4 Score and Seven Years Ago...

A little cheesy, but I couldn't resist.
Absolutely amazing- incredibly touching- very moving- are just a few phrases uttered during our tour of Gettysburg. I was very surprised at the enormous area on which the Battle took place. I was not expecting such a massive area. I don't know how much of the land that we covered and saw on our tour, but I do know that Gettysburg park covers 5,733 acres.
We purchased an audio CD that was dramatized. We were able to go along at our own pace, this includes getting lost a few times, enjoy the air conditioning of the van and relax while seeing an incredible piece of America's history. It can't get much better than that, well except for the lost part.
The CD was a great purchase- I thought it was a little costly at $21 but then I am pretty frugal, i.e. cheap. The CD guided us along the roads and gave us the history of the battle. There were many moments where I was lost in thought and pictured the soldiers fighting for their beliefs and their lives. It was one of the most moving moments of my life. I could envision the young and old, poor and rich, illiterate and well educated, who believed so strongly in their cause that they were willing to fight brother against brother, father against son and friend against friend. To imagine the intensity of their courage was so moving and heart wrenching, there were many times I found myself tearing up.
We were able to see lots of cannons that are on the property still. I believe (although I could be wrong), that these are still used in reenactments. There were also various buildings around the grounds that are from the time of the battle. It was so amazing being there, including visiting the cemetery where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. I can't say enough about Gettysburg and our experience there. It was something I will never forget and I hope my children won't either.
We ended our Gettysburg experience in a perfect way- we rented the dvd Gettysburg. We all watched the movie and were able to get a better grasp of what it was that happened and where. Also we were able to see some of the well-known people really come to life on the screen. It was really quite a feeling to see the same rocks and fields that we were walking on and learning about the day before. Most of the scenes were actually filmed at the real battlefield. The whole experience was incredible and we suggest that everyone go there at some point if they can. Watching the movie first might be better but isn't necessary, just going is worth it.

I wonder if it is opening Sunday?!?!?!?

While getting ready to leave, Randy decided that the bike rack needs to go because it is tearing up the roof on the pop-up. You can see where it has scratched and dented the top of the pop-up. The kids are really upset with this idea but it is what we need to do. The bike rack also adds about an extra hour to our departure time so in the end, it would be a time saver. As we were about to head out, a man came over to talk to us. He was a very nice gentleman from Canada. We chatted for a bit about traveling and as we were about to leave he gave us $100. We were so surprised. The money could defintely be put to good use. This has been one of the many blessings that we have experienced while traveling.
Some of you might remember that Randy was taking pictures of the different NFL stadiums. This is where he sort of decided to cease this venture. As we were heading towards Buffalo, Randy had this "great" idea- we can go by the Bill's Stadium and get pictures. I use the trusty laptop to get the address and put it into our GPS. As we are just about to the stadium a thought suddenly pops into Randy's head- "Hey", he says, "Today is Sunday. I hope the Bills aren't playing at home today."
Guess what? It was opening Sunday and traffic was terrible. We ended up adding a least 2 hours onto our estimated drive time. We learned three things that day- 1. Check the game day schedule before you head that direction 2. The GPS looks for the shortest route, even if it is through mountains, we should have backtracked back to the Buffalo area so we would have been on a major highway, not little roads through little towns in mountainy areas -- which now leads me to point number three 3. Western New York has a few mountainy areas and we ended up driving through most of it. Randy was not a happy camper and decided that we would only go to the NFL stadiums if we were near them, no more driving out of the way, on days we shouldn't, through areas we know nothing about.
The drive to PA was beautiful. I really had no idea how beautiful this part of the country is. We took a few pictures but I am sure they don't show the debth and beauty of what we saw. We stopped by a roadside stand and bought some fresh peaches. They were so delicious. We had those as a snack as we entered into PA. The rest of the drive was uneventful but gorgeous. This is an area that I am so thankful we drove through while it was daylight. Our destination is Hershey, Pennsylvania. Here we will tour Gettysburg and the Hershey Chocolate Factory.
Those posts are coming soon.

Yes, we are alive and well

We did not fall off the face of the earth, we were not ate by sea dragons, nor were we consumed by the fiery pits at the edge of the earth, we are all alive and well. Many, many things have happened, some minor, some not so minor. One thing that has kept me from being able to post has been the momentary death of our beloved laptop. Randy thinks he can fix it, but doesn't have the parts he needs. As soon as he can get them, we will have the laptop to use again- the convenience of this piece of technology has been wonderful and we have had a terrible time living without it. We also had a problem with keyboards. At one point we didn't have the laptop or the main computer to use, so it was impossible to make a post and update everyone.
Another reason I have not been able to update is time. I am so much busier now than I was when we lived in a house. Even if we spend the day around the campsite, I barely have time to check my email. Speaking of email, if you have emailed me and I haven't responded, I am not ignoring you. I have almost 1000 emails to go through.
We have been having a blast and really enjoying ourselves. I have a lot updates to post and and going to try to get on the computer everyday or every other day and get started on that.
We would like to say hello to a few people we have met along the way- Hello to Terry and Mary, we hope to see ya'll again. Hi Ben- it has been a pleasure for us to get to know you- Hello to the entire Garvin family- thank you for a fabulous time with the manatees, great fellowship and the offer that I am sure we will take you up on.
Life is anything but dull right now and we are so thankful that God is allowing our family to experience so much. We have seen some beautiful country, saw amazing sights, met absolutely wonderful people and been able to do all of this as a family.
Be looking for an update coming in a day or two (I hope).

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, over the mountains we go....

I don't know for sure, but I think the reason we ended up driving over so many mountains in New York and then into Pennsylvania is because Randy "needed" to take pics of the Buffalo Bills stadium. Heading that direction changed our route through our GPS by a lot. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, yes, driving to take pictures of an NFL stadium on opening day, does increase your drive time, no way around it.

The scenery that we were able to enjoy was amazing! It was so beautiful. I tried to take a few pictures so that everyone could see what we saw. I don't know how they turned out, but hopefully they are good enough. This drive was one of out prettiest. I definitely could handle seeing that everyday.
We made it to the Hershey preserve before dark. There is a very large RV show in Hershey that is going on while we are here. This has made it hard for us to extend our stay. They are expecting to be at full capacity a few days after we our arrival.

Niagara Falls- More than a great view

Niagara Falls is one of the Seven Forgotten Natural Wonders of the World and one of the Top 10 Natural Wonders of the World. For us to get to see the Falls was a glorious and mesmerizing moment. We did have a funny moment when Landon sees a squirrel and gets excited and wants us to take a picture. We got a little laugh out of that since we could see the mist rising up over the railing and hear the beginning of the roar of the falls. I am sure that we were all full of anticipation over what we were about to see. When we peaked over the railing we saw mist rising high from the falls, water crashing to rocks below, water rushing and swirling below, and lots of people there to see the same thing we were (a lot were visitors from other countries). It was really awe-inspiring. We looked around the visitor center and found where to buy tickets for us to ride on the Maid of the Mist. To get to the Maid of the Mist you have to pay to go onto the observatory (kinda tricky). Randy got some really neat pictures from up there but I wasn't the most comfortable. If you walk out on it, to the edge, you end up being suspended out over the water and rocks, more than 200 feet. When you are ready, you ride down an elevator to the bottom. There you get your poncho and get in line for your boat ride. It was quite amazing to be on the boat, feeling the spray of the waters and hearing the massive rush as the waters went over and collided with the water and rocks below. Randy took a little video with the camera so you can hear the sound of the water. If you can, click on it and listen and watch. I think it is about 2 minutes long. (Our digital camera can only take videos that around 2 or maybe 3 minutes long)
We went onto Goat Island (I believe that is the name). You cross a couple of bridges and can go out to an island. There is an area where you can stand over Bridal Veil Falls. The area is really beautiful up there. I wasn't expecting it to be so breathtaking. I am so glad that we took a little detour and made it up there.
The couple that helped teach us pickleball invited the girls over to make a bead project, well, the lady, not really the man. The boys ended up making a necklace too. She sat there and helped them pick out the beads and taught them how to make a beaded necklace. It was great. The kids had a great time. She also gave the girls stuff to make a charm bracelet and let the boys take fossilized shark's teeth. She made the kids day and they all had the biggest smiles ever on their faces. Barb, if you happen to read this, thank you so much!
Well, we are off to Pennsylvania now. I hope to be updating the blog again soon!

New York, land of vineyards

We managed to make it to New York without an incident. We are getting much better at packing up and leaving. Our first time to pack up and leave took most of a day, now we are down to about 5 hours total. Western New York is beautiful. The countryside is quite picturesque. Farms, old houses, vineyards, fields of crops, and hills, or mountains to us Texans. I had no idea that New York state had such a pretty side over on the western part of the state. And to think we almost missed seeing it. Randy found out that we were just 2 1/2 hours away from Niagara Falls from our current campground in Ohio, so we made reservations through our RPI membership to stay at Niagara's Lazy Lakes. We didn't make record time, although I think record time won't happen for a while, maybe never while we are pulling the camper. The kids are all filled with excitement to see the falls, and to be honest, so are mommy and daddy. I never really thought I would actually make it up here. While we were at 1st Baptist of Jefferson Ohio, they had a few backgrounds on their projector screen. One of them was a picture of one of the falls. Randy leaned over and whispered to the boys that we were going to see the falls in a few days and the looks on their faces was priceless. They are quite excited about the prospect of seeing such a large waterfall. I can't wait to see what their response is really like.
Oh, and the couple who did most of our pickleball teaching are here at this campground too. They say that you are often running into people you meet at other preserves.
I will post more later- it seems most of blogging is done going down the road, the internet is usually pretty fast and I don't have to fight anyone for the computer. :-)

OHIO 1st Baptist Church of Jefferson

We went to church both Sundays in Ohio. One Sunday was a church sort of in the middle of nowhere. By the time the preacher was done, we weren't quite sure what he believed. So, the next Sunday we decided to try another church that was advertising in the family center. This one was 1st Baptist of Jefferson, Ohio. We went to Sunday School and it was so nice. The kids really enjoyed it (last Sunday, during church, the kids watched Hannah Montana). They enjoyed being with kids and learning from great teachers. Randy and I also enjoyed our class. We then went into the sanctuary and learned that they also had a kids class available during the service if the kids wanted to go. The people, the church, they were so friendly and welcoming. Not only did we get some excellent teaching, we were also surrounded by people who were so kind. Pastor Gary had a great lesson on time and our days.
We were invited to their evening services. During the summer they meet at a member's house. We asked the kids if they wanted to go and they all unanimously agreed, yes. We were a little late because there was a potluck at TT. This evening was spent singing. The kids got to see the kids they met earlier that day and play and we were able to visit with some of the adults. The singing was great. One man sounded a lot like Johnny Cash and and wrote his own songs. One guy had everyone join in on his two songs, one was Are You Happy. The kids loved that one but the second on, the kids sang and sang days later. It was a take on The 12 Days of Christmas- this was The 12 Days of Summer. He said he needed volunteers and walked right over to us and gave us a small piece of paper. It said, 12 Campers Camping. We felt it fit us perfect.
We visited with the people when the singing was over. They were some of the nicest people we have ever met. They reminded us of the members of our home churches (TX and WI). When we were about to leave, they prayed for us. We are so thankful that we went to 1st Baptist of Jefferson.
If we were looking for a home church in the area, we would definitely be looking there. If you are ever in the area, drop by and tell them we said hi!