Home! :)

We've arrived safely home! :)

I think we all have mixed feelings... somewhat disappointed that our adventure is over, relieved to be home, overwhelmed at the giant to-do list and responsibilities that await us (school, work, etc), thankful for the many blessings that we are coming home to, looking forward to seeing friends and family, etc!

Some interesting trip tallies:

Days: 74
States visited: 26
Countries visited: 2
Junior ranger badges earned by each girl: 19
Miles driven: 10,080
Flat tires: 2
Dead batteries: 1
Accidents: 0 (yay!)
Messages on home phone answering machine: 21

Looking back, it's been an amazing and wonderful adventure. We've seen, done, and learned much more than any of us had anticipated. We feel greatly enriched by these great experiences and are so thankful that we had this opportunity to explore our great country.

And it leaves just one question... "What's next?"

:) Connie

Visit with Pops and Family

We visited Pops (James' dad), Hope, Morgan, and Logan in West Virginia from July 29th through August 1st. James and Pops did some fishing and shooting and we all had some great family dinners. Anna and Jamie had a lot of fun playing with Morgan and Logan, too.

What a great visit! :) Connie

RV Cuisine

A lot of people ask us whether we eat at restaurants frequently while we're traveling in the RV. Actually, we probably ate out less than 10 times over the whole summer. This is for two main reasons 1) cost... there is no way we could afford to do all the fun things we've done this summer if we were spending lots of money on food, and 2) efficiency... we found that we actually saved a lot of time to do a quick pullover and have lunch in the camper rather than to find a restaurant and go in to eat, etc. Plus, the camper doesn't fit within the clearance of drive-throughs! So, we had to make good use of the TINY kitchen and LIMITED cabinet space in the camper for our meals.

Typical breakfasts: cereal, toast, bagels, English muffins, blueberry muffins, french toast, eggs, or pancakes.

Typical lunches: sandwiches, chips, cheese, crackers, salami or summer sausage, fruit/berries.

Typical dinners: Pasta or grilled hot dogs, steaks, chicken, Italian sausages with corn, beans, stuffing, mac&cheese, salad, or fruit.

It was a yummy summer... good thing we did all those hikes to burn off the calories! :) Connie

Family Time

Anna and Jamie got to play with Ariane and Madeline so much during our visit at Chris' house. They played dress-up and "princess ball" and jumped on the trampoline. They were also willing to pose for a few photos. :) - Connie

NYC, July 25

On Wednesday, we walked around Times Square, got lunch from street vendors, and took the girls to a huge Toys R Us store.

Then we headed to the New Amsterdam Theater for a matinee showing of Mary Poppins.

After the show (which was fantastic) we went to the "Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center) for some amazing views of the city.

After our fun (and exhausting) two days in the city, we headed back to my brother's house via the train... arriving at about 9:40 pm. The kids fell asleep in the car. :) Connie

NYC, July 24

We took the train into the city on Tuesday morning and stayed overnight into Wednesday. Chris and his girls went with us for the first day (they were very helpful in teaching us to navigate the city via subway). After depositing our bags at our hotel we headed to the waterfront and tried some *delicious* "pretzel croissants".

We were near the site of the 9/11 tragedy. In the photo below, there is a piece of artwork (formerly a perfect sphere) that used to stand in front of the World Trade Center towers. In the background you can see the two new towers being built. It was really emotional to be there.

Then we took the Staten Island ferry across the water and back, giving us some great views of the city and the Statue of Liberty.

Afterwards, we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of art, where they had a fantastic gallery of artifacts and artwork from ancient Egypt... mummies, marble statues, hieroglyphics, etc.

:) Connie

Cousins!

We arrived at my brother's house in NY on July 21st. The next day, we all headed down to my Uncle Bob and Aunt Ginny's house for a family picnic. Our girls had the chance to play with all of their first and second cousins on my side of the family. Here's a picture of the cousins in the pool:

From left to right: Julia (6), Ariane (almost 14), Anna (almost 6), Jamie (4), Madeline (almost 12), Georgia (2), Abby (9), and Emma (7).

So fun to see everyone! After spending the whole afternoon hanging out on the back deck, we had a campfire and made s'mores in the evening. :) Connie