it for hours and dream up characters and as an adult dreamed of projects and new things setting aside hours and hours on each trip home to reflect and be there for quiet time. The musketeer that owns the home now took seeds and saplings, registered them as landmarks and planted a new tree that was already quite tall. I am glad it will be there for my kids someday to visit. The thing I like best about Uncle Walt is that he didn't want to be a lawyer or President, he just wanted to invent a place where parents could play with their kids instead of watching them from a bench. He loved kids and being young at heart and playing. Adults can forget how to play and be too serious. As a kid he was very energetic and as an adult he liked simple crackers and chili over caviar and expensive dinners.
He had a back yard like no other. He took people on tours of it and rode them around on his miniature train he loved to drive and built a replica of his barn in his California home so he had a piece of Marceline. The town is cute with a great homemade ice cream place and a diner on the corner with meals that were tasty and really cheap. The dinner special of the day was $5.45. I had chicken friend steak, one of my favorites. I've been sampling them all over the states we have visited.
Every Disney fan should go here! Thanks Walt Disney for showing us big imaginations are important and can pay off. You've brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people.
Monday, October 10, 2011
RV Life: Boondocking at Walmarts, Importance of Stowing, Getting used to new power systems, usages
Life in an RV is harder than I thought. With so many little things to get used to and new processes to learn the first week is really hard for my mom and I. Remembering to turn on and off the water pump before and after using running water. A big one for me is stowing everything before driving. Imagine a kid not picking up after himself every hour of the day? In an RV if you don't then things slide and fall as you drive around curves and stop. It's a lot like being on a boat where if things aren't stowed away and a rogue wave comes everything spills out of the cupboards and onto the floor and the captain trips and yells at you! It's really hard to make the habits required for living happily and peacefully in an RV. We are trying our best to keep our spirits up with all the things to learn and the rough weather we have come into. Our Winnebago had a few glitches we got repaired and while they took a couple hours I rode my bike around and tried to make most of the sunny weather and time on our hands.
As for school, my spelling test is tomorrow! The theme is Geography, so i'm learning lots of new terms and words like caldera. Want to know what it is? Look it up just like my mom says which often drives me crazy! As for science, i'm learning the difference between AC, DC, shore power and generator electricity. I am also learning more about meteorology as we use maps and weather in our everyday life on the road. Seeing national parks, forests, and monuments are my history right now. Ancient geologic history of land forming and changing and who was responsible for preserving Yellowstone so everyone could enjoy it instead of just wealthy resort people. I didn't know as much about Sitting Bull or General Custer before yesterday when I got to see their artifacts, places they battled and places named in their honor. I liked the revolver they found when digging up Little Big Horn the most. Seeing the warrior headdress was pretty intimidating too. For writing I journal and blog and take two weeks of travels and write a report on various topics. I am currently doing one on National Parks. We purchased a National parks Pass which allows us access to every park in nation for one year for only $80! You should get one! Reading is mostly research for places we go and finding cool stops and attractions and getting history and features of each region. We found a cool app for that Roadside America and it alerts us as to what's in the area. AAA put out a great book, Explore America, that lists out great encyclopedic information by state and as we cross into state lines I read up and share the facts. Bigger cities like chicago have whole books and so I am reading up on that city right now to make the most of our time there. New York's book is even bigger! For music I am doing guitar and bass and listening to different kinds of music along trip. We will be hitting a music museum and seeing a concert in a couple days in Iowa. I'm not a country music fan but Jason Brown is supposed to be good.
Sorry we haven't blogged and posted as much but our hard drive crashed on our computer and then we had electrical problems getting anything charged like camera batteries, laptop etc. We had no internet other than quick spurts at a free wifi spot here and there. Mostly we are just dog tired after long driving days and fun places. I will write more often with shorter entries so you can stay more in tune with what we are doing on CHARTER TRIP. We are hoping this next week has a lot less troubles.
People ask if all the troubles have been worth it up to now in the first week... the answer is YES! All the bumps along the road were worth it to see the steaming geysers and thermal pools and wildlife in Yellowstone. It was cool how widespread the activity is all over the park. I thought it was one small part but they were everywhere! To see a family of bears running and eating and playing was extremely cool. A buffalo following alongside the car was neat. The moose crossing the river towards us was a sight to see! The best part was a young elk who tried to head butt our rig and jump out on us from an embankment. Not everyday you get that happening. So, it's worth the hassles to get to see things I've only read about in books and on the internet.
I may never come home. Kidding.... I really miss my Dad and my beagles. Cooper tried to hide in the RV before we left and stow away. We kicked him out FOUR TIMES! Once he was in drivers seat really protesting our leaving. Dad...post the pics!
Last thing for today is that we are writing haiku poems for each day or thing we do. I will begin posting them and hopefully my haiku writing skills will improve. My mom says I need to be less obvious and use more clever words. A haiku for those who don't know is a short poem with three lines. First and last line need five syllables and middle line needs seven. So ti's a challenge to say a lot with very few words. But it's fun! Try it and post in the comments section of the blog. I want to read yours! Happy Trails! The WayWard Wind-ebago Crew and Jack de Leon Day Tripper!
HAIKU
When our rv was on jacks at service center: Dad post the pic of it in the air!
Wounded airborne rig/I'ts clogged filters cause delays/Tended by tinkers
Of Cooper:
We cannot leave now/beagle in the driver's seat/his sorrow revealed
Of storm in Sundance Wyoming: (it was a doozie!!!)
Winds dance in Sundance/Rig sways waltzing with the rains/Thunder keeping time
Lightning measured beat/Winnebago as woodwind/ concert plays all night
As for school, my spelling test is tomorrow! The theme is Geography, so i'm learning lots of new terms and words like caldera. Want to know what it is? Look it up just like my mom says which often drives me crazy! As for science, i'm learning the difference between AC, DC, shore power and generator electricity. I am also learning more about meteorology as we use maps and weather in our everyday life on the road. Seeing national parks, forests, and monuments are my history right now. Ancient geologic history of land forming and changing and who was responsible for preserving Yellowstone so everyone could enjoy it instead of just wealthy resort people. I didn't know as much about Sitting Bull or General Custer before yesterday when I got to see their artifacts, places they battled and places named in their honor. I liked the revolver they found when digging up Little Big Horn the most. Seeing the warrior headdress was pretty intimidating too. For writing I journal and blog and take two weeks of travels and write a report on various topics. I am currently doing one on National Parks. We purchased a National parks Pass which allows us access to every park in nation for one year for only $80! You should get one! Reading is mostly research for places we go and finding cool stops and attractions and getting history and features of each region. We found a cool app for that Roadside America and it alerts us as to what's in the area. AAA put out a great book, Explore America, that lists out great encyclopedic information by state and as we cross into state lines I read up and share the facts. Bigger cities like chicago have whole books and so I am reading up on that city right now to make the most of our time there. New York's book is even bigger! For music I am doing guitar and bass and listening to different kinds of music along trip. We will be hitting a music museum and seeing a concert in a couple days in Iowa. I'm not a country music fan but Jason Brown is supposed to be good.
Sorry we haven't blogged and posted as much but our hard drive crashed on our computer and then we had electrical problems getting anything charged like camera batteries, laptop etc. We had no internet other than quick spurts at a free wifi spot here and there. Mostly we are just dog tired after long driving days and fun places. I will write more often with shorter entries so you can stay more in tune with what we are doing on CHARTER TRIP. We are hoping this next week has a lot less troubles.
People ask if all the troubles have been worth it up to now in the first week... the answer is YES! All the bumps along the road were worth it to see the steaming geysers and thermal pools and wildlife in Yellowstone. It was cool how widespread the activity is all over the park. I thought it was one small part but they were everywhere! To see a family of bears running and eating and playing was extremely cool. A buffalo following alongside the car was neat. The moose crossing the river towards us was a sight to see! The best part was a young elk who tried to head butt our rig and jump out on us from an embankment. Not everyday you get that happening. So, it's worth the hassles to get to see things I've only read about in books and on the internet.
I may never come home. Kidding.... I really miss my Dad and my beagles. Cooper tried to hide in the RV before we left and stow away. We kicked him out FOUR TIMES! Once he was in drivers seat really protesting our leaving. Dad...post the pics!
Last thing for today is that we are writing haiku poems for each day or thing we do. I will begin posting them and hopefully my haiku writing skills will improve. My mom says I need to be less obvious and use more clever words. A haiku for those who don't know is a short poem with three lines. First and last line need five syllables and middle line needs seven. So ti's a challenge to say a lot with very few words. But it's fun! Try it and post in the comments section of the blog. I want to read yours! Happy Trails! The WayWard Wind-ebago Crew and Jack de Leon Day Tripper!
HAIKU
When our rv was on jacks at service center: Dad post the pic of it in the air!
Wounded airborne rig/I'ts clogged filters cause delays/Tended by tinkers
Of Cooper:
We cannot leave now/beagle in the driver's seat/his sorrow revealed
Of storm in Sundance Wyoming: (it was a doozie!!!)
Winds dance in Sundance/Rig sways waltzing with the rains/Thunder keeping time
Lightning measured beat/Winnebago as woodwind/ concert plays all night
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