Thursday April 29, 2010 - Portland, Maine

To date we've been through 18 states in the last two months. That's pretty good, I figure. But there has been the temptation to try and do more. To go for volume, rather than quality. For instance, where we were staying in Massachusetts is only about an hour north of the Rhode Island border. It was tempting to make a run across the border and add that state to our list of visited ones on this trip.

We ultimately rejected that option though. We hate to get into the mindset of having to go someplace just to say we've been there. And the point of this trip isn't numerical - it's not to try and be in as many places as possible just to say we've been there. We're enjoying seeing what we want to see and getting there by the most reasonable routes possible. If that means adding another state to the list of those we've passed through or visited, so be it. If not, well, hopefully we'll have another opportunity sometime in the future to see the states we've missed.

After all, we're completely ignoring the entire southeastern portion of our nation. In just a few days of driving, we could add ten more states to our list. Hmmm...

Never mind.

Portland, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean were particularly appealing to me though, and so we had decided early on that we would spend one day driving the two hours to Portland and another two hours back. I'm glad that we did. For more reasons than simply bringing our states experienced total to 19. Though it accomplished that as well ;-)

After several days of rain and snow, the sun was out at times during our drive there and back. We stopped in the little town of Alton Bay, NH, to let Caedmon have some fresh air. The wind was blowing so hard, he certainly got plenty of fresh air. Fresh, cold air that whipped up the waves and whitecaps on the little bay next to us. Couldn't resist a few pictures of us happily freezing!

Portland was a cool little place, if a somewhat weather-beaten one. Go figure. Gena talked with the proprietor of a little shop who indicated that winter temps are routinely below zero, though this has apparently been a more mild winter. The wind was blowing very strongly, and it had a biting chill to it along with the smell of salt water.

We went directly to the area of town along the coast. Chock full of restaurants fronting more dilapidated buildings that seemed more directly concerned with the bringing in of seafood. We settled on a very small and laid back diner for lunch. Alec discovered he likes clam strips, which was exciting to us. Caedmon decided he liked lobster, which is pretty much tough luck since he's not likely to get a taste of it again until he's old enough to pay for it. Gena enjoyed some award-winning fish chowder with her clamstrips. I opted for the obligatory Maine lobster.

On the way back to the van we bought postcards and some treats from a delicious local bakery. It was a great day!

Wednesday April 28, 2010 - Weirs Beach, New Hampshire

We awoke to snow.

Nothing that would stick, but snow all the same. In the mountains around us it is whispered that they got over a foot of the fluffy white stuff. For the better part of the morning it alternated between snow and rain. A nice late-April surprise for desert-folks like us. The kids finished their schoolwork and lunch while I worked in the next room. Classes wrap up this week so there is lots of grading to get caught up on.

After lunch, we headed out for a drive in the drizzle. We found a bookstore a couple of towns over which was a good pretext for the drive. We found a great book on the American Revolution that Alec is quite delighted with. Great to see him diving into history instead of being dragged through it by his whack-o father.

The kids enjoyed playing with the Thomas the Train setup the bookstore had, but were hankering for something more exciting. We headed to the Kellerhaus , about a block from where we're staying. It was $1 ice cream cone day - woohoo! The kids and I enjoyed home-made Cookie Monster cones, with crushed cookies embedded in a bright blue vanilla ice cream. Gena opted for the more serene cherry & chocolate chunk.

We returned home to begin preparing dinner. Somehow, it had gotten a lot later than we realized. Our goal for the day was to go to a bluegrass/Gospel jam on the other side of the lake from us in Tuftonboro at 7pm. We figured it would be worth keeping the kids out a little later for the experience. I started cooking around 5:45pm, which is when we realized that the jam started at 6pm, not 7pm.

Dilemma.

Dinner (local sausage, ciabatta rolls, and sauteed mushrooms, onions and green peppers with mozzarella cheese) was halfway done. The kids were grumpy and hungry. It would take us 45 minutes to get to the place. We had no way of knowing if it was still on for tonight or had been cancelled for some reason.

Do we go, or do we opt for the mundane option of cooking the rest of dinner and missing out on the jam? We waffled for several minutes back and forth. But in the end, we decided that we both really did want to check it out, and that we weren't going to get another chance here.

We forced the kids to pee then socked and shoed them. I stuffed the food in the fridge for Thursday's dinner, we jumped in the van, grabbed a few $.49 McDonald's cheeseburgers and drove around the lake. I was relying on visual memory from Google maps to get us to the place. When we were nearly there (by my calculations) I began to worry that perhaps, being over 40 and all, my memory might not be as good as I liked to think it was at times.

However, at the last minute - there it was. The Old White Church. Lots of cars around it. And when we got out in the dusky blue, the sound of music. Literally, not the movie. We were a little disappointed to see the sign out front indicating that tonight was country jam, not bluegrass/Gospel, but what the heck. We weren't going to turn around and drive home defeated.

The church was a large square building. The outer door led us into the ante-room where coats could be removed during snowy and muddy times. I peeked in the inner door, and saw the front of the church lined with musicians, and the traditional box pews about 1/2 filled with all manner of folks at least 30 years older than us.

Awesome!

We slipped in as inobtrusively as possible. But it was clear that these folks weren't used to having visitors. Especially visitors with kids. Every head in the place turned around to watch us make our way to a rear pew and settle in. At the end of the current song, the man sort of leading things encouraged us to come sit up front so the kids could see. We appreciated the invitation, and that would have been cool - if not for the fact that everyone could watch our kids the whole time. Our kids are great, mind you. But Caedmon had been a real grump and stinker all day, and we weren't going to bet that being at the front of a church building was going to magically cure that. We stayed put, and returned the many smiles and nods we received as best we could.

It was amazing. The interior of the building was completely covered in the old tin ceiling type panels. These had been painted a uniformly beige-ish color. Two large black pipes for heating ran through the building from front to back. There were several small jars out for donations, and there was coffee and light refreshments at the front near the musicians.

It seemed that each musician in turn got to select a couple of songs to do, and everyone joined in. They were close to the end when we arrived, and a few folks from the audience got up and called the tune and key and then sang it. Skill levels were all over the map, and it was wonderful. The audience - which probably doubled in size after we arrived - would sing or clap along. If a particularly popular song was picked, there was a smattering of applause before folks settled in to enjoy the music.

The kids were thrilled when a woman who identified herself to Gena as "Big Mouth Mary" encouraged the kids to go up and get cookies. The only problem was that neither Gena or I wanted to accompany them up to the front of the church to do so. It was clear that the regulars were fascinated by the young(ish) family. The kids lobbied us for a while, but I assured them that they could do it all on their own. I gave Alec a few dollars to put into the contribution jar right next to the cookies, and gave him instructions on what to do. All three of them marched up there and we watched the smiles ripple through the building. The kids were even more excited when Big Mouth Mary brought them another one each a few minutes later.

There were over a dozen musicians. Most looked like locals. The emcee played a big bass. There was an electric bass guitar, multiple acoustic guitars, a banjo, a dobro, a harmonica, a fiddle, a mandolin, and a tiny, aged woman on an electric keyboard of sorts set to sound like a piano. I had fun pointing out the instruments to Alec & Caedmon. I didn't recognize most of the songs they played, but here and there was a familiar tune, and we left after they played "Will the Circle Be Unbroken", which I knew. They were preparing to start back with the first musician in terms of requests when we decided we probably ought to go.

We stayed not quite 90 minutes of the three and a half hours the event lasted. By the end, Alec could pick out the bass line and join me in "bowm, bowm, bowm"-ing along to it. But it was late, and a long-ish drive home.

We were so glad that we went. The air was redolent with woodsmoke as we exited the building to head back to the van. The night sky was mostly midnight blue edged with light blue on the western horizon over the pine tree tops. It was brisk and beautiful. There were a few flare-ups in the car between Caedmon and his siblings. But things settled down. We laughed most of the 30 miles back to our place. The kids didn't get to bed until after 9pm, but they fell asleep just fine. And we have wonderful memories of this tiny, old church in a tiny, lakeside community. We have the memory of an older man leaning over his wife to tell us as we were leaving "Come back again. It's lots of fun."

I wish we could. We know it is. And I pray that they find some folks to carry on the beautiful tradition when they aren't able to any more. It was beautiful to listen to that building as we got the kids settled in the car to depart.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - Weirs Beach, New Hampshire

Laundry day.

A chilly, overcast day. The kids finished up their school work, we had a quick lunch, and then we piled into the van. Four miles later we dropped Gena off with laundry and a couple rolls of quarters. I headed back the other direction with the kids. Since we played mini-golf on Sunday, the kids have been obsessed with the idea of going back to Logs of Fun. However, like much of the rest of the area, Logs of Fun appears to be closed during the week.

Many of the local businesses appear closed still, some with signs indicating that they will re-open on May 1. I'm sure this area is going to be pretty hoppin' again come Friday evening or Saturday. During the summer it must be packed. I like this visiting in the off-season. You feel like the whole area is holding it's breath, waiting for the right moment to exhale the smells of lakeside summer for fair-weather visitors to catch scent of and begin their pilgrimages.

But for us, the hearty, the intrepid, the off-season bravers of in clement weather and mostly-closed down townships, we get to see the locals in their local-ness. Like a backstage pass to the theater six hours *before* the curtain goes up. We aren't really here for the attractions...but because it's here. And it's cheap. Cheap is important.

After explaining to the kids for the 8,343,853 time that Logs of Fun is not open, I surprised them with a visit to a similar place just up the road from our place in the other direction. I had seen the add for Funspot in the local paper we received at check-in, and it indicated they had bowling. So as the rain began to come down with some assertiveness, the kids and I tumbled out of the mini-van and sprinted to the beckoning glow of Funspot.

In addition to regular bowling, they had candlepin bowling, something I had heard of but never actually seen before. Guessing that it would be easier for Mika and Caedmon, I opted for candlepin. What fun! After figuring out that each frame gives you three shots instead of two, and that you bowl two frames at a time, we had a blast. It was indeed easier for Mika & Caedmon to handle the balls, which are about the size of a large grapefruit and weigh probably three pounds or so.

After this, we spent a few moments sampling some of the classic arcade games Funspot has collected. And they've collected a lot of them. There were more than a few moments of wistful nostalgia as I ran into old friends that I used to spend hours with in high school, but haven't seen since.

We collected Gena and the clean laundry and headed back to our place. It was a good day!

Monday, April 25, 2010 - Weirs Beach, New Hampshire

As in Pennsylvania, we're staying at a Wyndham time-share property that we're renting for the week. The kids are excited that there are two small (twin?) beds in their room. This means that there's no need for anybody (Caedmon and Mika) to sleep in the same bed with anyone else. This is pretty exciting to them, as Alec determined some time ago that he was too big to sleep in a bed with a brother or sister in it as well. Each night the kids rotate, with somebody in a sleeping bag on the floor between the two beds. I think the sleeping bag is almost more exciting to Caedmon and Mika than their own bed - which makes the rotation issue pretty easy!

We didn't do too much Monday. We drove around to check out laundromats, since there are no washer/dryer facilities either in our unit or on the grounds at all. An inconvenience, but fortunately a rather small one. We found a laundromat a few miles away that looked like it would work.

Afterwards we headed back to the grocery store to check out dinner options. I had drooled a bit over the seafood selection, so we decided to make it a seafood night. Mussels were $2/pound, so I picked up a few pounds of those as well as some cod fillets. Mika and Caedmon had both really enjoyed the mussels they had sampled in Boston, so I thought we were in good shape.

I've cooked mussels and clams before, as well as a variety of other seafood. But something didn't turn out right, and the mussels I steamed were a bit on the runny/squishy side. They were also much larger than the ones you normally get in a restaurant, which was enough for Mika and Caedmon to decide they didn't really like them very much. The cod I cooked up pretty much disintegrated into little pieces, so overall dinner was sort of a bust. I was pretty disappointed. The only good thing was that it hadn't cost us very much, so the loss was more bearable, and I'll give it another shot before we leave New Hampshire.

Sunday, April 25, 2010 - Bedford, Massachusetts to Weirs Beach, New Hampshire

I went to find out if there was an LCMS church near us in Bedford, MA Saturday night. Oddly enough, the entire synodical web site was down for maintenance from 6pm Saturday night until 6am Sunday morning. Which meant that I couldn't locate a congregation for us to worship with. Kind of frustrating. More frustrating still that I feel guilty for missing church three weeks in a row. Granted, it's not totally my fault that we missed this morning or the week previously, but I'm a Lutheran, and as much as we rave about grace, we love us some good old fashioned guilt as well.

We were happy to leave behind our less than enjoyable hotel in Bedford and hit the open road again. We stopped in Concord, New Hampshire for a bite to eat and a leg stretch for the kids after a brutal hour or so on the road. Talk about spoiled! Another hour or so brought us to the lakes region of New Hampshire. It was a beautiful, wooded drive the entire way, broken up only a couple of times by larger towns. It seems as though for much of New England, you'd never know that there were people living somewhere off the freeway, as only the larger towns are big enough to really snag your attention as you drive through or past on the interstate.

As we got within about 15 miles of our destination, our directions (Google maps) became rather confusing. Or rather, the roads became rather confusing. I think we drove in circles for several miles before finally stumbling upon the proper road. It hasn't happened often on this gargantuan journey so I suppose I can't complain!

We arrived well before check-in, so we drove a few blocks back down the highway to a mini-golf place. It's the first time we've played miniature golf as an entire family unit. The kids had a blast - it was sunny and probably around 70 degrees with a nice breeze coming in off the lake. Gena and I were a little competitive with one another - all in good fun of course. I started out impressively, only to falter later in the grueling 18-hole course. Gena started slow but got much stronger in her strategy. Amazingly, we tied at 57 strokes apiece on the 35 stroke rated course. How's that for compatible?!

We headed back to check in and begin settling into our unit. We're staying roughly on the shores of Lake Winnepesaukee, which appears to be the largest lake area in New Hampshire. Driving into the area, there were lots of motorists and motorcyclists on the road, enjoying the sunshine and the last of the weekend. I can only imagine what this place must be like during the summer. We were surprised at how much development there is in the area - far more than our last stay in Pennsylvania. Almost every square foot of lake front property seems to be taken up by cottages, cabins, condos, and every other imaginable form of lodging. We certainly won't lack access to amenities of pretty much any stripe.

New Hampshire is one of those states where liquor can only be purchased from state-run stores. I Googled the nearest one (I am *so* grateful for reliable wi-fi signal in our unit instead of having to find a local coffee shop or sit in a rec center someplace!) along with the closest grocery store and headed out to stock up. The kids were able to enjoy their Sunday evening tradition of popcorn and brie cheese, along with grapes, crackers, and a few other comfort foods. Gena and I splurged on sushi that I picked up later that evening after the kids were asleep. Delicious! I think we're going to like our week here in New Hampshire.

Saturday, April 24, 2010 - Boston, Massachusetts Part II

Saturday evening we headed a few miles south to Waltham and Gena's cousin, Emily. She hasn't seen Emily in the last 20 years or so. We've done this several times on our trip - reconnecting with someone we haven't had much or any contact with recently - and they've all been good experiences. So we were looking forward to the evening, particularly because of Emily's well-known cooking skills!

The kids were occupied for almost four hours with Emily's bunnies. We sat in the backyard and sipped wine while the kids occupied themselves with freeze tag and bunny observation. They particularly enjoyed feeding the bunnies fresh greens that Emily had brought out for them. Two of the three bunnies are very social, but the third bunny stayed inside so as not to risk bunny fights with all of the added excitement.

We later enjoyed a lovely pasta dish and salad, followed by a yummy yogurt cake with homemade blackberry sauce. It was delicious, to say the least. Emily was a very nice hostess, the kids were well behaved, and the bunnies were very patient. A good evening all around.

Saturday, April 24 2010 - Boston, Massachusetts, Part I

We were up and about a lot earlier than usual, so we decided to make the most of it and head into Boston to see a little bit of the city. While there are plenty of historical things to see, we realized that we have yet to figure out the magic formula of translating interesting historical sites into elements of interest for our kids. Thus, rather than take a stroll down the Freedom Trail (or any appreciable portion of it), we headed to someplace that might be interesting enough to hold their attention - Faneuil Hall.

Downtown Boston was about a 20-minute drive from our hotel in Bedford, MA. The website for Faneuil Hall had provided directions to a parking garage, which is where we headed. Fortunately, Gena remembered *before* we pulled into the parking garage that our clearance is a bit reduced, thanks to the car top carrier we're sporting. So I began looking for an alternate parking option. Amazingly, we found a metered parking spot right on the street nearby. More amazing still, we found ourselves accidentally within a block of the National Park office for historical Boston, and about three blocks from Faneuil Hall itself.

As I came out of the National Park office with a map, there was a tour group across the street, with a guide dressed in full colonial garb, explaining some important historical event that transpired on that portion of sidewalk. Some sort of massacre or other. I thought the kids would be interested in the man's lively talk and information, but they weren't. Not even the funny hat was enough to snag their interest. So we headed off.

Fanueil Hall is a fairly large outdoor and indoor market complex. Lots of small and not-so-small shops and dining establishments. There's a fairly cheesy rip-off reproduction of the Cheers set, and other sorts of stalls and actual stores to choose from. We walked around for a while, grabbed a bite to eat a couple of blocks away, and snapped some photos. The kids were particularly enamored with statues, so we have pictures of them with statues. Of course, my efforts to explain the historical and political significance of the people the statues commemorate was widely lost on the kids. I suppose this is good practice for their teen years.

We headed back to our hotel around 3pm to freshen up before our dinner with Gena's cousin, Emily. I'll make a post about that when I can upload those pictures.

Friday, April 23, 2010 - Hawley, Pennsylvania to Bedford, Massachusetts

After a quick breakfast we headed out from Hawley. It's a 4.5 hour drive to Bedford, MA. We stopped at a rest stop in Connecticut for another famous 'picnic lunch in the van'. That's where the pictures were taken. Then it was on to Bedford, which is just outside of Boston to the Northeast.

The drive was pretty straightforward, yet we saw/experienced no less than three near accidents on the trip, the result of bizarre East coast drivers doing unexpected things at odd times with their vehicles. It will be good to leave this area, methinks. I remember that driving in Boston is sort of extreme at times, and this isn't a good prelude to it.

While Gena had an unpleasant evening trapped in a small hotel room with grumpy kids, I had the opportunity to have a bison burger and a couple of beers with high school friends of mine. They had lots of recommendations on what we could do in Boston Saturday earlier in the day. Not sure what we'll end up doing, but something fairly laid back. Gena certainly deserves a relaxing day! We're on for dinner at 4:30pm with her cousin. Should be great!

Thursday, April 22, 2010 - Lake Wallenpaupack

It sounds more exotic and distant than it really is. This is the lake that was pretty much across the street from where we were staying. We took an hour on Thursday afternoon to go and see it. Alec was less than enthused, but changed his tune markedly upon seeing all the rocks on the beach that he could throw into the water.

The kids were fascinated by finding spiders under the big rocks, then with target practice at a piece of driftwood on a rock out in the water. It was fun to see them so excited about their experience at the beach. It was a beautiful day, but there was a brisk wind along the shore. The evening was spent wrapping up the packing in preparation for our 'early' 10am departure. It's been a good time here, we hate to go. But we look forward to having dinner with Gena's cousin Emily, in Boston on Saturday night.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - Hawley, Pennsylvania

Another day spent fairly relaxed. It was supposed to rain but I don't think it did until the early hours of Thursday morning, if then. Gena took the kids to the grocery store after stopping by the rec center where I go to do my work (since it's the only wi-fi access on site). The kids are excited by the old arcade games, air hockey table, ping pong table, and pool table the rec center has. Alec is definitely obsessed with video games (which I can empathize with), and was eager to try Ms. Pacman.

He had tried it a few days ago, with the median time of each game being roughly around 40 seconds. At a quarter a pop, I was pretty reticent to continue feeding the machine, but I gave him some pointers by playing a game while he watched. This seemed to improve his median game time to around 45 seconds, and after a buck or so in quarters I cut him off. Caedmon and Mika played a bit on the air hockey table, but need a lot of practice there as well. I showed them a game of pool and helped them to shoot, but there wasn't much interest. Mika & Caedmon are too short still to really hold the cue and shoot.

We had a repeat of last night's dinner since we had a ton of spaghetti sauce left over. The kids were thrilled to eat noodles again. It's near the end of the semester, so the courses I'm teaching online will be done on 4/30. The crunch of grading final papers & tests, and then turning my attention to getting the World Religions class I'll be teaching this summer online in order. Thankfully we should be back in St. Louis in enough time for me to more comfortably access the Internet for that work!

It's hard to believe that our week here is almost over. It's been a very relaxing place. At times Gena and I feel guilty about that. We're not the uber-sightsee-ers. We like to go and get a feel for a place, and aren't overly concerned about seeing everything possible. What we needed as a family was some downtime after the pressure of DC and NYC, and that's what we've found. We're grateful for the blessing of a calm environment with more room in it.

I've booked us at a hotel in Bedford, MA for Friday & Saturday night. Tighter quarters again but it will only be for a couple of days. We have a dinner invitation for Saturday night from Gena's cousin, Emily, who lives nearby in Waltham. I have tentative plans for dinner or drinks with a couple of my high school buddies who live in the area Friday night. Should be a good balance of socializing before we leave Sunday for New Hampshire.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - Bushkill Falls, Pennsylvania

Tuesday was beautiful. The scattered showers of the weekend were gone, and the temperature was up to the low 60's. Gena decided that an outing was in order, and pegged Bushkill Falls as the destination. After all, how can you pass up a place that claims to be the "Niagara of Pennsylvania"? Exactly. I don't know either.

The kids were a little less enthused, but with the promise of riches at the end of the ordeal, they were relatively manageable. The one major setback we suffered was going the completely opposite direction because of some fundamentally messed up understandings on our part about what constitutes east and west, how to read a map, and how we got to our current locale in the first place. I'm still not sure that I understand how I could have been so completely messed up on directions, but fortunately a U-turn and a little forced laughter solved the issue and we were soon at Bushkill Falls.

The kids enjoyed the very well constructed timber path that wound up and down the sides of the valley the falls tumble through, as well as over the lower and upper portions of the falls. Although there are eight falls in total that you could see, we only saw two of them, opting for the 45-minute hike rather than the 2.5 hour hike. Along the way we tried to sprinkle some of our vast knowledge of the outdoors, botany, Native American culture, and whatever else we could think of. The kids were less than impressed with us, regardless of how much they enjoyed climbing steps and looking at lots of water. They were, however, greatly impressed with the cherry flavored Italian ices that turned their tongues blood red. Go figure.

We enjoyed a truly fantastic home-made dinner of spaghetti. We had picked up some local sausage (no preservatives or sulfites, woohoo!), and we used some tomato sauce and some salsa I had made the day before. Turned out pretty darn tasty with the addition of some thick-cut mushrooms. A glass of regional red wine (the Walter S. Red on this page), bread & salad rounded out the offering. Yum!

Monday, April 19, 2010 Redux - Hawley, Pennsylvania

It turns out that we're staying practically on the banks of the largest lake in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania - Lake Wallenpaupack. I'm not sure that this is significant in any way, but I thought I'd share my vast knowledge. The Poconos region of Pennsylvania is a major destination for both commuters from Philadelphia and New York City, as well as a vacation hot spot for the same folks. It certainly is beautiful. I can't even imagine what it must look like in the fall when the leaves change. Hopefully, I won't have a chance to find out!

Bible time with the kids each day has taken on a more fixed routine. I've 'borrowed' the words and lyrics to our favorite Bible-oriented kids CD - Why Not Sea Monsters by Justin Roberts. Once again we're beholden to our friends Gary & Christine, who first introduced us to Roberts almost eight years ago and his CD Great Big Sun. The guy writes clever songs with simple, catchy tunes. We love the Why Not Sea Monsters CD because he combines these musical elements with Old Testament stories. The kids can sing along to Bible stories, and they love it.

There is a New Testament CD as well, but we haven't listened to that as much. The Old Testament CD has some hauntingly beautiful tracks on it (Make That Two, Where Were You?, Ruth 1:16-17), as well as songs that the kids like to sing (Giddy Up Gideon, The #1 Fellow, Nothing Much in Tarshish). We can't recommend the CDs enough, and it's nice to have them since all of our Arch books are in storage in Camarillo due to space constraints in our Mini-Van of Doom.

Since I've been lugging my guitar across the whole country, it's nice to actually feel the fingers beginning to hurt from actually playing it a little each day. We sing a couple of the songs the kids choose, and then I ask them all to name someone that they want to pray for. It's great to be praying daily for the family and friends (and pets!) we've visited or left behind in the last few months. Story-wise, we're working our way through the Old Testament, and today we wrapped up Deuteronomy.

It started out with the story of Moses bringing water from the rock. I told them how God was disappointed in Moses' disobedience, and the consequence was that Moses wouldn't lead the Hebrews into the Promised Land. Alec wanted to know what happened to Moses, which provided a nice segue to the end of Deuteronomy. The kids were pretty impressed that God buried Moses Himself.

The stories have been good the last few days - manna in the desert, wandering in the desert, water from the rock. In our own wanderings it's reassuring to look back to how God provided for His people in their wanderings - how He always has provided for His people in their wanderings. Sometimes our wanderings are physical, traversing a region or a nation in search for a home. Sometimes the wanderings our spiritual, emotional, intellectual. He's there in all of them. He has promised that He will never abandon us, and we should always take that seriously. It's just harder to remember when we're in the midst of our own personal wilderness. Oddly enough, that's when we need to remember it most. It's nice to know that in singing with children and sharing the Bible with them, we as parents and grandparents are fed and sustained as well.

God is so good!

Out of Order - 4/17 & 4/18 - Hawley, Pennsylvania

Saturday and Sunday were pretty relaxed days for us. That was part of our intention in coming here - an intentional shifting into low gear after two weeks in higher-gear mode. No more pounding the pavements to see monuments and skyscrapers. Just time to relax as a family, regroup, and re-energize.

The place we're staying is very nice. I don't know if it's the best deal available, but it's a better deal than anything else we've found and it suits our particular family needs to a T. The site we stumbled across is from Wyndham, and in particular we stumbled across a portion of the site that advertises available units in their worldwide resorts that are available for great prices. Thus, we were able to secure this two-bedroom condo with two full baths and a fully equipped kitchen for less than we could stay in a relatively decent hotel. No brainer ;-)

The site updates availability every other week, and I'm sure that the rates fluctuate greatly as we enter the summer months. But for now, it's great. We leave the Tanglwood Resort on Friday, and will spend the next week at another property in New Hampshire. Again, in the middle of nowhere, but that's sort of what we're looking for at the moment. It's nice to enjoy simple, home-cooked meals again!

Caedmon - Monday April 19, 2010 - Hawley, Pennsylvania

The view coming in our front door.

I had fun at the Statue of Liberty. I rided on a bus and a train and a boat! I don't know what else to say. Love Caedmon.

Mika - Monday April 19, 2010 - Hawley, Pennsylvania

This is the living room area and the kitchen.

How are you guys? I love you very much. I've seen Washington DC! I've seen the Statue of Liberty! We went to the Statue of Liberty - we went up, up, up. We got to the Statue on a boat. I loved it! Bye guys! Love Mika.

Alec - Monday, April 19, 2010 - Hawley, Pennsylvania

We are having very much fun! We are staying in a hotel. It has stairs, two beds, and two bathrooms. I've learned how to play checkers. When we went to see daddy, there were a lot of bugs! They were called 'black bugs' and they fly. They bother people - but they don't bite me. We went by a big lake. It's almost summer. I can't wait for summer because it's my summer break! I don't do any school on it! Love, Alec.

Friday, April 16, 2010 - Newark, New Jersey to Hawley, Pennsylvania

We spent a leisurely morning Friday packing up and heading out. We left the hotel close to noon, with a goal of getting to nearby Springfield, NJ and a Barnes and Noble to use some gift cards. The kids each got to select a new book - which they were thrilled with! We also picked up the board game Sorry! One of our goals has to begin playing games as a family. We taught them the domino game Chicken Foot in St. Louis, so we decided we needed a new game. We've actually played a variation on this before, as a variation on Sorry! is a tradition in my family from my days as a wee lad.

We grabbed lunch and hit the road for the two hour drive to Hawley, PA. By the time we arrived in this rather isolated area of northeastern Pennsylvania, it was drizzling rain. It continued to rain through most of the night and into the morning hours, which was glorious.

Our place is *very* comfortable, and I'll post pictures tomorrow to give you an idea of the arrangement. We're grateful for a place with a little more space, and a week of nothing but resting, playing games as a family, catching up on some school for the kids, and perhaps some walks in the woods or along the lake. After more than a week in DC and NYC areas, a little country living will be a nice change of pace.

Wednesday & Thursday, April 14 & 15, 2010 - New York City, New York

Kids in Central Park

Basking on a rock in Central Park

Central Park Carousel

Fountain Shot

The Beastie Goys? Flakes on a Train? Subway hopping, regardless....

Water taxis are so cool!

One of the cool things Gena noticed during our outing on Tuesday to Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty is that there were water taxis apparently making runs between the harbor attached to Liberty State Park and the oh-so-close New York City skyline.

Turns out that's exactly what she saw. And the cost for this little joyride across the Hudson River/Upper New York Bay was a fraction of the cost of other transportation options we had attempted (other than the bus). So Wednesday morning we drove back to Liberty State Park and took the New York Water Taxi across. It was awesome! Reminded me a little bit of the vaporettos in Venice. The kids were thoroughly entranced. We benefitted from practically no other folks taking advantage of this approach to the City, which was very nice when struggling with a stroller, backpack, and three kids.

We didn't have a lot of things we needed to see in NYC, but we came up with a short list:

• Central Park
• World Trade Center Site
• Times Square
• Grand Central Terminal
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Empire State Building

Our goal for Tuesday was to take the subway up to Central Park, then back down to Times Square and possibly the Empire State Building. We got off the water taxi at the pier near the World Financial Center. Which happens to be pretty much right next to Ground Zero for 9/11, so we were able to take an elevated walkway over West Street and see the construction going on.

As we set out for the subway station, we came across the Amish Market, a glorious dining and shopping site with an incredible array of yummy food. We had a great lunch before heading out for our big city adventure. We found the Chambers Street subway station and bought fare on Subway 1 uptown, getting off successfully at the Columbus Circle station right outside the southwest corner of Central Park. We spent an hour or so walking around the southwestern portion of the park. The kids were able to ride the Central Park Carousel.

But the kids were also restless. We decided to try and make our way downtown again and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to have dinner at Grimaldi's Pizzeria.

Did I mention we didn't bother with a map of NYC?

Other than visually scanning the major features via Google Maps, we didn't have anything actually in our hands to guide us on our quest. We took the subway back to the Chambers Street station and struck out in what I thought was the right direction - south. We ended up at Broadway and Wall Street, which was a tad off. We cut back over to the east, but ended up too far along the Bridge to actually get onto it. The kids were pretty tired by this point. We walked back up under the bridge looking for a pedestrian access point, but it was pretty clear that we were going to have to walk quite a ways further. Even if we could find it and get across, getting back was going to be murder - and we had an 8:30pm deadline to be back for the last water taxi back to Liberty State Park.

So we reluctantly let go of our hopes of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and settled for having seen it. We had dinner in a greasy pizza joint and walked back towards the financial district. We stopped again at the Amish Market to pick up some goodies for breakfast the next morning. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were all pretty exhausted.

Thursday we did much the same thing. We headed directly to Times Square, which I really can't adequately describe without overworking the words wow and amazing and unbelievable. It's even more incredible in person than it looks when you're watching Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest or whomever is doing the New Year's Eve ball drop thingy. It was packed enough on a Thursday afternoon - I'm not sure I'd really enjoy being there with thousands upon thousands more people.

To be completely touristy, we ducked into the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Service was poor - which is what I remembered from my previous visits to other Hard Rock Cafes. The food was good but overpriced - but it's really the environment and atmosphere that you're there for. As a former music buff, it's always cool to see stuff that the Beatles wore or the guitar that Paul McCartney played. Not as impressive to see Courtney Love's guitar or flyers from Marilyn Manson concerts but hey, there's no accounting for taste, right? ;-)

We sat in Times Square for probably 30 minutes or so after lunch. The kids were once again pretty much done with the whole walking-around-a-big-city-thing. Reluctantly, Gena and I agreed it was time to call it quits. We skipped the Empire State Building and Grand Central Terminal. Those will have to wait for next time. We had a dinner of fresh fruit and cheese and crackers back at the hotel, which the kids loved - along with getting to just sit around and watch television instead of traipsing across New York City.

Someday Gena and I will hopefully get to come back and see some more stuff. For this time and place in our lives, though, it was exciting just to be here and see a little bit of it. To remark at the incredible diversity of peoples and languages and fashions. That's enough for now. At least, it will have to be.

Tuesday, April 13 2010 - Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty

We awoke and set out for Liberty State Park, New Jersey. Although Mapquest's directions were a bit skewed, we managed to find it without too much difficulty. The park adjoins a small harbor in addition to the main landings used for tours to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Ellis Island was the first stop - a massive set of buildings, only some of which have been turned into a museum. We were informed that 12 million people - mostly Eastern Europeans - passed through this entry point from the last decade of the 19th century to the middle of the 1920's. Over 100 million US citizens trace their roots to someone who came through during this immigration period.

The museums include items that people brought with them, clothing that has been donated, and firsthand accounts by people who remember passing through Ellis Island. Tons to see and hear.

We reboarded and went next to the Statue of Liberty. Though we couldn't go all the way to the crown, we could go up to the top of the statue pedestal. There were a few lines for security - I can only imagine what it must be like during the summer crush of visitors. We were scanned for weapons both before we embarked on the tour from Liberty Park, as well as before entering the Statue pedestal.

We climbed 156 steps up to the top of the pedestal - and the kids climbed them as well, which was great! The view was impressive, to say the least. The kids really enjoyed seeing the Statue of Liberty, and have since talked about wanting to go back and see it again. Perhaps in another five to ten years!

We were pooped when we got back to the van and found our way back to the neighborhood of our hotel. The last adventure was finding a place for dinner. We drove around for probably 30 minutes without seeing anything that looked like the kids would like it or like it might be safe. I'm sure there are better parts to these two towns - but we didn't find them that night!

We finally ended up at a place called Europa, which advertised Portugese and Spanish cuisine. It was a nice end to a very enjoyable but long day!