Ellis Island and Lady Liberty

Yesterday was a travel day. We left Marshfield Mass. and our fabulous family and headed to New Jersey. Last night we stayed in Voorhees State Park, New Jersey. It is beautiful here and the fireflies are everywhere. This morning we woke up and headed to Jersey city where we boarded a ferry and visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. This is one of the main goals of the trip so we were very excited. We mainly wanted to see the statue but Ellis Island turned out to be a wonderful surprise. The buildings were repaired in 1990 and are amazing. The museum takes you through what it was like to be a immigrant 100 years ago. I love it!
After Ellis the ferry takes you to the Statue of Liberty. Madeline had her second brush with losing her wallet there. After paying for a souvenir, she left her wallet on the counter. As we were walking to the statue she realized her mistake. With no hopes of ever getting it back (this is New York), we hustled back to the gift store to see if it was still there. The people at the counter had no idea where it was. Steve decided to try the information center and sure enough, someone had turned it in! We were shocked!
By the way, it is crazy hot here. At least 95 degrees and humid.
The Statue is so beautiful. I could just imagine my great grandparents seeing her for the first time as they came in on their steamer from Germany. What a sight! She is so green from the oxidation that she almost doesn't look real.
After our visit to the statue Steve thought it would be fun to drive into New York. It was hard getting there. The Lincoln tunnel was so busy and these people drive like madmen! But we got into the city and it was so neat to see it. We drove through Time Square and down Broadway. I wanted to go to ground zero but we ran out of patience.

Oh Boy Boston!

Today we took the girls into Boston. We took the T and got off in the Boston Commons. We then followed the freedom trail around town to see the historic sights of Boston. We saw the State House, the Old State House (where the declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston for the first time on July 18, 1776and the sight of the Boston Massacre), Fanueil Hall and the home of Paul Revere. The girls liked seeing Boston but were just as happy to get back to Art and Sylvia's, the pool and their cousins.
Tomorrow we head to NYC!

Marshfield and John Adams

Today Steve and I went to the John Adams Houses in Quincy, Mass. These three houses are his birthplace, his home during the Revolutionary War and his home during his presidency and retirement. Of course, I loved it! I have been wanting to visit these home for many years and was glad to finally see them. Steve enjoyed it too. Really he did. We left the girls with Art and Sylvia and they of course, played in the pool most of the day. Thanks goodness because it is sooo hot here and the humidity is very high. Can you believe these houses have no air conditioning?!

Pictures from the trip so far....

Best day ever!

Day two of my blog but day 8 of our trip across America!
Yesterday evening we were able to make the long trip from Niagara falls across New York State and Massachusetts to Marshfield. The girls were very excited to see Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Art. They were also very happy to see three of their east coast cousins, Kyle, Dillon and Darby.
Darby is 9 and the perfect age for both Madeline and Abbey to play with. Darby is also a little shy but of course that didn't concern Madeline and Abbey who latched right onto her. So much so that they all slept in the same bed that night.
Today was spent almost entirely in the pool. Madeline and Abbey spent the day swimming in Art and Sylvia's pool with their three new best cousins. At the end of the day Madeline told Aunt Sylvia, "This is the best day of my vacation!"

First posting

Hello! I decided to start a blog for our vacation. Since I am able to use the laptop in the truck as we go down the highway, I thought it might be a good way to pass the time. We are 8 days into our trip so this page will be catch up.
We headed out Sunday, June 13 and traveled to Lewis and Clark Campground next to the Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana. Corrie and GE Siegford and their boys Logan, Tyler and Riley were also staying at the campgrounds on their way to Mt Rushmore. It was really nice camping with them on our first night of our big trip! The next morning we packed up and went letterboxing with the Siegford's while Steve took care of the camper odds and ends (dumping). While we were letterboxing madeline made the comment that a bear had climbed up the tree behind me. Sure enough, there were claw marks on an cottonwood tree directly behind where I was standing. They were old and healed up but definetly claw marks. Good eyes Madeline!
After letterboxing, we parted ways with the Siegford's and went up to the caverns. I had already gone as a kid but Steve and the girls hadn't. It's a long hot climb up to the entrance but once you get the mouth of the cave, it cools right off. The cave is amazing but to be honest, I didn't like it much. The feeling that I was hundreds of feet into the depths of this cave and couldn't get out made me very uneasy. Actually, it made me freak out a little bit. But Steve, Madeline and Abbey liked it a lot so it was worth it. I really liked getting out of the cave.
After the cave we headed off towards Mt. Rushmore. I was really excited to stop at the Little Bighorn. We got their late in the evening, very close to closing, so our tour was pretty short. I have wanted to see this place since I was a teenager and it didn't disappoint me. It was exactly what I imagined it to be. Rolling grassy hills, out in the middle of nowhere. Seemingly untouched by time. I loved it! The girls, not so much. They tried to get into it but, it was late and they really didn't care. We spent the night at Sheridan, Wyoming in a KOA that night.
June 15, we headed toward Mt. Rushmore. On our way, we stopped at Ft Kearny and saw the sight of the Fetterman Massacre. Then we made our way to the Devils Tower. The Devils Tower is the mountain in close encounters of the third kind. It is crazy that this mountain looks the way it does. There are absolutely no other mountains that look the way it does anywhere around it. It has to do with volcanoes but I won't bore you with the details. Go there and find out for yourself. It's a great place and has a great walking trail that goes all the way around it. We also found a letterbox too thanks to Corrie sharing her directions.
After we left the Tower, we headed to Custer, SD and our next KOA. We unhooked and went to Mt. Rushmore just a few miles north. We got there in the evening and it was hard to see the faces. Luckily, they were just getting ready to start a movie in the outdoor amphitheatre about the presidents. After the movie we all sang the Star Spangled Banner and the faces slowly lit up. What a sight! The next morning we came back and did the trail in front of the faces and then drove through the needles highway in Custer State Park. It's a fee to get in so unless you plan to do some hiking or camping, its not really worth the drive. Especially if you get car sick easily (madeline and I do). From there we went down to Hot Springs,SD where Madeline and Steve took a tour of a mammoth dig. After dinner, we headed back to our trailer as a huge storm came up. Unfortunately, because of the storm we weren't able to go to crazy horse that evening for the laser show. Oh well, next time.
June 16 On our way to Niagara Falls! Now, Niagara Falls is heck and gone from Rushmore but at this point we are thinking that we need to drive as many miles as we can in a day. We stopped at Wall, SD and the Corn Palace and stayed at Fairmount, Mn in a Walmart parking lot. I think we traveled just under 500 miles. That night we watched a huge storm to the south and east of us. The lightning was nonstop.
June17 In the morning, we heard that 35 tornadoes had touched down in Minnesota (a new record) from that storm. Only 50 miles from Fairmont, we started seeing damage from the storm including flattened houses.
This day we traveled 550 miles to another Walmart in Cool Springs. The only thing notable about this day was we drove through Chicago during a heavy rainstorm. We did see the Sears Tower.
June 18 Traveled to Geneva State Park, Ohio on Lake Erie. What great place. Beautiful! Reminds me of New England. I highly recommend it. The lake is like the ocean. The girls got to see fireflies for the first time. We also had a campfire. The oak trees are everywhere in this area. Oak has a very distinctive smell when it burns. Of course, I like it.
June 19 The girls and I went to the lake to goof around at the beach while Steve packed up the camper. It got so hot that I finally told the girls to go swimming in their clothes. They had a blast! They got to swim in Lake Erie! Super fun for them. They will remember that for a long time. By the way, Lake Erie wasn't that cold. I expected it to be very cold because of its size but it wasn't. Also, the great lakes account for 1/5 of the earths fresh water. From here we head to Niagara Falls and our next KOA. Once we get to the KOA we unhook and go to the falls. Niagara Falls is an amazing natural wonder. You just can't describe the power of that falls. You have to see it to believe it. We immediately got tickets on the Maid of the Mist. They give you plastic raincoats and off you go. The boat takes you in front of Angel falls and then to the base of Horse shoe falls where you proceed to get drenched. We got soooo close the falls it was almost scary. What a great experience! Madeline said it was even better than swimming in a swimming pool. High praise from Madeline. At 10:00pm they had a great fireworks show and they lit up the falls in many colors.
June 21. I am now caught up. We have left the KOA and are on our way to Marshfield, Mass to Steve's aunt and uncles house. By the way, toll highways stink. They are expensive and I hate them! It is going to cost us $33.00 to drive through New York and that is not the first toll we have had to pay. They put tolls on the best roads so people have to use them. If they ever get toll roads in Idaho, I am moving to Wyoming.