Camping Family's Off Seasons Adventures

Homemade Ice Cream - BY ABBY

2009-11-04T13:46:00.004-05:00

I made ice cream yesterday with my friend Atticus. We used salt, sugar, vanilla, ice and milk. We used 1 gallon size ziploc bag to put in the ice and salt (make sure you don't get the salt in the little bag). We put sugar, vanilla and milk in a sandwich size ziploc bag. We put the little bag inside of the other bag and shook it up for 5 whole minutes. After we were done we ate it. We compared what we made to the ingredients in whip cream and the ingredients in factory made ice cream. We discovered that the factory made ice cream and the whip cream are not as healthy as the stuff we made, but I like the factory made ice cream better because I got salt in my bag and that tasted yuck! Here is the recipe if you want to try it:

Put the following ingredients into a sandwich size ziplok bag and seal (you can double bag this to prevent the salt from getting in)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Fill gallon size ziploc half full with ice and add 6 tbsp rock or regular salt

Put small bag inside of large bag and shake for 5 minutes and it will turn into ice cream!

AN UPDATE -

We wanted to find out if you could make this recipe without using the salt so we tried it. The ice cream doesn't freeze if you just use ice. We looked it up online to find out what the salt did to make the milk turn into ice cream. Ice cubes just freeze something to about the point of water freezing (32 degrees) and in order for ice cream to freeze it has to be cooled to 27 degrees. Once you add the salt to ice it makes the ice colder and lowers the temperature that it melts at to about -5 degrees, making it plenty cold enough to freeze the ice cream mix.

Wildlife Center, Asheville NC

2009-10-23T11:03:00.000-04:00

Abby and her friends Winston and Lincoln got a chance to learn 1st hand about the animals at the North Carolina Wildlife Center.

Sliding Rock, Asheville NC

2009-10-22T13:40:00.001-04:00

Ok, sliding down a waterfall in late October might not be everyone's idea of fun, but why not??!!

We decided to go to Sliding Rock and although it was only 65 degrees outside and the water was in the 50's, we jumped in and slid down!

Never let it be said that the Bennett or the Sloan families pass by an any opportunity!

LEAF Festival

2009-10-18T13:30:00.000-04:00

What a great time we had at the LEAF Festival! We got to see old friends and meet new ones, enjoy all the music and arts, learned to hula hoop, hang out around the campfire, be in a parade, and just generally chill and relax!

Abby's Fairy House Business

2009-10-18T13:26:00.000-04:00

Abby has opened her own business - Fairy House. She made homemade fairy crowns & wands to sell in the store and at the LEAF Festival. She created her own business plan, including expense and income reports, and made up posters to advertise for them. She did so well at her business that she sold out of everything this year at LEAF and made $135.

Educational Fun all Summer Long

2009-09-20T12:27:00.000-04:00

I always feel terribly guilty in the summer since we don't focus on Abby's educational needs as much as I would like to, but this year we were able to get some educational field trips in in spite of the fact that we have been so busy.

Abby, Zoe & Ayden loved seeing the animals at the Binghamton Zoo, we got to go to the Herkimer Diamond Mines twice this year, once with with Mema & Tami and with the Homeschool Group, we met up with some fellow homeschoolers at the Unadilla Game Farm. Abby also had a good time at swimming lessons and acrobatics this summer and fall, and has made some new friends.

Washington DC block city

2009-09-01T13:22:00.000-04:00

I came in one day this summer to see Abby spread out on the floor with her blocks. She built the entire city of Washington DC, including the reflecting pool, Arlington Cemetery, the White House, Pentagon, etc. She even had people driving their cars and walking though town.

Guess she remembered a lot from our trip there two years ago!

Summertime with Family & Friends

2009-08-31T12:53:00.000-04:00

This summer we were fortunate to be able see lots of our family and friends. Bobbi & Eric decided that they had to head back to California in June, and fortunately not long after that I got a call from Tommy asking if we had any positions open at the campground (funny how things like that just seem to work out!)

Seth, Becky and Faith came over a lot to visit us this year, and Abby & I spent a week over there watching Faith when she kept getting sick in daycare.

Debbie & Chris came over for Pirates Weekend, and everyone, including Grampa Bill & Granny Kay, came down for my birthday party!

Birthdays

2009-08-28T12:41:00.000-04:00

Faith's Birthday Party

Gayle's Birthday Party

Sarah's Birthday Party

Back at Tall Pines Campground

2009-05-16T12:20:00.000-04:00

Well, our Journey for this year has come to an end, and we are back at the campground for the summer. We have lots of work ahead of us for this year, from finishing the bathhouse to putting the new sites up on the hill. One great thing that came out of our travels this year is that we've brought our friends Bobbi & Eric back with us. They are thinking about buying a campground and wanted to try working at ours before they made the plunge. We also have two other workampers coming this year to work in the store, Barb & Beverly. Hopefully we'll have a great season and everyone will have a good time at the campground.

Easter at Mema's, Logan's Kindergarten play

2009-04-09T12:07:00.000-04:00

Abby had lots of fun with Sarah & Logan looking for Easter eggs at Mema's. Kids are so cute when they are little and completely believe in something :)

We also happened to be down in Virginia when Logan had his premiere in his school play this year. He did wonderfully. Abby also got her first look at the inside of a school building, as Sarah took Abby on a tour of her's and Logan's classrooms.

Eddy Childhood Farm

2009-04-06T11:52:00.000-04:00

On the way back East we made a swing up thru Luverne, MN and saw the farm that Eddy had grown up on. The last time we were out there was about 17 years ago. I remember standing in the fields watching the wheat sway back and forth like the ocean, home cooked meals with Gramma Umland, searching for fireflies late at night and Tommy yelling out all excited that he had found the hugest firefly in the world when he saw Grampa Ed coming towards us with a flashlight.

Snowed in in South Dakota

2009-04-01T11:32:00.000-04:00

Well who would have thought that when Linda & Jake and us all decided to go camping in April in South Dakota we would have had, not one, but two blizzards! In fact, within the past week, we've hit THREE BLIZZARDS!! One in Colorado, then two in South Dakota. I'm pretty sure that it will snow regardless of whether we come out in January, April or August!!

Once they reopened the roads from the first South Dakota blizzard, we decided to stay at a nearby hotel in Rapid City since a second blizzard was forecast in another two days. The hotel was great with a beautiful indoor swimming pool, hot tub, arcade, bar and restaurant. Also, right outside the parking lot was a really cool 50's diner, with authentic 50's food and drinks.

In spite of all the snow, we still had a lot of fun. We ended up in Sturgis one night, went to an indoor water park, went out to dinner with Ellen, went bowling, went on a tour of a Black Hills Gold jewelry company, and just hung out. Unfortunately all the other education things that I had planned for the area were closed due to road closures.

Colorado with Family

2009-03-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

It was nice to see everyone out in Colorado while we were there. We enjoyed staying up at the cabin, going out for dinner with family, and hanging out with Linda & Jake. Abby got a chance to reconnect with cousins she only sees once a year or so, and we got a chance to have some family time.

Saratoga Springs, Fault Line, Redwoods

2009-03-20T00:25:00.000-04:00

Saratoga Springs Campground - a rushing stream running by your camper, the sounds of squirrels collecting nuts, nature all around, what could be better? Our last campground left a lot to be desired, and it is nice to have moved on. We are right on the San Andreas Fault Line, (http://geology.com/articles/san-andreas-fault.shtml) so it's been a great homeschool lesson for Abby, Zoe & Ayden to learn about earthquakes. We all decided to hike up to see the actual fault, but unfortunately we never made it as the earth had shifted too much and had created mountains where the trail once existed.

We did however get to see the Redwoods at a nearby State Park and learn all about the wildlife there.

Salt Lake City, Utah

2009-03-19T10:38:00.000-04:00

I've never seen a mirage before, but on the way out to Utah we saw the of craziest sights. As we were driving along it seriously looked like there was a huge lake on each side of the road, with islands and everything, but when we got out, it was just sand.

Abby got a chance to learn alittle about the Mormon religion when we went to visit the Mormon Tabernacle.

And we our friends Bryce & Steve and took the kids to the Children's Museum where the kids all put on a puppet show, climbed the rock wall, explored the lego and building area, got to go inside a helicopter, and lots of other fun stuff.

Afterwards we met some new FOTR friends, Billy & Tara and their family. They just bought a bus and are remodeling it and getting ready to hit the road soon. They have been keeping a blog of their preparations in hopes of making a reality show.

San Francisco area with friends

2009-03-14T23:00:00.000-04:00

San Francisco is a fun area to explore, and even better to do it with friends. We had met Bobbi & Eric at the FOTR Rally and knew they would be in the area, so we decided to hook up with them for a couple weeks and explore. I was also surprised to find an old high school friend who lived near San Jose on Facebook and enjoy a homemade pizza dinner at their house one night.

The Winchester Mystery House was built by the owner's of the Winchester Rifle & Gun Company, and when the husband died, the wife went crazy. Insisting that the spirits of the dead who had been killed by Winchester guns were haunting the house, she was "told" that they could be kept at bay if she just kept building. So she did. Stairways that go nowhere, doors exiting off the second floor with no way out, secret rooms, half finished rooms, etc (notice the door on the second floor in the picture above)

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk was a cool experience. The Harbor Seals slept and played in the framework of the docks, while starfish of all different colors made their home there too.

We also got to go to the Redwood Forest...

learn about the Golden Gate and Suspension Bridges....

have shrimp at Bubba Gump's on Pier One....

see how Boudin's Bakery makes their amazingly cool bread animals.....

and step back in time at Haight & Ashbury

Solvang, California - A Dutch Village in the U.S.

2009-03-05T22:54:00.000-05:00

Did we take a wrong turn somewhere and accidentally end up in the Netherlands?? If you can't afford the trip overseas, what better way to get a first hand education of a working Dutch Village than to visit Solvang. This small town is filled with authentic Dutch architecture, food and shops.

Pacific Coast Highway

2009-03-05T22:35:00.000-05:00

Sights along the Pacific Coast Highway

Lemon Picking, Dude Ranch, Harbor Seals on the Beach

2009-03-05T18:14:00.000-05:00

We left our friends in Hollywood and continued up the California Coast. Our first stop was a sweet little state beach just North of L.A. While we were there we decided to take a drive up some back roads. At the end of the first road that we came to, we ended up at a Dude Ranch sitting in the middle of nowhere. This place was really cool, with authentic cowboys, trail rides, a big great room with a huge fireplace, swimming pool, and cabins throughout. Exactly the type of place that you see on the TV shows! The owner of the ranch showed us around and had the cowboys teach Abby about horses. On the way back from the Dude Ranch, we passed by groves of ripe lemon trees, and stopped to pick some lemons for homemade lemonade that night.

See the trails in the sand in front of Abby? That's where just a few minutes before a lone Harbor Seal had been. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera and by the time we ran back to get it, he had run off.

I think out of all the amazing things I have seen this was by far the most touching. When we first saw the little guy I thought he was dead up on the beach. I gently touched his hind quarters with my foot and was surprised when he woke up and kind of hissed at me with his mouth opened wide in an act of aggression. I was kind of scared, and not knowing what he would do, I thought maybe we should give him a wide berth and let him be. But then I looked into his eyes and saw that he was just scared, not aggressive at all. I started talking to him like you would talk to a dog or cat, calmly and reassuring, until he began to respond. After a while he not only let me stay close to him, but actually let me pet him and nuzzled his head up against my hand whenever I touched his head. He was so soft, his eyes were so intelligent and kind, and being this close to something so wild, yet so tame, left me filled with wonder and appreciation.

Hollywood

2009-03-05T18:04:00.000-05:00

Well we didn't make it into the movies, but we did get to see all the glitz of Hollywood. Our friends Bryce & Steve, Kati & Vern, Joleen & Dave, and Pete & Rita all met downtown. Some of the kids went to the Jonas Brother's premier movie, others went thru Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum, we saw the footprints of the stars, and just generally wandered around. All in all I wasn't too impressed and I'm sure none of the REAL stars would ever be caught dead around all the tourist traps that overshadowed everything. We did miss the big event that night though, when Kati, Vern, Pete & Rita (and the KIDS!!) all somehow managed to get on the A-list and get into one of the hot nightclubs and meet the owners.

So-Cal with Friends

2009-02-27T16:42:00.000-05:00

"So, where are you going from here?" was the question that someone asked as we sat around the campfire on the last night at the rally. "Well," I said, "I think we're heading somewhere... sometime tomorrow... but, maybe not, I'm not sure". Hence the plan was born to head back South again, this time with new friends that we had met at the rally.

We stopped first at Oceanside where the kids scoured the rocks for sea life and loaded up on sand dollars, played in the ocean, watched the seals on the docks, and the guys got out the guitars and drums and jammed in the parking lot by the RVs. Although a pretty stop, the campground at Oceanside was horrible with so many rules and police patrolling thru it that it felt more like a detention camp than a campground. After a reprimand for opening our slides, a warning that we couldn't have chairs outside the RV, and a $245 ticket we were happy to move on the next day.

We headed further on down the coast to Carlsbad State Beach. We shared a space with Bryce & Steve and all of us had a great time building sand castles, kayaking in the ocean, swimming, making communal meals, and hanging out around the campfire. After a week at the campground, the group split up in different directions with some heading for Joshua Tree & Slab City while we headed North to Hollywood with Bryce & Steve.

West Coast Family's on the Road Rally

2009-02-19T16:30:00.000-05:00

FOTR RALLY

If I could have planned out a rally and put exactly the people there
that I thought would be the most fun, I couldn't have made it any cooler
than the California FOTR Rally turned out to be!

We had great fun meeting new friends...

Abby & Cassie Rose

Eddy & Jason, Abby & Auni

Hanging out with old friends....

Eddy, Vern & Steve

Pete, Steve, Rita, Bryce, Gayle, Eddy, Connor

CLICK HERE for More Pictures of our FOTR Friends

Playing music & having fun around the campfire....

Kati & Rita

Music on the beach

Abby playing the guitar

Karen, Steve, John, Gayle, & kids

Jason, Kara & Auni

CLICK HERE for More Campfire Pictures

Enjoying all the fun things there were to do...

Curtis's Music Class

Abby, Cassie Rose, Sierra & Auni blowing bubbles

Exploring Tide Pools

CLICK HERE for More Tide Pool Pictures

Abby & Winston playing in the hot tub

CLICK HERE for More Pictures of FOTR Fun

Visit more websites and blogs about the FOTR Rally

VISIT THE OFFICIAL FOTR RALLY WEBSITE - More Pics

The DeMichiel Family - Great blog, lots of pictures

The Robinson Family

Mali Mish Family

Calico Ghost Town and the Civil War Re-enactment

2009-02-15T16:28:00.000-05:00

What a Cool Place!!

We found out that Calico was going to have the Civil War Re-enactment so we packed up our bags and left Las Vegas so we could get there by the weekend. Although the Civil War didn't actually take place in California, it was a good opportunity to re-enforce what Abby learned in Virginia about the Civil War. Abby even got a chance to meet "Abe Lincoln"

Both the Union and the Confederate troops had set up encampments in the ghost town and the streets were full of actors in costume.

Plus, since Calico is actually a working ghost town, Abby was able to experience Pioneer life with the many activities they have there -

like leather working....

and making our own rope jump ropes....

and sitting in on class in the old school house

Yeah, Vegas Baby!

2009-02-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

The Volcano at the Mirage - Circus acts and amusement rides at Circus Circus - M&M Factory Tour - Fountains of Bellagio - Aquariums, Robotics & Trojan Horse at Ceasars - Lions at the MGM - Finding pearls in oysters - Gondola ride and dinner at the Venetian - lots of fun!

Things Abby learned:

how aquariums work
how robots are made
about the Trojan horse
how antiquing is done to make the wood look like marble
where pearls come from and about Oyster farms
all about lions
about the Eiffel tower
plus, she got to visit with her friend Taryn who lives in Vegas!

Things we did:

got a babysitter (Taryn's mom) and went out for our anniversary to the Venetian - the gondolier sang us songs as we rode down the Grand Canal in Venice, we kissed under each bridge, and we were serenaded at the Italian restaurant where we at dinner
very little gambling
same as Abby

Planetarium & Science Museum

2009-02-06T16:25:00.000-05:00

The Astronomy Club sets up their telescopes once a month at the San Diego Planetarium and lets people view the stars and moon though their high powered telescopes. This also happened to be on the day when a special Southern Stars planetarium show was put on. And it just so happened that we were in San Diego at the right time!! The show was really interesting and it was really cool to see the craters on the moon and the constellations close up after just learning about them.

Surfing!

2009-02-04T16:23:00.000-05:00

Yahoo!! Look at us go!!

We found a surf school while we were at the beach in San Diego and Pete, Christian & I all decided to learn to surf, while Dylan & Abby boogie boarded! An hour later, I finally was able to stand up on the surf board for an entire 30 seconds!!

Homeschool Days Legoland - BY ABBY

2009-02-02T16:20:00.000-05:00

Legoland was very fun because it was all made out of Legos, even the rides. Me and my friends, Christian & Dylan, and our parents got to go on a ride where you got to splash each other with waterguns and I didn't get at all wet. We also got to make race cars and solar cars out of Legos. It was lots of fun, and I won the race.

~ by Abby Bennett

Fun with Friends in the Desert

2009-02-01T16:18:00.000-05:00

What a fun adventure we have had since we hit Quartzsite, AZ!

The first night we were here we met up with our friends Pete & Rita and were surprised to also have Kati & Vern and family stop in to camp as well! We had lots of fun visiting with everyone around the campfire until the early morning hours. Morning came and Kati & Vern went on their way to Mexico, but our fun in Quartzite was just beginning. During our week there we met quite a few interesting people, checked out the RV show, flea market, and gem show, and just had a great time.

The following week led us to Yuma, AZ where we toured the Yuma Territorial Prison, and the Army Proving Grounds, picked lettuce straight from the field, learned all about the Army Parachute Jumpers (the kids even got to help fold the parachute)

and and from there we went on to the Hot Springs and up to Slab City and saw Salvation Mtn (both of which were in the movie "Into the Wild"). Salvation Mountain was awesome in an incredibly weird sort of way. The man who built it has been out in the desert paper macheing a mountain for God for 24 years. He uses tires adobe mud, tires to make trees, and paint. There are little rooms to sit in, bible verses throughout, and the whole thing looks like it came right out of Dr. Suess's "Who Ville". Definately the coolest/weirdest thing I've ever seen.

Heading West - Route 66

2009-01-22T16:14:00.000-05:00

One of our goals for this trip was to learn about the Historic Rt. 66 and take it whenever possible. That being said, I was surprised at how little of it still actually exists (apart from the interstate or the frontage roads) and is in drivable condition. But we did veer off whenever possible, and I even rode my bike for about 10 miles of in in Tucamacari. Abby was excited that we saw lots of buildings and places that were used for the filming of the movie "Cars", and even got to see "Mater" a time or two.

1st stop - Oklahoma Buffalo Ranch

After leaving Nashville, our first stop on the official Rt. 66 tour was a KOA buffalo ranch. Unfortunately it turned out to be rather hokey (only 1 buffalo), but we did get to eat buffalo burgers and wander through the Indian gift store.

Amarillo Texas Cadillac Ranch

After leaving the KOA early, we had all day to explore about a 150 mile section of Rt. 66. We didn't get a chance to explore Amarillo, but we did have a blast painting cars at the Cadillac Ranch. Bring your own spray paint if you go!

Glenrio - Rt. 66 Ghost Town

Having seen old "wild west" type ghost towns before, I was not prepared for Glenrio. This town was simply abandoned - furniture and tvs still in the buildings, jukeboxes still in the restaurants, household furnishings just left. It was strange to think the people just left, but I guess they did. We actually ended up seeing a lot of this on our trip - buildings with everything still in them but the people.

Route 66 left the main highway in Glenrio and traveled back through 19 miles of dirt road. Having come this far, we decided to go ahead and brave the dirt road in the RV. We only got concerned a couple times when we came across bridges which were technically not big enough to support us, but with a prayer and a scream we raced across and made it to the other side!

Tucamacari

Known as the town where many of the ideas for the movie "Cars" are from, Tucamacari was our big stop along Rt. 66 with a chance to explore a town that was actively trying to preserve the "Mother Road" history. Unfortunately, they are losing the battle. Like much of the rest of Rt. 66, Tucamacari has many abandoned and broken down remnants of the glory days of 66, and has actually restored some of the buildings, but the money is just not there. While here we saw many semi-restored hotels and restaurants, but we also saw many others that had given up and shut down. I took the opportunity of our overnight here to ride my bike along the original Rt. 66 through town and explore the downtown. The neatest thing was all of the murals in the town - each exquistely depicting scenes from the old West or the Mother Road. But even those fabulous pieces of art couldn't bring life to the town - the downtown was so quiet I could hear my footsteps while I explored old abandoned soda fountains, stores, and restaurants.

Painted Desert, Petrified Forest & Petrogliffs

Wow!! This was awesome! But you can't see them from the highway - you have to get off at the National Park to get there. Historic Rt. 66 used to run through the park, but the pavement has since been removed in order to return it to it's natural state.

Meteor Crater

50,000 years ago a meteor the size of a 6000 sq.ft. house hit the Earth and left this crater behind. We toured the rim of the crater, learned about the different layers of rock that the meteor disrupted, and learned about the meteor itself. Very interesting.

The Past Month

2009-01-20T16:11:00.000-05:00

12/7/08-1/20/09

Everglades
Junior Ranger Program
alligators vs crocs
swimming with the manatees
christmas trees with Kati and Vern (the LOUD Family)
meeting Bryce and Steve
Mom's to wrap presents
Seth, Becky's and Tom's for Christmas, saw Grampa Bill & Granny Kay, Aunt Sandy
saw Santa Clause
Yankee Candle - Abby made candles and learned beeswax and bayberry candle making
hike to Bash Bish Falls
Christmas in Virginia with Mema
Appomattax National Park - Civil War
Ice skating for Abby's Birthday
Camper to shop
Luray Caverns - caves, stalagtights, stalagmights
Nashville, TN - Country music hall of fame, learned about country music in the old days when Gommy was first born; Car Museum - saw lots of prototype cars - swam underwater, flying car, 3 wheeled cars, some tiny tiny cars (only 350lbs), car with engines on both sides, LARC a big huge vehicle used by the Navy, could go in water and on land, tires were 9' feet tall; car that made into a bed
Oklahoma - saw a buffalo ranch, Daddy ate buffalo burgers
Amarillo Texas - Cadillac Ranch - spray painted old cadillacs that were stuck nose first into the ground!
Drove on Rt. 66 thru Glenrio, NM, an old ghost town, San Jon, to Tucamacari (the town said to most resemble Radiator Springs in the movie cars). We saw old houses, cars, hotels, restaurants, we even saw Mater, Lightening McQueen, the Conoco gas station and the garage from Cars
Arizona - we went to the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert National Park. We saw rabbits in the Painted Desert. The petrified wood happened along time ago when the area was underwater and the volcanic ash interacted water soaked wood and turned the wood into Quartz rock. The colors in the wood are from different minerals which soaked into the wood during the petrification process.
Meteor Crater, AZ - 50,000 years ago a meteor about 150' hit the Earth and caused a big hole in the ground. The meteor was made out of mostly iron and was very very heavy
Flagstaff to Tuscan to Quartzsite, AZ - Beautiful snowy mountain ranges to cactus and desert plants

Bash Bish Falls

2008-12-30T16:09:00.000-05:00

What do you do in New England when the temperature in December is in the upper 40's? Go for a hike of course! And that's just what Debbie, Abby & I decided to do.

We had planned on hiking down from the top of Bash Bish Falls, but the trail was still way too icy, so we made our way up the 3 mile (roundtrip) trail from the bottom. Our hike brought us from New York to Massachusetts and then back again, through icy and muddy patches of trail, and to the waterfall itself. The falls were huge and the stairs down were covered with ice. Abby and I had on snow boots (no traction) so we almost didn't go down, but "Debbie The Brave" went ahead of us on the stairs and kicked the ice off each one so we wouldn't fall.

Abby made a snow puppy on the way back

2008-12-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

Christmas with the kids

I was so excited about spending Christmas with Seth, Becky, Faith & Tommy this year. Since we started traveling our Christmases have just not been the same, but this one was absolutely perfect. We made cookies for Santa and decorated them, cut out gingerbread paper dolls and colored them to look like people in our family, visited Santa, went to Yankee Candle and made Christmas candles, and just had a great time all around. And to add to it, Dad & Kay came down to join us for a few days over Christmas. I really enjoyed seeing them and was able to finally find the perfect gift for my dad. It was one of those "picture perfect" holidays where you wouldn't change a thing!

The Christmas Tree Carol - BY ABBY

2008-12-14T16:06:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm Abby. We helped Kati & Vern this week at a Christmas Tree stand. It was so fun. Me and my Daddy drilled the Christmas trees holes so they could get onto the stands. And, I got to help deliver the Christmas trees to people's cars. Also, I sharpied my dog Christmas colors. My friends helped me to sharpie my dog. My mommy and I, Miss Kati, Zoe, me (and maybe even Auvi) had a Christmas tree fashion show. We dressed up in Christmas trees and put ribbons on our hineys! We didn't have any power while we were there and we had to use the gererator. We couldn't watch any TV (all because of the stupid generator). But the only thing that was the worst was that we had to buy 5 gallons of water to use for dishes cause we were out of water.

Me and Zoe made a little Christmas tree and it's in our camper right this second. Also, I wanted to make a Christmas windchime, but I couldn't because we didn't have enough time because Kati & Vern's friends (Steve & Bryce) were coming over. I had a lot of fun with Steve and Bryce's kids. They usually stay out until 1 in the morning, but now they just stayed until 1 minute till 8pm cause they had borrowed their cousin's car and had to get it back. Our parents wrapped us up in the tree netter. We had millions and killions and jillions of fun!

Me and my mommy and one of my little friends, Winston, made popcorn. He has red hair like my brother! He was 4 years old. Me and Winston had a lot fun- in fact, I think he was the only friend I played with all day long!

Chicky-Chick-Chock,

Abby

Pirates in Paradise

2008-12-06T16:05:00.000-05:00

The Pirates in Paradise Festival was in Key West today. It wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be, and Abby got scared with the re-enactment so we had to leave early. But we did get some AWESOME hippy pictures of us on the beach! Be on the lookout for these on our Christmas cards!

Christmas Parade in Key West

2008-12-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

Christmas Parade

We got to be on a Christmas float in the Key West Parade. I had joined the Key West homeschoolers group and when I found out they were going to be in the parade we asked if we could join them on their float.

Truthfully I thought Abby would have fun with this (and she did - throwing candy and wavng like a little princess) but EDDY was actually the one grinning from ear to ear the entire parade route!! Turns out he had never been in a parade!

Kayaking and Key Deer

2008-12-01T16:02:00.000-05:00

If someone ever tells me we're going on a 6 mile kayak trip again remind me to check the weather first! Pat, Debbie, Eddy, Abby and I all went up to the Key Deer Island for a kayak trip out to see the stingrays and hopefully to see some of the endangered Key Deer. The trip out was against the current but not too difficult, but coming back the wind picked up to about 25mph and blew right at us! The waves were coming in over the sides of my boat, Pat and Debbie had to put Abby into their 2 person kayak, and it took everything I had just to get back. Everytime you would stop paddling to rest the wind blew you back and you lost all the ground you just covered. My back hurt so bad by the time I finally got back. But, on the flip side, we did catch fish, saw some stingrays, got to investigate a mangrove swamp up close and personal, and got great exercise. It was an experience, and I would definately do it again, although I think I'd take a couple of pain pills before I started! Oh, and we did get to see the Key Deer!

Fishing

2008-12-01T16:01:00.000-05:00

Fishing and Shelling

Bluewater Key RV Resort

2008-11-27T16:00:00.000-05:00

The most beautiful campground ever!

We were suppose to leave from the KOA Friday to Leo's Campground, but we went down to take a look and none of us wanted to go there! So I went online and found the campground that I had actually seen on the travel channel - Bluewater Key RV Resort. All of their sites are owned (each site costs upwards of 1/2 million dollars!) but when the owner's aren't there they rent them out! We got a beautiful site, right on the canal, with a huge fishing dock, tiki hut, and patio set for $88 a night (which for Key West is really good). I can't wait to go!

Abby at our new campground with the fish she caught right off our deck!

She's been fishing for 6 hours straight now!!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

We had Pat & Debbie over to the KOA for Thanksgiving. Eddy, Pat, Debbie & Abby hung out in the pool most of the day and amazingly dinner turned out good (except for my Key Lime pie which was actually more like Key Lime soup). I miss Seth, Tommy and my Mom. I'm glad we're going up there for Christmas. Holidays just aren't the same without family.

Duval Crawl

2008-11-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

I guess you have to do the Duval Crawl at least once in your lifetime and yesterday was my day! We started with lunch (and drinks) at this neat dockside restaurant which had a swimming pool right in the middle of the restaurant (Abby swam before and after lunch) and made our way down Duval Street stopping at each place with music! Three (or four?) drinks and many tee shirt shops later, we headed over to the beach to watch the sunset.

Summerland Key KOA

2008-11-22T15:57:00.000-05:00

Well, we've moved on from Long Key and are gradually making our way further on down the coast. We will be at the KOA for about a week. I miss my campsite right on the ocean, but on the flip side, this one does have a very nice pool.

Snorkeling

2008-11-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

Snorkeling

Abby had her first real snorkeling experience the other day. She did great! We went out to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and were lucky enough to see some fantastic fish, including lots of reef fish, a nurse shark, a couple baracuda, and of course, beautiful coral. Even I learned a lot as I took Abby thru the coral aquarium when we got back - coral is made from living animals and their skeletons actually are the coral, it takes 500 years for it to grow, it can only live in waters within a 5 degree temperature range, and is easily damaged by pollutants.

Abby's new Myak

2008-11-20T15:54:00.000-05:00

The raft was just too hard to pull behind Eddy's kayak, so in comes the Myak! We took it in thru the mangrove swamps, saw jellyfish, and did some fishing.

Kayaking, Fishing, and Chillin'

2008-11-19T15:52:00.000-05:00

Kayaking, Fishing, and Chillin'

Our first week in the Keys has been spent at Long Key State Park. The campground is right on the ocean and we have been having a lot of fun! We've been camping with our friends, Pat & Debbie (the workampers from this year at our campground). Both Pat & Debbie are into fishing big time and have started teaching Eddy and Abby to fish. Eddy has been buying tackle like there is no tomorrow, but he wants to make this a hobby that both him and Abby can enjoy. Eddy, Debbie & Pat caught about 4 Jack Cravalle the other day and boy were they good eating! Abby has caught a couple smaller grunts so far, but nothing we could keep.

We took Abby out on the kayak and taught her how to paddle - big mistake!!!! About a half hour after we brought the kayaks in and tied them up, Eddy looks up and thinks he sees me back out on the kayak, but it's Abby!!! No lifejacket, just happily paddling out to sea! Pat and Eddy had to go rescue her, and I can tell you none of them was happy when they got back! Hopefully she won't try that one again.

Other than Abby's little kayaking adventure we've been having a lot of fun. Abby's been learning all about sea life. We went to visit the Theater of the Sea and it was great! It's a lot like Sea World, only much smaller. We went to dolphin, sea lion, turtle, alligator, shark, and bird shows. At almost all of them Abby raised her hand to volunteer and got to help with the training. She even got to hold a nurse shark! She told me today she wants to be a Marine Psychologist when she grows up so she can train dolphins. She has also been walking the beach every day in search of new sea life that she can have "for a sleepover". So far we've had 10 hermit crabs, a seahorse, a conch, and a bunch of Box Elder bugs spend the night. She's learned about mammals, fish, gills, types of crabs, habitats, endangered animals, pollution, reproduction, and so much more I can't even remember it all!

Jetty Park, Florida

2008-11-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

We've made it to Florida and are back at Jetty Park again (actually we're only 1 site away from where we were last year). Abby's been playing on the climbing tree, we've found 3 giant horseshoe crabs already, and have met some great people! Abby made friends with the boy across the way (turns out they RV for 3 months each year) and we all had the Browski's (from FOTR) over for dinner. What a cool family they are! Rich was a big help at helping me learn more about my IPod.

Sea Turtle Hospital

2008-11-14T15:49:00.000-05:00

Georgia Sea Turtles

The Georgia Sea Turtle Hospital on Jekyll Island turned out to be very interesting and all of us learned a lot! We spent the whole day there, looking at various exhibits over and over again, and got a chance to visit with the injured sea turtles as well. I had called ahead and spoken with the educational director about possible homeschool opportunities and they actually changed one of the scheduled shows so that Abby would learn more about the turtles! They asked for volunteers (we already knew Abby was going to be picked so that was great) and the lady doing the show dressed Abby up as a sea turtle, complete with flippers, beak, carapace, lungs, etc. It was a great learning experience and well worth the few dollars admission!

Homeschool this week

2008-11-12T15:48:00.000-05:00

Homeschool this week - The Crabby Adventure

Abby has had a lot of fun this week learning about all sorts of sea life. Since she found the crabs on Cape Hatteras she's really enjoyed finding out more about oceanography and marine life. She has also enjoyed mini golf at pirate cove, lunch at hard rock cafe; Underwater 3D adventure at Imax theater; trip to Aquarium, learned about swordfish, sharks, prehistoric creatures.

Some of the things she's learned are:

Crabs - There are lots of different kinds of crabs (beach crabs, hermits crabs, spider crabs, land crabs, over 45,000 types), each have 8 legs plus 2 claws and water crabs have gills so it can breathe underwater. Baby crabs are call zoeas and are only as big as a flea, then they turn into a megalops which have large eyes, then finally finally into an adult crab. Crabs molt about 27 times in their life when they outgrow their shell.

The biggest crab is the Japanese Spider Crab which has 8 legs as big as a man and 2 feeding claws, lives in the Pacific Ocean over by Japan, and are omnivores so they eat both fish and plants

Some vocabulary words: carnivore, herbavore, omnivore, invertibrate and vertibrate animals

Homeschool the past couple weeks

2008-11-05T15:46:00.000-05:00

Language Arts

Book to Movie Comparisons:
- Nimm's Island - the book is very different from the movie
- Horton Hears a Who - compared with movie, discussed moral in book of how you should never let people make you doubt your beliefs, that you should take care of those who couldn't take care of themselves, and about believing in yourself

Reading/ Language
- 100 Book Challenge: 28 so far
- Phonics, rhyming words, antonyms, homonyms, synonyms

Writing:
- Postcards to Sarah, letter to Mema, typing on the computer

Math:
- Patterns with rubber band grid
- Measuring with centimeters, inches and feet
- Adding diameters

Science:
- Caterpillars, habitats, life cycle, cocoons
- Box Elder bugs
- Crabs, shellfish, ocean
- Time4Learning - Living vs. non living, all about Ants, all about Ardvarks

Social Studies:
- Peanut processing plant - factory tour to see peanuts from the farm to the bag
- Crab processing - workers show how to take the crabmeat out of the shell in a commercial fish market
- Election coverage
- Family traditions - pumpkin carving and fall dinner at Uncle Bill's farm

Geography/ History:
Maryland - C&O Canal, Canal Boats
West Virginia
Virginia - cotton fields, peanut fields
South Carolina - Cape Hatteras, beaches, islands, peninsulas, hurricanes, tropical depression, wind speeds

Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, NC - BY ABBY

2008-11-05T15:44:00.000-05:00

Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, NC - by Abby

It was rainy and windy when we got to the Outer Banks. The wind was so much that you could actually fly! My dog Jewels, when we got to the top of the dune for ocean, she really flew! We couldn't even get to the ocean the first day because it was so windy and the sand was blowing so hard. There was a flood the next day - and oh my golly! it was big time windy and rainy, even more than yesterday, which was not so bad. We thought we were going to tip over in our camper when the wind was blowing so hard. We got to go down to the ocean today because the wind was coming from the other side and the sand wasn't blowing in our faces. The ocean waves were soooo big! They were about taller than my dad, which he is like 11 feet tall, and much, much taller than me cause I'm only 4 feet long! The waves were so totally awesome! The roads were closed from flooding and it was too windy to leave, so we had to stay here another night.

~by Abby Bennett

Junior Ranger Program - BY ABBY

2008-11-01T15:42:00.000-04:00

The Junior Ranger Program was awesome! I got my badge for the C&O Canal. I had to do 5 activities. I choose color a picture, draw a picture of a lock and explored the lock in person, do a maze, find all the things at the visitor center, and looked for wildlife on the Towpath. I found an owl, a butterfly, and a bird. I also found a fuzzy black caterpillar which I thought a Wooley Bear, but it turned out to be a Gypsy Moth.

~by Abby Bennett

Caterpillars - BY ABBY

2008-10-29T15:41:00.000-04:00

Caterpillars - by Abby

We found 7 Wooley Bear Caterpillars, and 1 green one with a red head that we don't know what it was.

~ by Abby Bennett

On the Road Again!

2008-10-23T15:40:00.000-04:00

On the Road Again!

We are back on the road again and off to Hagerstown MD! We will be working at the Haunted House again this year! Fun, Fun, Fun!

Abby is Reading!

2008-09-26T15:39:00.000-04:00

Out of nowhere Abby has started to read! Over the past year we've been working with her on phonics and sounding out words, but she has been so resistant that I haven't really pushed her too much. Then two days ago I called the school to see what type of reading program they are using and they mentioned they were doing the 100 book challenge in addition to their regular program. When I told Abby about it she was very excited and wanted to do the challenge also. Since I hadn't heard her really read much without struggling I thought she wouldn't be able to do much more than picture books, but she has already read 27 simple sight word and word family books. She is still sounding out and guessing a lot, but she is definately reading!

Busy Summer

2008-09-08T15:38:00.001-04:00

Labor Day is over already! It's been a while since I posted and I figured now that things have slowed down a bit, I might as well catch up on the blog. The summer went by so quickly! Abby had the best time with all of our themed weeks - Pirates & Princesses, Retro, Disney, Country Western, and so much more!

This summer I really saw her begin to bloom and make some good friends. She met a little girl named Autumn who lives just up the road, and her friend Juliet and her seem to be getting along much better this year as well.

We also had a great time this year as well. We met the greatest new friends - Pat and Debbie - and have had such a good time hanging out with them. We're planning on meeting up again with them this winter in Florida, and we actually hope to see Pete & Rita and Kati & Vern sometime as well.

Our New Camper - BY ABBY

2008-05-01T15:36:00.000-04:00

We got a new camper this April. It was hard to get a new camper cause I didn't want to go out of ours, but my Daddy did and my Mommy did. So we got a new one. It was not really cool at first. But now it's cool. I like that it's bigger than the other one.

~by Abby Bennett

School & Work

2008-04-15T15:34:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that the winter is almost over and that camping season starts in just a few weeks. Even though kindergarten is technically suppose to start until this fall, Abby has pretty much completed the K-Program. She has developed a real love of learning and we are always looking up new things on the internet. Her latest sustained interest is in space (triggered directly by the space shuttle launch in February). She loves to hear all sorts of books about space and is very interested in learning about the planets, stars, and galaxies. Lately our bedtime stories have been non-fiction facts right out of the encyclopedia about space -- so much for Goldilocks! We've also started reading the Little Princess and just finished Tinkerbell. She loves the Little Princess book and has decided she wants to read more books by Frances Hodgsen. Oh, and guess what! She got a letter back from President Bush from the time she wrote to him in November. The war memorials really affected her when we went to see them in Washington DC and she had written to the president about stopping the war in Iraq. I never expected for her to get a reply, but one day in the mail was a letter for her in the mail from the White House. He wrote to her directly and also sent her a picture of himself and Mrs. Bush. I was impressed.

RV Shows

2008-03-31T15:31:00.001-04:00

Our RV shows went well this March. We went to the Syracuse show and since Binghamton got canceled at the last minute we substituted Turning Stone instead. Overall we handed out over 8000 brochures. In the past Abby had been front and center in helping to hand out the brochures and talking with people about the campground, but this year she didn't want much to do with it. Instead I had her help out at the kid's craft table. That she liked, but after 2 years of RV shows I think the new has worn off and she even got bored with this.

Seth & Becky's Wedding

2008-02-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

Seth and Becky's Wedding

Wow! Just Wow! The wedding was absolutely beautiful! Becky looked like a princess and Seth the handsome prince. I was so impressed with the place that they had the ceremony, it turned out to be the perfect Country Wedding if I had ever seen one. The kids even got a picture of them and the wedding party in front of the big barns to complete the picture!

January & February 2008

2008-02-28T15:25:00.000-05:00

Well these two months have taken us from Florida to the Caribbean to Massachusetts and back to New York! Talk about busy! We've had such a great time and met the greatest people. Some of the things we've done over the past two months include:

The FOTR Rally in Jetty Park

Disney, Epcot, Animal Kingdom & Splash Mountain

Watching the Space Shuttle take off
Tour Kennedy Space Center

Renaissance festival

Coral Castle

A Carnival Cruise - our 25th Anniversary, renewing our vows, zip wiring and mud baths in St. Lucia, riding the surf in St. Martin, and touring the countryside by train in St. Kitts.

MY SON'S WEDDING!

December 2007

2008-01-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

Well, we have just returned from a great visit out to Colorado and are on our way down to Florida. Christmas was spent in Virginia and after a lovely time seeing my mom and sister, we traveled West to visit with Tommy and go to my nephew Zach's wedding. It was great to see Tommy and all of the Colorado relatives, and to make it even more special Becky & Seth flew out to join us as well. We bought blow up mattresses and all crashed on Tommy's living room floor - I have to say I was a bit worried about how that would all work out, but it ended up being really fun!

Our first stop on the way to Florida is actually a detour into Pennsylvania to pick up our new puppy (Brittany is no longer with us ). She is a Sheltie and will weigh about 18lbs full grown so I think she will be a good size for us in the RV. Abby is learning all about puppies and how to housebreak and train them - if she had her way she'd have the new dog enrolled in dog shows by the time she was 6 months old!

No Phone, No Internet, No TV

2007-11-15T15:23:00.000-05:00

November 15, 2007

Nature Walks, Homemade Pasta & Reading Out Loud

Well the phones and the internet have been pretty spotty since we got here to the KOA (and especially this week), and I have started limiting the amount of TV Abby can watch, so we've had to think of things to do instead. It's definately harder than it sounds! Plus, add in the rain almost every day and the fact that all her campground friends have moved on, and you've got the recipe for LONG days. Yesterday I even found myself hanging out in the campground store answering phones when I wasn't even scheduled to work! I'm so used to having 15 hours of work to do each day that I just don't know what to do with myself. I've thrown myself into the homeschooling, but you really can only read so much on teaching kindergarten and Abby can only spend so much of the day learning new things. Oh, by the way, she's now sounded out and read 5 easy readers by herself. It's still very new, but she is so excited that she can "read"!

The Bee Movie

2007-11-08T15:21:00.000-05:00

November 8, 2007

A Surprisingly Educational Film!

I wasn't too thrilled about seeing this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the movie entertaining for both kids and adults, but it was actually very educational. Abby learned all about bees, hives, worker bees, pollination and what would happen if there were no bees (all vegetation dies!) and how things are all tied together. I went onto Scholastic when I got home and got these lessons, if anyone wants to use them- Scholastic Bee Movie Lesson Plans

Washington DC with Friends

2007-11-05T15:20:00.000-05:00

November 5, 2007

This is WAY to fun to be school!

The Museum of Natural History, the Art Museum, Jefferson Memorial, feeding the pigeons in the park, Washington Monument, White House, popcorn from a street cart, Reflecting Pool, WWII and Vietnam Memorials, a train ride, Arlington Cemetery, watching the changing of the guard, dinner at a Blues BBQ place on the way home - this was way too much fun to call school!

Eddy, I, and Abby and our friends Rita & Pete and their 7yo twins, Dylan & Christian, took to the city today for a fun, but very educational adventure. We rode the train in (Abby's first train ride - she was so excited), caught the Tourmobile to see some of the sights and explored the rest of the city by foot. Truthfully, I hated the cemetery and the War Memorials, but that's just me. The changing of the guard was really cool though. I had never seen anyone move in such a regimented way. You seriously would have thought that they were mechanical! The rest of everything was great too! I bought Abby a camera a few weeks ago, and she went crazy with it - especially in the Art Museum. It seems she loves art! and I got the chance to see some really famous pieces!

My Movie Premier

2007-11-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

November 4, 2007

I got to be in a MOVIE!

So I was just hanging out, working in the store here at the campground, and turns out a film crew is suppose to shoot a horror movie here (because of the Haunted House I guess) and a couple of the actors didn't show so they asked Eddy and Me! I am the barmaid and Eddy plays one of the monsters. You only see his costume, but I got a pretty good part with lines and everything! You just never know what will happen next in around here!

Working in the Haunted House

2007-10-31T15:15:00.000-04:00

October 31, 2007

Working in the Haunted House

What a great time we are having here!

The Hagerstown KOA is known for their Haunted House and I was so glad that we got to be a part of that again this year. I played Mabel, who is a main character in the plot, and Eddy was the new character this year, Guts. Abby was suppose to hang out in the snack bar, but she decided to stay with Eddy instead. We all had a blast scaring everyone!

It is so nice to be able to see all John & Judi again, plus all of the old friends we left behind when we left here to buy the campground. John & Judi are such great people. Before we bought Tall Pines Campground in NY we worked here in 2004. What they taught us has been irreplacable! We came here hoping to find out some of the basics of running a campground and walked away not only with the knowledge of the business, but with great friendships as well. This trip down has been especially great since we not only got to visit with old friends, but made new ones as well - Rita & Pete and their 7yo twins. They are also full-time RVing and homeschooling and our families just clicked!

Hitting the Road

2007-10-28T15:12:00.000-04:00

October 28, 2007

Jump Aboard! This bus is leaving!

Finally! Tall Pines Campground is now officially closed for the winter and we are ready to roll! It was such a fun year at the campground, but I can't say that I'm not ready for a vacation! I have finally gotten through the list of 10,000 things that all need to be done to get the campground ready and to get us packed up into the RV for the next 6 months. It is amazing how much there is to do so that we can leave- winterization, security, packing, and the million other things that somehow show up all in the last days before you leave. This will be our official first year of homeschooling Abby so in addition to our clothes, office stuff, toys, and books, we had to save 3 cabinets just for homeschool stuff and games. I signed her up at the beginning of the month for the online homeschool Time4Learning but I have so much more stuff that I want to do with her than just the computer.

Well, Here We Go! First Stop Maryland

Our Family's Travel Blog

2007-10-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our Family's Travel & Homeschool Adventure Blog

We are Eddy, Gayle & Abby - the Campin' Family. From May until October we reside in NY state where we own Tall Pines Campground (www.TallPinesCampground-NY.com) and from October until May we hit the road in our RV for what Abby calls "Our Journey". We invite you to come along with us for our "Off Season Adventures" as we enjoy what the U.S. has to offer, meet new people, try new things, and using the world as our classroom road school Abby.

Grab your bags, the RV is waiting!