Home

Well, the Roving Ralphs, are roving no more.  We arrived home in Webster in the early hours of Saturday morning.  We are experiencing "road lag", but slowly working our way through the piles of mail and laundry under which we are buried.  We are very much looking forward to reconnecting with our animals and our friends. 

Scales Lake Park

We had a mostly good day today.  We met up with "internet friends" who are now just "friends".   The day was a bit saddened by the accident that R. had at the lake.  I have to say, he is an amazingly brave young man and his sisters are so caring and kind. We wish him a speedy recovery!  Laurinda got to spend the whole day with K.  The whole family is just an awesome set of people and we are so glad to have gotten to know them better. 

We are leaving tonight to make our way toward PA.  We are anxious now to get home and back to a regular routine....and more than 29ft of living space.  Just a few days now and we will be home. 

July 19th..

It has been warmer as we have gone along home.  Dad made up a game.  First you think of a car and they you say, "find a green car" and then when you find a green car you say, "I got it! I got it!".  Or it could be a green motorcycle or a green truck, or a green vehicle.  Sometimes it has to be only a green truck, or a yellow truck.  It is a fun game, but we have more fun games, but I think that is the most funnest game here. 

I love going out to eat.  We went to a steak house, all of us, for dinner.  We went to a pizza place.  We had chocolate at the "corner place" (Ghiridelli's in San Fransisco).  And we got two "stamples" of chocolate, one at each store.  

We had lots of bloody noses when we changed states (continuous altitude changes through the mountains).  We had lots of ice cream.  The End.

Happy Birthday....

to my dear friend, Tracy!  Thinking of you as we travel from Missouri, through Illinois and into Indiana.  Through the years, no matter where in the country (or the world) either of us have been, I always remember your birthday....probably because you always like to point out that I am OLDER than you are! LOL  Have a great day!  Can't wait to see you and the boys when we get back to MA.

Scribe's Log Stardate 7.18.11.

Our journey is (much too quickly) coming to an end.. As  we drive in 100 degee heat for the umpteenth  day, I am happy to be heading home, but am sad that the trip is over so soon. I can't believe 5weeks is almost over. The serenity of life on the road has been unique and very enjoyable. Typing in a bumpy car is hard, but you start adaping (or not caring). It is unsettling how soon I will be jumping into a hectic and regulated schedule. I love play practice, my pets, my friends and (kinda like) runnning but a life with no "schedule" is a unique and calming experience. Plus, Ill have to make my own breakfast and lunch....

None the less, the trip is not over yet as we are still  fun-filled days away from home. On Wednesday, we are in Booneville, In to meet a very special person. Then, Pennyslvania at a water park and then home. WOW! The trip went by so fast.

A jelly bean factory, a candy "factory", the Corn Palace, and the Potato Museum

A buncha canyons (ok 2) the Grand Canyon and Palaboro (sp?) Canyon (Texas)

Mount Rushmore, boiling mud, and Old Faithful (the geyser at yellowstone)

A musical, and a jail

All 50 license plates!

Crater of the Moons, and Golden Gate Bridge

25 states.....and counting

Over 5000 pictures....

And countless memories

Our Trip - Thomas

Our trip has been great! I've had so much fun. There has been so many great things I can't pick which was my favorite.  If I had to pick 5 they would be The Grand Canyon, San Francisco, The Great Salt Lake, Yellowstone, and The Texas Show.  Were now in Missouri, we just left a candy factory. I bought a very expensive soda and then shot half of it out my nose!!!!!

Hot is just not a strong enough word to describe this weather!

We slept, or rather tried to sleep, at a truck stop in Chandler, OK.  Even with the generator running, so the AC was on, it was just too hot to be comfortable.  The noise of the trucks and highway did not help either.  JW got up at one point in the night.  He was too hot to sleep, so he went and sat in the bathroom until he cooled down (the bathroom has an AC vent in it, so if you shut the door while the AC is on, it is the coolest place in the RV), when he came out, he flopped himself on the sofa.  There just was no place to be comfortable last night.  It stayed in the low 90s through the whole night! 

Since we couldn't sleep, we got on the road about 5am.  We made it through the rest of OK, through Kansas and into Missouri before 8am.  As we drove through the northeastern tip of KS, into Joplin, MO we saw crews clearing away the debris from destroyed houses.  Up the hill there were other houses all boarded up.  It has been 2 months since the hurricane that caused so much damage and still they are cleaning up the mess.  One local told Tom that no construction was allowed to begin untill the clean up of destroyed buildings was complete.  He also said that many people are not even going to try to rebuild.  They are just taking the insurance money and moving elsewhere.  The Walmart has a storm relief center.  All over the small city, there are signs of hope and encouragement.  The people seemed sad; doing/saying all the normal things, just quiet like.  Still, they were going about their business and it was clear they were getting on with their lives as best they could.

We are passing through Springfield, MO now.  We are not really sure where will be stay tonight, but we are very glad that we are heading toward relatively cooler temperatures....who ever thought we would consider, highs of 97 and lows of 75...."cooler"?! 

Elena's new favorite state.

Elena, sitting at the dinner table tonight: "Mommy, I have a NEW favorite state!"

Mom, figuring she knows the answer, as we have just spent 2 days in TX: "Really, what's it's name?"

Elena matter-of-factly, "It's name is Home."

I think it is time The Roving Ralph's made their way to that lovely "state".  We have had wonderful adventures, and have a few more experiences to encounter on our Eastward trek, but we are ready to fall back into the comforts and familiarity of "Home". 

"Texas" - The Musical!

We had a HOT but enjoyable night in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, in Canyon, TX.  They hold productions of a musical called, "Texas" there every summer.  This is their 46th season.  The show came recommended by a number of people we spoke to (from S. California to Texas itself), so we spurged and bought tickets.  We started with an interesting steak dinner.  They had fruits and salad, too, so we all ate pretty well.  Unfortunately, although it was 6pm, it was still deathly hot.  By the time the show started at 8:30pm it was only uncomfortably hot.  The show was lively and colorful.  It was....well, let's just say that Texans have a healthy state patriotism, and they clearly do things a bit differently in TX.  :)

We had a nice time overall.  JW got "overheated" during the 2nd act and had to leave. They are apparently used to such things because they had a "routine" for helping.  They gave him packs of ice to put under his arms and stuck him in the walk-in refrigerator!  That worked so well that he was too cold!  LOL

The people in Texas were really quite friendly, even the guys who were working in 109 deg weather as they fixed (yet another) flat tire on the RV.  We left TX this afternoon and are currently driving through Oklahoma.  It is getting greener as we travel East, but it is not getting cooler.  It was over 100 deg today and even now at 8pm is it still crazy hot!  I have NEVER experienced this kind of crazy hot weather, and I hope never to again!

We hope to sleep at a rest area somewhere btw Oklahoma City and Tulsa tonight.  We head for Missouri in the morning.

Dawn in New Mexico

It is a cool, fresh morning in Santa Rosa New Mexico.  Everyone else is asleep and I am out at the picnic table having coffee, all by myself!  I truly LOVE living on the road.  I only miss two things; the companionship of friends and family and time to myself. 

We had a relatively relaxing afternoon and evening yesterday.  We were in desperate need of doing laundry (several of us had literally NO clean clothes left).  Everyone got in their suits, because the clothes we had on were at least twice worn.  This campground has the pool right next to the laundry room (exactly where every campground laundry should be) and free wifi on the patio, so E got a ton of swim time in.  The campground also has cable, so the other kids got in large amounts of swim and/or TV time.  There was a Spongebob special on, so JW was a happy little boy.

Today is the beginning of our 5th week and our thoughts are turning towards home more and more.  It is interesting to see the things that each of us is happy or unhappy to return to.  E speaks about her friends and swimming every day.  JW keeps mentioning sleepovers with C and is sorely missing Legos.  J and T are also talking about sleepovers and "teen socials with their friends.  J is missing video game time and T is talking about football.  L obviously misses her friends and is planning her party, which is just a week after we get home.  All the kids are talking about the animals.  T is particularly excited to see Hope again.    Tom and I are focused more, I think, on the things we need to DO when we get home.  He is mostly excited about getting "back" to things.  I am not so much.  I will be so happy to reunite with friends, but I have truly enjoyed these weeks of less obligations of every variety and of new and exciting (although not always pleasant) experiences.

Today we are off to Palo Duro Canyon state park in Amarillo, TX.  We are hoping to go to a dinner theater show there tonight.   We are again on Route 66 today and hope to make a stop at Cadillac Ranch on our way to TX.

And so it goes.  Part of us is clearly turn our focus more and more towards home, but we still have one week left and are hoping to have some more adventure before we return.  Can't wait to see you all next week!

Lost in Colorado

In fairness, we were never lost.  We knew exactly where we where; what we could not figure out was where our campground was!  We thought it was in Mesa Verde National Park (that is what the reserving website said).  Turns out it was only relatively near Mesa Verde. The only directions we had were from a town 20m to our north.  We called the reservation "help line" and they did not have an "actual" address for the campground, only the same directions we had.  The representative did know it was "somewhere" between Cortez and Dolores, Co....gee, thanks, that was helpful.  NOT! 

So by cross referencing their (lousy) directions with our map and having L (on the blackberry) and T (on the computer) looking up maps of the surrounding area, we were able to (finally) find our campground and camp site.  We did not get here until 10pm!  We had a (very) late dinner and the kids are now in bed.  We found when we got here and tried to level the camper, that we have a flat tire, so tomorrow we are hoping to get it fixed quickly so we can actually go see Mesa Verde National Park.

On a fun note, we went to "4 corners" today. It was a cheesy tourist stop, but it was fun.  The kids enjoyed being in 2 different time zones and 4 different states at the same time.  They ran "through" all four states in seconds.   We honestly don't know where we are headed to tomorrow...just further East.

Hiking the Grand Canyon

Hiking down the Grand Canyon is scary and breathe-taking and awe-inspiring.  Hiking up is literally a pain in the behind....and calves and feet. LOL   We actually did not go too far down, only about a mile.  The kids wanted to continue, but Tom and I were really concerned about the younger two's ability to make it back up!  It was hard, but they did great.  The older ones are already talking about coming back and hiking all the way down, camping out and hiking back up.  We saw a Marine hiking up with two big packs, one on his front and one on his back.  It was like he was carrying Elena and James...and hiking up the entire Grand Canyon!  It was amazing.   We planned to come back to the RV for dinner then head out for shopping and ice cream, but I was TIRED after such a busy day, so we just stayed in.  We are headed to Colorado today.  We have rather drastically changed our itenerary to lighten amount of driving the RV has to do, so we will not be seeing Carlsbad Caverns nor Crater of Diamonds.  So we don't have much in the way of plans for the next few days. We will have to see what kinds of adventures we can russle up.  :)

"Not too close to the edge!"

I have spent the better part of the last two days saying that, as huge parts of the Grand Canyon rim trails have no railings.  The Canyon is...well, I guess I don't have the words to adaquetly describe it.  We were out all morning doing ranger lead programs and walking the rim trails.  We came "home" for lunch and a rest and we are heading out again to hike a ways into the canyon.   Everyone is sad to leave tomorrow, but we are happy that we are heading home.  We are off to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado tomorrow.  Can't believe we will be home in less than 2 weeks.  Not looking forward to all the housework, but very glad to be coming home to friends!

Scribe's Log Stardate 7.10.11.

Hello all! We safely made it to Arizona. Thank goodness it is cooler out here than in California. It has been so hot we are living on freeze pops and I finally gave in and bought an 11 dollar outfit so I could be cooler (and of course before I even got to wear it, it is cool). I am not however complaining. Well, ok I am but I am really appreciative for the cooler weather. The rain showers the last few days have been great too. However, in the desert, the sun shines even when it is raining! We are all very excited that we are all going to the Grand Canyon today! Elena is currently swimming in a green pool (some chemical reaction between a mineral and the chlorine) but no one else would join her. We have had no more engine problems and are so grateful for all the help we have received. The people we have been met have been so nice and kind and you all back home have been so supportive and sweet. We cannot find enough thanks to articulate our sincere appreciation. I know I have not posted any pictures. I have been trying but I am struggling with limited internet access and seven people trying to share one computer. However, I have not forgotten you all. San Francisco was amazing! Especially because we got amazing Ghiradelli's chocolate and ice cream! I have also learned that Jelly Belly jelly beans are really tasty!  I have to go but first here is a list of memorable quotes from the trip...

James - "What's T-air-a-me-soup?"

"My ears won't poop"       - (instead of my ears wont pop)

"Look a Starbucks"
                        L - "I should have brought my Starbucks giftcard"

Elena -   "In what universe is Paris in Fresno?"    (Monsters verses Aliens copy cat line while we were                                                                                    in      Fresno, California)

Elena - "Look a buffalo!"

"no, those are cows"

Elena - "no, no, look at the buffalo!"

Mom -   "Its 102 but it only feels like 99!"

Today's forcast 102 degrees...but it will only feel like 99!

So the weather forcast for Boulder City, CO said high of 102deg. (feels like 99).  I can assure you there is no real difference between 99 and 102deg.  I have never experienced such hot weather in my life.  It was already dripping hot at 7am.  And you know how they say "dry heat" is not as hot....yeah, not so much.  Hot is HOT!

We made it to Boulder City (with a small detour into AZ and back, due to a communication error).  We got a camp site at Lake Mead Recreation Area, which is quite lovely, especially in the evening just before the sun goes down.  We plan to spend most of tomorrow in Boulder City seeing the Hoover Dam early in the morning and coming back to Lake Mead for swimming, as tomorrow's high is forcasted to be 103deg.  We will head toward the Grand Canyon tomorrow evening, when it will hopefully be cooler for the RV engine.  The forcast in the Williams, AZ area is for highs in the 80s and we can't WAIT for the "cooler" weather. 

A good friend described our trip as an "epic adventure".  I have to tell you, after crossing the desert in a "wounded" RV without being able to use the AC for fear of an engine fire, with tired, cranky kids...and tired, cranky parents...Odysseus has nothing on us!  And yet, we are proud that we got through it and we are looking forward to the next great "trial" of our cross country Odyssey.  :)

So far, so good.

We got up at 5am to try to cross the desert as early as possible.  We stopped after 2hrs and found a shady spot to stop for an or so. We are back on our way now, and so far so good.

Friday

Hi everyone,  Today was a HOT and frustrating day, but we are all fine.  We are having to change our plans.  We are VERY sad to be missing our friends in CA.  The forcast is calling for 102 deg weather tomorrow.  We are going to do tomorrow, what we did today....drive for 2 hours, stop and rest for and hour or so, then do it again.  We covered what would normally be a 4hr drive....in 8hrs with all the stopping to let the engine cool.  We also bought 2 more fire extinguishers, just in case.  The hardest thing is that we can not run the AC for fear of overheating the engine.  The RV is still leaking some transition fluid, but not too much, so we are holding out hope we can make it home, if we really "baby" the engine   We are planning to do ur driving early in the am or overnight to help things, too.  Despite the difficulties, we are keeping a positive outlook (at least trying to).  Our goal is to at least make it to the Grand Canyon before we have to head back.  We are also hoping that as we travel East, we might get cooler weather, which will help.  We are worried about another fire, but we are just going to deal with things as they happen.  We knew this wouldn't be a smooth trip.  We are going to stick it out and hope for the best.  Good Night everyone.

Bit of trouble

Had a bit of trouble yesterday.  Learned to use the fire extingusher on an engine fire.  Met the fire dept of Big Oak Flat CA.  RV still drivable, but won't be getting us to Yosemite or Sequoia.  Plans still in flux.  More later.

San Francisco

Well, we successfully got us the the kids into and out of San Francisco.  It was a busy, whirlwind day, but it was fun!

We drove the RV to the BART (commuter rail) and took that into city.  We were clearly tourists and more than one person stopped to offer help (which we sometime needed and sometimes did not).  San Francisco is a very friendly city.

We took the Trolley to Fisherman's Wharf.  It was crowded, but everyone had fun, especially Elena who made fast friends with the woman sitting in front of her.  Beach St was SO crowded!  We walked several blocks in the wrong direction (my fault) and had to double back to Ghiridelli Square, but when free chocolate is involved, what is a few blocks?!  We got, not only the free chocolate, but Ghiridelli Ice Cream, too.  I LOVE their chocolate ice cream!!!

From Ghiridelli Square we walked down  Bay St, which was much less crowded, to Pier 39, which was CRAZY crowded.  We looked everywhere and could not find the company with which we had tickets.  Tom went off to find them, while we waited (it was now the time we were supposed to BE at the dock to board the boat.  Tom did not return.  There were TONS of people around, but no one "official" to ask.  We looked on all the information kiosks, but no luck and time was getting short.  We (by which I mean Thomas and Joseph), finally went in a store and asked, only to find out that our ferry did not leave from Pier 39, it left from Peir 33!  We were not late for our ferry, so the kids and I hoofed it over there, while Tom headed out way to try to catch up.  As it turns out, Pier 33 was not too far off and we made our ferry in plenty of time (Tom caught up with us while we were in line) and all was good.

Alcatraz was very interesting; even Laurinda enjoyed it!  Elena kept fiddling with her audio tour device, so it took her and me extra time to get through it.  And even though, it was by her own doing, she kept complaining that it was too long, and yet she did not want to "miss" anything, so she would not turn it off!  Sigh.   She enjoyed doing the Junior Ranger book and earned another Junior Ranger pin. 

After Alcatraz we walked to Chinatown to shop.  It was a bit hectic, but not too bad, as it was now nearly 6pm so Chinatown was relatively quiet.  The kids had fun and picked out some nice souviners.  After that, we tried in vain to find the "mochi candy" that the kids wanted.   I had brought some back for them in 2009, but they were no where to be found in 2011.  The boys were disappointed, but it was late and we were all tired by that point.

We caught the train back without much difficulty and to the RV park.  Although we were all tired, we were even more hungry, so we walked down the street to find a place to eat.  We found a littte italian restaurant and had a lovely meal.  The staff was so friendly and the food was great.   By the time we got back to the RV, we pretty much fell into bed exhausted, but it was a GREAT day.

We are getting a slow start this morning and will be heading over to Yosemite this afternoon. 

********

My favorite park in San Francisco was Alcatraz.  It was a prison for men.  There was a gun gallery, a kitchen with lots of knives and lots of guards.  One time there was a riot. Some prisoners caused a distraction to cause the guards to go look at the diversion while the other prisoners were getting the key to get out by getting into the gun gallery.  The took some guns and captured some guards.  Three guards died.

There was also an escape from Alcatraz, but they don't know what happened to the guys who got out.  They escaped through an airvent.  They used spoons to dig through the cement.  They made a "boat" out of raincoats and got off the island.  Some people think they might have survived and gone to South America.

My mother won't let me post any more, so if you want to know more, you should definitely go to Alcatraz!

***********

"Joseph, what do you want to say?"  asked mom.

"Nothing really"  replied Joseph

***********

San Francisco is expensive.  (Thomas is our accountant and he is currrently "crunching the numbers" from yesterday).  I will write more later, but I am busy now getting these numbers done. 

***********
Tom and the girls are still asleep, so I guess that is all from us for now.  Have a great day everyone!

Scribe's Log Stardate 7.511.

We are finally in San Fransisco! We are so excited for tomorrow not only for Grammy's Birthday (Happy Birthday Grammy!) but also for touring the city. Today we saw a little of it while Dad drove (he did an amazing job btw). We even went over the Golden Gate Bridge which was very foggy. This morning we toured the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory. It was really, quite interesting. The free samples were also cool and James tried a rotten egg flavored jelly bean (eww!). My brothers tried to convince me to try a barf flavored jelly bean but I'm not that stupid (lol). I tried the mint chocolate chip and the amazing chocolate covered varieties. My favorite of the chocolate covered was the rasberry. Then, I bought a chocolate delecacy which was payed for by selling half of it and selling my free jelly beans (and I made 50cents on the deal!...not sure how I managed that one) We also bought fudge which I am now going to eat. I will post some pictures in a few minutes...hopefully.

California

Well, we haven't made it "coast to coast" yet, but we have made it to CA.  We are in Emigrant Gap in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Apparently we are in "bear" and "mountain lion" country.  I find this mildly concerning...the kids find it cool!   The campground is a little worse for wear given the tough winter...no store, no boats; as there is no dock, no water in part of the park and no pool (Elena actually cried over that!).  The kids are having fun now at a campfire (no individual fires allowed).  Despite the limitations, the area is just beautiful.  We are camped just to the side of a gorgeous cliff.  The boys wanted to climb it, but as it is 30ft or so high, we said know.  They couldn't imagine why!

We are only here for tonight.  We are heading to the coast in the morning. 

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th!

The Great Salt Lake

What is super salty, extremely buggy, quite slimy...and absolutely a unique experience?
The Great Salt Lake!
It peels dry skin...Joseph
I was forced...Laurinda
It was really, really fun...Elena
- had a shrimp in my hand...James
They made me be point man! ...Thomas
I burnt my feet off...Tom
It was SO worth it all! (Christina)

Scribe's Log Stardate 7.3.11.

I would like to start by making a correction to my last post. Mom did not actually make fun of me, she just noted I might need some help drawing noses (which might be teasing if it was not true). We are getting ready to leave Utah and head to Nevada for July 4th tomorrow. Although enjoying our trip we are all homesick today, especially because we are missing our own Fireworks Party. This morning Mom got up early and made us all yummy oatmeal. Yesterday, we had ice cream sundaes and Mom made her amazing chocolate sauce to top it. I have been much enjoying Wuthering Heights, especially since someone spent the entire day at Six Flags and did not text me until 8pm. We all enjoyed a day to just relax and walk and shower (for a really, really long time even if we had our mother's soap...sorry Mom) and read. I will honestly miss the view from our campsite here. There is a huge mountain outside. I never even knew mountains could be so big. It makes our hill look like an ant hill. We are taking lots of pictures and I apologize for not posting more during this weekend. I ought to have done so when I was taking breaks from reading, however Elena was much enthused by my card tricks...and I just lost track of time. Today, we get to go to Walmart. I am buying a jump rope (to play with Elena) and a potato sack to make me a dress. They had them for sale at the potatop museum but they were 25 dollars and way, way short. Well, we have to pull out. Have fun at the fireworks today!

Scribe's Log Stardate 7.2.11.

Hello all! I have a few minutes to blog before I relinquish the computer to one of my siblings who are suffering from facebook withdrawral. I won't lie, after two weeks, we are starting to get a little stir crazy...and a little sick of each other.....ok Im kind of getting a lot sick of everyone. I am feeling much need for time away with friends and other people who are not immediately biologically related to me. I've been drawing pictures of eagles, cows, and siblings (though Thomas and Joseph...a Mom a little bit keep making fun of my artwork). Ok - Joseph is back. Ill post more later.

Oh the JOY of a "down day"!

How glorious it is to sleep in, wake up to a cup of coffee, and have time to just hang out and do NOTHING!  Everyone is soaking it in.  The kids are LOVING the electricity...and even better...free internet of this campground.   We also enjoyed the thrill of hot, private showers last night.  And James, who normally tries to take a 2min shower and avoids soap if he can....took the longest shower of all. LOL.  It is 10am here (noon for MA) and we are just now making waffles and getting oursevles moving in a forwardly direction, sort of.  We have been running so busy with traveling and navigating and site seeing plans, and schoolwork, and daily camp set up and break down, that we are just happy to have a day to relax!

Elena....the water was not salty, but I got to swim and it was fun.  I met two new friends.  The End.

James...We went to a Potato Museam.  They had the biggest, dried out potato chip in the world.  There was also a "Spud-Bob, Starchpants" t-shirt.  We also got hash browns in a box.  I found a gun that you put water in, then potato, then you shoot it.  Mom would NOT let me get it.  Laurinda also said she thought I was going to get it so I could shoot it at her; not true.  They also had a "Dart Tater" Shirt.  We swam in a resevoir of The Great Salt Lake yesterday.  Then we had a shower and a campfire.  Thomas, Joseph, Elena and I had a "duel off" and then we went to bed. 

Joseph..."I have nothing to say."

The last few days...

We are back on schedule after our disappointment of missing Glacier National Park.  We spent one night each in Washington,  Oregon and Idaho.  We are now in Utah.  The mountains are just beautiful.  We are at a state park campground with Willard Bay just a short walk away.  We are very excited to be staying here two nights, as every other day of our trip we have had somewhere to drive in the morning.

The trip really is amazing.  I know I keep saying that, but there is no other way to describe it.   Washington has been our least favorite state so far.  They were just not very friendly and although we traveled through it for the better part of a day, there was not ONE Welcome Center.  Then, when we stopped at a Wal-Mart for the night, we found out that we could not stay there.  Apparently, the people who own the houses on the other side of the 8ft white fence did not want people in campers sleeping in their RVs on the other side.  The Wal-Mart staff were quite nice about it, but it still stunk.   So, if you are in Washington, stay away from Kennewick. L

So we back tracked 20 minutes or so and stayed in Pasco, WA.  The Wal-Mart there did let us stay and they were nice enough.   We did manage to find a few postcards, but ended up leaving the state without a bumper sticker or a Christmas Ornament (we are collecting them).  We also did not end up seeing a single “site” because we had not researched them (as we did not expect to be there for a whole day) and there was NO information and no one to ask.  Sad really.

Fortunately, Oregon (or-e-gun, as we were told) was much more friendly.  There was a great Welcome Center.  It even had a campground on a pond (wish we had known about THAT when we were having trouble at Wal-Mart!).  The woman at the Center recommended The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and it was a great little museum.  We got in with our Federal Pass, which was extra nice.  James and Elena earned the title of Jr.“Wagon Master” , by doing the Jr. Ranger program there.  We really wanted to stay longer, but we had gotten a flat on one of the rear tires.  We had put air in it a number of times, but this time it was really FLAT. 

We drove to the nearest town, Baker City.  We went to a place called Les Schwab Tire and they were GREAT.  They took the tire off, fixed the leaky valve and put it back on in less than 20min.  THEN they said it was “on the house” and sent us on our way with well-wishes for a fun vacation.  After such a disappointing day in WA, this small kindness really made our day.  Oregon was a very nice place, and we got TWO stickers for the back of the RV and a key chain (because we did not like any of the ornaments we found.  

From Oregon, we drove back into Idaho.  I didn’t really expect it, but Idaho is very beautiful.  We went to see the Craters of the Moon National Site.   It was unique…it is the remains of a volcano cause by the hot spot that is now Yellowstone.  For miles and miles there is black lava rock.  We learned about volcanoes and geology.  We also learned what kinds of animals and plants live in this area that seems like a “waste land” but isn’t.  Laurinda, James and Elena did the Junior Ranger programs, but we stayed so late at the park, the Welcome Center was closed, so we have to mail it in for them to get their patches.  The landscape of the park is truly the most unique I have ever seen.  The best park of the park, however, is likely the caves.  The older kids and Tom climbed through several of the caves.  There are no lights and no guides or such.  One just climbs down and explores.  Flashlights were a big must, as the caves got dark, cool and damp REALLY fast!  This park was definitely worth the extra driving time to see it.

Today we went to the Idaho Potato Exhibition, in Blackfoot.  Do yourself a favor and skip this one if you are in Idaho.  The staff was not friendly, the exhibit was only mediocre and the free baked potato their website claims to offer is really just a box of dehydrated hash brown…I didn’t even know one could DO that…bleck.  Overall, though, we really did like Idaho.

That is it for now.  The kids (and their parents) are glad for a “down day” tomorrow.  Hope you all have a WONDERFUL 4^th of July weekend.   We miss you all and will be thinking of you this weekend as we miss a Webster fireworks for the first time in 10 yrs.  For those of you who are coming to the house anyway, we will be thinking of you especially.  Happy 4^th Everyone!

Washington, Oregon and Idaho

We have not been able to blog much, as we have been "boondocking" for 3 days now. I am sneaking a bit of computer time while the generator is running to cook a quick dinner. We will have power tomorrow night, so we will post more then.  Our change of plans turned out nicely.  We spent a night each in Washington (not our favorite), Oregon (super friendly) and tonight, Idaho (very cool).  We found some interesting things to do and met some really nice people.  We have had a few "bumps" in the road with things breaking or not working properly, but so far, no major issues.  Everyone is getting tired and cranky, though, so we are looking forward to a weekend in one place; Willard, Utah.

Will post a lot more tomorrow when we have full power.  We are all feeling particularly sad to be "missing" our annual 4th of July party. Hope everything back home is good and that you all are having a wonderful summer. 

Things we have learned so far...Week One

Google map time estimates are not made for a 14yo RV. Add 2 hours for each 4 Google calls for…more if there is any of your “stimulus money hard at work”.

“Stimulus” money is being used to close off hundreds of miles of highway down to one lane and to make hundreds more rough, bumpy and barely passable, in the name of road “improvements”. 

A GPS and Trip Tiks are very helpful, but cannot begin to calculate for the backups and road issues caused by stupid drivers.

The “easy” route over the Black Hills is not easy.  Makes us shudder to think what the “hard” way is like!

When the signs say, “rough road ahead”, “strong crosswinds ahead” or “rocks on road”, they MEAN it.  And what the West calls, “rough”,” strong” and “rocks”…we in MA would classify as “off road”, “gale force” and “boulders”!

RV tarps whose recoil latches are not firmly affixed will unravel while the RV is traveling down the highway in said, “strong crosswinds”...on a related note, it will take one adult, one teen and one preteen, and all the might they have, to get the tarp rolled back up against the wind.

A 29ft RV can swerve, while traveling 55mph, to miss an end table in the middle of the highway, if it is driven by a VERY accomplished driver.

Do not pack a 6yo a month in advance because if you do, part way through your trip she will begin to outgrow the clothes you packed for her and  you will need to buy more (even though you have plenty of clothes that would fit her at home)….and on a related note, Wal-Mart has great clearance sales which makes replacing those clothes a bit easier to manage…and another related note, do not have the 6yo help you shop because she will fall in love with the most expensive, most impractical clothes she can find, and thus be disappointed and sulky about the practical, inexpensive clothes you buy.

Believe it or not, when your father says, “DO NOT throw up in Wal-Mart. You will WAIT until you get outside!”, you will actually be able to do so!...and on a similar note, throwing up in Wal-Mart parking lot is embarrassing, but not as embarrassing  as doing so in the store…and on another similar note, conveniently, Wal-Mart sells anti-motion sickness pills, which fortunately work quite well. 

RV refrigerators do not run while the RV is being driven and if you don’t stop and put on the propane to run the refrigerator often enough while driving long distances , it turns your cream into the consistency of cottage cheese….and on a similar note, you should check your cream BEFORE it plops into your coffee.

When using a ground level urinal, be very careful not to slip in.

On a related note, it is far more sanitary to read the label on the septic flushing intake BEFORE you try to flush the lines.

If you continually read your brother’s Facebook posts out loud to the whole family, you will find yourself “unfriended”.

Never visit the Sulphur Cauldron at lunchtime, there might be picnic tables there, but it is not a hospitable

Snowball fights in June while wearing shorts and sunglasses are WAY better than having to bundle up to play in the snow.

Five children will make more clothes dirty in 2 days at Yellowstone National Park, than in the 7 days it took to drive there.

Coin operated laundry is stinking EXPENSIVE!

If you are contemplating a trip to Yellowstone National Park, do NOT tell your teenagers that there is no cell phone reception there…and on a similar note, teens who are surprised to find no cell phone reception will go to great lengths, including climbing onto the roof of the RV, to try to get reception, but alas, it will not work.

And on a related  note, teens who find themselves for 2 days without cell phone reception get VERY grumpy…and when “reconnected”, they will act more grateful and relieved than a man rescued from being marooned on a dessert island alone for years.

Glacier National Park gets snow even through July, which is awesome, except when snow removal is such that most of the park’s roads are not passable and the shuttle bus is not running, meaning anyone with an RV, effectively cannot visit the park.  L

In the mind of a 6yo, “Everyone” in MT has a horse and every girl NEEDS a pink cowboy hats with silver trim that lights up.

There are friendly, kind and caring people all across this great country.

“Road Schooling” is an AWESOME way to learn all sorts of new things!

Itinerary revamp

We were doing quite nicely, staying on schedule without too much overload for anyone...when the snow in northern MT prevented us from going to Glacier National Park.  We were disappointed, but undaunted.  We moved up our reservations in St. Regis, MT a day and planned an alternative route through Idaho, Washington and Oregon, into Utah, where we will spend next weekend.   The change means we get to spend a night in each of these states and makes our daily drives a bit shorter.  Everyone is gettting a bit cranky with the tight quarters, but overall everything is going quite well.  We will stay in St. Regis until checkout (11am) so that everyone can get in a bit more exercise, playing,  alone time...and, yes, one last load of laundry.  Have a great day everyone.

Scribe's Log Stardate 6.27.11

Finally, we have internet! Well to catch everyone up, on Friday (the 24th) we left SD and at 1:04p.m. entered Wyoming. Wyoming is my favorite state so far! We drove all day through the hills of Wyoming. At 8:00 we had dinner at Pizza Hut and we continued driving until 11:13p.m. when we reached Cody, Wyoming. Although we only slept in Cody, it was really cool. It had a rodeo and a lot of other attractions. I hope to go back to visit it someday. On Saturday (the 25th), we were up early again (730) and we shopped at Wal-Mart where I bought an amazing cowgirl hat. At 9,we departed Cody and by 11 we were at Yllowstone. Except for the loss of cell phone coverage, we all loved Yellowstone. We saw boiling mud, geysers, single bison, herds of bison, elk, (but no bears), a waterfall, beautiful mountains and snow. I didn't like the snow because it caused lots of trouble. For starters, my mother and siblings decided snowball fights were much enhanced if I became the sole target (even if I wasnt participating at all because I didnt want to get wet). Also, my brothers decided that aming snowballs at my butt when I was in my only jeans was histerical. Last, it made everything cold and it is hard to sleep when you are freezing and your hands are numb. On Sunday, we got up and had a pancake breakfast. Then, Mom and Dad had some alone time while I went for a run (cross country it coming up fast) and the other kids played tag. Then, we departed and went to church. It was weird to have a basketball hoop instead of  a crucifix, and to be sitting on a gym floor, but it was great to have something normal and predictable since everything else out West is different. Then, we explored Yellowstone some more and departed. Unfortunately, on the way out we were informed most of Glacier park was closed. Further investigation proved it impossible for RV entrance. Thus, we re-routed to West Montana. Sunday night we stayed in Butte (b-U-t, which we preferred to pronounce butt or booty). We had a not so yummy (or edible) store bought dinner that was reprieved only by not-so-good brownies and a trivial pursuit game. That brings me to today, we woke up still with frozen toes and numb fingers after sleep broken my traffic and cold and shopped Wal-Mart while the RV received a much needed check-up and oil change. Then we departed Butte, Montana and waved to the huge statue of Mary on the rocky mountains. Oh, did you know Montana allows gambling/casinos and has no sales tax?! Anyways, we drove until we hit our campground at 2ish o'clock. We swam and Mom did 100 loads of laundry and I ran and had ice cream. Then we had dinner and S'mores. Now, it is 10:21 and the sun hasnt even started to set. It feels like 4 or 5. Well, I am done writing and will post some pictures. We miss you all!

Scribe's Log Stardate 6.23.11

Even with the multiple time changes moving time back, it is late here in SD. I'd just like to give directions to the photos I uploaded. You must scroll down to the bottom of the page for pictures. Unlike posts, pictures do not appear at the top of the page and new pictures do not appear first. However, they are there and I will add more when possible. Now I am going to join the rest of my family in sleep so tomorrow I can be wide awake in the hunt for buffalo because the only one who has seen buffalo is Elena. Everytime we pass a heard f cows she screams "Look buffalo!". And I must read some more Hamlet, on out way to Yellowstone. Hopefully, the water is warmer there than here in South Dakota. I know I only get to live once but seriously Elena swimming with you in a pool in California would keep us safe from sharks AND keep me from turing into a popsicle. Well, I'm really going to bed now. Goodnight everyone whose in the Mountain or Pacific or the other time zone we just left the name of which is escaping me. And good morning all of you in New England!

June 23, 2011...again.

Mount Rushmore was nice.  Elena was ver excited to earn her Junior "Roger" badge. (most of us would say, Ranger).  She was disappointed to find out she could not climb up to the sculpture and "sit in his ear".  I had no idea where she got the idea...the heads don't even HAVE ears.  James said she saw it on the Bernstain Bears.  It never ceases to amaze me the things kids come up with.

Tom says it is unfair that he has to do all the driving and has had dishes twice this week.  I say that I had to carry his 5 children for 9 1/2 months each.....so he pretty much owes me all the driving I want and all the dishes I make for LIFE! 

One might think from these interactions that we are getting on each other's nerves, but we are not....OK, well maybe a little.  But we are also having a great time just plain having a lot of fun family time.  

We are also enjoying the free internet access at Kemp's Kamp.  Which is in Keystone (not Custer as we posted earlier).  Have a great night everyone!

June 23, 2011

Ok, so this trip is not boring.  It was only the driving that was boring.  The Badlands were BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING!  And now there are military convoys driving by us.  They are going East, but who knows to where?   - Joseph

It is a fun trip today.  We are going to Mount Rushmore and a campground in Custer.  I am going to swim when we get there.  We learned that animals used to live in the Badlands and we saw the Corn Palace.  It had samples of popcorn. We had a tour.  I got a slushy in Minnisota.  I was the first one up today.  - Elena

We are on the road now and it is boring.  - James

Tom does not want to post....he says he is praying for a gas station, as we have less than 1/8th of a tank left.  There are many miles between service areas in these parts.  Oh, now he is happy to note that he just saw a sign for Exxon at the next exit, 6 miles away.  The kids are glad, too, as they did not want to have to push the RV to the next exit.  :)

The Badlands National Park is just awe inspiring.  I can't find the words to explain how beautiful and unique a landscape it is.  The Praire is also very different to look at.  There are virtually no trees.  Just miles and miles of flat grasslands.  This is the first time in our trip that the land around us looks different enough so as to make it clear that we are NOT in Massachusetts, nor anywhere thereabouts.  - Christina

June 22, 2011

"No offense, but this trip has been boring so far." 

Scribe's Log Stardate 6.22.11

Sunday night we found electricity (and a Panera Bread) at an Ohio rest stop. Monday, we again woke up way too early and drove through Michigan and Indiana. Then, we crossed time zones. By the time we arrived in Ilinois for a yummy dinner (thanks Dad) we exghausted.
Tuesday was much bettered. Bulked up with Drammamine and Advil we took off from Illinois and entered Wisconsin. Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana all look the same - lots of corn fields and lots of mosquitoes. Tuesday afternoon we saw the Mississippi River. Some of us (not me) got covered in mud. I wrote in the thick mud with my fingers, sat on the rocks right on the edge of the water and took some self portraits for proof that I actually came on the trip. Then, we drove to the Field of Dreams. I ran the bases and took lots of pictures. Well, we're off again!

"No offense, but this trip has been boring so far" - Joseph

Contrary to Joseph's assertion, yesterday was a fun day.  As we entered Dubuque, IA and crossed the Mississippi River.  Guess what?  It is BIG and MUDDY.  We saw (from the bridge) a park along the river and stopped to make lunch.  We decided (despite the "No Wading or Swimming" sign...come on, you only live once!) to go put our hands/feet in the water.  The mud was SO thick and DEEP.  Most of us (Tom and Laurinda were party poopers) took off shoes off and walked to the edge of the water, in ankle deep mud!  It was squishy and awesome!   While sitting by the river we got to see a huge barge ship....and (as you might expect) a Mississippi River Boat.

From Dubuque, we drove to Dyersville, IA to the "Field of Dreams".  It looks JUST like the movie!  The kids ran the bases and played a "baseball" game while Tom and I sst on the benches soaking up the evening sun.  We spent the night at the George Wyth State Park in Cedar Rapids, IA.  We are off this morning to South Dakota.  Our destination is Keystone, SD, but as that is over 10hrs from here, we will be making an overnight stop, hopefully in Mitchell, SD. 

Have a great day everyone! 

Tuesday June 21st

So, it turns out our USB drive was defective, so posting was near impossible.  We got a new one today and it clearly works!  Thanks to Mai, whose generous gift of "mad money" made the purchase possible.  And how cool is it that I am 41 and my grandmother is STILL spoiling me?!

We spent last night in a lovely campground in Illinois.  The kids got to swim and play in the club house.   I got laundry done and we had dinner cooked over the fire...yum!  Today we are driving through Wisconsin (on a small country road rolling through miles and miles of farms.  It is beautiful!

So far our trip has been a lot of driving, but it has not been boring!  We had our first RV "incident" when the turn signal lights stopped working.  Tom checked every fuse to no avail.  On the advice of our mechanic, Tom banged the steering wheel hard a few times...and it worked! 

Elena had a melt down from being so tired, right while we were trying to manuever ourselves through the stop and go traffic caused by a car accident just north of Cleveland.  (She is protesting my posting of her meltdown.  I assure that tired 6 year olds are expected to have meltdowns from time to time.)  After that accident, we saw 3 more, including an RV with its front end into the jersey barrier.  We hit Chicago at rush hour but believe it or not, it was not so bad.  We drove right by O"Hare airport and could see planes practically landing in front of us. 

These first few days have been a lot of driving.  We slow down a bit after we cross the Mississippi.  We know, though, from the (lack) of time we are making on the road, that we are going to have to cut back our planned itinerary, but we are OK with that.  We are trying to focus on and enjoy the Journey itself.

Personally, I am enjoying sitting with the idea that we have "no where" to be and no one to answer to for 5 weeks.  It is an amazing feeling...I could get REALLY used to it.  :)

Scribe's Log Stardate 6.19.11

I am Laurinda, and I will be your Scribe for this five week mission. The R.V. Enterprise started departure at 10:19p.m. last night. After some wonderful pictures for starfleet command, we left the driveway at 10:27p.m.
At 11p.m. we stopped for the night in Blanford, Ma. Very, very, very early this Father's Day morning we awoke (and were woken) for breakfast before we departed at 7:21a.m.    Today, we entered NY at 8:57, and now are at a rest stop in Little Falls. Now, the R.V. Enterprise must ENGAGE....to it's next stop.

Yeah! We FINALLY found a "hotspot"....

Hi everyone,  

We are on our way!  We left our house last night.  Our awesome neighbors were gracious enough to come over and snap a few "group shots", just before we "hit the road".  It had been a long day, with a visit from Nana and Papa, two recitals (the girls danced wonderfully!) and lots of last minute packing and goodbyes, so we did not drive far.  We slept at a rest stop just outside of the Berkshires.  The western part of MA is so beautiful.  We got an early start this morning.  We had eaten breakfast and were on the road by 6am. 

We are now making our way through across NY (we are currently in Little Falls heading toward Buffalo and the PA boarder) and were thrilled to find out that NY offers free WiFi at all its rest areas!  We will post some pics, as soon as we can figure out how to do that from the blackberry. 

Happy Father's Day to all the dads.  Have a great day!

Hi!  Tomorrow is our trip.  I am getting really, really excited and a litte scared for our trip.  My job on the trip is Quartermaster.  This means I am in charge of checking and ordering food and supplies.  I know where all the food and the supplies are kept in the RV.  That means that my brothers and sisters better be nice to me, because I know where all the "goodies" are. 

Nearly on our way....

We have been very busy with all sorts of trip preparations.  We have been so blessed with wonderful friends, who are taking care of our house and our animals.  The best part of this week has been seeing our friends.  The hardest part has been saying so many goodbyes.  Our diet this week has been quite interesting as we try to eat the odd assortment of foods from the back of the freezer and pantry shelves...PB+J on hotdog rolls, rice crackers with canned apple sauce, anyone?!  I think for the most part we have been too busy too excited, but the reality of the trip being so close is never too far from our thoughts.  Thank you everyone for the well wishes and prayers for a safe journey.  We know that your thoughts and prayers are of immeasurable value!  

Planning our trip

Our trip has been a dream for nearly 25 years.  Planning the itinerary alone, took almost a year.  Each member of our family picked one "must see" place and a number of "like to see" places.  So our planned itinerary is a combinations of the dreams and desires of each of us.  Then we sat down to the task of seeing how, or even if, these lists of places would fit into the trip.  Some did not, but most did.  We plan to take a northern route on our westward journey, drive south through much of CA, and then take a southern route on our eastward journey.   We have great plans, and yet we know that nothing ever goes the way it is planned, so we know the trip itself might not look much like (or even anything, like) the plan.  Regardless, we know it will be an adveture and we are all very excited to get it underway.