A two week loop with Grandmom!

Instead of heading directly for Williamsburg for Christmas, we decided to make a loop through some eastern states and Grandmom (Jerry's mom) decided she was up for the trip.  We stopped first at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  We took in the museums and buildings that tell the tale of this strategic town once home to one of two Civil War era US armories and the site of John Brown's raid.  On our way to Louisville, Kentucky we stayed in Winchester, VA and Charleston, WV.  In Louisville we enjoyed a reunion with Rex and Angela, friends from Anchorage.  We also went to the Louisville Slugger Factory for a tour.  Our next stop was Mammoth Cave which is the longest cave system in the world with measured passages totaling over 400 miles.

As we continued south we stopped for a visit with Cousin Joan and Alan in Nashville, TN.  We went to downtown Nashville to see the Honky Tonk bars and had some great southern barbecue.  We also toured around Opryland to see the Christmas decorations.  Thank you Joan and Alan for taking time to tour around Nashville and for your kind hospitality! Our next stop on this whirlwind tour was Asheville, NC, and what visit to Asheville is complete without a tour through the Biltmore Estate? Still the largest residence in America at around 4 acres of living space, it is owned and operated by the descendants of George Vanderbilt.  With multiple Christmas trees in each room and 4 miles of garland, this was the perfect time of year to tour the mansion!

We stopped at Smith Mountain Lake on our way north and met up with brother-in-laws, Randy and Philip, who were working on a lake house renovation for a friend.  The next stop was Harrisonburg, VA to visit with Amy's sisters, Betty and Gretchen, and their families as well as Uncle Kenton and Aunt Shirley.  We attended a Christmas coffee house at Parkview Mennonite Church where brother-in-law, Robert, was a member of the men's choir that performed. The boys would definitely say that shooting Uncle Philip's 40 year old BB gun was a highlight of their trip.

Grandmom was a real trooper and we were glad to be able to spend time with her.  We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

Thanksgiving

There's no place like home for the holidays! After parking the motorhome in their driveway, I am sure Vince and Barb may have made up other words to that song.  During the first weekend of our two and a half week stay in Southeast Pennsylvania, we headed to Lancaster to enjoy a full blown Thanksgiving meal with Amy's aunts, uncles and a few cousins. We then spent two days volunteering at the Mennonite Central Committee Material Resource Center where we helped with book recycling, school kits, health kits, baling clothing and re-paletizing canned meat.  It was amazing to see how they would make something out of what others discard.  They make rag rugs, comforters, and quilts for sale at MCC Relief Sales. Their mobile canner travels to various states and volunteers can donated meat to be shipped all over the world to aid in relief efforts at refugee camps due to war or natural disasters. The recycling program alone brought in $200,000 last year.

We enjoyed another amazing feast of Thanksgiving at Vince and Barb's house.  Grandmom, all Jerry's siblings and spouses and all the nieces and nephews were there.  During our stay we visited the apartments of the newlyweds Michael and Erin and Ben and Aimee.  We also caught up with Amy's college roommate Michelle, and Jerry's high school friends, Kurt and Colleen and Chris and Michele.  We got to spend some extended time with Kacie, Mikayla and Jake while Kent and Gail celebrated their 25th anniversary.  We enjoyed dinner with Tom, Karen and the boys and more family time bowling and roller skating.  Needless to say, it was a full and memorable time.

Not to leave any stone unturned, we took the train from New Jersey to New York City for the day with Barb.  We made our way around the city on the subway, taking in Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Balto statue in Central Park, Lombardi's Coal Fired Pizza, Wall Street, 9/11 Memorial and Macy's.  It was a full day!  Macy's was more packed with people than any other stop.  They did have the best Christmas decorations in the city, though.

History Tour

One of our favorite aspects of this trip is how history has come alive for the boys as they study early American history.  A very timely stop with their studies was Lexington Battle Green, site of the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  We crossed the street to Buckman's Tavern and took a tour of the headquarters for the Minute Men.  There was an original bullet hole in the door!

The next day we ventured into Boston and decided to take in the Boston Tea Party museum and a trolly tour of the city. There is way too much to see and do in Boston in just one day. The Tea Party museum was fantastic.  Actors in costume walk you through a town meeting, down to the ships to throw the tea overboard, into a staged waterfront, and do a masterful job of telling the story along the way.  There was even an actual tea crate on display.

The trolley tour of Boston allowed us to hop on and off at various sites.  We ate lunch at Chinatown, visited the Old North Church (where the lanterns were hung to warn that the "Regulars" were coming by sea), USS Constitution (the oldest active duty Naval ship), and Harvard University. The trolley drivers did a phenomenal job of telling the story of the areas as we drove through them.  Yes, this is another place we will need to return to!

Needing some physical activity, the following day we chose to ride the Cape Cod Rail Trail from Nickerson State Park to the Cape Cod National Seashore and Coast Guard Beach.  We also took in Plymouth Rock while near the Cape.  A mug in the gift shop read "you can't change history, but it can change you."  We would have to agree after our studies.  Our next night was spent in Storrs, Connecticut where friends from Williamsburg now live.  We toured the University of Connecticut campus where J and Lisa teach.  Jackson and Asa were thrilled to have some kids to play with…thanks Keith and Fiona!

Our next stop was Camp Deerpark in New York to catch up with Sean and Kim, who worked with us for two years at Drift Creek Camp in Oregon.  Since we saw them last they added Elias to brother Jack and our Jackson and Asa were thrilled to have more kids to play with. They had planned a very special surprise for us…a day at the Mohonk Mountain House. It belongs on everyone's bucket list.  Built 143 years ago by a Quaker, this impressive lodge has a rich history and is set in the timeless beauty of a high mountain lake rimmed with granite.  We hiked for about an hour on the Labyrinth trail, scrambling over and through a boulder field, and ending with a climb through a crevice called "lemon squeeze".  We needed to work up an appetite for one of the best buffet lunches we have ever had.  Not to mention afternoon tea.  What a superb day! Thank you Sean and Kim!

Maine

With Sandy behind us we headed to the Maine coast and stayed with friends Kale and Cathy, formerly of Anchorage.  We spent one day exploring Portland and made it up to Freeport to see the amazing LL Bean complex. Their main stores are open 24/7/365 and literally have no locks on their entry doors. We also enjoyed lobster rolls, clam chowder, and lobster stew…Yum!  Cathy and Amy signed up to go to the Friday evening, Saturday morning Beth Moore conference and both had a blessed time with 4000 other women of faith. Kale, Jerry and the kiddos went on hikes, visited the playground and invented games like driveway slalom and race around the house. It was great to spend time with them and to get to know two new additions to their family.

Another big draw to Maine was our good friends Eric and Denyell in southwestern Maine.  Amy and Denyell went to pharmacy school together.  We have wanted to visit them in their home for nearly 14 years, so it was great to be there.  They live in a very peaceful, rural setting with nice views of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  We spent the week getting to know the area and taking a few local hikes.  Just being together and getting to know their super kids was the highlight of the week.

Running from Sandy

We honked our way into Pennsylvania, our tradition for many years.  With most campgrounds closed for the season we were glad that Laurelville Mennonite Church Camp, Amy's childhood summer camp,  was still open and willing to host us.  The boys enjoyed seeing the cabins and trails that their mom enjoyed as a kid.  We ventured into Scottdale for more trips down memory lane.  We had lunch at Weis' with Elaine, a previous nurse at Amy's dad's office. After seeing Amy's childhood home, she made sure the boys walked the sidewalks to her elementary school to gain an appreciation for how "long" it was (0.6 miles!). They loved it!

We took in an early Halloween event at the Pittsburgh Zoo on Saturday.  We dressed as a family as Mount Rushmore.  Yes, one or two young kids called us a "ghost family," but everyone that could read loved the idea and costume.

It finally came…the day Amy had been waiting for for 44 years…THE STEELERS GAME! On a cold, rainy western Pennsylvania afternoon we joined our friends Sharon and Scott and kids and 65,042 other fans at Heinz Field. Despite the weather the game did not disappoint. The Steelers dominated the Redskins from start to finish.  Stadium food…$15. Steelers hats, sweatshirt and ponchos…$60.  Driving 15,000 mies to get to Pittsburgh…$8,000 in gas.  Seeing the smiles on Amy's face…priceless.

With "Frankenstorm" bearing down on the east coast we decided to beat a northeast course across New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire to try to avoid a direct hit and get to Maine a little early.  We did drive through some gusty winds and waves of rain, but we managed to make to our friends', Eric and Denyell's, house in good shape.

The Great Lakes

From Duluth, we took the high road across Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  It was a peaceful, colorful fall drive.  Along the way we caught glimpses of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  We camped on the shores of Lake Michigan just south of the Mackinaw Bridge.  It is a beautiful area and well worth a return trip on a future summer.  It is definitely off-season in this part of the country.  We are having an increasingly hard time finding RV campgrounds that are opened past October 15.  But, we are getting creative!

On a very rainy night in Grand Rapids, we had a great meal with friends from Williamsburg, Brian and Kari.  It was good to catch up and see their growing girls.

Next, we checked in with nephew Logan in Goshen, Indiana.  He served us a made-to-order meal at the darling 100-year-old Olympia Candies soda shop.  Asa had a sarsaparilla phosphate which Logan translated to him as an old fashioned root beer.  It is good to see Logan adjusting to life after college.  

We made a pit stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next and really enjoyed the grounds tour that took us on the track, the winner's circle and the media buildings.  The 2 1/2 mile track dates back to 1909 and the cars in the museum were really cool to see.

The temperatures across Ohio reached into the low 80's but we didn't take the time to do much exploring.  We stayed at our 3rd Walmart of the trip and stopped to see the Longaberger Homestead.  And…gasp…Amy didn't buy baskets!

Cousins

This past week we had the pleasure of catching up with several cousins in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.    After visiting, we again realized that going 5 to nearly 20 years is TOO long not to see each other.  As the boys said "the only problem with visiting is that we have to leave again."

Warren and Coleen were great hosts and Warren took off the day to take us to the highlights that Jerry remembered from his visits to southern Illinois.  We had lunch at Wally's and had a tour of the Ski bottling company.  He took us to see Bob who has singlehandedly built a fort and reconstructed log homes that have been given to him over the years.  He had an amazing collection and we know that someday we'll be paying admission to see it.  Lastly, we went to the "ground" (their 60 acre hunting retreat) and the boys had a blast riding four wheelers.  We had some time with Aunt Loretta, Linda and Glen.  It was fun to watch the Cardinal games with the family!  Thank you for your amazing hospitality.  We walked out the door with an armful of food and pecans the boys collected.

We stopped at Lincoln's home (the only one he ever owned) in Springfield, Illinois on the way to Iowa.  It was good to learn more about this amazing man.  He hung strongly to his convictions despite much opposition.

We only had a little over a day in Iowa but really enjoyed our time with Merridy and Allen (and max!). Merridy took us on a driving tour of Wellman (so sorry we missed your parents, Sarah!) after a must-stop at the cheese factory in Kalona for cheese curds.  The highlight of our tour was Hickory Grove school.  Mom and Merridy's dad attended this one-room schoolhouse.  It is now a private residence and we pulled in the driveway for a picture.  Much to our surprise, the owner came to the door and invited us in for a look!  It was amazing to see how she has preserved the look of the main school room.  There are still names carved in the wainscoting and the original floors are intact.  Merridy and Allen made us feel so comfortable in their home.  Let's not wait so long for the next visit!

Next, we thought we should take in the Mall of America near Minneapolis.  The stores weren't so different, BUT, there is a huge amusement park and aquarium on the main level.  That was a sight!  The boys bought each other Christmas presents.  We'll see if they can stand the suspense for another 2 months.  We then traveled up to Duluth, MN to see Jerry's cousin Carl and family.  Duluth was a neat little town.  It sits on a hillside overlooking Lake Superior.  We managed to park George and spent a wonderful evening catching up.  We have it on our radar to return soon.

Farms, Elephant Rocks, and Orchards

We headed into the heartland stopping at Amy's Aunt Rachel and Uncle Don's farm in Newton, Kansas. The boys obviously had fun as evidenced by Jackson's journal entry… "Aunt Rachel and Uncle Don were awesome! We got to fish, catch a black snake 5 ft. long, look at his airplane, go to a kids' dragster racing place and a huge college, and even play with their Legos!  I was sad to leave them." Amy's highlight was hanging laundry on the line.  With their signature hospitality they generously hosted a bon fire/hot dog roast where we got to visit with cousin Karl and family.  In between all of that activity Don helped troubleshoot a slow kitchen sink drain in the motorhome. What a blessing they were to our family. We stopped in Independence, Missouri next to check out the jumping off point for the Oregon and Santa Fe trails.  Independence kept coming up in our studies, so we thought it was an important stop.
As we headed east Jerry was recalling some of his more fond memories of growing up in the St.Louis area and three things came to mind.  They were the Gateway Arch, Elephant Rocks State Park and Eckerts Orchard.  About 60 miles south of St. Louis is an old granite quarry with some uniquely large, rounded granite boulders.  So unique that they did not blow them apart, they created a State Park around them instead.  Jackson and Asa had as much fun as I did as a kid crawling around on the massive rocks.  The fall colors were spectacular with the hardwoods of the Ozarks turning brilliant reds, oranges and yellows.  We then drove downtown to the Gateway Arch and managed to find RV parking.  We arrived in the afternoon only to find out that they were sold out of tickets to ride to the top.  We were on a bit of a time crunch so it actually worked out well…on to Eckerts.
Much has changed with this seventh generation orchard since I was there as a kid.  It is a big operation with a restaurant, store, kids' amusement area, pumpkin patch and of course the orchard.  It is the largest u-pick farm in the United States so we joined the fun and picked some fuji apples.

The Land of Enchantment

All told, we spent 17 days in New Mexico, our record thus far.  It really captures you.  Even if you are not looking for any jewelry, you soon feel like you can't leave the state without a piece of turquoise!  The boys were not the only ones learning history.  We were reminded that the Spanish were in Santa Fe just about the time Jamestown Settlement was established.  Growing up on the East Coast, I remember thinking that we had all the "history."  Our favorite museum was the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.  It is connected to the Palace of the Governors, the longest continually occupied public building in the United States.  If walls could talk!  It has seen Spanish, Mexican, Ancient Puebloan, and Anglo occupants.   We also enjoyed the many mission churches in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.  Thanks to a great tip from one of the moms of Jackson's classmates, we thoroughly enjoyed the Explora kids museum in Albuquerque.  Change is inevitable, but it was sad to go to Taos and find out that a bed and breakfast we've stayed at twice has closed because the couple became too elderly.  We tried in vain to find the house, but it's been too many years.  Also, the Taos Pueblo was closed on the afternoon that we were there.  We did however enjoy the old town shops and the beautiful drive on the "high road to Taos."
An event we had been waiting for since April came while we were in Albuquerque.  We finally saw the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  I say finally, but we haven't been waiting as long as my sister Betty who says she's been waiting 30 years to come!  Betty and Philip joined us from Virginia for a long weekend.  It was fun to have them along.  We started our time in Santa Fe then joined the hundreds of motorhomes in a big dusty lot for the weekend.
Unfortunately, a cold front came in on Saturday from Canada (thanks a lot, eh!) and the winds proved too strong to fly the balloons.  We were back at the motorhome very early in the morning with a whole day and no plans.  We decided to take the motorhome back North to the Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos.  It was a great choice and we really recommend it if you are in the Santa Fe area.  You are much more free to explore the cliff dwellings than you are at other National Parks.
The scenery was amazing and the ladders were a blast. We were in a big wind storm on the way back, which blew us all over the road and caused some minor maintenence for Jerry and Philip.  We saw some fireworks that evening and said our prayers that the Lord would kill the wind the next morning.  Meanwhile, the forecasters were predicting greater wind speed than the morning before.  Our prayers were answered, and the wind was practically dead.  The balloons took off as scheduled and what a show that was.  Every time you looked, there was a new balloon in the sky.  It's a wonderful time because you are allowed on the field right where the balloons are being launched; you really feel like you are a part of the action.  Sadly, Betty and Philip had to catch a plane but got to see a majority of the launching.

We also took off that afternoon and made our way East.  Over the next few days we were able to see the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo on the Texas Panhandle and see the sights of Oklahoma City.  Yes, I too was surprised that there were sights in OKC.  But honestly, we had a hard time choosing which things to take in during our day there.  We decided on the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which was a sobering, beautifully detailed memorial of the events of 1995, and the National Cowboy and Western Museum.  Definitely, definitely stop at this museum if you are ever traveling through.  It contains amazing western art, displays of all things cowboy, Old Western movie history, a kids' dress-up area and a mock 1800s town.  And soooo much more.  Most importantly, it has the best buffet we've ever had with home-made southern cooking.  In fact, someone asked for the recipe for the pineapple spoon bread while we were there and the waitress called out for the back staff to call "grandma" for her recipe!

Oklahoma has the most remaining miles (over 400) of Route 66 that is still drivable.  We really enjoyed stopping at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK and learning about the history of the "mother road."  It was even more enjoyable to drive the road and imagine how it was for my two grandfathers and Jerry's father to travel possibly this same stretch of road so many years before.  I have renewed interest in digging up some old pictures and stories.  And we realize that our travel bug comes honestly!

Southern New Mexico

Greetings from sunny New Mexico!  Actually, we had a day of rain at White Sands, our third of the trip.  It helped us to slow down and spend some family time in the RV.  The boys are convinced that they do not recognize any difference between a house and the RV.  Makes all this togetherness go more smoothly!

On the way to southern New Mexico, we made a quick stop at Smokey the Bear Historic Site.  This is near where firemen found a little bear cub alone and burned in a forest fire.  He became the symbol of fire prevention.  It has been such a successful campaign over the years that now rangers have to convince us that it is good to have controlled burns.

We also made a trek to the UFO museum in Roswell…well, we were in the neighborhood!
Carlsbad Caverns was a real treat.  We took the self-guided tour of the Big Room and were amazed at the size and variety of cave formations.  The highlight, though, was the evening bat flight.  We gathered in the amphitheater at dusk and after a short ranger talk, watched as about 300,000 bats flew into the sunset skies continuously over a 30 minute period.  It was breathtaking!  We weren't allowed to take any pictures so you will need to trust us and take this event in someday.  

Finally, we made our way to Alamogordo and took in a tour of the Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farm.  This family business began as a second career for an air force officer and his wife over 40 years ago.  It was interesting to learn that pistachios need a very specific climate to grow in and are only grown in southern NM, California and a small portion of Arizona.  This morning we awoke to blue skies and headed to White Sands National Monument.  What a blast!  The hills are excellent (and fast!) for sledding.  We had to move on before the full moon but can only imagine how gorgeous that would have been.

Zuni

 We headed to Zuni Pueblo to visit with friends from Anchorage who now work on this Native American Reservation.  It took us back to our time in Port Hardy, BC and the strong sense of community we experienced there.  We are happy that these doctors could practice anywhere, but were led to serve here.  They are very involved in promoting health and help with youth sports programs.  Jerry was able to participate in a  7 mile run called Coronado's Curse on Sunday morning with Barb. We were blessed by the fellowship, conversations, and meals we shared together.

UFO?

We had a complete New Mexican experience in that we spotted a UFO in the skies above Route 53.  There were other cars pulled over watching it, too!

As we headed east we stopped at El Morro National Monument. We saw some of the over 2000 inscriptions and petroglyphs on the rock face of the mesa that dated from pre-Spanish contact to the early 20th century.  Our next stop was Acoma Pueblo, one of the longest occupied pueblos in the US.  The Acoma people are descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans who migrated south from Mesa Verde in Colorado.  Thirteen families have residences  live atop the mesa community which still functions without electricity or water and sewer systems. This was one of the Pueblo groups that received an ebony cane from President Lincoln in 1864.

Jamboree, Reunions, and Canyons

The big surprise for Asa was an early 10th birthday present.  His Father/Son getaway would be a Jeep Jamboree in Ouray, Colorado, the oldest running Jamboree celebrating it's 25th year.  He was ecstatic! The first day of trails covered California Pass/Corkscrew Gulch with a stop at the ghost mining town of Animas Forks. The second day of trails went from Ophir Pass to Telluride and then up and over Imogene Pass at 13,100 feet.  Needless to say the trails and scenery were spectacular.  We enjoyed breakfasts and dinners at the Ouray Community Center with lunches out on the trails.

Ouray is one of the most picturesque towns in America and is called "Switzerland of America" which was a perfect place for Amy and Jackson to explore while Asa and Jerry were out on the trails.  They went to the hot springs pool, visited nearly all of the historic downtown shops, hiked to Box Canyon Falls, and visited a very impressive Pharmacy museum.  Jackson even found a Carcharodontosaurus tooth at the local rock shop (think T-Rex but from the Late Cretaceous period).

Amy enjoyed two Providence reunions.  Sarah was "in the area" and acted as the Pony Express delivering our mail from Anchorage!  Traveling down to Durango after Ouray, we connected with Erin and husband Matt.  Jerry was treated to a local mountain bike ride…thanks Matt!

After Durango, we continued southwest to Mesa Verde and went on Ranger guided tours of two impressive cliff dwellings, Balcony House and Cliff Palace.  The ladders and carved steps are on the cliff walls about 700 feet from the canyon floor which had the boys a little nervous, but they forgot all of their fears when it came time for action.  We all enjoyed learning more about the Ancestral Puebloans (now the PC title replacing Anasazi) and their farming communities from 800 years ago. One of the most impressive displays in the museum was a clay pot with 30 pounds of perfectly preserved ancient corn that was found buried in a local cave.

Not letting the grass grow under our wheels we headed on to Four Corners Monument and then to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d'SHAY).  We hiked into to canyon to the White House cliff dwelling. We never tired of the magnificently carved sandstone canyon walls.  Navajo farmers still graze sheep in the canyon.

An unexpected, and perhaps best, stop on our trip was the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.  It is the longest continuously operating trading post in the country.  The tour of the Hubble house revealed the most amazing art and craft work from the 19th Century. Instead of payment for lodging from traveling artists, Mr. Hubble would ask for a piece of their art work.  This practice is still in effect today as visiting artists can stay for up to two weeks for the cost of one of their works of art.