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.

Connecticut and My English Family

After another late check out thanks to Yogi we headed South into yet another state, Connecticut. Being from the relatively large state of California it is unusual to be cruising through so many smaller states in such a short amount of time. Kind of reminded me of the first time my parents took us to Europe in 1979 to visit our English family. (Hi Clova! Tell Alastair I’m still looking to take a picture of his name on some sign somewhere. Just warn him though; it might not be “Alastair Financial” or “Alastair’s 007 Investigators.” It might turn out to be “Alistair’s Sewer Services.”), By the way all of my English relatives in England are the best. We so much wish there was an “Atlantic Tunnel” (kinda like the Chunnel but longer). We would be heading east, in a second, to visit everyone. Unfortunately my Grandfather (my mom’s biological father), Brian Millns passed away recently. He was a great man with an incredible life story. Fortunately he wrote his life’s memoirs that I had the privilege of reading one night till the wee hours in the morning. I am lucky to have Rosemary (my grandmother). I have fond memories of Brian and Rosemary and my stays at their house, “Packway” on Bayleys Hill in Seven Oaks, Kent, England. Hi everyone! Rosemary, Auntie Clova and Alastair and my cousins Lucy, Jamie and Rory (my kids can’t believe your over 6’ tall. It doesn’t seem that long ago when you and Clova were visiting us in our Reno home). Uncle Dug and Lynn (who sadly we haven’t even met yet) and their little girl Iona. Uncle Qui and Suzi and their kids Sophie and Hugo. And Uncle Ian. I threw in the “Uncles” and “Aunt” for those of you who are trying to follow me on this one. By the way, at our wedding Clova was gracious enough to read the popular wedding verse on love from 1 Californians (scratch that), 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 (the English accent had everyone in a silent awe). Not to be outdone, Dug wrote a song for us and actually played it at our reception at the Granite Bay Country Club. Man, do I go off on tangents. Cindi seriously is not going to let me write these blogs anymore.

OK… now I need some “post a comment(s)” from English family.

Where was I? Anyway back in 1979 I remember cruising around Europe in a large van with my immediate family and Brian, Rosemary, Dug and Qui. I woke up once and asked, “What country are we in?” Seemed crazy at the time to say that. I’ve finally come full circle—some of the countries in Europe are small, similar to some of the states in the US, which are also small. The kids have woken up on this part of the trip and asked, “What state are we in?”

OK, that is enough for today. Connecticut will be continued on the next blog.

Rhode Island and back into Massachusetts

After 3 nights and another full day we headed out of Cape Cod to pay a visit to the smallest of the 50 states, Rhode Island. Is Hawaii bigger? (Editorial comment: just checked and Rhode Island is the smallest followed closely by Delaware. Hawaii is actually 4th just ahead of the 2 littles and Connecticut.) We plan to touch all 48 states and RI would be an easy one to miss if we weren’t navigating correctly. Speaking of islands... why is it called Rhode Island anyway? It not even an island. Interstingly enough, if you look in the US Constitution the official name of Rhode Island is "State of Rhode Island and Providence." In the 1600s the Rhode Island mainland was called Providence Plantations, and the largest Island of the six other islands of Rhode Island was called Rhode Island. Interesting huh?

In the afternoon we found diesel for $3.39 per gallon! The cheapest we’ve paid since we’ve started this journey. I was feeling pretty good about this especially seeing $3.89 signs just a couple blocks away. Thanks again www.gasbuddy.com. Still no matter what the price is, it hurts watching the gallons registering 96… 97… 98+ gls. It is a big drop from the $5.04 per gallon we paid in Quebec though. We hit a food court in a mall for dinner, bought Sterling a New England Patriots football to add to his collection, then beelined toward our accommodation for the night. I decided to stay at the “W” “M” in an effort to accumulate some more points to help us qualify for their top-tier Platinum level. This WM was in Providence, Rhode Island near the Capitol building and came with free music until 2 am courtesy of a local nightclub across the street.

In the morning I perused one of Cindi’s favorite sites, www.traveladvisor.com to find out what not to miss in the area. Sorry Providence lovers, but nothing interesting really came up. So we looped around their Capitol and headed to a truck wash for a much needed shower for (insert your favorite female name here. We still haven’t arrived at a name for our motorcoach). Well, bummer. This place wanted $85 bucks to wash her, not even including our pull car. Sometimes I’m too chea--U turn. That’s enough of the little state.

With the cold weather comes the upcoming closure of the “Six Flag – More Fun” Amusement Parks. Fortunately for us Halloween is approaching and they open up on October weekends to lure people in one last time for their “Fright Fest.” When we bought our annual passes at the beginning of 2008 we scouted out all the parks in the US. There was one in Springfield, MA that wanted us to visit so I found another Jellystone Yogi Bear RV Park not too far away and decided to plant it again for another 3 night stay. We arrived on a Friday around noon to a ghost town but after a few hours the park was livening up with people. Some passing through, like us, and others who rent a site for, I guess, the whole season. Since Six Flags was open Friday night at 5 we decided to head over and check it out. Lines were not too bad but the kids weren't too excited about the “hot zone” areas in the park where it got a little scary, so we hit a few rides then bailed.

On Saturday we hung around the RV park and joined some of the activities including: hayride with Yogi (Peyton drew him a picture later and hand delivered it to him personally), bingo (Tanner and Sterling played--no winners today), and outdoor Olympic Games (Peyton and I were the only ones to show up but we had fun anyway playing racing games and Simon-says. That evening we watched USC win another football game to top off a another great day.

On Sunday we headed over to Six Flags again to hit the good rides. My favorite was Superman, which has been rated the best steel rollercoaster in the US for 4 straight years. The wait was bad but the ride was good. Peyton, one of our family’s “ride-on-anything” daredevils, was disappointed that his 50" height wasn’t quite high enough. That is the only thing that stopped him. We walked and rode and walked and rode but the long lines (thanks to a Diabetes Walk in the parking lot before the park opened) and the night fall approaching were enough to cause us to exit a bit early. We all had a great time though. Outings to Six Flags remains one of our cheapest days thanks to the annual passes. We all are missing mommy though.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

We headed out the next morning to Cape Cod to plant it for a few days. Along the way we had to make a stop at Plymouth... to see a rock. And that is just what we did. We parked and went and look at and take a picture of the famous "symbolic" rock the Pilgrims first step on after their long journey across the Atlantic. We also took a couple pictures in front of the Mayflower II, their ship. We did a little history lesson and shared what we knew about the pilgrims, the Indians, and Thanksgiving. 

Then it was back on the road to Cape Cod.  We ended up at a great RV park called Campers Haven RV Resort in Dennis Port, MA. This place was just what we needed. Location, location, location! The "resort" had their own piece of Cape Cod's southern beach. It was awesome. When I called to make a reservation the said I could stay one night but that they were closing for the season and the water would be turned off by 11:00 am the next morning. Sounded OK to us. One night is better than none. We got settled in and did some lighter home school. After all I had tortured them yesterday, on Sunday, "encouraging" them to earn another Junior Ranger Badge in the historically-rich old Boston district. Fortunately the Fall sun was trying to hang on and we had decent weather. We walked to the beach and just enjoyed the beach and each other. Football games, wiffle ball games, climbing on the rock jetty -- just four kids having fun on the beach.

The second day I went to the office and was able to convince them to let me stay another day even without the water. We still had power and sewer. All I had to do was make sure to fill our 100 gallon fresh water tank and we were set. The second day was more home school and more beach. Recess was never this much fun! At night we went to eat pizza. Cindi eats it but it's not her favorite, so when she's out of town we manage to work it onto the menu at least once.
We were having such a great time. The fact that we were now the only ones in the RV park didn't even come into play.

The third day I walked over to the office a few times but with each visit no one was to be found. I finally ran into some maintenance guys and asked them if we might be able to stay a third night. They said, "why not, the office people aren't even here today." So we made it a "hat trick" or a "turkey." (Not sure if you can use those terms there properly... but... who cares I just did and it's MY BLOG). Anyway, at dusk we got out our putters and golf balls and headed over to the small nine hole miniature golf course on the property... well, no one was around... so??? Needless to say we played a few rounds. We decided to putt 'till we all got a hole in one. Well after a couple rounds Tanner, Sterling and Peyton all had hole in ones. I was the only one who had not accomplished the task. So I kept playing, and playing, and playing. I finally decided to go to the easiest hole and put. "Ball," putt, miss, "ball," putt, miss, "ball." putt, miss. I kept saying "ball" (you have to have seen the movie "Tin Cup" to get this one). Finally I sank one. Of course the kids had multiple "eagled, three pars" by then. I've got some great junior golfers in the family. Those lessons Cindi enrolled them in at Woodcreek Golf Course are paying off. After mini golf it was just about dark but I told the kids we were heading to the beach anyway. We got there then I told them that we would each get to rip one as hard as we could off the sand into the ocean (we had a kid's 3 wood). So one by one we gave it our best full-on, all-out, power shot. Some of us got second chances as we were trying to reach the Mediterranean Sea. (Kinda like hitting off the 1st tee with everyone watching if you know what I mean.) All of us managed to get a solid shot off that landed in the ocean. We even missed the duck way out there. We really didn't want to hit it but we needed a hole-in-one target. What a great memory... wackin' golf balls off the Cape Cod beach at night into the Atlantic Ocean. One of the highlight of the trip for me so far.

Boston, Massachusetts

The Hulsebus Family Dream continues as we woke up in Boston, MA. The only bummer of this part of the trip is that Cindi had to leave the rest of us to work on a last minute Get Motivated opportunity in Canada. Saskatoon, Winnepeg, Edmonton and Toronto to be exact. There are a couple ways to look at this..

1. This means I become Mr. Everything including Dad, Teacher, Cook, Discipliner, Rewarder, Driver, Shopper, Navigator, Event Planner, Cleaner, Story Reader, Referee, Clothes Washer, "it's time to change your underwear" Reminderer, etc. This can appear to be a bit overwhelming!

OR

2. This means I have an opportunity to do exactly what this trip is all about... spending TIME with my family (minus Cindi)! What a great opportunity to just hang out with my boys!

Number 1 can't be avoided but I choose number 2. What an awesome opportunity to just hang out with my kids.

Well it didn't start off all that easy. After watching USC beat Oregon decisively in a WM parking lot in Salem, MA (No we didn't see any witches) and catching some sleep, we left in the dark to drive Cindi to her "first flight out" plane to Canada. (Actually she had to fly to Orlando for a 5 hour layover, then Denver, then to Saskatoon... crazy!). I got her off ok and was feeling pretty good about getting in and out of the Boston airport safely. Sometimes airports can be challenging considering there are yellow height limit signs posted everywhere and our motorhome scrapes it's antena at 12'6". I found this out in downtown Chicago. (You'll have to read the Chicago blog for the details.) So with 3 kids still sleeping I exited Logan International Airport and decided to head South on I-90. I saw a sign that said 13'9" so I figured I was "good to go" into the tunnel that goes under the Boston Harbor. I somewhat calmly cruised up to the toll booth to pay something like 8 bucks (what a ripoff) when the toll booth girl said, "do you have a propane tank on board?" I have to admit I hesitated for just a second... thinking... how should I really answer this one. Unfortunately, for those who know me well, if there is one thing about me that holds true it is that I'm honest, sometimes too honest. Once I said "yes" I knew I was in trouble. She nonchalanly stated, "I'm sorry but you can't go through the tunnel." I thought, "What? That sucks!" Then I replied, as I starred only at the opening of the tunnel, "OK were do I turn around?" She said, "Idunnknow." ...Nice... She called her supervisor, then she said I'd need to deal with the Boston Police. Great... Cindi's been gone for 15 minutes, the kids haven't even woken up yet and I got the police after me. Well the flashing lights arrived which, in some way, was a bit of a relief. There supposed to "Protect and Serve" so I figured this was their chance to "serve me right out of this mess" and somehow figure out how to turn me around. I should mention that I'm towing a "pull car," a Saturn Vue and I CAN'T back up. I should also mention that even if I did have to unhook the Saturn there is only one driver in the family now... me! Tanner can ride a motorcycle but at 12 years old he can't help back us out of this disaster. In addition, I should also, also mention that I asked the girl for my eight bucks back considering I wasn't allowed into the tunnel. She insisted, "I can't." WHAT???!!! I can't go through the tunnel but I still have to pay. WHAT the "beep!" She said it was useless but that she could have her supervisor come over an tell me the same thing. What does Charlie Brown says, "UUGH?!" Man... I go off on tangents explaining things sometimes, don't I? Well the cop comes over and he doesn't know what to do, so he just says, "follow me. I'm going to have to give you a police escort through the tunnel." With lights fully on, he and another cop car, one in front and one back blocking traffic, slowly escort me through the rather lengthy tunnel under the Boston Harbor then up safely to ground level. Fortuneately my propane tank didn't exploded... I guess I had to pay the eight bucks anyway. Whatever.

After parking the rig (the 40' Monaco Diplomat) at a WM in Quincy we unhooked and headed into Boston for a Sunday tour. There is an amazing amount of history in this town. The boys and I stopped first at the US National Park office in the heart of the city. We, actually I, decided it would be a good idea if we all completed another Junior Ranger Book and got another badge. The book lead us on the Freedom Trail Walking Tour. We visited many sites including (OK, here comes the history lesson):

Old State House - Built in 1713, this historic landmark served as a merchants' exchange as well as the seat of colonial and state governments. In 1761 James Otis opposed the Writs of Assistance here, inspiring John Adams to state "then and there the child independence was born." A cobblestone circle beneath its balcony marks the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre when British soldiers fired into a crowd of Bostonians. Fugitive slave Crispus Attucks was among the five victims who died that day.

Old South Meeting House - The event that sealed Old South's place in history is one of the key events that sparked the Revolution-The Boston Tea Party. On the night of December 16, 1773 over 5,000 angry colonists gathered at Old South to protest a tax on tea. After hours of debate, Samuel Adams gave the secret signal that launched the Boston Tea Party. The Sons of Liberty, disguised as Indians, raced to Griffin's Wharf and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

Faneuil Hall - This old market building, first built in 1742, sits at the site of the old town dock. Town meetings, held here between 1764 and 1774, heard Samuel Adams and others lead cries of protest against the imposition of taxes on the colonies. The building was enlarged in 1806. Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Lucy Stone brought their struggles for freedom here in the 19th century. Market stalls on the first floor service shoppers much as they did in Paul Revere's day. One of the most famous parts of the building is the original grasshopper weathervane.

Paul Revere's House - This is the oldest house in downtown Boston. Built in 1680, it was owned and occupied by Paul Revere and his family most of the time from 1770 to 1800.

Old North Church - Built in 1723, Christ Church is better known as "Old North." It is Boston's oldest church building and still an active Episcopal Church. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow memorialized Old North's role at the start of the Revolutionary War in his poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." On the night of April 18, 1775, sexton Robert Newman hung two lanterns in the steeple to warn Charlestown patriots of the advance of British soldiers. The church, a beautiful example of Georgian architecture, houses America's oldest maiden peal of bells and the first bust of George Washington. For movie fans, the original National Treasure (one of our family favorites) featured this building at the end of the movie.

It was a long day full of historical sites and a little football throwing (Sterling takes a football with him almost everywhere) in Boston Commons Park. I've been to the bar "Cheers" before so we passed on that one. I'm a little disappointed though that I didn't get to take the kids past MIT (Massachushetts Institute of Technology) where my Grandpa Hulsebus (my dad's dad) worked on his Master's Degree back during the Depression. We can't see it all. Then back "home" to WM to crash.