Fort McHenry

First, before I talk about Fort McHenry I have to say...."All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"!

While in Baltimore we visited Fort McHenry which is the Birthplace of the National Anthem.“O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,” a large red, white and blue banner? “Whose broad stripes and bright stars . . . were so gallantly streaming!” over the star-shaped Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, September 13-14, 1814. The valiant defense of the fort by 1,000 dedicated Americans inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

It was really cool to see this fort.  It stands pretty much how it would have looked when Francis Scott Key wrote those famous words. 

 You could look out over the water and imagine the British surrounding the fort with their multitude of ships.  You could feel what the American soldiers must have felt as they looked up at the flag and stood their ground behind the grass mounds and cannons of Fort McHenry.  

You could also picture what Francis Scott Key must have been feeling as he sat out at sea, helpless as he watched the battle taking place all around him.  You can feel his joy in his words when he saw the gigantic American Flag still waving free after a full night of constant battle.  According to the odds that flag should not have been standing, but it was, and because of Francis Scott Key's ability to express his overwhelming emotion.  We are amazingly, blessed with an incredible National Anthem. 

After a great afternoon at Fort McHenry, we went to downtown Baltimore and had Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  Here is my thoughts on the Cheesecake Factory.  The menu drives me nuts!!! There is way too many choices!  I can not decide what to eat when I have a million things to choice from.  I like In-n-Out.  Pretty much one choice with a few variations.  When I go there I know I'm going to have a burger..simple!  Anyway, after a hour of deciding what to eat I gave up and ordered a appetizer from the first page.  I was then disappointed about what I ordered.  Not because it wasn't good, but because I kept wondering if it was the best choice or if I should have ordered what the waiter just carried to the next table.  As you can see, Cheesecake Factory stressed me out.  Then to top it off, we decided not to get Cheesecake (I actually am not a huge Cheesecake fan) but why go to Cheesecake Factory if you don't get Cheesecake!  It's the freakin Factory, at least one person in the party should be forced to get Cheesecake!  

After that undecisive meal Dave was very sweet to volunteer to take the boys to the Science Museum next door to see the K'nex exhibit since there was a Filene's Basement across the street that was calling my name...CINDI SHOP HERE!  I found a really cute dress and a few shirts and the boys had a blast building everything they could think of with K'nex. 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Back to the colder East Coast.

We flew in late Friday night and crashed back in our motorhome in New Jersey. The next day we headed over the Schuylkill ("SKOO-kull") River into Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. Like with most city visits, we decided to do the touristy thing so we drove straight to the Independence National Historic Park. After a quick visit to the visitors center we headed to the Liberty Bell first. American history time again folks. In 1751, a bell was ordered for the Pennsylvania State House (today called Independence Hall). The bell, cast in London, England, actual cracked as it was being tested soon after it arrived in Philadelphia. Local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow cast a new bell in 1753, using metal from the English bell.  The Liberty

 Bell's inscription, "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof" is taken from the biblical scripture from Leviticus 25:10. This old State House bell was first called the "Liberty Bell" by a group trying to outlaw slavery. These abolitionists remembered the words on the bell and, in the 1830s, adopted it as a symbol of their cause. By 1846 a thin crack began to affect the sound of the bell. The bell was repaired in 1846 and rang for a George Washington birthday celebration, but the bell cracked again and has not been rung since. After taking some pictures...

...we headed across the street. Independence Hall, the most well known building was completed in 1753. The United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were both signed at Independence Hall. Unfortunately we missed the official tour of this building but we did take a very interesting tour of Congress Hall right next door. Our guide was very animated and informative and did a great job of keeping the kids' (and our) attention. Congress Hall served as the seat of the United States Congress from 1790 to 1800, until the US Capitol was permanently moved to Washington DC. During Congress Hall's duration as the capitol, the country admitted three new states, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee; ratified the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution; and oversaw the Presidential inaugurations of both

 George Washington and John Adams. The first floor of Congress Hall is where the House of Representative met and second floor was reserved as the chamber for the Senate.

We drove around the city checking out the sights then ended up at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art made famous in the movie Rocky. We all ran to the top of the steps and raised our arms in victory. The kids haven't even seen the movie but were into it anyway, especially after seeing a bunch of other people doing the same thing.

Check out Mr. Handsome Boy who lost a tooth!

Phoenix, ARIZONA ! ! ? ?

First of all... NO we did not drive from New Jersey to Arizona. We flew! Why you ask? Well Cind was asked last minute to work a show in Phoenix. She said OK once we decided to take the whole family. Cindi's folks live there so we thought it a great opportunity for all of us to take a full week to visit Grandma and Grampa. Thursday was a "travel day " and Friday was Halloween (as you can see we are still a bit behind with the blog)! Since Grandma and Grandpa live in a very nice, youthful, retirement community we had to drive to a kid-filled neighborhood closeby to "trick-or-treat." Tanner was a black capped something, Sterling a football player (what else), and Peyton a white-sheeted ghost. They had a good time but definitely missed their own friends and their own neighborhood. They did OK on candy front. Thanks to Cindi's folks who volunteered to take the kids for 2 nights, we were then free! I love my kids but this was the FIRST TIME I have not been with at least one of them since the end of April!

Saturday was the show but that night we got invited to the Phoenix Coyote's professional hockey game. We sat in a very nice box suite with unlimited food and drink. Nice just to relax and have an adult night out. Wayne Gretsky, the Coyote's coach, couldn't lead them to victory though--the final score was 2 to 3. The next day Cindi and I snuck in a movie before we ended up back at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

The rest of the week was great. Lots of homeschool, visiting and enjoying the hot weather (in the 80s) by the pool. Actually one of the highlights of the week for our family was being able to take our 2 SeaDoos out on Lake Pleasant for the day. Grandpa has been kind enough to store them in his storage area for the duration of our adventure. There have been so many times on our trip that we wish we had been towing the skis. We have stayed on so many lakes and rivers over the last few months where we could have done some serious SeaDooing. Instead we are pulling a Saturn Vue, which we probably couldn't live without now.

While in Arizona a new preseident was elected. Although I did not vote for McCain in the primary, I definitely supported the Republican ticket of McCain-Palin. Now, as a proud US citizen, I support our new president-elect Obama. As a family we are praying for Obama and the future of this great country!

Now back to Philly -->>

First Cindi has a few things to say:  It was so nice to see my parents who I love very much!  Thank you so much for always making us feel so welcomed in your home.  It was also great to see my Bubby.  Although her alzheimers has really taken a toll on her memory she is still in great spirits and a joy to be around.  We are also so blessed that she remembers all of us and is always happy to see us.

New Jersey

After two full days exploring Manhattan, we had to take Cindi back to JFK so she could head off to another Get Motivated Show, this time, in Nashville, Tennessee.  Fortuneatly it was Saturday morning so traffic was "no problema."  Later that day the boys and I pulled out of Liberty Harbor RV Park, the most expensive RV park yet at $60 per night. I guess it is location, location, location.  We decided to head south down Hwy 1. (OK, I have to stop here and inform all those California readers that the Hwy 1 in Newark, New Jersey is totally different than the Hwy 1 we all love that runs along the California coast line.) Well we only got as far as a WM in Woodbridge, NJ. By the way, I took Hwy 1 not only because it was the "scenic route" but also because I wanted to avoid the painful toll road. After paying big bucks going under tunnels and over bridges, I wanted a "free" road (hey I've paid my fair sahre of taxes). Get this... the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island costs $20 for a 2 axle truck and $10 for a car. Fortuneately when we went across, the toll booth dude only charged us for one vehicle eventhough we were two vehiles, albeit connected. History time--the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, when built in 1964, was the world's longest suspension span in the world. The bridge was named after Giovanni da Verrazano, who, in 1524, was the first European explorer to sail into New York Harbor.

The next morning we headed to the largest Six Flags in the US in Jackson, NJ. Six Flags Great Adventure has the Earth's fastest and tallest roller coaster called Kingda Ka. It shoots you 45 stories high at 128 mph! This is the ultimate thrill ride and Tanner and I waited the 1+ hour to experience the thrill. It ranks as one of the best I've ever ridden. Tanner liked it but only ranked it in his top 10. He's been on ALOT of roller coaster this last year. We had a good day riding a few coasters but there were too many people for us. We did luck out with the weather though, Sunny in the 60's! Not bad for late October.  The kids even got to "trick or treat" with Tweety for some early Halloween candy. Just a couple miles away from the park was the conveniently located Timberland Lake Campground. Not the nicest place but it will do for a couple nights. The place was a ghost town but considering the warm season is long over and it is Sunday night we had the place to ourselves. I liked the $20 per night price tag. Actually the scenery was nice with lots of evergreen trees on a small lake.

On Monday morning it was back to the books. We got some serious home school done and for recess, even though the cold weather moved in, we went outside and played golf. Not really real golf and not really minigolf. Each hole was 10 to 25 yards long and we used the metal fire rings for holes. We didn't have to chip it into the ring, we just had to hit the outside of it. Not the traditional recess but we had a great time. In the evening we had a dusting of white stuff--snow. Peyton especially was excited to see snow for the first time this season.

More home school the next day and more golf with a few passes thrown in for Sterling. Nothing too exciting to write about here. That night though Peyton and I carved pumkins. Peyton was the designer and we both helped to clean them and turn them into jack-o-lanterns. We really liked the results. What do you think?Well the next day we headed out and dropped the motorhome at a WM in a nice area in Hamilton, NJ. As we drove back north to pick up Cindi at JFK... again, we got the pleasure of a Fall snow storm that was actually blanketing the ground in white. We picked up Cindi after 7 or 8 loops around the terminals and a stint in the "cell phone" waiting area (her plane was late). Great to have her back "home." Our home may be mobile but home is where your family is.

We next headed to the Philadephia area the same day that the Phillies actually won the Baseball World Series after the restart of the suspended game. We settled into the Timberlane RV Park in Clarksboro, NJ just across the river from Philly.

New York City

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it - New York, New York
These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it - New York, New York

Well you guessed it!  We are in NY (well, actually we are in DC but we are a few weeks behind in the blog, so just pretend we are still in NY).  First, I have to thank Dave for doing such a awesome job on the blog the last few posts!  He is quite the historian and story teller.  I had fun reading them.  Hate to say, you are stuck with me for this one.

The first day in NY we drove around and saw the sights by window and sunroof.  It was cold, cold, cold!   Did I mention it was cold!  The kids were amazed at how tall the buildings were and how many lights there were in Times Square.  They were also pretty blown away by all the cabs and how crazy they drove.  The funny part was the whole time in NY the boys were searching for the Cash Cab.  If you haven't seen the TV show the Cash Cab it is a cab game show that takes place in, where else, NY City.  Unsuspecting cab goers get in a cab and the next thing they know they have a chance to answer trivia questions for cash.  Well, the boys were sure that every cab they saw was the Cash Cab and they kept waiting for the siren and the lights to go on in the cab. Being that there is over 30,000 cabs in NY it made for a very exciting night.  Unfortunately, we did not see the Cash Cab but we did have a nice drive.

We stayed at WM and then went looking for a campground in the morning.  We found a great campground (Liberty Harbor Marina and RV Park in Jersey City, New Jersey) right on the water with a view of the Statue of Liberty out our front window.  The best part is we could walk right to the subway and hop a ride to Manhattan.  The subway was a very interesting experience for the boys.  So many different kinds of people all in their own private world crossing paths for a few minutes as they share a ride to the city.  If you think about it, it is very rare that that unique blend of people would ever cross paths.  I love to people watch and there is no better place to do it then on the subway.  I saw this girl who seriously was gorgeous...she looked like she had just popped out of the pages of Vogue.  She was carrying a Gucci bag and her clothes were probably worth more then I make in a month.  On the outside she looked as if she had it all.  I wonder what she was thinking, was she happy or did she just covered up her pain with all her beautiful things.  The outside of a person does not give you a window to the inside.  Although, many like to believe it does.  Anyway, she was standing next to an African American male who was obviously down on his luck.  Was it by choice or circumstance?  If he was given the monetary things the girl possessed would he be any better off?  Or would he decide that he was happier with nothing?  Or would he destroy his opportunity at monetary success because circumstances from his past have seeped through to his present and he can't figure out how to step over them.  OK!  SORRY! Way too deep!  Now you know now how I think and you should be glad your mind isn't as crazy as mine!  ANYWAY, back to the relaxing ride to the city.  

We arrived right across from Macy's then walked to Times Square.  We were looking to get tickets to Wicked but we didn't have any luck.  We decided to visit the M&M store.  We bought some M&M's and then stopped to get a Jamba Juice.  We spent quite a bit of time walking around before we headed back to the subway for the ride home.

The next day we headed to the subway again (I won't bore you with my subway stories again).  We took it to the Twin Tower Memorial site.  You would be amazed at all that they are doing there.  They are building 7 new towers.  The tallest (The Freedom Tower) is going to stand 1,776 ft.  This is much taller than the once standing Twin Towers.  I believe that it is a great testimony to our countries strength and determination.  It once again proves that we will not bow down to terrorists.   They may slow us down for a moment, but we will come back stronger, smarter and more powerful.  GO USA!  Anyway, after the Twin Towers site we walked to the Stanton Island Ferry.  This is a great NY tip...The Stanton Island Ferry is FREE!  Yes FREE!  Not only is it FREE but it goes right past the Statue of Liberty.  Pretty cool!  We went by the statue on the right side of the boat and then got back on the ferry and saw the statue again off the left side.  Did I mention it was FREE?! After the ferry we got back on the subway and went to Central Park.  The kids were surprised that such a big park sat right in the middle of all the sky rise buildings. We were a little cold so we did not spend a lot of time in the park. We hopped in a cab (not the Cash Cab) and headed back to the sub station near Macy's.  We went looking for a deli (yes, my Jewish blood was craving a good deli!).  We finally found one, but not as good as I had hoped for.  I did get a ruben with extra thousand Island... yummy!  The boys were not as satisfied with their choices.  After the disappointing dinner we headed back on the overcrowded subway and then back to our RV.

I forgot to mention that Tanner was very excited to wear his "I have never been to NY" shirt in NY City and then left with an "I Love NY" sweatshirt.

 

Most people can not even balance by themselves on the Rip-Stick!

Too cool for NY!
Need I say more!
Times Square...Duh!
My three M&M's
She is a little cuter than me, but I'm not jealous!  Off with your head!
Do you see a resemblance? What do you like better? Mohawk or NoHawk?
All of us in Times Square!
On the subway!  They are so sweet!
Bull Market?
Statue of Liberty from the FREE ferry!
Did I mention the Ferry was FREE?
Still enjoying our FREE ride.
Central Park

The Approach to New York City (with a bald head)

We all woke up the next morning excited because we got to pick up MOMMY after her 10 day work trip to 4 Canadian cities. She landed at JFK in the afternoon. But first, I should back up a little bit though. Cindi will tell you that I have occassionally, over the last 15 years, mentioned that I'd like to just shave my head--just for fun to see what it would look like. So last night, with my hair already relatively short from my recent mohawk, I shaved my head. As far as mohawks go, I never really talked about having one of those over the last 15 years, but really, when else could I do that one. So with a bald top and a little tanning cream on my new shinny lid we were off to the airport.

The problem with East coast big cities is that their roads and bridges were built a long time ago when there was no such thing as "high profile" vehicles. So as I'm driving toward JFK my eyes are peeled to all those yellow, maximum height signs that everyone (including me) normally ignore. On this day though I'm travelling slowly, cautiously scanning every possible point of trouble approaching. So when I see a major freeway type road that says, "passenger cars only" I wisely decided not to take the ramp. However, in my head I'm thinking, "actually I am a 'passenger vehicle' and it doesn't say there is a maximum height limit..." but I think, "better safe then sorry." So I continue on now going the not so right way. Of course, our Garmin navigation system we've named Lola (taken from the Robin William's movie "RV") doesn't really care that we are over 12' high, thanks to our TrackVision "low profile" satelitte dish on our roof. Lola just continues so spout out her favorite, annoying word, "RECALCULATING!" That word really pisses me off at times. However, I have chosen for Lola a soft spoken female, English voice that helps keep me calm in the sometimes tense, "RECALCULATING" situations. Anyway as I'm trying to navigate toward JFK, doing a good job, Lola tells me to "turn right." It is again one of these big parkway/freeway, 3-4 lane wide in each direction, no trouble, looking roads. There is a sign that says, "no commercial vehicles." So once again it is decision time... well, I take a right and enter this freeway, feeling pretty good, cause all looks a-okay. Down this freeway Lola then wants me to take another looping offramp that goes from one of these parkway/freeways on ground level to one that goes sublevel. As I proceed around this turning onramp I come face to face with one of these old arch underpasses, built a lonnnggg tiiimme ago! It all happens so fast but when I see a huge, yellow, triangular, warning sign that says, "11' 6" insinctively it puts me into an immediate... what's the word... "manuever!" I "hard right" the rig through a rough, muddy, New York City pothole to somewhat of a shoulder "almost" off the road... then just stare at the 11' 6" sign remembering that 12' is also 11' 12" which still doesn't compute the way I want it to. I'm thinking to myself... "I'm screwed!" I can't back up, can't turn around. Lots went through my head in a short period of time. After considering the options... I concluded there were no good ones. I remembered the saying on the sides of police car doors, "To Protect and Serve." Well with my one call I chose the NYPD to "serve" me in my right out of this mess. After all, it was their insufficient warning signs that got me into this predicament. As I waited, a long time, for help I was noticing NY City buses making it under. Yeah, they might be "a little shorter" than me but they had a few inches to spare. Plus it is an arch bridge so if I stay in the middle of the three lanes I get an extra couple critical inches in my favor. Unfortunately, I could see another bridge past the one directly in from of me. The 2nd one looked like it said, "11' 3!" Bummer. Well the NYPD arrived, we discussed the options and determined we ( I ) only had one option -->> stop traffic with a police escort (light and all) and "forward ho" slowly and listen for my antenna to scape. ......MADE IT! I then turned off Lola and took only ground level, surface streets for my new route to a WM near JFK. Then unhooked our safe "little" car and jammed over to the airport. The whole experience was enough for me to pull all my hair out ;-) Oh wait, I DON'T HAVE ANY HAIR ANYMORE!

YEAH! Hugs and kisses for Mommy. We're all so glad to have her back!

Louis' Lunch - America's First Burger

Back to CONNECTICUT! We drove south and stayed again at the “WM” in Wallingford just north of New Haven. For those English folks who now may be joining us, WM is actually WALMART a big department/grocery store in virtually every city. Believe it or not they actually allow motorhomes to stay overnight in their parking lots for free. We shut it down for the night got a good night sleep (thanks to our powerful generator that heats the interior no problem). In the morning we put "recess" before homeschool--we went bowling in the morning. I've been promising the kids we'd go ever since we started this trip months ago. Actually Pop and DeeDee, my parents, took them bowling when they flew home just prior to the start of the school year. Bowling was good fun and we all enjoyed ourselves.

We then headed into New Haven and did a drive by of the Yale campus in honor of my buddy John Hodgson (see our July 1 post) who went to Yale to get his MBA. In New Haven is a small eating establishment called, Louis' Lunch, home of America's FIRST hamburger. The Louis Lore is this: one day in the year 1900 a man dashed into a small New Haven luncheonette and asked for a quick meal that he could eat on the run. Louis Lassen, the establishment's owner, hurriedly sandwiched a broiled beef patty between two slices of bread and sent the customer on his way, so the story goes, with America's first hamburger. The place is the smallest restaurant we have ever been in but a great experience nonetheless. We were served by Louis' grandson, who carries on the family tradition: hamburgers that have changed little from their historic prototype are still the specialty of the house. Each one is made from beef ground fresh each day, broiled vertically in the original cast iron grill and served between two slices of toast. Cheese, tomato and onion are the only acceptable garnish. The kids subtracted some of the garnishments on their burgers. I had read that they DO NOT allow ketchup (Sterling's favorite) so I had to sneak some in. Sterling was afraid to use it in fear of getting caught so I squeezed a generous portion on his burger. Of course right then one of only two workers there walked by, saw the dreaded bottled red sauce and verbally repremanded me ;-0 Busted! The burgers were awesome. So far from McDonald's but all the kids devoured them.

We journeyed on to a much needed spa treatment for our motorhome. Actually it was a truck wash but she cleaned up nicely for a reasonable $40. We continued on toward New York City but the closer we got the less overnight options were presenting themselves, so I decided to stay in one of those wayside rest stops with a McDonald's (no... didn't eat there especially after our Louis' Lunch burger) and lots of 18 wheelers. We stayed the night there--first time in one of these rest stops.