Virginia - Where Jefferson Went Wii, Wii, Wii All the Way Home

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In Virginia we held a competition to see if Jefferson's house was better than Washington's or vise versa. Both had equally stunning views, but only one could become the next Founding Father Feud Winner!  We also went to Yorktown and United Network for Organ Sharing.  

Monticello was one of my favorite Founding Father's homes. Considering the fact that inventing was one of Thomas Jefferson's favorite activities, it is not surprising that he invented many things. Amazingly he invented a giant clock. It was powered by cannon balls and gravity, and it surrounded the doorway and showed the date and time. He also had several other inventions. Because I love reading, I enjoyed his invention for holding books the most.

Mainly the tour consisted of the house. Jefferson collected many different things from books to Indian spears. Putting his bed in an alcove that let him access his observatory on one side and his bedroom on the other side is a great idea. In his dining room he had another great invention:  a conveyor belt that brings the wine up from the cellar without having to bring a servant or slave into the room. That would go great in my room for getting soda to drink. I wish I could have browsed through the house longer.

History tells us that the Battle of Yorktown ended the Revolutionary War, not counting a couple of sea battles fought after it. Fighting in Yorktown, you would experience mostly cannon fire. Although the tour guide didn't directly say so, God was the real victor of the battle. Amazingly the British had almost escaped across the lake when suddenly God sent a storm to destroy the ships of which none survived. After going on the tour, it amazes me how God made Washington and the French win.

Surprisingly the tour was one of the best tours of the trip because of how much information he gave us. Climbing up the trenches was my favorite part. Despite the thorns I did it anyway. While the tour was great, the only problem with the tour was the cold weather. I had a blast, which was a huge change from dreading it beforehand.

United Network for Organ Sharing or UNOS maintains the transplant waiting list. The list is completely automated, and it says who obtains which organ. Waiting on the list is what my Dad did for six weeks. UNOS gave us a tour of their facilities. Inside was mostly computers and cubicles. Outside they had a beautiful fountain with names of about a thousand organ donors. Finally my Dad found the first name of his donor.

Surprisingly Mount Vernon is very different than Monticello. It is much bigger, and you can do much more at Mount Vernon. The walk through the house was pretty boring. Walking through the slave quarters and other parts of the farm wasn't much better. Because there were no actors, there was no one to ask questions about the place. Considering both houses, I would rather go to Monticello than Mount Vernon.

In Virginia we did more field trips than any other state. I had fun everywhere, except at Mount Vernon. If I were Jefferson, I would try to invent the Wii.

- The Son

Virginia - Did Humpty Dumpty Sit On a Ha-Ha?

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Don't fall down the Ha-Ha Wall!   In Virginia instead of falling down the Ha-Ha Wall, we helped at a marathon where we passed out t-shirts. We visited Washington's home and Jefferson's home. We also saw one of my best friends!

Have you ever been to a marathon and didn't run in it or watch anybody in it? Obviously, we didn't run in the marathon, but we did pass out goodies from Donate Life. Because Levi and I were refilling the supplies, I had more fun than I would have if I were handing out items to people. Basically Levi and I would just make sure that nothing was running low such as pom poms, lifesavers, and key chains. If anyone was on team Donate Life, it was also our job to find the right size t-shirt and give it to them. Our job sounds pretty simple, but the place was very busy the whole time we were there.

Washington's home was huge! He also had an awesome yard. I can't imagine how great it was to play games like tag and stuck in the mud. (Stuck in the mud is like freeze tag). Washington's home had six bedrooms, a huge dining room, and a cozy living room. My second favorite part was their porch which went all the way across the house. My favorite part was the Ha-Ha Wall. The Ha-Ha Wall was a wall in the backyard that was basically a cage for their animals, but you couldn't see it. It was named the Ha-Ha Wall because everybody who came near it couldn't see it and fell down into the grass on the other side. Then of course everybody would laugh. There were also a couple of really funky trees.

Monticello was what Jefferson's home was named, and let me tell you Monticello was remarkable! It had a lot of contraptions, such as in the living room there's a holder just big enough for a wine bottle. A servant downstairs would put a wine bottle in and pull down on a rope which would make the wine go upstairs to Jefferson. They also had a hidden staircase that was like a revolving door. On one side there would be a small staircase, and on the other side there were shelves. Jefferson had a very beautiful view from his house.

In conclusion Virginia was one of the most fun states, but I don't really want to live there. I would highly recommend Washington's home and Jefferson's home. Remember, don't fall down the Ha-Ha Wall!

-The Daughter

Washington D.C. – Can’t We All Just Get Along?

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In a city not known for its bipartisanship, we all got along really well. Well, except for that time we “had a discussion” about where to turn to get to the hotel, and that time we argued in the rain about eating lunch, oh, and that time we “discussed” what to bring in from the van, but other than that DC was full of compromise...in our family at least!

Here are some highlights from Washington, D.C.:

Biggest Surprise: There is so much to see and do in Washington, D.C., and much of it is free! It really is worth a week’s vacation.

Biggest Disappointment: The National Archives. I wanted it to be like the movie National Treasure, full of adventure and excitement, but even the movie at the National Archives was boring, and we normally find the museum movies interesting. Can you believe Nicholas Cage didn’t narrate it?!? Regardless you have to stop and see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That’s rich history!

Biggest Revelation: The first floor of the White House isn’t a museum! I didn’t realize that after the tours are over, they unroll the carpets, put away the ropes, and use the rooms for press conferences, sleepovers, and under the current administration, numerous concerts according to what we were told when we made several inquiries of the Secret Service agents of whom you’re encouraged to ask questions while on the White House tour.

Worst Closure: Nothing was closed, but our Senators and Representative weren’t in DC because we visited too closely after the election. Fortunately because we contacted them ahead of time, we were still able to take a tour of the Capitol Building conducted by a member of their staff, and it was fantastic. We stood under the dome and expressed amazement at how large it is. We learned about, and tried out for ourselves, the acoustics in the old Congressional meeting room allowing John Quincy Adams to hear private conversations across the room. We sat in the gallery of the Senate and pictured history taking place, and we walked via the tunnels below the street. Unfortunately, we didn’t rub elbows with anyone famous since they were all back home.

Most Beautiful Spot: Arlington National Cemetery. Yes, it is in Virginia, but it’s such a DC tourist sight that I included it here. I’ll risk sounding like my daughter here: it’s huge! All the white tombstones in perfectly straight rows, contrasted against the meticulously manicured green lawn and orange fall leaves were striking. It’s humbling to see how many have died for our country, our freedom. Thank you!

Best Bathroom Stop: The Smithsonian Institution Building, the one that looks like a castle, is mostly just an information and administration building, but they do have nice bathrooms, a model of the city, and a fun touch exhibit in the lobby. The kids loved playing on the giant touch screen where you used special tools to paint and even build a fire. I’m really not sure what that has to do with anything informational, but they had fun, none the less.

Most Fun Tourist Spot: Spy Museum. It was interesting seeing all the spy gadgets and such. We especially loved the beginning of the museum where you felt like you were preparing to be an agent. It's just too bad they couldn't keep the theme going throughout the entire museum.

Most Boring Tourist Spot: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. For a museum, it's pretty boring because there aren't many interactive or high tech exhibits, but I love how the movie Night at the Museum has spawned an interest in history. Our kids were excited about going and seeing the parts in the movie. Skip the planetarium movie about the Black Hole. It wasn’t worth the money, and it wasn’t the least bit educational.

Most Moving Tourist Sight: Holocaust Memorial Museum. When you first enter, you pick up a card with an identity on it. The museum is very well laid out, and you even see an actual train car which carried thousands of Jews to the concentration camps. Unfortunately, we arrived late in the afternoon and didn’t have much time to really delve into it. Whatever amount of time you spend in the museum, you can’t help be stirred at the end of the museum when you find out what happened to the person on your card.

Funniest Memory: We saw news coverage of two guys who’d travelled to 24 states selling a million dollars of advertisements on their trailer in support of small business. Levi responded, “Oh yeah. I’d like to see them get to Hawaii.”

Worst Memory: Waiting in line to get through security at the White House. We had previously set up a tour through our Senator and were assigned a time, but we still to wait outside for about an hour to go through security….in the bone chilling rain. We all huddled under one giant umbrella and played the Name Game to pass the time. I find it amusing that you can’t bring cameras, chapstick, a purse - anything other than your cell phone, wallet, and car keys, but you can bring your pointy umbrella! I guess that speaks more about the weather in DC than anything.

Best Memory: We had the privilege of being on live TV promoting organ donation in the DC area. We arrived at FOX 5 and were ushered in what seemed like a huge garage to wait in the “green” room which was a glorified dressing room – beige at that. Finally we were led into the production area, another garage type room not at all like you see on TV where there are cameramen and producers milling about.  Here there was one producer and one cameraman. That’s it.

Not surprisingly, most of it was computerized. The cameraman sat us on the red love seat and chair, hooked up our mics, and had us be quiet for the next 20 seconds until the show’s host came over to join us on the red furniture.  Seeing things like the foot pedal she used to control the words on the monitor was exciting to be a part of!  What’s funny is that she focused on asking the kids questions, and they were the stars of the show. Levi used a superhero analogy, and Chloe said it was a privilege to be doing this. Way to get the word out about organ donation with the cute kid appeal!

My DC Hike: While sightseeing one day, we walked nearly 11 miles all over the city! 21,870 steps to be exact seeing the Washington Monument, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Building, Holocaust Memorial Museum, and so on. Needless to say, we all slept well that night, even in a hotel bed.

Best Views of the City: From the Washington Monument. Be sure to reserve your tickets ahead of time. It's only $1.50 per ticket to do so, and it ensures your time slot. Hope for a sunny day because it has great views of the Capitol, White House, Lincoln Memorial, and DC in general.

What We Did Miss: It’s hard to believe that with all we did, we still missed so much including the National Cathedral, Jefferson Memorial, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, National Zoo, and others all recommended to us.

In Summary: Washington, D.C., we had a great time visiting your numerous sights and rich history.  Being we're smashed together 24/7 in a minivan and hotel room, we had no option but to work out our differences and come to a compromise.  Mmmh, maybe we should stick Congress together in a minivan until they agree…

-The Mom

Washington D.C. - There's a New Star in Town

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Have you ever walked twenty-five thousand steps in one day while you were sick? I did in Washington D.C., and my feet hurt so badly once we were finished! In D.C. we went to the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Spy Museum, and the Fox News studio.

The Washington Monument was amazing! They used to let you walk up or down the stairs, but people started carving stuff into the walls. Now the only way up or down (if there's not an emergency) is the elevator. It was a beautiful view at the top.

Reaching the top of the stairs at the Lincoln Memorial made me pant like a dog who just ran twenty miles.  After all I was sick.  Lincoln was huge! Because the Lincoln Memorial was in one of my favorite movies, I enjoyed it more than I would have if I didn't watch Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. I loved just sitting on the steps looking at the Washington Monument.

Walking into the White House was weird and exciting at the same time. To think that you're walking on the same ground that the most famous person in the United States walks on is incredible. We saw the Green Room, the Red Room, the Blue Room, and the dining room. Seriously, I'm not kidding about all the rooms with colors for their names. The weird thing was you couldn't bring anything into the White House not even chapstick, but you could bring any kind of umbrella you wanted. Which do you think is more dangerous: chapstick or a pointy umbrella?

At first I didn't think that I was really going to like the Spy Museum, but it was unbelievable!  After you pay, you go into the briefing room and watch a short movie. Then you come out into a room with a bunch of different names on the walls, and you find one to memorize.  After a few minutes they take you into another room that shows you different spy stuff like picking locks, finding hidden messages, and blending in with the general public. I was expecting to go on some sort of secret mission. They also had a little tunnel with a window to crawl through, but you had to avoid being seen through the window. If we had enough time, we would have gone on a GPS mission where you go around D.C. looking for different clues to solve a "mystery."

Live TV wasn't new, but being in studio was awesome! They talked to my dad for a minute or two, then they flipped over to Levi and I.  We were the stars of the show. My mom said that it's because it means more coming from kids then it does coming from adults. I guess I believe her, but I also think it's because I'm so much more adorable than them!

Over all D.C. was pretty fun. I would definitely recommend the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the Spy Museum. Remember don't go to D.C. when you're sick or when your feet, legs, or knees are sore.

-The Daughter

Washington D.C. - Government Secrets

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The District of Columbia was a fun week.  We went to the Lincoln Memorial, National Archives, Smithsonian Institution Building, US Capitol, Washington Monument, and the White House.

Walking up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial was really cool.  It is one of the first things that pop into my mind when someone says, "DC."  On the steps I enjoyed sitting and looking at the Washington Monument. Since Lincoln is from Illinois, he is my favorite president. His statue was huge, and in person it was that much larger. Mostly I've seen it in movies.

Inside the National Archives was really cool. Looking at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was a highlight of the week. Since it is a storehouse of history, it is that much cooler.  My favorite subject in school is history.

The Smithsonian Institution Building is the castle on the National Mall. Despite being an information center, it does have one fun thing. I call it an iTable. Playing many games on the iTable was fun. Since it has a touch screen, you can play special touch games, but you also can play a painting game or do a puzzle.  The point is that it was awesome.

I was surprised by how big the Capitol Building was. In the Capital Building we were able to go to so many places, like the Senate Hall. Thinking back, my favorite place was the old Congress meeting room. Apparently the room is shaped so that from John Quincy Adams' desk, he could hear private conversations from all the way across the room. Since it was so unbelievable, we tried it out, and it worked.

From the top of the Washington Monument the view was amazing. Since it is right next to so many other famous places, the view was even better. Thankfully they had an elevator, and Mom didn't make us do the stairs. I read about the history while we waited for the elevator. Sitting down after walking all around Washington helped my tired legs.

Waiting in line to tour the White House is terrible. The only thing that could make it worse is rain, and guess what it did while we waited to tour the White House! After you make it through security, it isn't that bad though. Since we have been to many museums, my dad decided to ask questions of some Secret Service agents. Apparently they have had to arrest someone for peeing in a corner of one of the rooms in the White House. That is why my dad and mom make Chloe and I ask questions whenever we visit a museum. You never know what you will find out.

D.C. was a great district, and it was that much better because it involved my favorite subject, history. I really enjoyed all of the activities. I would rather go someplace with beaches and not as much politics though. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom in a corner.

The Son

Maryland – Mary Had a Little Land

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Mary had a little land, but fortunately for us, it wasn’t white as snow while we were there! Maryland is small enough that we were able to see the coast, Baltimore, and the Patuxent River Naval Base. A friend on Facebook graciously set up a speaking opportunity for us about organ donation at a Cub Scout pack meeting on the Naval base. We performed a superhero skit to explain to the scouts how being an organ donor is like being a superhero, and Chloe went all out getting a Wonder Woman costume and dressing her part.  Usually a Donor Awareness Patch is awarded the first time a scout is successful in getting an adult to become an organ donor.  We hope that we not only entertained the scouts but also assisted them in earning their Donor Awareness Patch.

Here are some highlights from our week in Maryland:

Best Meal: Pasta Mista in the Baltimore suburb of Timonium. Their tomato basil bisque was excellent, my favorite soup on the trip!  It had tortellini and red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick.  I actually asked for the recipe - it was that good, but that’s a family secret.  Best of all, it was a real pleaser for all of us, which is highly unusual that a restaurant is a home run for all four of us. Here Levi discovered ranch dressing on a pizza and thought it was a match made in heaven, on the level of peanut butter and jelly for most kids.

Worst Meal: Fractured Prune, a donut shop in Ocean City. I wrote in Delaware's blog how disappointed we were that we couldn’t eat at Fractured Prune, so we were excited to find one open in Ocean City. For the first time, not only on the trip but probably in our children’s lives, we actually went out for donuts for breakfast! You’d think this would be the best meal in Maryland, especially since they have different glaze flavors, like caramel, peanut butter, chocolate…oh my! Unfortunately, we were disappointed in the donuts themselves. Even warm, the cake donut didn’t compare to Krispy Kreme’s warm, melty goodness. In addition, the flavors of the cake donut with the glaze and toppings just didn’t gel together for us.

Biggest Surprise: The horses really are wild! We went to Assateague Island National Seashore to see the infamous wild horses. As usual, we made our first stop at the visitor’s center. Newly constructed, it has a touch tank where the kids were happy to stay all day. Eventually, we pulled them away from the crabs and drug them to the movie. We learned the horses receive no food, water, or even healthcare, other than a birth control vaccination.  In order to control the horse population, the park ranger shoots the mare in the rump with an injection to allow her to birth only once in her lifetime.

Biggest Disappointment: Not being able to stay longer on the beach in Ocean City!

Biggest Twinge of Homesickness: Nothing. We had gotten a free upgrade to a corner suite on the top floor of the ocean front hotel - and was it nice…Off-season has its perks! How could we be homesick falling asleep while listening to the sound of the waves?!?

Worst Closure: The flight simulators at Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. Unfortunately, the simulators were only open on the weekends. Levi was pretty bummed. Chloe, however, was excited just to be able to sit in an airplane since she’s the only one of us that qualified by being lighter than 100 pounds.

Most Beautiful Spot: Sunrise at Ocean City. We wanted to awaken in time for sunrise, so I set my alarm; however, I awoke with a startle, thinking we had missed the sunrise because it was so light in our room. Discovering we hadn’t missed it, it was just very bright already, we sat on the balcony enjoying the beautiful sunrise. Once again, I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Don’t worry, though, I didn’t put them ALL on the website.

Best Tour:  Patuxent River Naval Air Station. We were so thankful to receive a tour! We were able to see where they test new planes and even go inside a plane from the 50’s, which was actually used in Vietnam - and they still fly it! Seriously, it looked like the airplanes we see in museums, but they still use this one.  How scary is that? While we were inside the cockpit, the flight engineer came in for a preflight so that they could take it up and refuel a plane in mid-air.

Biggest Revelation:  In the Navy they still fly planes used in Vietnam?!? We can’t cut anymore Defense spending because they need planes that aren’t like the ones displayed in museums!

Best Tourist Spot: Inner Harbor, Baltimore. They’ve done a commendable job of making the Inner Harbor a great place to eat, shop, sight-see, and relax. We walked around, and Levi picked the food court for lunch. We sat outside overlooking the harbor while eating, so I couldn’t complain.

Best Memory: Fort McHenry, where the battle took place that inspired the Star Spangled Banner. Much to our surprise, it wasn’t a Revolutionary War battle but rather the War of 1812:  a war we almost lost. Washington, DC was already captured when the battle at Fort McHenry took place.

Francis Scott Key was watching the battle from onboard a truce boat and later wrote about it. It was pretty moving when the 15 minute movie in the Visitor’s Center was over, and the curtains parted, displaying the American flag waving in the breeze while the Star Spangled Banner blared from the speakers. A true American moment.

Funniest Memory: We rented a surrey (4 person bike) to ride down the Ocean City boardwalk. Stopping for some Thrasher’s infamous French fries, I’m sure we consumed more calories than we burned! Levi was quite a ham by hopping off the surrey to jog alongside it and hand me a fry - if that’s any indication of how slow we were going and how few calories we were burning.

Worst Memory: Almost getting in an accident on the interstate near Baltimore. A car just stopped in the left hand lane. The car behind him swerved into my lane to avoid him. Luckily, I had room to swerve on the shoulder. It was our closest near collision on the trip, and it had my heart racing. I’m not sure if it caused a pile-up or not, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t.

Best Drive: The one in Assateague Island National Seashore. I prayed God would let us see wild horses. We were barely over the bridge onto the island when we saw two horses in the marsh. We kept driving and saw two more right beside the road, feeding on the grass. It was reminiscent of Yellowstone with the buffalo right there on the side of the road, stopping traffic in both directions.

Chloe had gotten a 100% on a quiz and turned in her reward to ride in the front seat all that day. Since she was in the passenger seat, she was in charge of taking pictures. Most of her pictures focused on getting a pile of horse poo in the shot. Since it was literally all over the park, it wasn’t too difficult.

Worst Drive: The one to Baltimore where we almost were in an accident on the highway as I mentioned in my “Worst Memory.” In addition, we saw multiple highway signs that said to report suspicious terrorist activity to a hotline. How much scarier can the drive get?!?

My MD Hike: Ocean City Boardwalk. It’s not every day that we Midwesterners get to walk on a beach boardwalk, so it was a fun “hike” for me.

What We Did Miss: Crab pretzel from Nick’s, Annapolis, the Naval Academy, Baltimore Aquarium, Babe Ruth Museum, Camden Yard, and much more all recommended to us.

In Summary: Maryland, you may have a little land, but we thoroughly enjoyed our week there and hope your Cub Scouts are still signing up organ donors!

-The Mom

Maryland - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

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I'm Wonder Woman! Seriously, in Maryland I dressed up as Wonder Woman the whole week. We also had fun playing at beaches, going to a Navy base, and seeing horses.

We went to Ocean City, and the beach there was beautiful. We had a hotel right on the beach. Our hotel room even had a balcony!  It was the coolest hotel room we have ever had. It had a living room, a kitchen, a Jacuzzi, two TV's, two DVD players, and our own private staircase! It also had a shower head that was directly above you, but if you think that sounds like a good idea, it's not. It felt like raindrops were falling on my head. There was no pressure at all.  When I get out of the shower, I want to feel clean. There is no way you can feel clean after this shower.

We played on the beach a lot. I built Powhatan's Indian village. (Powhatan is Pocahontas's dad.) My dad and I built a volcano in Hawaii. We weren't actually in Hawaii.  We just pretended that the volcano we built was in Hawaii. The volcano was three feet tall. That's as tall as my waist! I didn't think we could build it that tall, but we did it.  We actually did it, and it didn't get washed away until morning. I'd say we built it pretty strong.

The Navy base was really cool!  We were touring an old 50's plane.  Then suddenly a man walked in and said, "Better get out.  We're going to take this baby for a spin."  My favorite kind of plane is the one that you hear about a mile away. We actually saw a couple of them flying. It was pretty tough to spot them, but eventually we found them. My dad could never find them.

In every state I want to see an animal that I don't usually get to see. For Maryland my animal was horses at Assateague Island National Seashore. The Assateague horses looked like ponies, but they were full grown. I can't imagine what a baby Assateague horse would look like. The horses were wild. The park rangers don't do anything. They don't feed them, shelter them, or even help them when they're hurt.

In conclusion Maryland was pretty fun, but not as fun as Delaware. I still wear my Wonder Woman outfit as much as I can.

-The Daughter

Maryland - A Suite Time

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In Maryland we had a "suite" time, and yes, I will continue doing word plays. Maryland was a busy state. We went to a naval base, stayed at a "suite" hotel, ate at an amazing restaurant, and enjoyed a donut shop.

The Patuxent River Naval Base is, of course, a naval base. The one problem with it is there are no big battleships. I didn't even see a cruiser. Instead they have some awesome planes. We did a Donate Life event with a person whose husband works in the naval base, and he gave us a tour. It was really cool. We saw some radar planes and even some old 1950's fighters. We even were able to go in a old Vietnam airplane refueler, but we had to skedaddle out of it because they were going to take it for a spin. My favorite part was watching some planes traveling at the speed of sound fly overhead.

In Ocean City, Maryland we stayed at a gigantic Holiday Inn next to a boardwalk. It was fourteen stories high. We were upgraded to a corner suite that had two TV's, an ocean view, a kitchenette, and a jacuzzi. My favorite part was of course the jacuzzi, but I also liked falling asleep to the sound of the ocean. Another advantage was the closeness to the beach. Almost every day I went down to the beach with my mom or dad, and we built sand castles. The waves at that beach get really high, and when I say "high," I mean huge. Those three days were probably some of my favorite on the trip.

Another great place we went in Maryland was Pasta Mista. Pasta Mista is an awesome restaurant if you want pizza, pasta, or soup. We went there almost every day that we were in Timonium. They had so many different foods to order. One thing that made them shine was their different flavors. For example they had a chicken ranch pizza. They also had a spaghetti pizza. Another amazing food they had was their tomato basil soup. That was the stuff of legend. It had a little kick along with some soggy croutons, which were delicious, and some tortellini. I usually ordered the chicken ranch New York style pizza along with a cup of tomato basil soup. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone in Timonium.

Fractured Prune is a donut shop that is very popular in Maryland. They carry many good donuts like the OC Sand. They allow you to design your own donut too. We ordered half a dozen donuts, and he baked them fresh for us. We each designed our own and then ordered two predesigned donuts to sample. The donuts weren't bad, but I have to say that when it comes to donuts, Krispy Kreme has spoiled us.

Maryland was yet another beach state.  With all the good pasta and donuts I would put Maryland as one of the "suitest" states yet.

-The Son

Delaware – I Scream, You Scream, Chloe Screams For…

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Delaware is nicknamed the First State because it was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution in 1787, and after staying there for a week, we agree it’s tops! We loved their beaches and had a great time.

Here are some highlights from our week in Delaware:

Best Meal:   Our 19th anniversary dinner. It happened to be Chloe’s turn to pick the place to eat, and she chose Moe’s Southwest Grill for dinner. If it wasn’t Kids Eat Free night at Moe’s, we’d have overruled her, but we hate to pass up a deal like that.

Many sibling arguments have been solved in our family by having the person who picks the restaurant also choose the table where we sit. Conveniently located near the wall-mounted TV, Chloe chose her booth. Hers and Levi’s eyes were glued to the Disney channel.  After 5 minutes of staring at the whites of their glazed over eyes, Mike and I brilliantly moved across the aisle to our own booth. How romantic was that? Our own booth at Moe’s, and just to be really crazy, I ordered a fish taco. No holding back on our 19th anniversary!

Worst Meal:  Fractured Prune, a donut shop that’s been featured on the Food Channel. It was our worst meal simply because they were closed. The sign said they were only open on weekends in the off-season. Noooooooooooooooooooo! By the weekend, we’d be in another state! Surprising as it is, I was disappointed the donut shop was closed. After all with a name like Fractured Prune, could this donut actually be healthy?

Biggest Surprise: We loved Delaware and seriously considered moving there. Before the trip, I never would have guessed Delaware would be the place we’d choose to settle down! We finally had to rule it out, though, because we want to be near a transplant hospital, and the only transplant hospitals are located in Wilmington and Newark, which is too far from where we’d want to live near the coast.

Biggest Disappointment: Not being able to rent bikes at Cape Henlopen State Park. The Nature Center was closed in preparation for a Halloween event, so the bikes weren’t available either. We were so disappointed that we left. In hindsight, we should have stayed and hiked around, but we were on a quest to bike that day, and bike we did on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. It was so fun biking on a boardwalk!

Biggest Twinge of Homesickness: Seeing the annual Christmas cookie recipe books and magazines out on store shelves (already in October!) and knowing I wouldn’t be baking any Christmas cookies this year brought a moment of sadness for missing out on that annual tradition in my family.

Worst Closure: Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover. They’re closed on Mondays. You think I’d have checked into that before driving an hour to get there! As our favorite comedian Tim Hawkins says, “Good information…too late.”

Most Beautiful Spot: Bethany Beach boardwalk, especially at sunset. It’s one of those quintessential boardwalks with the clock and lights. Adding to its charm is the grass covered dune, and the nice, clean beach made it a real winner. We absolutely love it! Be sure to check out the pictures.

Best Tourist Spot: DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum in Fenwick Island. Surprisingly, the museum is housed above a junky tourist shop, but the museum is free (donations are accepted) and definitely worth the stop. It’s interesting to see the items they’ve recovered (see Levi’s blog for his favorite item recovered), but it’s talking to the director, who’s also the diver and archivist, that is most intriguing. He’s more than happy to answer questions and just offer information in general if you’re willing to listen.

Best Memory:  Meeting wonderful people. One lady we spoke with has a sister-in-law who just donated a kidney to her mother-in-law’s doctor. How strange, complicated, and cool is that?! Her mother-in-law has had cancer and been in chemo off and on for the last 13 years, but all the lady could talk about was how amazing her mother-in-law is and what great faith she has. Wow! You have cancer for 13 year, but the conversation isn’t centered on your illness but your faith. That’s my goal, but I keep getting sidetracked on goofy things!

Worst Memory: The reality of the half way point of the trip set in. It’s quite sad, actually, that it’s going so fast!

Funniest Memory: Crossing the Delaware/Maryland state line 4 times in a matter of minutes. That in itself isn’t funny. In fact, it almost sounds like a worst memory, but it’s not. See Chloe has a tradition of screaming, “We’re in (state name),” when we cross into each state. We were in Delaware for the week, but we accidentally crossed into Maryland not realizing we were that close. Chloe screamed, “We’re in MD!”   I did a U-Turn and crossed back into Delaware where Chloe sceamed, “We’re in DE!”   Finally we pulled into the mini golf parking lot but discovered they were closed that day.

If that were the end of the story, that may not even be funny, but as we pulled onto the road, we couldn’t turn left due to the median. We had to go right into, you guessed it, MD.  Chloe screamed; I did a U-ey; we drove back into DE; Chloe screamed again. Believe me, she has that loud, ear piercing, girly scream, and for some reason, her screams are getting louder and more ear piercing as the trip progresses. That’s one thing that will be nice when the trip is over:  no weekly screeches.

Best Drive:  Driving thru Bethany Beach and the quiet resort area.  We saw the large, blue herons flying and the canals in the subdivisions for the boat owners to drive their boat right up to their dock in their own backyard.  It was a nice, relaxing drive, in the off-season at least!

Worst Drive: Levi in the lead for our bike trip down the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. The ride was great, but I fear for the day he gets his drivers license. He was a crazy biker, weaving in and out. I’ll hate to see what kind of driver he is in 3 years! Levi made me nervous a couple times with his Ninja bike moves, so I can’t imagine how nervous I’ll be when he’s behind the wheel of a car with me in it!

My DE Hike: Walking along the beach in Rehoboth Beach. Since they have miles and miles of beach, I opted to walk along the beach for my hike. We walked and walked and walked without having to stop because of the beach ending or where you were restricted from walking on it. I’m not sure if all Delaware coastline is public, but there seems to be a lot of it anyway. It was a great, long hike just walking down the beach. While the kids played, Mike and I talked about his love for mountains versus my love for the ocean. He likes mountains because they remind him of God’s enormity, and I like beaches for God’s endlessness and power.

Biggest Revelation: When it says $4.99, it’s $4.99. There’s no sales tax! We bought a new camera to celebrate our anniversary, that and the fact that ours was dying.  If there's one thing you need on a trip around the US, it's a good camera.

What We Did Miss:  Many restaurants all recommended to us, along with the Air Mobility Command Museum, Cape Henlopen State Park, and Fractured Prune, among other things.

In Summary: Delaware, we’d love to live there, so could you please build a transplant hospital near Bethany Beach, like real quick?!?

-The Mom

Delaware - What's in a Name Like Slaughter Beach?

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Do you know how to tell if someone's not from Illinois? Bring up a conversation about Illinois, but make sure they're the first one to say Illinois. If they pronounce it with an "s" at the end, then you know that they're not from Illinois. If we don't go back to Illinois, I want to live in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Below I will be talking about Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, Slaughter Beach, Golf Down Under mini-golf, and last but not least Moe's.

Rehoboth Beach was really fun! The beach was huge, and the waves were as big as elephants! We found a bunch of rocks that the waves washed up on, and we played a game called "Condos." In the game Condos we had to make and protect a condo. To protect it, we had to build walls and trenches. We used the rocks as well as sand to make walls.

Bethany Beach had even bigger waves. They were as big as three elephants! Bethany Beach was my favorite beach ever! The sand was litter and dead horseshoe crab free. At Bethany Beach we played don't touch the water. (It's self explanatory.) We also tried to collect shells between waves.

Slaughter Beach was my least favorite beach. It had dead horseshoe crabs everywhere; the beach smelled like dead fish; the water was brown; the beach was full of rocks instead of sand; and it was on a bay not the ocean! Slaughter beach really lives up to its name.

Golf Down Under mini-golf was really cool. I didn't win, but I beat the lowest girls' score of the day and got to ring a bell! Golf Down Under was Australian themed. It had kangaroos and koalas. The person in charge said that we could play again because business was slow. On two different holes each time we played, I got a hole-in-one!

Moe's is my favorite chain restaurant. Moe's is Mexican fast food. I always get the kid's cheese quesadilla. We went to Moe's so much that my dad was starting to get bored of it, but I could eat there every night!

In conclusion Delaware is definitely on our list of places we might live. In Delaware I think I heard the most people pronounce Illinois with an "s" at the end than I've ever heard in one state! There were people pronouncing it with an "s" right and left.

-The Daughter

Delaware - Sea Shells on the Sea Shore

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If you want to look for shells, then Delaware is the place to "sea" shells. Delaware was one of my favorite states. We went to the beach almost every day. We also ate popcorn and had a smoothie.

We went to several beaches in Delaware. My favorite was Bethany Beach. All we did was collect shells, but it was fun because of their huge waves. They have better waves than California. Plus the game Chloe and I played is perfect with the waves. How you play is you try to gather shells while the wave hasn't come in. When the wave comes, you run away to not get wet. Chloe and I collected millions of shells, only a few were whole ones though.

One other beach we went to was Rehoboth Beach. At Rehoboth Beach there was a boardwalk that was about a mile long. We loved their beach because of the special game we played there too. It's called "Don't Get Wet and Protect Your Name in the Sand With Rocks and Water All Around You." It's really fun because you have to strategize where you are going to build a wall or a ditch. We played the game twice at the same rock pile. The game changed because of the blowing sand over night.

Slaughter Beach is the third and last beach we went to. Now I don't know why people name beaches "Slaughter" because who wants to go there? The beach was just as bad as its name. It was not well maintained at all. They had millions of horseshoe crab skeletons lying around. It was also a rocky beach with small sharp rocks instead of sand. The water itself was dirty, and it also had a rotten dead fish smell. Plus to get to the beach you had to walk through dune grass. That beach was definitely not my favorite.

Fisher's Popcorn is of course a popcorn shop, and they do make really good caramel corn. They don't make strawberry flavor or chocolate just caramel and regular, but that was some of the best popcorn on the trip. Another restaurant we ate at was Greenman Juice Bar and Bistro. It didn't have very much room and only had eight tables. We ordered sandwiches and one smoothie to split. I got the Eco Chick which has the two essentials. It had chipotle mayo and chicken on it, along with some other ingredients. It was a good sandwich.  The only problem was they didn't make the chipotle flavor stand out. The smoothie we ordered with our meal was really good though.

DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum was a museum devoted to shipwrecks. They had many different items there from gold coins to a centuries old ear wax picker. The owner was a great guy.  He scuba dives for the artifacts himself.  I liked looking at their items from the SS Republic which is the ship that the Titanic replaced. He even had a camera that had film he developed, so you can see the pictures.

Golf Down Under was a fun and difficult mini golf course. Of course I won that mini golf course. My favorite hole was a straight hole that you had to hit it up a hill at the end.

Delaware was a sandy state. Delaware was also a great food state. We had a many things to see but not as much as we "see" shells.

-The Son

New Jersey - Pizza Study Funded with Taxpayer Dollars

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New Jersey is the Garden State, but for us it was sick bay since we passed around a flu bug pretty much the whole week we were in Jersey. Because of this, we didn’t see Snooki or any of the Jersey Shore – either the cast or the beach. Fortunately, we were staying in a hotel with a kitchen so we could heat up plenty of chicken noodle soup to aid our recovery.

Here are some highlights from what little we saw of New Jersey:

Most Authentic Meal:  Pizza.  We’ve been down this NY style pizza road before, but I’m just not a fan of it. You’re probably wondering why on earth we ordered it yet again. To be honest, we just didn’t realize we’d be getting NY style pizza in New Jersey. I mean, it seems as if NY and NJ are always ferociously arguing they're two distinctively different states, so shouldn’t they have two distinctively different pizzas???

Maybe it’s because I grew up in Illinois that I don’t like NY style pizza. Now that would be a great research study!  I should get a government grant to study if the style of pizza you like depends upon which part of the country you grew up in...it sure sounds like something the government usually funds with taxpayer money, doesn’t it?

New Foods:  A cupcake shot.  It's simply a "shot" of frosting - no cake at all…mmmh, the best part!

Biggest Surprise: There’s more to Washington crossing the Delaware than the pretty painting we all know.  We went to Washington Crossing State Park where we closed down the Visitor’s Center talking to the knowledgeable and friendly state park employee. The museum itself was lame, but the movie “Ten Critical Days” and the enthusiasm of the historian made up for the lackluster museum. We learned so much about Washington and his men crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776. For instance, I didn’t realize this was a turning point in the war since both the British and the colonists thought we had lost the war prior to this skirmish. We also learned how brave Washington was riding between the British line and ours and how God’s hand was evident in our victory of the war with the weather playing a factor as usual in the Revolutionary War.

Biggest Disappointment:  The event that Donate Life NJ set up fell through. We appreciate that they tried to set something up though.

Biggest Twinge of Homesickness:  It wasn’t bad being sick in a Staybridge Suites, especially with our free upgrade to a two bedroom suite.  Having 2 bedrooms, 3 TV’s, a living room, and a kitchen made being sick easier to swallow than all being cooped up in one hotel room; however, there’s just something to curling up on your own couch with a comfy blanket and your favorite mug full of hot tea that helps the healing process.

Worst Drive:  Every drive in New Jersey!  Can I just tell you that the roads in New Jersey are crazy? Apparently in NJ, they have never heard of the Cloverleaf design because you exit and do all sorts of swirly gigs before you get where you’re going - that is IF you can figure out where you’re going. We almost ended up in NY!  Interstate 95 splits into two, but both roads retain the exact same name.  How on earth do you know which one you want?

In addition to the highway madness, the roads are just as insane.  They have businesses up and down the sides of course, but you can’t cross the center line.  Now we’ve experienced this before where you advance to the next stoplight and do a U-Turn; however, the NJ roads didn't have stoplights. The only way to get over to the other side of the road is to go up to the next "exit" and come back going the other way.  This caused us grief several times.  

New Jersey is known for its diners.  In fact, it's credited with the birthplace of the diner restaurant, so of course we wanted to try one.  In fact, we saw a great looking diner we wanted to try - on the other side of the road.  No problem because we thought we'd figured out these NJ roads:  we'd just take the next exit to go back to it, but the next exit wasn't for 30 minutes!  Another night of chicken noodle soup... Driving in NJ is exactly the opposite of Utah, which according to USA Today is one of the least stressful states.

Best Drive: The ferry ride to Delaware where I didn’t have to drive on those crazy New Jersey roads!  The ferry was very nice, clean, relaxing, and just the right amount of time: not too long that you were bored stiff or too short that you didn’t even get out of the car. I recommend it for your next trip from NJ to DE.

Funniest Memory: Mike and I hadn’t seen an “adult” movie (by adult I mean PG-13 without the kids) since before the trip started nearly 6 months prior; however with our own bedroom at the hotel, we rented Date Night with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell.  Even though in some parts the language was raunchy, we were laughing more than we’ve laughed in a long time…I wonder if it was really that hilarious, or if we were just starved for a funny, date movie.

Best Memory:  Mike and the kids taking care of me when I was sick. One night at the Staybridge’s complimentary weekday dinner, they served me everything I needed and more.  I mentioned that hot tea sounded really good on my sore throat.  Since there wasn't any sitting out near the coffee, Levi took it upon himself to ask the hostess for some.  That was so sweet!  Sometimes it takes being sick to realize how truly blessed you are.

Worst Memory: As we, one by one, slowly passed around the sickness, I realized how little of NJ we were going to see.

Worst Closure: Nothing at the time, but it’s a shame that Pine Creek Mini Golf Course closed permanently at the end of the 2010 season. The owners retired. It was the longest mini golf course we’ve experienced, not the number of holes but rather the distance between each hole. All 28 acres of the grounds were beautifully landscaped.

My NJ Hike: Grounds for Sculpture. I chose this for my hiking place partially because it wasn’t very strenuous, which is just what the doctor ordered for all of us recovering from our illness, and partially because it seemed appropriate for the Garden State. Grounds for Sculpture is basically a large park with sculptures all over, some tucked in hidden areas like the bamboo and others displayed prominently in the grass.

It was fun to walk around and discover the art.  My favorite artwork were the sculptures of people, as you can see from the pictures.  The abstract works are the ones that befuddle me, and the naked women “art” is just awkward and inappropriate with kids. I’m still not really sure how we get away with calling it “art” and putting it in public places, but I’ll get off my soapbox.  We had a pleasant afternoon getting out and walking around Grounds for Sculpture on a beautiful, sunny day.

What We Did Miss: Eating at a diner, the whole Jersey shore, Battleship New Jersey, Princeton University, and others recommended to us.

In Summary: New Jersey, we followed in your footsteps keeping with a small budget in your state. I wish I could say it was in Governor Christie’s honor, but it was really because we were too sick to get out much in New Jersey. Hopefully someday we can return to see the Jersey shore.

-The Mom

New Jersey - The Semantics of Grilled Cheese

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Have you ever sat in a hotel room working for one week, occasionally going out? We did in New Jersey. In New Jersey we visited NOTHING. We only ate and worked in New Jersey. Some places we ate at are The Pop Shop and the hotel's free supper.

The Pop Shop is a restaurant that was on the Food Network on Bobby Flay's Throwdown.  They competed for their grilled cheese, which I don't really think was worthy of being called "grilled cheese"  because it had stuff other than cheese like turkey, bacon, and avocado.  I did like their atmosphere, though.  It was like a bar that gave you shakes, and their shakes were delicious.

Staybridge Suites, which we stayed at in New Jersey, is the best ever! They always have free breakfast, and they also have free dinner on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Every day their supper has a different selection, but usually they have salad and chips no matter what's on the schedule. One of the nights we were there they had taco night. We also keep a full supply of popcorn with us in case the supper doesn't look good.

At this particular hotel we got a free upgrade to a two bedroom hotel room.  Unfortunately Levi and I still had to sleep in the same bed, but we did have a separate bedroom from Mom and Dad. The hotel had a mini basketball court that we played knockout every morning. 

Overall New Jersey was quite boring because we were sick and it rained 24/7.  Even though New Jersey was really boring, I got way ahead in school!

-The Daughter

New Jersey - Here's the Situation

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In New Jersey we have a big complaint. Our big complaint is about how hard it is to get off the road. Our activities included mini golf and the Pop Shop.

Our big complaint concerns New Jersey's roads. The problem more specifically involves their exits. When you're driving down the road, you shouldn't have to deal with missing your turn and then having to drive another thirty minutes just to turn around and go back. "New Jersey somehow has never heard of the clover leaf design for roads," grumbled my parents as they missed their turn and had to drive for thirty minutes just to do a U-turn. It becomes even more frustrating when the turn you just missed was your long awaited restaurant for dinner.

New Jersey's mini golf has become one of our favorite mini golf places. The course itself could use some fixing up, but I will give them grace for that because they were closing permanently in two weeks. My favorite part about this course involved how long it was . They had several acres of land, so not only did you have a long course, but you also had beautiful scenery as well. The holes took skill too. This course took more than lucky shots and blind putts.

On one hole my dad became stuck at the bottom of a hill, and he used all six strokes to try to get up the hill. At a typical mini golf course, you would putt into a clown's mouth on the last hole, but this one had you putting across a narrow bridge with no railing. You had to use every ounce of skill to even putt your ball half way across the bridge before it plummeted to its doom. That course is definitely in one of the top three courses.

Eating at the Pop Shop in Collingswood I tasted a new type of grilled cheese. Pop Shop made it onto Throwdown with Bobby Flay for their famous grilled cheese. My problem with the grilled cheese became how much stuff they added to the grilled cheese. When you eat a grilled cheese, you should taste grilled bread and cheese, not bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, BBQ sauce, or onions. It should have cheese and bread, nothing else. In my opinion, after we compared the sandwiches, Pop Shop should have won instead of Bobby Flay.

Pine Creek Golf Course mini golf ranked one of my favorite top three courses in the United States. The Pop Shop, however, didn't rate anywhere close to my favorite grilled cheese. I'm just happy we actually made it to Pine Creek Golf Course mini golf and the Pop Shop, though, with those crazy New Jersey roads.

The Son

New York - The Early Bird Catches the Worm in the Big Apple

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Let’s face it. We’re a culture influenced by media. Say “New York” and what comes to mind? Like it or not, it’s New York City and all the famous images from the movies filmed therein. Whatever your age, there are iconic NYC movie scenes you identify with.  Having never been to the Big Apple before, it’s interesting going with all of our preconceived Hollywood notions (everyone is rude, Ground Zero is a solemn sight, and if you’re lucky you may just see King Kong traversing the Empire State Building) and having them squashed to pieces.

Having said that, here are some highlights and things we learned in New York:

Most Authentic Meal:  It has to be NY style pizza.  We’ve tried it previously on the trip, but it wouldn’t be New York without a slice. Of course, we Midwesterners are partial to other kinds of pizza which shall remain nameless in a New York blog…

New Foods: The everything bagel from one of the countless New York delis. This bagel is not to be confused with Panera bagels that most of us have come to know as a bagel. A New York bagel is the real deal, old school and doughy. While the everything bagel was good, do I dare admit that the Panera “bagel” has ruined me?

Something Else I Learned: We toured the FDR Presidential Museum and Library. As usual, I learned so much, putting my history to shame.  For instance, I didn’t know that FDR contracted polio as a 39 year old adult, not a child as I had always assumed. They told us that very few people actually knew the extent of his handicap and how persistent and patient he was because of it.

Some Things are Bigger Than They Appear: Like Central Park! Seeing Central Park from the Empire State Building, I was able to fathom its size. It’s 843 acres, 2.5 miles long by a half mile across. You can definitely lose that big city feeling within its tree filled borders.  I can see why it's so popular in the big city chaos.

Biggest Surprise: Amazingly, Ground Zero was a large construction site, so it wasn’t emotional like I thought it would be but rather a bustle of activity. The temporary memorial was closed due to the construction activity. We learned that the seventh and last building to fall was the first one to be rebuilt. It’s the only one currently finished and already half is rented out to…the Chinese government! One Freedom Center is going to be the largest building in the US when completed. The construction is underway for it; the trees are planted for the Memorial Park; and it’s expected to be finished for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in the fall. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit Ground Zero Museum Workshop which is highly rated.

We also saw the sight of the controversial Ground Zero mosque. The media led us to believe it's right there at the site of Ground Zero; however, it is actually several blocks away. It’s an interesting example of how much influence and how powerful the media really is. 

Biggest Disappointment: Not getting in the Cash Cab. Of course, you have to actually ride in a taxi cab to have any chance of getting on the Cash Cab TV game show!

Best Tourist Spot: New York City in general. I just can’t pin it down to one sight. It was an entire day of seeing the hustle and bustle, Times Square, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building - all the sights you see in the movies and have never seen them with your own eyes before…just amazing.

Best Drive: The one sitting in rush hour traffic where I wasn’t driving! We did our first (and only) bus tour in NYC, and it was well worth the money considering they picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel door.  Ah, not having the stress of driving in the big city was heavenly.

Funniest Memory: While mini golfing in Lake George, I nonchalantly hit my colored ball from the tee.  After bouncing around as if it were in a pinball machine, my ball went in the hole for a surprising hole-in-one. Mike responded, “That’s the worst shot I’ve ever seen go in!”  We responded with a nice round of laughter.

Most Fun Word to Say: The town is named Poughkeepsie. We absolutely destroyed the pronunciation until the locals clued us in, “Pi-kip-see.” That’s just fun to say.

Best Memory: Seeing the Statue of Liberty. She isn't one of those let-down tourist sites that is disappointing when you finally arrive. No, she sends goosebumps down your arms. She is one of the greatest symbols of our country. Seeing her face to face makes you realize how lucky you are to be an American, to live in a country where you have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How ironic that one of our greatest symbols was a gift from France.

Worst Memory: Fort William Henry in Lake George. The tour itself was great. I highly recommend it for the history. Mine was definitely lacking on the French and Indian War. Besides learning history facts, during the tour the guide demonstrated throwing a grenade, firing his musket, firing a cannon, and making a musket ball.

Just like in the movie “The Patriot,” the guide molded a musket ball from melted lead - except our tour guide was no Mel Gibson. When the older gentleman finished making the musket ball, he passed it around for everyone to examine. Levi was the last of the line. When he went to return it, the guide said that he could keep it. (I had read on TripAdvisor that they always give it away to someone on the tour.) That was really cool, except it caused problems in the Greiner family as to whose musket ball it was. Is it Levi’s because the man said he could keep it? Is it Chloe’s because she prodded Levi to return it? Is it the family’s musket ball? For days, the musket ball caused grief amongst the children. I almost wish we hadn’t received it. My only solution was to cut the baby, er ball, in half…

Most Beautiful Sight: Niagara Falls. It’s beautiful, not only during the day but especially at dusk.  It's also well worth a trip across the river into Canada to view the falls from the Canadian side. After viewing the majesty of the falls from street level in two different countries, we purchased our Maid of the Mist boat tickets to experience it up close and personal. We received our standard issue poncho and boarded, naively getting a front row spot for the excursion. We were clueless as to how wet you will become! Dragon of the Downpour would be a more apt name for the boats. Even with the poncho, our shoes and pants were soaked, but being down there and hearing the roar of the waterfall is a must do experience.

Best Deal: Walking across the bridge to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls = no charge.

Worst Deal: Walking back to the American side = 50 cents Canadian. The problem arose when the smallest bill we had was a $20 American bill. Since the machine requires coins and no vendors give American change, we were forced to indulge in a cup of hot chocolate and cookies at Starbucks in order to get change. Suddenly our reentry to America cost $20!

Worst Closure:  Practically everything in Lake George. We arrived after summer but before ski season began. We thought fall would have brought enough leaf peekers to keep everything open, but that wasn’t the case. It was a ghost town.

My NY Hike: Walkway over the Hudson is a converted railroad bridge over the Hudson River. It doesn’t sound like much of a hike, but the bridge walk is 1.3 miles long, so you do the math.

Biggest Revelation: There’s more to New York than NYC. There’s the Hudson River Valley area, the Adirondacks, and Niagara Falls just to name a few. Of course you’d think being from downstate Illinois, we know there’s more to a state than just the famous big city…

What We Did Miss: Baseball Hall of Fame, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Culinary Institute of America, Long Island, a play on Broadway, and so much more recommended to us.

In Summary: New York, I wish we could have seen and done so much more, but for a 7 day blitz, I think we did pretty well - but only because we were early birds.

-The Mom