Our family is getting ready to make some big changes! For those who haven't heard, we are embarking on a brand-new "journey." Or at least we are experimenting with it for a year. I will be closing the preschool after graduation in June. We will taking the kids out of school and doing a combination of home- and road-schooling starting in September. The plan is to head out on a series of month-long (or so) trips over the course of the year and see more of the country. We already have a couple of expeditions semi-planned, but they are all subject to change at this point :-) That is the beauty of having a flexible schedule! Don will be able to work from wherever we are as long as we make sure that we have a reliable wifi signal. We'll come home in between trips so that the kids can see their friends, participate in scouts and other activities, and hang out with family. At the end of the year, we'll reevaluate and see if we want to continue the adventure or settle back into a routine. I'm going to have the kids generally cover the same curriculum material as the kids at school so that they won't have a problem if they re-enter public school the following year. However, we'll be going about it a bit differently. Way fewer worksheets and tests; a lot more projects, experiments, and field trips!
I think that we are now past the nervous stage and have moved on to excited!! Now that we have made the decision, we are ready for the new adventure to begin! We do have some shorter trips planned between now and the fall that will tide us over, though. I will post about them here, so check back if you're interested.
I realize that some people think that we are nuts for doing this. I know that it wouldn't be for everybody, but it seems like the right move for our family and the right time to do it. It certainly wasn't a spur of the moment decision, nor was it made lightly. There has been a lot of agonizing over it (mainly by me, of course) but I am now sure that it will be a wonderful experience for us. I am well aware that we will have days when that RV will seem not so spacious and we will all want to get away from each other. I am sure there will be days when I wonder why I ever thought home-schooling was a good idea. But, I am also sure that we would truly be nuts to pass up the opportunity to spend this time together as a family, experiencing new places every day!
Friday, April 12, 2013
No, we're not still in Yellowstone.
Just in case you've been wondering, we did in fact make it home from last summer's adventure! After thirty-one days, fourteen states, and six thousand miles, we pulled in our driveway and we were all still friends :-)
Due to slow wifi connections and a very busy sight-seeing schedule, I was about a week behind on the blog. I actually finished the last Yellowstone post as we were driving home on the Thruway. Once we got home, I just never got around to finishing my account of the trip. In case anyone is still interested, I thought I'd offer a brief summary of our last week along with a few photos.
We headed out of West Yellowstone and east through Montana. We fell in love with the southwestern corner of the state and have even talked about moving to the Gallatin River area west of Bozeman. Lots of mountains, forests, and rivers, but still not too far away from civilization. The photos don't do the place justice, as they were taken out the windows of speeding trucks, but you can get the general idea.
As we traveled across the state toward Miles City, the land flattened out, though there were some big rock formations scattered here and there. There were hay field as far as the eye can see.
The Miles City KOA wasn't our favorite stop, but it did have the best wireless network of the trip! The people were nice enough, but the campground was in the middle of the "city" and not in the best looking neighborhood. We didn't do a whole lot while we were there, but we did enjoy the pool and had a really good dinner at a steakhouse. Most everything was closed in Miles City on the Sunday we were in town.
From Montana, we cut through North Dakota, but kept on going to the northeast part of South Dakota to stay at a city park in Aberdeen. It was the cheapest park of the whole trip, and it was beautiful! It also had a little theme park that was a lot like "Storytown" was before it became the Great Escape. And admission was free!
The next leg of the journey took us across Minnesota into Wisconsin. We stayed at the Neshonoc Lakeside Camp Resort near La Crosse. We had a couple of great sites on top of the hill overlooking one of the pools and the lake. It was a bit windy and chilly, but we had to go for at least one swim.
The highlight of the stay in Wisconsin was definitely a sunset boat ride on the Mississippi River. It was a beautiful night and the kids loved being on the water. They both enjoyed the presentations by the naturalist on board.
Our next travel day was not a whole lot of fun. The GPS decided to take us right through the heart of Chicago. Gotta love heavy city traffic when towing a 40-foot RV.
We eventually made it back to Elkheart, Indiana. Not terribly impressed with the KOA or the area, but it was really just a pit stop on the way home. We did drive into Michigan to get dinner and also stopped at a Steak 'n' Shake for one last yummy milkshake.
On the Sunday, not much was open around Elkheart, but we did go to an RV show at the RV Hall of Fame. We didn't see anything that we liked better than our Open Range, but did enjoy the RV museum. For some reason, we didn't take many pictures. I think we were just getting burned out as the trip was coming to an end.
Our very last stop was at another KOA on Lake Erie. It was only a one night stop before we made the final push to get home. Our only adventure was a trip to a city park across the street from the campground.
It was definitely an adventure of a lifetime. I'm not sure about anybody else, but I didn't even want to go home. As we pulled onto our street, I asked Don if we could just stop to pick up the cats and keep on driving, but he wouldn't go along with it. I'm so glad that we were all able to experience this vacation as a family. The kids loved having so much time with their grandparents and it was something that they will always remember. The trip also inspired me to try to do more long-term trips in the future. There is so much out there to experience!
Due to slow wifi connections and a very busy sight-seeing schedule, I was about a week behind on the blog. I actually finished the last Yellowstone post as we were driving home on the Thruway. Once we got home, I just never got around to finishing my account of the trip. In case anyone is still interested, I thought I'd offer a brief summary of our last week along with a few photos.
We headed out of West Yellowstone and east through Montana. We fell in love with the southwestern corner of the state and have even talked about moving to the Gallatin River area west of Bozeman. Lots of mountains, forests, and rivers, but still not too far away from civilization. The photos don't do the place justice, as they were taken out the windows of speeding trucks, but you can get the general idea.
As we traveled across the state toward Miles City, the land flattened out, though there were some big rock formations scattered here and there. There were hay field as far as the eye can see.
The Miles City KOA wasn't our favorite stop, but it did have the best wireless network of the trip! The people were nice enough, but the campground was in the middle of the "city" and not in the best looking neighborhood. We didn't do a whole lot while we were there, but we did enjoy the pool and had a really good dinner at a steakhouse. Most everything was closed in Miles City on the Sunday we were in town.
From Montana, we cut through North Dakota, but kept on going to the northeast part of South Dakota to stay at a city park in Aberdeen. It was the cheapest park of the whole trip, and it was beautiful! It also had a little theme park that was a lot like "Storytown" was before it became the Great Escape. And admission was free!
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| Munchkin Land! |
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| Follow the yellow brick road! |
The next leg of the journey took us across Minnesota into Wisconsin. We stayed at the Neshonoc Lakeside Camp Resort near La Crosse. We had a couple of great sites on top of the hill overlooking one of the pools and the lake. It was a bit windy and chilly, but we had to go for at least one swim.
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| Ready for take-off! |
The highlight of the stay in Wisconsin was definitely a sunset boat ride on the Mississippi River. It was a beautiful night and the kids loved being on the water. They both enjoyed the presentations by the naturalist on board.
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| Always ready and willing to assist (and be the center of attention!) |
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| Bald eagle on the banks of the Mississippi |
The other exciting event in Wisconsin - Gabriella lost her first tooth!
Our next travel day was not a whole lot of fun. The GPS decided to take us right through the heart of Chicago. Gotta love heavy city traffic when towing a 40-foot RV.
We eventually made it back to Elkheart, Indiana. Not terribly impressed with the KOA or the area, but it was really just a pit stop on the way home. We did drive into Michigan to get dinner and also stopped at a Steak 'n' Shake for one last yummy milkshake.
On the Sunday, not much was open around Elkheart, but we did go to an RV show at the RV Hall of Fame. We didn't see anything that we liked better than our Open Range, but did enjoy the RV museum. For some reason, we didn't take many pictures. I think we were just getting burned out as the trip was coming to an end.
Our very last stop was at another KOA on Lake Erie. It was only a one night stop before we made the final push to get home. Our only adventure was a trip to a city park across the street from the campground.
It was definitely an adventure of a lifetime. I'm not sure about anybody else, but I didn't even want to go home. As we pulled onto our street, I asked Don if we could just stop to pick up the cats and keep on driving, but he wouldn't go along with it. I'm so glad that we were all able to experience this vacation as a family. The kids loved having so much time with their grandparents and it was something that they will always remember. The trip also inspired me to try to do more long-term trips in the future. There is so much out there to experience!
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