We stayed at a beautiful RV Park in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The kids played and ran through the soft green grass. Melody and Mike took a long walk, and Ted and I jogged for a little while throughout the hilly park. We wrapped it up with dinner outside among many other families there for the Memorial Day Weekend dining, laughing and sharing good times around us.
This picture was taken somewhere in Nebraska where we saw miles, and miles, and miles of agriculture. What a beautiful place it is. The weather has been very sunny, windy, and beautiful!
My very favorite thing about life on the road is the many unforgettable people who come into our lives. Meet Mike Vessels, a native of Paducah. "Mr. Mike" was spotted in the office playing an instrument called the Psaltery when we checked into the Duck Creek RV Park. The Psaltry is an ancient stringed musical instrument dating back to King David. It only took minutes for our very musical Lacy to join him, and she was soon followed by Evan and Adam. As the evening progressed, Lacy and Adam both went to get their guitars and the music began. These three played together and enjoyed this special fellowship until we finally had to drag our two back to the RV to go to bed after 11:00 p.m. (midnight Atlanta time)! I'm sure our travels will now bring us back to Paducah to check on our new friend.
Adam and Evan are cousins and best friends. Adam just finished up his 6th grade year at the Young Americans Christian School in Conyers, GA. Ted's sister and I were expecting Adam and Lacy at the same time and delivered them three weeks apart! Both these boys LOVE exploration, adventure and new experiences. They are "two peas in a pod" and a blast to have together. Adam smiles all the time and is so enthusiastic about everything he does.
Yes, I do drive. That is the #1 question I get asked. Ted takes care of the really difficult driving, he is amazing behind the wheel, but I enjoy taking my turn so Ted can work so we can continue to travel! This is the first trip we have ever taken with another family. The kids are enjoying "RV Hopping" as they switch off with every break.
Having Mom and Dad living with us is great for a lot of reasons, but one is having a photographer available for departure day! We left out of Atlanta around 11:00 a.m. so we could spend some time at Cloudland while we waited for Jacob and Adam to get out of school. We went to the Florida Keys in March and I had so much fun, there was no time to blog. Each day on this trip I am going to blog the previous day instead of the day of. Hopefully this will prove to be a little easier for me. I appreciate all of you who ask about our journeys. I would rather be in our RV than anywhere else! Join us on this trip while we travel with Ted's sister Melody and her family to Yellowstone Park!
This is the view I get every time we hook the car up to the bus. My trusting husband stands between me and the bus to direct me to the right location. On this day, he made the mistake of picking a really nice McDonald's parking lot in which to hook up. Before we knew it, the kids were munching on Sausage McGriddle's!
We were blown away at the way the many Amish in Lancaster County integrate their simple life with the hustle and bustle of a thoroughly modern town. [Watch the video below!] They plow their field with teams of horses, drive along the roads with the cars (and RV's), and hitch their horses to the ample hitching posts around town. We watched the children play in the fields, the men build their fences, and the women beat the laundry outside. I must admit it was with a little envy that I gazed their way. They don't care what the gas prices are, or if the stock market is up or down. That the long coats of last year have been replaced with belted fingertip jackets does not interest them at all. They live each day working with their hands and enjoying each other without the distractions of our modern "conveniences". I was deeply affected by this place. I look forward to my return. For those who are from Pennsylvania, I salute you. It is a beautiful place.
We had to make a little roadside stop along the way to fix a problem on the coach. Lacy (still in her pajamas) enjoyed exploring the ruins of an old business with Evan.
Boys will be boys, and on this trip my big boy shared his "paper wasp making" knowledge with his young shadows. A war ensued and here you see Evan getting creative with his shooting skills.
Here we are at the American/Canadian boarder. Clearly the Americans are a little more cautious about those coming in than their Canadian counterparts. The very nice boarder guard checked our passports, asked us some questions and actually came on board the bus! We laughed that anything we may have to hide certainly would not be on the kitchen counter that he saw!
I did not know that the American Niagara and the Canadian Niagara were two separate waterfalls. The one on the right is the Canadian side, and the one on the left is the American falls. We visited both today. I must say, the view may be better from the Canadian side. There is a bridge that crosses the river with two flags in it's center at the boarder. One American, and one Canadian.
What a wonderful adventure we had when we travelled to the base of the falls on the Maid of the Mist boat adventure. If you are ever out this way, this is so worth the effort! When we boarded, they gave us these cute little raincoats and we thought, "how nice". We had no idea that the boat would literally take us to the base of the falls where the water is choppy and the driving wind and water seemed like we were in a mild hurricane! What fun!!!
