We did our final interview with Paul Youngblood on WNTA in Rockford last Tuesday. This was an hour long show but after taking out the commercials it is less than 40 minutes. So we took the audio and added some of our best scenic shots to it and made a video out of it. We talk a lot about what life on the road for our family was like after 21 months of this great adventure!
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Friday, June 15, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Out with a Bang
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!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Chippewa Nature Center
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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 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!
Friday, May 18, 2012
David turns seven
This post has been removed because it is part of our new book - Napkin Dreams!
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| David wore his Chuck E Cheese crown for about four days - even to bed at night! |
Saturday, May 12, 2012
American whistle factory tour
We are sorry, but we have removed this post becuase it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Higgins Armory Museum
We are sorry, but we have removed this post becuase it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Crayola Experience
The Crayola Experience in Easton, Pennsylvania was one stop I had been secretly excited about showing our kids. Not only did the boys learn about how crayons and markers are made, they got to explore the world of crayon art in a myriad of ways.
A life-sized dry erase car, doodling in the dark, and a host of other activities. There were plenty of take-home gifts including a four pack of exclusive crayons. We also got to see the world's biggest crayon, which is blue, which is fitting.
The Crayola Experience was cool, but a bit too crowded and expensive. No parking close to the museum for a big rig motorhome, so if you go, find another parking place nearby and drive your auto over.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Insectropolis
We discovered a little gem hidden away in the New Jersey town of Toms River called Insectropolis! OK, so Patsy may not think it was the most wonderful stop on our nationwide tour, but the rest of us had a ball with all the bugs!
The first activity we took part in was a little talk and touch time with a guide at Insectropolis. We heard about and touched a hissing cockroach, a giant millipede, a Chilean tarantula and an emperor scorpion. Patsy of course is on less then friendly terms with spiders, so she was not super happy about meeting up with the tarantula.
Insectropolis is part bug zoo and part bug museum. The highlight of the day for me was seeing a huge bird-eating tarantula gobble up a hissing cockroach. You can see the big, bad spider in the video below. We also confirmed that a spider we saw in Virginia was a black widow. This was also less than stellar news for Patsy. While there are several types of live bugs to see, our youngest boys enjoyed playing like bugs in the termite tunnels! Acting like a bug is always the funnest way to learn about bugs.
If you ever find yourself near Toms River, New Jersey and have some bug loving kids in your family, consider stopping by this most unique zoo we have ever seen.
The first activity we took part in was a little talk and touch time with a guide at Insectropolis. We heard about and touched a hissing cockroach, a giant millipede, a Chilean tarantula and an emperor scorpion. Patsy of course is on less then friendly terms with spiders, so she was not super happy about meeting up with the tarantula.
Insectropolis is part bug zoo and part bug museum. The highlight of the day for me was seeing a huge bird-eating tarantula gobble up a hissing cockroach. You can see the big, bad spider in the video below. We also confirmed that a spider we saw in Virginia was a black widow. This was also less than stellar news for Patsy. While there are several types of live bugs to see, our youngest boys enjoyed playing like bugs in the termite tunnels! Acting like a bug is always the funnest way to learn about bugs.
If you ever find yourself near Toms River, New Jersey and have some bug loving kids in your family, consider stopping by this most unique zoo we have ever seen.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Easter at a KOA
I'll have to admit Easter is one of the hardest holidays to celebrate in Howard our RV. First there is the whole kids not going to sleep and the Easter Bunny having to hide the eggs since the wide awake kids are in the room where the hiding takes place. Secondly there is the problem of lack of room to hide said eggs in a 300 square foot home and a rather smallish yard.
Decorating eggs, making a ham dinner, hiding presents and the like all require an extra dose of creativity for us, but with God's help it all works out.
Still, we had a pretty nice Easter this year, focused on the resurrection of Christ and not letting any other silly things mentioned above get us down! We had some nice discussions as a family about the true meaning of the holiday and we always try to incorporate elements of the cultural holiday and apply them to the sacredness of the Holy Day.
The campground we stayed at, Capitol KOA in Millersville, Maryland, had some fun activities for the kids. All of the boys spent copious amounts of time on their jump pillow, burning off loads of energy in the process. Our younger set made some crafts and played some games on Saturday and then took part in the campground sponsored "Egg Scramble" early Sunday morning. They hid toys and eggs in hay on the ground and this novel approach to the egg hunt was pretty cool and no one got hurt or trampled in the process.
I am including our campground review of the Capitol KOA for those interested in staying here.
Roominess - 7 - Normal sized lots.
Overall - 8 - Not cheap, but a nice in between place for Baltimore and Washington site seers. Great staff!
Decorating eggs, making a ham dinner, hiding presents and the like all require an extra dose of creativity for us, but with God's help it all works out.
Still, we had a pretty nice Easter this year, focused on the resurrection of Christ and not letting any other silly things mentioned above get us down! We had some nice discussions as a family about the true meaning of the holiday and we always try to incorporate elements of the cultural holiday and apply them to the sacredness of the Holy Day.
The campground we stayed at, Capitol KOA in Millersville, Maryland, had some fun activities for the kids. All of the boys spent copious amounts of time on their jump pillow, burning off loads of energy in the process. Our younger set made some crafts and played some games on Saturday and then took part in the campground sponsored "Egg Scramble" early Sunday morning. They hid toys and eggs in hay on the ground and this novel approach to the egg hunt was pretty cool and no one got hurt or trampled in the process.
I am including our campground review of the Capitol KOA for those interested in staying here.
Staff - 10 - Campground managers were super friendly and you could tell they loved planning things for the kids! This contagious attitude infects the entire staff!
Natural surroundings - 9 - in the city but you can't tell. No traffic noises and lots of trees.
Natural surroundings - 9 - in the city but you can't tell. No traffic noises and lots of trees.
Roominess - 7 - Normal sized lots.
Facility Fun - 10 - Pool open during the warm months. Playground, jumping pillow, giant chess set, ping-pong, pool table. Planned Activities.
Facility usefulness - 9 - Laundry, dog run, propane, large camp store, dump, fire ring and picnic tables at each site.
Facility usefulness - 9 - Laundry, dog run, propane, large camp store, dump, fire ring and picnic tables at each site.
Bathrooms - 8 - Bathroom is clean and up to date, individual showers are hot. With little kids though, we are not thrilled with the KOA individual shower set-up.
Cleanliness - 8 - Clean and well maintained.
Nearby attractions - 9 - Close to Washington DC and Baltimore and Annapolis.
Value - 6 - Paid $60 a night for a pull-through graveled site with full-hook-ups. This was using our KOA value card (we also applied some points, so our actual cost was less than this).
Nearby attractions - 9 - Close to Washington DC and Baltimore and Annapolis.
Value - 6 - Paid $60 a night for a pull-through graveled site with full-hook-ups. This was using our KOA value card (we also applied some points, so our actual cost was less than this).
Overall - 8 - Not cheap, but a nice in between place for Baltimore and Washington site seers. Great staff!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Mt. Vernon
Our family joined thousands of others, including about thirty tour buses full of high school groups, at Mt. Vernon. Patsy and I visited here 15 years ago in the fall and had a wonderful time, with sparse crowds and plenty of elbow room. Spring break may not be the best time to visit any of the Washington DC area sites.
Oh well, we still learned a bit about our first President George Washington and his wife Martha. Mt. Vernon is more than the home of the Washingtons. It is a living farm, nursery, and a museum educating visitors to the life of the Washingtons, the Revolutionary War, the beginning of our nation and Colonial life. Their movies are very well done and give you a very vivid idea of the life of their subjects.
Our kids loved the various animals on the farm area and especially the baby lambs, goats and pigs.Visiting the home of Washington you can see why he loved this place with its amazing overlook of the Potomac River and serene feel of the place in spite of thousands of teenage tourists!
Oh well, we still learned a bit about our first President George Washington and his wife Martha. Mt. Vernon is more than the home of the Washingtons. It is a living farm, nursery, and a museum educating visitors to the life of the Washingtons, the Revolutionary War, the beginning of our nation and Colonial life. Their movies are very well done and give you a very vivid idea of the life of their subjects.
Our kids loved the various animals on the farm area and especially the baby lambs, goats and pigs.Visiting the home of Washington you can see why he loved this place with its amazing overlook of the Potomac River and serene feel of the place in spite of thousands of teenage tourists!
We loved these two bulls who were chewing cud in unison!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Discovery Place
Our annual museum membership gave us free entrance to this nifty little museum called Discovery Place in downtown Charlotte. We always enjoy these hands-on museums since we have lots of tactile learners in our family!
We watched a demonstration on things that glow, otherwise known as luminescence. Most of the boys got to take part in some sort of volunteer help with this show (see video for Tanner and the water that glows!). Chase even got to take a close-up look at a glowing emperor scorpion.
We played with bbs, laid on a bed of nails, diverted water, watched a rock eating fish, touched some underwater animals, watched a dorky documentary on dolphins in 3D and took a turn at family tug-of-war! We had a great afternoon of exploration and Discovery at Discovery place!
We watched a demonstration on things that glow, otherwise known as luminescence. Most of the boys got to take part in some sort of volunteer help with this show (see video for Tanner and the water that glows!). Chase even got to take a close-up look at a glowing emperor scorpion.
We played with bbs, laid on a bed of nails, diverted water, watched a rock eating fish, touched some underwater animals, watched a dorky documentary on dolphins in 3D and took a turn at family tug-of-war! We had a great afternoon of exploration and Discovery at Discovery place!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
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!!
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