Richmond and North Carolina

Our time in Richmond was just that……rich with Civil War history and time with family. Alex and I both got to spend brief, but meaningful time with Paul and Tanya et al, Stella and Hart and Betsy. I was able to see my cousins, Carrington and Jack, and meet their significant others. The weather was beautiful and we were able to promise Anna “No more museums for a while” and mean it.

We made our way to North Carolina where I had a little practice commandeering the van solo while Alex made a quick trip to Ft. Benning for business. After two days in Charlotte, Alex joined us again and we made our way into the mountains again for some climbing and a visit with my cousin, Sam. The Blue Ridge Mountains reminded me a little of VT. But the mountains are higher and the rock is granite, so the climbing was awesome.

But this is really just a timeline of our last week. The real adventure presented itself as a crescendo of little repairs to the van that fortunately Alex was capable of fixing. We had leaky valves in the water system, rattling batteries, an unidentifiable clang that happens every time we hit a bump the van doesn’t like.

On our way to the Petersburg Battlefield we had the thrill of experiencing a tire blowout. Fortunately we weren’t traveling that fast and Alex kept us from careening off the road. A friendly police officer, who fortunately did not hear the litany of “Po Po, Be Cool!!” from the kids, helped us get the thing changed and gave us a lead on some local boys who sold good tires.

All of these things, I believe, were preparing us for the grand finale of last night. On a late night push to Savannah, we found ourselves on the side of the road with a van that was losing power. As we were waiting for roadside assistance, I realized all the things I’ve been grateful for this week. First and foremost, I’m grateful for my capable husband. I always knew I loved that he wasn’t a “Yellow Pages Man” but this week he proved himself more valuable than ever. I’m grateful for the GPS, nicknamed “Gina”, a gift from my parents, who’s kept us from ever getting too lost and who’s helped us find the nearest WalMart, where the camping is free and the bathrooms are usually clean. I’m grateful for the amazing camera we have, a gift from my in-laws, and the fact that I’ve managed to keep it with me at all times, something I never do.

I am grateful that the days we have chosen to climb have been free of rain, and that my children, good little soldiers that they are, can sense when Alex “gets that way” and starts his approach to the climb. They complain only a little. But most importantly, they never deny him an opportunity to climb by refusing to go any further. And they are such troopers that they always manage to find a cave and make up a game at the base of the climb that keeps them happy and entertained for hours.

So after five wonderful days, we’ve managed to get dirtier than any four people should be allowed to get. We have found ourselves in the middle of South Carolina, in a Mayberry kind of town, in a little hotel with hot showers, TV with a remote and two comfortable beds. We’ll get clean and have a good rest. And I’m grateful for that.

                                     Smores in the Blue Ridge Mountains

                                                Alex looking for a climb

                                  Tired Anna after keeping up with Dad

                       Playing archeologists in the cave at the base of the climb

                                               Gettin' towed

                                         Breakfast at the dealer

                                      Trying to create fun, still at the dealer

                                   Our main mode of transportation now

Washington DC and Seneca Rocks

Washington D.C. was a mixed bag of cherry blossoms and crowds, museums and security checks. The days I remember from my eighth grade class trip of running up the Capitol steps into the rotunda have long passed. It never occurred to me that since 9/11, the place would be locked up so tight with security. It definitely changed the whole feel of the place.

Of course, it was just as beautiful as I remembered it. The monuments and changing of the guard moved me as much now as they ever did. Once again, Anna had to be patient as Jackson explored every corner of the Smithsonian. She definitely found things that interested her, but even I got tired watching Jackson move slowly from floor to floor, exhibit to exhibit.

After two days, we were ready to move again. Making our way toward Seneca Rocks, WV, I realized we’d be wildly swinging from one end of the spectrum to the other. The absolute quiet of Applacia was quite a contrast from the cities of New York and DC. We timed our visit perfectly and had two days of 80 degrees and sun.

Seneca Rocks consists of a single rock formation that sits above a tiny town. The 10^th Mountain Division used it as a training site during WWII and tried to blow it up. Fortunately for climbers, they did not succeed.

Seneca Rock -  the U shape in the middle is called the Gunsight.

It is amazing to see and impressive to sit upon. The thinness of the rock did not do much to calm the kids’ nerves and the first day, we definitely pushed them beyond their comfort zone. Chalk it up to one of our parental missteps. So the second day, we spent on a top rope and were able to see a lot more smiles, a lot more fist thrusts after successfully reaching the top.

     First day - Anna's excited to get going

               Getting to the Gunsight

                Hot and happy to be down

                 Alex setting up the toprope

               Anna on the toprope

                     Jackson on the toprope

When the rain came on the third day, we decided to head toward Richmond to see family and take in some more history. Anna puked only once driving out of the mountains, so all in all it was a success. 

NYC

We’re into our second week on the road and haven’t had the urge to strangle each other yet. A 19’ camper can go from feeling like a cozy nest to a prison cell depending on someone’s mood. Fortunately our spirits have been high and we’ve seen some great stuff.

Our first stop to NYC was centered around meeting with Carl Mehling, the collections manager for fossils, reptiles and amphibians at the American Museum of Natural History. We have a lovely guidance counselor at the Fletcher Elementary School, Ms. Chisholm, who was able to introduce us to Carl through a mutual friend. So after spending about 5 hours following Jackson as he meticulously combed every inch of the AMNH, Carl took us behind the scenes to the lab where they prepare the fossils they’ve collected from all over the world.  We watched one of the scientists working on the skull of a dinosaur that looked like a minotaur, a new species recovered from Mongolia.

It was fun to watch the back and forth, questions and answers between Carl and Jackson. Carl was fantastic, playing 20 questions with Jackson, and seemed to really enjoy sharing his work with us. And Jackson surprised me yet again with what he actually knew and the things he could identify in the fossil samples we saw. Anna, who was feeling under the weather, was an absolute trooper, never complaining as she watched her brother, hour after hour in all his glory.

                                                    Jackson and Carl

While we were in NYC, we were fortunate enough to stay in the city while the camper was parked at a train station in NJ. Sarah, aka City Mouse, was generous enough to give us her apartment in the city while we were there. I always love my visits with Sarah and wish we could have had more time together. But after visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island for Anna’s Flat Stanley project at school, we decided to head to Washington D.C.

    Anna took this one. Freezing with sideways rain. Awesome!

      

                      Top of the Empire State Building

Our Traveling Table

About six years ago, my husband, Alex, and I started talking about what we wanted to do when the time came for him to retire from the Army. I think we were missing the early days of our relationship when our time was completely our own. We traveled. We climbed and skied. We had a great time.

Then Alex and I stumbled onto our house, and tripped and fell into parenthood. Fortunately we have been blessed with two wonderful kids who seem to be patiently teaching us about how to be parents. Over the years we’ve weathered time apart, with Alex far away for long periods of time, either for climbing or work, sometimes both. We made it through a 15 month deployment and its aftermath. But one thing we’ve been able to establish, despite all our missteps as parents and time apart, is a routine of sitting down together at our family table.

So we’ve decided to take our family table on the road. We are celebrating the end of 26 years of military service for Alex. We’re also trying to buy back a little bit of lost time together as a family. And to be honest, we’re just doing it because we can. We figured out a way to make it work and we’re indulging in a little adventure, a little wanderlust.

Our original idea of roadschooling our kids for a year after Army retirement has been whittled down to four months, a time frame which seems more doable considering jobs waiting for us at home and our modest savings. So we feel like it’s time to take some time for us again and indulge a little bit as a family.

Our plan is to have no plan. We have a rough itinerary based on a general direction. First we’re headed south down the east coast to Florida, then to the Southwest before it gets too hot. I imagine we’ll head north towards Washington then make our way back to VT by the end of July. We’d love to hear from you if you’ve been somewhere or seen something in your own travels that you found particularly interesting.