this is how we roll

8.10.2012

New York City Drive Through

July 2012
On our way home from the northeast, we drove through NYC. Didn't get to stay and visit, just did a little sightseeing from the road while listening to Beastie Boys:

"Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten

From the Battery to the top of Manhattan

Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latin

Black, White...New York, you make it happen"

The Bronx

George Washington Bridge

Shortly after these pictures were taken, I took a turn driving while Matt was on some work phone calls. Driving the RV and tow car along the Jersey Turnpike was the worst driving experience I've ever had. Scarier even than the first time I drove the RV. We came out of a toll booth into the biggest cluster of cars I've ever seen, all needing to funnel down into two lanes, and all criss-crossing back and forth, and squeezing in front of and right up against me. We sat, rolled forward a bit, and sat some more, not even sure which areas might eventually become the actual lanes. Finally I managed to maneuver into a space that was actually becoming a lane of traffic.

Traffic was really heavy, it was grey and foggy and pouring rain, lots of lanes to cross back and forth over, and there was lots of construction leaving tiny lanes to maneuver through.

After that, came the signs for either the Lincoln or Holland tunnel. I was so flustered by then that I can't even remember which now. I just knew I did not want to drive the RV & tow car through one of them. We had driven through the Holland Tunnel before, and I'm not much of a fan of being trapped under water like that, and especially squeezing the RV through those tiny tunnel lanes. That was the closest to panic I've ever been while driving: all shallow breathing, cold sweating, vision tunneling. As it turned out, we weren't going to be going through the tunnel on our route. I would have realized that if I wasn't in such a panic about it, but...

Anyway, I was quite thankful that I remembered to breathe deeply in between cussing loudly, that Riley moved up front to joke around and lighten the mood, and that Matt had left a pack of uneaten Twizzlers near the drivers seat. Calming, calming, calming.

We had one day at home after that trip, then headed off for another stay in Memphis, and I was very much looking forward to the sunny south and wide open highways!

8.09.2012

Massachusetts

July, 2012
Massachusetts

We stayed outside of Boston at C G Circle Farms campground, where they had the best frog pond so far. The kids spent hours there. Seth tried and tested lots of strategies for catching frogs. He went from missing every try to catching one on almost every try by the end of our stay there.

We took the trains into Boston. I say trainS because we learned that there are two separate train systems with two separate tickets to buy -- one to get into Boston from the suburbs and another to navigate within downtown. The staff at the train station were super helpful, and so were random people on the streets who saw us looking confused and helped us navigate to get where we wanted to go.

Boston Common

Soaked from playing in the "Frog Pond" community splash fountain at Boston Common

Boston

Make Way for the Ducklings sculpture at Boston Public Gardens

Boston Public Gardens

General George Washington statue with city of Boston in the background

Maya with my sister, who traveled with us to revisit Boston, where she spent a year or so during college years.

On our way out of Massachusettes for Matt to work in Connecticut, we detoured to Plymouth, MA to check out Plymouth Rock at Pilgrim Memorial State Park.

Pilgrim State Park

Mayflower II

Quite possibly the muddiest, grossest beach we've ever set foot on.

But I did manage to slup through the mud to the water to dunk my toes in Plymouth Bay.

At Our Sticks and Bricks House

June/July 2012

Between road trips, we spend our weekends and the occasional week here and there at our sticks and bricks house. We were able to work it out to be home this summer for activities that the kids wanted to do: several concerts for Riley, Renaissance Art Camp for Maya, and Farm Camp for all three.

Seth got to be on his own for a day while both Maya and Riley were other places. A very rare event for him! He wanted to spend the day with us at the Cincinnati Museum Center. He enjoyed exploring the caves, ice age area, doing experiments in the science lab with Matt, and visiting the history museum, which we hadn't toured in a long time.

Maya with Renaissance Art Camp friends

Snuggling our pet leopard gecko

Riley and Seth

We rented a kayak and canoe and spent an afternoon on the Little Miami River

Loving up the animals and having a blast at Sunrock Farm Camp

Allentown, PA

June 2012

We stayed at a KOA near Allentown, PA in the beautiful Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. This was our first experience with hooking up during a downpour! Let's just say we aren't looking forward to our next experience with that! We spent our days exploring the creek, playing mini golf, and enjoying the novelty (to us) of campground life. We visited two amazingly good places for vegan food: Cali Burrito and Vegan Treats bakery.

I think he was considering buying one of everything.

The beautiful spot by the creek where I studied and wrote papers for my nutrition class. I still love picturing that place and imagining the sound of the water.

7.30.2012

On the Road to Allentown, PA

June, 2012

Grove Skatepark, Columbus, OH

Southpark, PA (near Pittsburgh)

Southpark, PA

Southpark BMX track

Beautiful views all along the PA Turnpike

Second Trip to Memphis, TN/Horn Lake, MS

It was fun to come back to Memephis Jellystone Campground in Horn Lake, MS and see friends again that we had met on our first trip here. The kids have some friends who are staying for the entire summer and others who are full-timers staying through the end of the year.