County Trip

B's goal for the past several years is to get 100 new counties a year. (He collects counties like some people do states.) The last couple of years he hasn't reached this goal. He hit 100 new counties for 2010 on Friday with a long road trip into Pennsylvania. New county totals: B=12, N=18, the kids=19.





We stopped at Gettysburg and saw the free parts of the museum (bathrooms, gift shop, statue outside). We talked about the kids' great great great great grandpa (John S.) who fought in the civil war, lying about his age to become a soldier at 16.
[Corrections from Grandpa M: Very cool stuff here. John S. was in the infantry for 6 months, got out in May 1863 and rejoined in late July 1863 for the remainder of the war (in a cavalry unit). He missed Gettysburg.]


We stopped in Dillsburg, PA to see B's Great Grandparents' grave. (Isn't it fun that someone who loves the Simpsons as much as B descends from people named Homer and Margaret?) It is a little creepy to see your own last name on a gravestone though.


We stopped and saw their old home (that B last visited when he was 4 years old).




We saw the State Capitol in Harrisburg.


We stopped at the Washington DC LDS Temple to see the nativity displays, Christmas trees, and lights. The trip took longer than expected so we missed the musical performance, but we still got to enjoy the lights and everything else.

the Holidays: day three

3/7/10


Baby X's sleeping arrangement in the hotel.


Cape May-Lewes Ferry from Lewes, DE to Cape May, NJ
We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to make the first ferry.
This ferry was about an hour long taking us and our car across the mouth of the Delaware Bay.


B waited in the car with all the other cars waiting to get on the ferry while the kids and I checked out the building and the deck outside. I'm pretty sure this is the Atlantic Ocean way off in the background. At least it's the direction the Atlantic Ocean is... but it might still be bay.


PS and Buddy on the ferry, the Atlantic off in the distance behind them.


Baby X's turn in the picture.


It was cold, but with coats, we were able to spend most of the ferry ride out on the deck. Here's Buddy watching at we approach New Jersey.


Baby X with Dad.

This wasn't just a fun Spring Break... it was also a county trip for B, hence the crazy route from Williamsburg to Philadelphia.


Benjamin Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia from New Jersey.


Our first glimpses of downtown Philadelphia. Buddy is pretty sure the really pointy one on the left looks familiar to him.

After getting a quick glimpse of Philadelphia, we drove up to Valley Forge National Historical Park (which was up close to where we were staying with our friend Tiffany's parents). From the National Park website:

Valley Forge was the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army. The park commemorates the sacrifices and perseverance of the Revolutionary War generation and honors the ability of citizens to pull together and overcome adversity during extraordinary times.

PS as George Washington.


Buddy as George Washington.


The kids with a cannon.


PS started requesting pictures of herself alone. We'll see if I let this last since it triples my work.


These log houses are supposed to represent the locations, and type of shelter the soldiers spent the winter in.


Buddy with a cabin.

All three of them with the cabin.


There's a 5+ mile walking loop around Valley Forge. We went to this arch and back, probably 2 miles roundtrip. It was much colder due to the wind than we anticipated so we were just wearing sweatshirts having left our coats in the car.


The National Memorial Arch commemorates the "patience and fidelity" of the soldiers who wintered at Valley Forge in 1777-1778.




PS thought this piece of cement near the arch was hilarious.




General Anthony Wayne statue.



Beautiful! And mom, I'm sorry, but I think I saw more deer in this park than I've seen up Cedar Mountain by the cabin. We seriously saw several herds of 15+ deer as the sun was getting ready to set in the park. B later read that the park is home to many deer and that they are not afraid of humans at all. I actually saw a lead deer look for cars before crossing this street.


Isaac Potts House was Washington's Headquarters. George Washington actually used these steps the kids are sitting on.


B and the kids at George Washington's Headquarters.

Highest Point in Ohio Trip

Buddy's riding arrangement for county trips and highest point trips = front seat fully reclined, headrest removed, and on this trip, he got Grandma and Grandpa M's GPS attached to his window.

Buddy and I went to the highest point in Ohio. It's a drive-up that involved less walking than Fort Reno Park in DC.After we took our pictures and left, I realized we'd forgotten to take them with our hands above our heads. Buddy said it was okay anyway. I said, "It'll be our only one not like the others? Should we go back or not?" He decided to go back.
High points visited so far: District of Columbia and Ohio.
by B

 And, they saw Warren G. Harding's home and burial site.

Driving to Ohio

B's parents moved to Ohio in August/September. It is about 9 hours from us. With the weather, stopping for lunch, and the few detours we made to get counties, it took us closer to 11 or 12 hours.


B peeing into the longest creek in West Virginia during a county getting detour.


Baby X you can see LOVED the drive (that's sarcasm). Actually, he was pretty good most of the time.

New Hobby

As you probably know, B keep track of things, specifically places he's been.

• He's been to 33 states (AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, MI, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, WI, WY)
• He's been to 22 state capitols (AZ, CA, CO, DE, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NM, OH, OK, PA, UT, VA, WV, WI, WY)
• He's been to 1,115 counties
  

So it only makes sense that he would add something else. He recently decided to start visiting each state's highest natural point. To start, on December 17, we went to the highest point in the District of Columbia, which doesn't even count on the list, since it's not a state.

Since we're dealing with the "highest natural point" here, in some low-lying states it's possible that land has been graded as a building pad which is higher than the "high point." Such is the case in Washington, where just next to the high point in Fort Reno Park is the higher land of historic Fort Reno. But hey, at least it's not as bad as Delaware, where the "high point" is actually a step DOWN from the sidewalk.

B declared that everyone needed to have a celebratory jumping pose for the pictures. Buddy complied with the request, but you can tell from the look on his face that his heart wasn't in it. Baby X didn't quite get the idea of raising his hands above his head.

However, we've summitted our first high point, and only have fifty more to go.