Day 43-47 The Final States

On Saturday, we left Boston and drove through most of New York to get to Nigeria falls. Then we drove another hour to a Walmart for the night. You could still see ice in the river that is the American and Bridal Falls portion of Niagara. Canada is on the left of the picture.

On Sunday, we saw the Nathan Whelam family and had dinner with then in Chippewa, Michigan. We had too much fun with them that we forgot to take photos.

On Monday, we saw the Grotto of the Redemption in Iowa. A grotto is a rock/shells formation. This one tells the story of Jesus, fitting for Easter week!

On Tuesday, we began our drive through South Dakota but our truck broke down and we had to send it the dealership in Sioux Falls. We stayed there for the next three days, waiting for the people to be done with the truck. We stayed in a Yogi bear park. We were so glad that they were there when we needed it. When we stayed there we spent the first day just relaxing and waiting for the call from the dealership. The next day my dad decided to take the moped and go talk to the people face to face. He got a car so we would be able to go around in. That day we saw a movie and got groceries. The next day, they called us and said our truck was done and we were ready to get on the road. Turns out the fuel filter, computer and tie rod where all replaced. We left Yogi around 4. The day after that we saw Mount Rushmore.

After that we drove many hours to get home. On Saturday, we drove through South Dakota, Wyoming, and stopped in Montana. Today, we are driving all way home and spending Easter with the family. We enjoyed the trip but are ready to be home. Happy Easter to you all!

Day 41-44 Massachusetts and Rhode Island

The New England states exude a relaxed rich historical heritage. We started off our tour of this area in Cape Cod. Simple gorgeous weathered shingled cottages Grace the small coastal towns along scenic HWY 6A. We enjoyed lobster rolls and fish and chips, some of the best I’ve eaten. At the completion of our trip I, Amy, will post a food review of our favorites across the states and this stop will definitely be on it! The last pic of cape cod is of one of the cranberry bogs dotted across coastal Massachusetts.

Our next day of touring landed us in Boston. Boston feels like a comfortable sweatshirt. We walked the trail of freedom that showcases several historical sites in the city. Below are pictured a few of our favorites: the USS Constitution, the USS Cassin Young, Bunker Hill, Paul Revere’s North Church and the beautiful cobblestone streets.

We loved having my niece Lucie grace us with her bubbly easy going spirit and were sad to see her go! After dropping her at the airport we stopped in at Boston College to catch up with one of my former CPC students and dear friend’s son who is studying pre med there, Jacob Schley.

Our tour of New England was completed with a morning breakfast run to Rhode Island on our way to Upstate New York. We stumbled upon this sweet bakery located in a functioning dairy farm! Yum!

Day 36-39: New York

On Friday, we dropped Zoe off and picked up Lucie from the airport. The next day we took my long awaited ferry ride visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Personally seeing the Statue of Liberty was my favorite part of the entire road trip.

On Sunday, we went to where the twin towers fell. We also saw St Patrick Cathedral and the trade bull. Then we rode the subway to this little Italy part of the city called Greenwich Village and had the amazing pizza at Bleecker Street Pizza. My dad wanted to see the precinct 6 police station because he watched a show called BlueBloods that was filmed there.

On Monday, we went to Times Square and looked around. Then we went to the grand central station and had lunch. Then we saw the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building. There were some pretty amazing sites to behold in up town New York!

On Tuesday, we drove onto Boston and we enjoyed the fun filled campground amenities. More to come on that in the next post.

Days 33, 34 and 35- Pennsylvania

The last few days brought a big dose of war history with a trip to the battlefield of Gettysburg and Valley Forge. To take in pivotal sights where two American wars were fought brought a new appreciation for our forefathers and their commitment to stand and also die for what they believed in. May we be people today with such honor and conviction.

The church, Washington Memorial Chapel, above was positioned on the Valley Forge grounds by a pastor who wanted to honor George Washington’s Christian heritage. This same man organized his congregation to transform this location into a historical site and they did so in the early 1900’s. This church was breathtaking.

Zoe and Libby enjoyed our next stop in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Here we toured the Hershey factory and even took a shot at creating our own chocolate bars.

We could not bypass the beautiful rolling hills of Lancaster County with it’s covered bridges and pockets of past century’s architecture.

The last two pictures were taken at the old Hopewell furnace that was on site at French Creek State park, where we set up camp this week. The furnace used to produce iron for 112 years from 1771 until 1883. We were surprised at how advanced an operation that this was.

Sadly, we will say goodbye to Zoe tomorrow and send her on her way home but what a lovely time we have had learning together about our nation’s history.

Day 28-32: Washington D.C

While we were in Washington D.C. we picked up Zoe and toured throughout the town. The first night, while we waited for Zoe to arrive, we saw the Marine Corp memorial and my parents felt the importance of it due to my brother Wilson being a Marine. Down below is a picture of the marine memorial, Iwo Jima.

The next day, we started out walking through the 9/11 memorial benches at the Pentagon and learned about why they were placed there. Personally, that was my most impacting part of D.C. After that we went to the Arlington Cemetery and went to the tomb of the unknown soldier. Later on that day we went to eat at old town Alexandrea. Then headed home to our camp site. Down below is a picture of my dad at the grave sites and the cherry blossoms which were amazing while we were there.

On Sunday, we went to the mall, by monorail, and went in the art museum because we were waiting for the other museums to open. Next, we went through the air and space museum, which was filled with people, then we went to the Indian museum, which was nice and peaceful. After that we ended our day at the Bible museum, and saw a play that was formerly on Broadway. The play was called Amazing Grace and it was a musical. Down below is a picture of my dad with his favorite art piece, he says the it remind him of himself. Ha! Then there is a picture of all three of us at the Bible museum.

The next day we cruised around several memorials on scooters. We saw the Vietnam and Korean War memorials, the Lincoln memorial and the Washington monument. We also went through the Holocaust museum and learned more about that. Then we saw the White House.

Day 25, 26 and 27 Virginia

History is rich in the history triangle of Virginia. Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown are all living museums. All of which gives a representation of their intended time period.

Jamestown portrays the settlement of the Virginia Company governed by John Smith in the early 1600’s. Here we were able to wander the settlement replica and talk with actors who were fully versed in this era.

Yorktown portrayed the Revolutionary war battle and did so very well. Wondering the actual battlefield, as well as interact with a mock up of a regiment’s base camp highlighted the revolution war. You can see jared soaking up the battle history as he walked where soldiers fought hundred’s of years ago.

Williamsburg, my favorite of the three, bustled with restaurants, stores and beautifully restored architecture of the colonial period. We enjoyed a meal at a pub that has been operating for almost 300 years!