Expert Junior Rangers

Our four youngest boys have completed about a ton of junior ranger programs, over 50 actually, on our big family adventure. While we did not participate in Awana or Boy Scouts during this season of our lives, this system the National Park and some state parks have served as a great learning enhancer. They also encouraged lots of hands on activities and physical activities like picking up trash and taking hikes, interviewing rangers and spotting wildlife. As a body of work, doing fifty plus junior ranger programs is a feat accomplished that makes us quite proud of our boys. Blake learned a lot too, helping his younger brothers do the programs (he did about six or seven himself!).

As a matter of fact Patsy and I learned quite a bit and our knowledge of our country has broadened quite a bit since walking with our sons through these cool programs!

Grand Lake St. Mary's State Park and Blueberry

We stayed three nights at Grand Lake St. Mary's State Park in western Ohio. It was so nice to be at the state park and enjoy the area with just a few other guests. We took a few walks and saw a snake and a bunch of song birds greeted us with their songs each morning.

While we were at the park our trusty mini-van, Vangoh, gave up the ghost. It has been limping along for several months, but faithfully did its job, almost to the end of our trip. So we purchased a new van in nearby Celina, Ohio. This 2011 model is such a major upgrade for us, that we actually get excited going for a drive, whereas before we almost dreaded having to take Vangoh anywhere. We named the new van Big Blueberry because of its unique color. Patsy said no more silver vans because they are too hard to find in a parking lot with the dozens of other vans with the same color!

We also visited a fun little restaurant in St. Mary's called Lost in the 50s. This eatery is filled with memorabilia from the 1950s and there is a little museum with lots more fun stuff from the era. It is funny talking to our sons and how they think we grew up in this era! The lightbulb came on when I explained I was born a decade after the 1950s were over. This was our parent's era!

Staff - 8 - Spoke to one ranger who was nice and the camp hosts were helpful as well.

Natural surroundings - 9 - Right on St. Mary's Lake.

Roominess - 8 - Plenty big enough.

Facility Fun - 8 -Two playgrounds, BB court, mini-putt, walking trails and lake fishing.

Facility usefulness - 5 - Laundromat, dump.

Bathrooms - 8 - Bathrooms were clean and showers were hot and plenty of them. Flush toilets.

Cleanliness - 8 - State Park clean

Nearby attractions - 5 - Close to Lima. Dayton and Fort Wayne within striking distance.

Value - 10 - Paid $12.50 a night for a back-in site with electric hook-up only. Used our Passport America card.

Overall - 9 - Cheap stay, modern yet in the midst of natural surroundings.

Charles Towne Landing

Our family visited Charleston, South Carolina a few years ago and we really fell in love with this old city. We visited several sites in the area, so this time around we have tried to see some of the sites we did not see before. And of course we need to pick attractions that are either free for us or very cheap. Previously we visited Fort Sumter, Patriot's Point and Middleton Plantation, along with a carriage tour of the "Holy City." Pretty much all of the main attractions.

So what is left to see in Charleston? Our first attraction we visited was Charles Towne Landing. This state park is located on the original site of the British settlement, called Charles Towne back in 1670. The park has a small zoo area with some animals that were once native to this area. Some still are a part of the local ecological system. We were very fortunate because several of the animals were playful. The otters were swimming and wrestling, the puma was stalking and the black bear was wresting a huge pipe. Nice to see animals in the moderate spring weather.

The park was alive with blooms of azaleas and other flowers, so Patsy was busy expressing her artistic side, trying to capture the essence of every bloom in America! It really is a beautiful campus. There are lots of things to see at Charles Landing, but one of our favorites is a recreation of a 17th century trader boat named Adventure. The boys were recruited by the interpreter to hoist the anchor, pump the water and steer the ship. This type of craft was a small merchant ship from the era, with a crew from six to ten. Not exactly pirates or John Paul Jones, but fun and educational still.

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

We are sorry, but we have removed this post becuase it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.

John Pennekamp State Park

Our third night in the Florida Keys was spent at another state park, John Pannekamp Coral Reef State Park. We were so blessed to find another state park in the Keys to stay at. This particular state park is mostly underwater and daily boat trips for snorkeling and scuba diving adventures are part of the opportunities for visitors to the park.

There are also a couple of places closer to shore where you can go snorkeling and Blake took the chance to snorkel out to some sunken cannons that were located about 100 feet from the shore. This was his first time snorkeling outside of the swimming pool, so he was pretty pumped about the chance to see some ocean dwelling creatures, even though it was a bit of a rainy and cold day.

The weather also did not stop our boys from spending some time at the beach here. In fact they also put on their goggles and saw some fish. At our beach some ibis decided to swim with the boys! Not everyone can say they have swam with ibis!

The visitor's center at the park has a huge aquarium and several smaller aquarium that display some of the underwater life located in the nearby coral reef. No matter how many zoos and aquariums we visit, our guys always get super excited when we go to a new one and this aquarium was no exception. The unique and colorful fish really brought out the excited voices in our kids.

During our stay at the park I did a night-time run to a local eatery called The Fish House where we got some Conch Soup and Conch Fritters. Patsy and I enjoyed tasting some of the new-to-us foods! We are truly getting a taste our this huge country of ours.

Our review of John Pannekamp State Park.

Staff - 8 - Nice rangers and campground hosts.

Nearby attractions - 10 - Close to Miami and Key Largo.

Natural surroundings - 10 - Bushes and trees separate sites from each other. Ocean quite close.

Value - 9 - We paid $43 a night for a back-in gravel site with full hook-ups. Very cheap for the Florida Keys in winter.

Bathrooms - 8 - Modern and clean and plenty of them.

Roominess - 8 - Plenty of room for our rig, tow dolly and van.

Facility fun - 10 - Canoe and kayak rentals, nature trails, glass boat bottom tours, beaches, snorkeling, playground, aquarium, visitors center.

Cleanliness - 9 - Very clean and nice park.

Facility usefulness - 7 -  Dump, gated park, camp store, book exchange.

Overall - 10 - We loved this park!!

Long Key State Park

We are so sorry, but this post has been removed because it is a part of our book Napkin Dreams that details our trip around America! You can still find the campground review below!

Staff - 8 - Most of the rangers were quite courteous.

Nearby attractions - 10 - Middle of the Florida Keys!

Natural surroundings - 10 - Bushes and trees separate sites from each other. Ocean is your backyard.

Value - 9 - We paid $43 a night for a back-in gravel site with water and electricity. Very cheap for the Florida Keys in winter.

Bathrooms - 8 - Modern and clean and plenty of them.

Roominess - 10 - Plenty of room for our rig, tow dolly and van.

Facility fun - 10 - Canoe and kayak rentals, nature trails and oh yeah did I mention the ocean?

Cleanliness - 9 - Very clean and nice park.

Facility usefulness - 3 -  Dump, gated park, typical amenities for a state park.

Overall - 10 - We loved this park!!

Lake Kissimmee State Park

This post has been deleted because it is in our new book entitled Napkin Dreams. It can be found on Amazon.com

We are so sorry, but this post has been removed because it is a part of our book Napkin Dreams that details our trip around America! We kept our campground review below!
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Staff - 9 - State Park ranger and campground hosts were all very friendly.

Nearby attractions - 7 - About 70-90 minutes to Disney and other attractions.

Natural surroundings - 10 - Lake, trees, marshes, etc.. Don't expect to get much TV or internet reception. Verizon works here, but is not at its strongest.

Value - 9 - We paid $26 a night for a back-in gravel site with full hook-ups. 

Bathrooms - 8 - Very clean and modern bathroom for a state park.

Roominess - 9 - Site are not super long, but there is a ton of room in between sites!

Facility fun - 8 - Playground, horse shoe pits, trail hikes, Camp Florida on weekends, boat rentals.

Cleanliness - 8 - State Park clean.

Facility usefulness - 5 -  Laundry!

Overall - 9 - Great way to experience nature in central Florida!!