The Besch Family World Tour

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

We have made our big decision after 13 months of travel to settle down at the farm in West Sand Lake, New York! Thom grew up here, and we’re all enjoying being with family again.

After about three days of living here and watching the boys enjoy every moment, Thom said, “This just feels right, and it’s great to be home.” The irony is that after many months of job searching, he was invited back to NREL in Colorado for a second interview. Had this happened a month ago when we were in Colorado, who knows what may have happened? I believe God wanted us to experience this time together at the Farm first. Thom called NREL and explained why he wouldn’t be returning for the second interview. It sounds crazy to pass up such an opportunity, but we’re all very satisfied and happy with the decision. Thom has some ideas regarding work or possibly starting a business here in NY, but that can wait.

What a great feeling to know this is home! We enjoyed our adventurous trip immensely, and realize it’s been the trip of a lifetime. We traveled through 33 states, 7 Canadian provinces and the Yukon Territory, along with 7 European countries over the past 13 months! The boys learned so much not only from our travels, but also from the challenging Calvert curriculum we chose for home schooling. Thom considered jobs in Florida, Colorado, Michigan, and Massachusetts but we ended up right back here where he departed 30 years ago for West Point.

Thom’s parents, Clayton and Louise bought 150 acres back when Thom was about 6 years old. Now there are three houses, a garage with an apartment above, a huge red barn, acres of hay, and an in-ground swimming pool on the property. Clayton and Louise live in one house, while Thom’s older brother, Clipper, lives in the main house where Thom grew up. He and his wife, Wendy have two children: Tucker who is 10, and Avery who is 8. Our boys love playing with Tucker and Avery and they all think this is great being neighbors!

The third house is ½ mile away and was built about 8 years ago by Thom’s youngest brother, Fred. Fred lives in Truckee, California and offered to sell his house to us! He rents it out to a wonderful couple who graciously toured us through the house and garage. It is a 5-bedroom house with 3 ½ baths, but 2 of the bedrooms and one full bath are currently unfinished. So while the tenants are moving out over the next couple months, we’ll be making plans to finish off the unfinished rooms. In the meantime, we’re living in the apartment and our motor coach. We’re used to living in a small space, so hopefully a couple more months will be manageable. Clipper and Wendy are very accommodating, and we appreciate everything they’re doing to help us during this transition.

Thom’s third brother, Eric lives in Maryland with Terry and their 4 children (ages 11-5). They came by for a visit this past week and we enjoyed a family reunion! Can you picture ten Besch children playing on a 150 acre farm?! Eric also brought two horses, Willow and Ricario who now live here permanently. Our boys are thrilled! My niece, Erin, invited me to ride up to the top of the hill on the horses. It was beautiful sitting on horseback overlooking the rolling hills and lush green countryside. I could see the tall buildings of Albany about 10 miles away on the other side of the Hudson River. Yet here I was on the highest point, and I could only spot about 10 houses as I looked around 360 degrees. So we have the benefits of living close to the capital city of New York, while living in the middle of the country. Yes, this is a wonderful place to call home!
Here we are at Frost Point, Ontario, Canada enjoying a family reunion. The cottages in the background have been in my mother-in-law's family for over 100 years! Our kids are the 7th generation, and they love spending time here.

West Sand Lake, New York

2009-07-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

We drove for five hours from Buffalo to the Albany area, and had to pay $63 at the end of the toll road! That’s for five axels, and was by far the most expensive toll in our 13 months on the road. Welcome to New York!

We arrived at the Besch Farm late in the evening, greeted by Nana, Poppa, Clipper, and Wendy. Tucker and Avery were in bed, so playing with cousins would have to wait. This is where Thom spent most of his childhood years growing up.

We settled into the apartment above the garage the next day. Thom, Clipper, Eric, and their parents lived here about 42 years ago when they were expanding the farmhouse next door. Since then, it’s been the home for Thom’s grandparents, brother Fred, and also for Thom’s parents when their new home was being built across the pasture. Now it’s our temporary home, and boy is it nice to have space.

The kids love playing with their cousins, Tucker (10) and Avery (8). The built-in pool is right out our back door. The big red barn is only about 100 yds away, with chickens wandering around. The kids collect fresh eggs daily. I believe the farm has 150 acres. Thom’s happy to be here and is finding many projects to keep him busy. He drove up in a tractor yesterday after chain sawing a bunch of wood. The boys helped him stack it for Nana and Poppa. Robby and Will have been working hard using the power washer to get old paint off a fence around the pool. They’ll start painting soon.
We celebrated Poppa’s 79th birthday on July 16 with a chicken dinner in our apartment, followed by cake and ice-cream. It was the first time Thom was able to be with his Dad on his birthday in probably 4 or 5 years.

We’ll soon be looking at houses in the area. It would be nice to settle here, close to the family and farm. School starts in about 5 weeks, so we need to make some decisions. Thom’s brother, Fred owns a house on 13 acres around the corner. Fred moved to Truckee, CA and would like to sell us the house. So that’s a possibility.

Thom’s still pursuing a few jobs outside of New York. One is in Golden, CO where he had a good interview on July 9. The interviewer emailed Thom yesterday saying he’d like Thom to fly back for a second interview! Thom also interviewed for a job nearby in Pittsfield, MA and is hoping for a second interview. There’s still the possibility of accepting the solid offer in defense contracting in Tampa, FL. So we pray daily for wisdom as we make this important next step.

July 15, 2009 – Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York
We’ve put on hundreds of miles since our Denver departure five days ago. Now we’re in New York, the 8th state since Colorado. The bread basket of the Midwest has endless miles of corn fields!

We arrived in Nappanee, Indiana in the evening, parked the motor coach at Newmar, and jumped on our bikes to ride over to the Burkholder’s for dinner. Marlene had fresh green beans from her garden, along with coleslaw and hot potatoes awaiting us. Michael had cooked up burgers and hotdogs. It was wonderful spending time with our Amish friends again. We were last in this area at the end of May. Kari laughed as she played with the boys, and Larry compared stories with us about Pike’s Peak and other Colorado landmarks. To celebrate Thom’s 50th birthday, Marlene baked four desserts including chocolate cake, rhubarb pie, cream pie, and the kids’ favorite….peanut butter pie. We were all stuffed!

Newmar worked on our coach the next morning to replace a headlight part. While they worked on it, we headed to breakfast at our favorite local restaurant, the Corner Café. Amanda, the waitress, remembered us and even recalled that the boys like hot chocolate, Thom drinks decaf, and I prefer regular coffee…that’s great service! The boys were thrilled to return to the Burkholder’s home for the rest of the day where they helped with chores and rode bareback on Princess the Pony. Thom and I tracked down Sara with Jonas’ help, and boy was she surprised to see us! Sara was our first friend in the area who then introduced us to her family and friends two months ago.

That night, all three families got together at La Fogata Mexican Restaurant in town. Larry treated us to an open buggy ride with his horse, Rose leading the way. We all loved riding along on a sunny evening with our friends. Sara, John, Jonas, and Jonathon joined us also and we had a great visit while enjoying authentic Mexican food. Marlene shared so many gifts with us including homemade cookies, produce from her garden, pie, coffee mugs, key chains, and magnets, while Sara gave us 3 dozen fresh eggs, green beans, and more yummy cookies. The kids had so much fun playing together, and we enjoyed the conversation with everyone. It was hard saying goodbye to our wonderful friends as we headed out the next morning.

From Indiana, we continued east through Ohio, the NW part of Pennsylvania, and into New York. This morning we left the RV in the Sam’s Club parking lot while we popped over the border into Canada to see Niagara Falls. You can see the Falls from the US, but the best views are from Canada. Today was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for walking alongside Niagara Falls. Robby and Will were here about 10 years ago, but they don’t remember the trip.

What an amazing volume of water pouring over the Falls every second! We all threw pennies over the Falls making wishes. The greenish-blue water looks incredibly clear as it crashes over the Falls. I learned that the Horseshoe Falls, those on the Canadian side are receding one foot per year, due to erosion of the rocks.

Thom took us to the Dare Devils’ Museum, which not only tells about the crazy, courageous people who went over the Falls, but also displays the wooden barrels, steel barrels, and boats designed to accomplish this feat. I think 15 people intentionally went over Niagara Falls, and 10 survived. To read their stories is unbelievable. Many did it for fame. Some did it multiple times. I was surprised to read that at least 5 or 6 have done it in the past 25 years. It’s illegal and the US fines a person $25,000 for doing this, while Canada’s fine is a mere $10,000.

Sam must have asked me 10 times if I’d be scared to go down Niagara Falls. Of course I’d be terrified, I told him. What terrifies me even more is his curiosity about it, especially when he finished our visit proclaiming that he wants to go over Niagara Falls one day, or at least ride the treacherous rapids and whirlpool further down the river!

Newton, Iowa

2009-07-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

July 12
Happy 50th Birthday Thom!!! We’re just waking up, and Sam can’t wait to give Dad presents. We’re going to celebrate his birthday this evening with our Amish friends, Marlene, Larry, Michael, and Kari once we arrive in Nappanee, Indiana.

We camped out last night in a Walmart parking lot in Newton, Iowa. Today we’ll continue east through Iowa, Illinois, and into Indiana. More later…..

July 11, 2009
We’re now driving east on I-80 through Nebraska, seeing miles and miles of corn as well as grazing land for cattle. After being in the Rocky Mountains for a month, the flatness here is such a contrast. We hope to reach Nappanee, Indiana by tomorrow afternoon where we’ll celebrate Thom’s 50th birthday. Yes, it’s hard to believe that my youthful-looking husband who thrives on extreme sports will be fifty years old!

Let me back up a bit. Ben was released from Denver Children’s Hospital this past Monday, July 6. He’s had a thorough recovery, and his left eye looks back to normal. Our whole family prays daily that this was his final episode, and that the surgery perfumed by Dr. Friedman will prevent his left eye from ever again becoming infected and swollen.

We headed back to the lovely campground at Golden, along the beautiful Clear Creek. Sam mastered riding the wave, an active part of the rapids. He did it on his boogie board, beside the adult kayakers! Robby and Will rode the rapids in our inflatable red kayak. Robby also enjoyed riding his bike over to the tennis courts, where he played frequently.

One day while picking up trash for a Boy Scout community project, Robby met a woman named Jean. She was working in a community garden, and Robby loves anything to do with botany. So she invited him to help the next morning in one of Golden’s rose gardens. Robby got up at 6:30am and helped her for two hours pulling weeds! She then invited all four boys to her house, while Thom and I had an evening to ourselves! We went to the community center for our first ballroom dance class. We learned the salsa and the swing, and met some wonderful people.

We drove up to the top of Look-Out Mountain. Buffalo Bill is buried up there, and we toured through his museum showing highlights of his Wild West Show. He toured all over the US, as well as most of Western Europe. He had great respect for America’s Native Indians and included them in his show.
We also took the boys on a tour of Coors Brewery in Golden. Adolph Coors started this in the late 1800’s. It’s huge! It was a great tour where we all learned about barley, germination, mashing, malting, wort, and the fermentation. The boys liked the bottling and packaging portion. Their school studies covered the Industrial Revolution, and it was neat to see mass production with quality control in action. Thom and I did a little beer sampling, while the boys drank soda.

The Galvin’s invited us over for our Goodbye dinner. Regina, who would love to have us settle in Colorado, took us on a walk showing at least 6 gorgeous homes for sale or rent. Most had breathtaking views looking west at the awesome Rocky Mountains. If I could choose, I would love to live here. Our family loves the great outdoors, including the world-class skiing.

Thom had an interview with NREL the day before we departed. It went well, and we hope they call back next week for a second interview. In the meantime, Thom had a phone interview for defense contracting in Pittsfield, MA. Thom’s also looking into openings in NY and MI. He’s had one solid job offer in Tampa, FL but we’re hoping to land closer to home in upstate NY. We’ll keep you posted.

We departed Colorado and headed north to Wyoming. Just south of Cheyenne, we spotted a ranch offering trail riding. They boys were excited, and so we stopped for 1-hour of horseback riding. The horses’ names were Twister, Hoss, Princess, Outlaw, Twenty-two, and Colby. Our guide was McKenzie and she enjoyed talking with our boys. We made a big wide circle around the buffalo, small train, and beautiful open grasslands where the birds thrived.

Afterwards, we toured the ranch where we saw goats, 9 camels, llamas, alpaca, ostriches, turkeys, peacocks, more horses, and cows. Ben thought the little 4-day old Philly (female horse) was the most beautiful horse he’s ever seen. We also saw a week-old llama named Squirt.
Now we can add Wyoming and Nebraska to our map, which puts us at 33 states visited over the past 13 months!

Golden, Colorado

2009-07-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

July 5, 2009
You won’t believe what’s happened since my last blog. Ben ended up in the hospital again for his third time with peri-orbital cellulitis of his left eye! Aahhhh…the saga continues! The good news is that he’ll probably be going home tomorrow morning.

It started last Tuesday just as we departed Colorado Springs on our way north to Golden. Ben complained of a headache and said his forehead really hurt. That night, he was nauseous and developed a low-grade fever, yet his eye wasn’t swollen. By 7am, things developed quickly, and we could tell he wasn’t opening his left eye completely. Because this happened in May ’08 and again in Dec ’08, we recognized the signs and headed to the Denver Children’s Hospital. The ER took it very seriously and got him started on IV antibiotics. They ran a CT scan, and determined that an abscess was developing in his left orbital area just inside from the nose. The doctors hoped the antibiotics would take care of everything, without requiring a surgical procedure.

When Ben had this the first time, we lived in Alaska and he had to be medivaced by plane from Fairbanks to Anchorage. They performed surgery to drain a huge abscess that was growing on his left optic nerve. The second time he had it, we were in Maryland and took him to Walter Reed Hospital. That time, IV antibiotics took care of the problem without requiring surgery. So we didn’t know what to expect this third time around.

Here in Denver, by day #2 the doctors were concerned that his eye continued swelling and became purplish-red. The ophthalmologists said the vision was being affected detrimentally in the left eye, and recommended surgery to drain the abscess. In addition, the ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor recommended surgery simultaneously to remove some of the ethmoid sinuses up in the left nostril to help drainage and prevent this from happening again. All doctors agreed that it’s extremely rare for this problem to happen three times, and it’s time for proactive surgery to reduce a future recurrence.

Thom and I were allowed to go into the operating room with Ben, looking like part of the team in our surgical gowns, caps and masks! The anesthesiologist hooked Ben up, and Thom asked him to count backwards from 10. He only made it to 7, and he was out! After only about 15 minutes in the waiting room, the ophthalmologists came out saying the abscess was drained! They called it a “no brainer” and said the abscess was quite large. The antibiotics would have had a hard time getting it under control. The ENT, Dr. Friedman then worked on Ben’s sinuses for 1.5 hours. We were pleased to hear from him that all went well, and he said, “I took that little country road, and made a 2-lane highway out of it!” We’re all praying that this procedure is indeed exactly the solution to Ben’s problem with his left eye. We’re very pleased with the Children’s Hospital and the entire staff. They recognized that this problem needed fixing, and took it very seriously.

The swelling and discoloration has improved over the last two days, and the doctors believe he should be ready to go home tomorrow. Streptococcus pneumonia is once again the culprit….same as the first time around. Strep Verodan was the cause of his second episode. It looks like Ben will take oral penicillin for a few weeks, just like the last two times. I’m so glad we brought Ben to the Children’s Hospital.

The other boys loved visiting Ben because the floor’s “teen room” has Rock Band. Will rocks on the guitar, Sam’s a noisy drummer, and I’m the wild vocalist! We livened up that room a few times. It’s kind of strange singing old songs from the Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi with my kids.

Thom and I have been taking turns spending the night in Ben’s room, while the other heads back to the RV with Robby, Will, and Sam. We’re camping in Golden, CO. It’s a beautiful campground, and we’re only a stone’s throw from the rapids of a fast-flowing river. The locals ride the rapids in kayaks and inner tubes in this warm summer weather.

To celebrate the Fourth of July, Ben watched at least 5 or 6 fireworks shows simultaneously from his hospital room window with Thom. It looks directly over Denver with the Rocky Mountains behind. Thom and Ben called us to describe the spectacular fireworks. In the meantime, the Galvin’s met us at our campground. Robby cooked up burgers and spicy sausages, which we ate around the picnic table with sweet corn.

Afterwards, the nine of us strolled next to the river along with hundreds of others. Antique cars convoyed through the darling town of Golden, as we watched from the bridge. In the park, Jim treated the kids to glow sticks, and by nightfall, it seemed that everyone was decorated with these bright and festive accessories. Finally about 9:30pm, the fireworks began and the crowd oohed and aahed at the colorful sky. I agreed with Regina when she said, “This is where memories are made.” Sam and Will had a brotherly spat, which was soon smoothed over by angel food cake, strawberries, and whipped cream.

June 30
My mom underwent knee replacement surgery last Wednesday in Lakeport, California. Ever since her car accident in 1997, she’s had a bum right knee which hyper extends and causes considerable pain. She lives with my brother, Glenn, his wife, Vanessa, and daughter, Cassondra.

The surgery went well and only lasted 1.5 hours. Mom says the pain is horrendous. She knows that she’s supposed to do the physical therapy and work through the pain in order to get the mobility back in her knee. At age 76, it’s a daunting task and her muscles aren’t strong. She reported that it’s easiest to simply lie still so the pain doesn’t set in. Unfortunately, that’s the worst thing she can do.

After four days at the hospital, Mom was moved to a rehabilitation center nearby. If she does her therapy, she should be able to go home in about two weeks. So she is in our prayers, and we hope she’ll be able to get around soon using her walker.

Air Force Academy, Colorado

2009-06-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Summer has arrived for the Besch Family! Robby, Will, and Ben completed their final green test 160, which is the end of our homeschooling year with the Calvert curriculum. That final 2-week stretch was hard, because they felt that everyone was done with school for the year except them. Thom and I cheered them on, offering rewards at the bowling alley and swimming pool after full days. We completed our last 2 weeks at the Air Force Academy, driving a shopping cart full of books into their library daily. Sam completed first grade at the end of April, and he continued with second grade reading and math.

Thom and I are very proud of the boys, and pleased with the set of courses. We recommend Calvert to anyone considering homeschooling. As I’ve blogged many times, it’s demanding, but rewarding. Mrs. Clark, Mrs. McMahon, Mrs. Ryan, and Mrs. Stewart were our boys’ Calvert teachers, and they’ve done a remarkable job. They graded the boys’ tests, gave feedback and comments, answered questions, sent emails, and provided reinforcements as Thom and I taught the boys. Thanks to all of you for your help over the past year! Now that we’ve been home teachers for a year, we can appreciate all the hard work that goes into this essential profession.

The boys will start school in the fall at a public or private school, depending on where we settle. Home schooling was the ideal answer to allow us to travel this past year. We’ve all enjoyed the traveling, but we’re anxious to settle down. The boys have missed having friends to play with, sports teams, and a sense of community like we had in Alaska.

Thom continues the job search. He’s learning so much at this challenging time in the midst of a poor economy. Today he had a job interview through a previous work associate in Colorado Springs with a defense contractor. The two interviewers were impressed, and said they’d offer him a job if they only had an opening. We’d love to settle in Colorado, but if something doesn’t open up soon, we’ll head east to the Albany, NY area where Thom grew up. We’ll settle near family, while he continues his job search. It’ll be nice to live near grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles for the first time since we’ve had children.

Yesterday we spent the day with our good friends, the Galvin’s. We visited Jim, Regina, Shelby, and Olivia only one short month ago when they lived at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Jim retired from the Army and now started a job at NREL in Golden, CO. They bought a beautiful home and just moved in two days before our visit. Their home sits high on a steep slope, surrounded by forests of pine and fir, with a gorgeous view. We visited their three horses, Clementine, Ben, and Naumi at stables about 10 minutes away. Then we walked around Lake Evergreen where the kids rented canoes and had a splash war. Thom hopes to link up with Jim and his boss over lunch in a couple days. Thom applied for jobs there, and he’d love to work for NREL (Natl. Renewable Energy Lab). After the boys finished their final tests, we celebrated our first day of summer break by going horseback riding here at the Air Force Academy. We went trail riding on horses named Clever, Voodoo, China, Peewee, Woody, and we can’t remember Ben’s horse’s name! For two hours we trekked along narrow paths through the wood, up hills, across small streams, and even across from the General’s lovely home. The boys now all think we should buy a farm and raise horses!

We couldn’t leave the Colorado Springs area without touring Royal Gorge. Thank you Tammy Hoselton for recommending it! It’s unbelievably beautiful and inspiring to visit. The Royal Gorge is a huge mountain rock that’s been carved out by the Arkansas River. In 1929, a bridge was built connecting the canyon walls 1000 ft above the river! It’s still the highest suspension bridge in the world. The six of us rode a tram across the gorge to begin our tour. The views were scary and incredible.

On the other side, three of our boys decided they just had to ride the Skycoaster. It’s for daredevils only, which was just right for Will, Ben and Sam. The three of them were strapped into harnesses, and attached to two long ropes. The ride then slowly pulled them up, up, up to one side of a pendulum. Sam then pulled the rip cord, and they freefell down until the ropes’ slack caught up. Over the Royal Gorge they soared at 50mph, and 1200 ft above the river! Yahoo! Or, as Sam screamed, “Holy Crap!!”

From there, we walked down and saw many animals in the zoo including buffalo, big horn sheep, and caribou. In the western town, we watched two cowboys fight over a girl, which ended in a shoot-out. About six cowboys ended up on the ground, with the Indian winning the girl! We watched a movie about the history of the bridge, the railroad along the narrow Arkansas River, and the tram. Then it was time to walk across the famous bridge. What an experience! The boys dropped pennies through the wooden boards, and watched as the wind scattered them in all directions. The river looked tiny so far below. What an engineering marvel.

On the other side, we took the inclined railcar down to the river. It’s the steepest rail in the world, and it took about 4 minutes to reach the base. I loved standing next to the roaring, brown river and looking up at the steep canyon walls with the hair-like bridge so high above. A couple rafting groups and a fearless kayaker swished on by. The train came by on its narrow track winding alongside the Arkansas. Engineers back then built a hanging bridge for the track and train, at a point where there was simply no room for the track. The bridge is supported by a steel hanger attached directly above and into the rocks of the canyon walls! The natural beauty here is unsurpassed, and combined with the engineering feats, the Royal Gorge is a place everyone should see in their lifetime. On the return drive, a black bear dashed out in front of our car and beat feet up the embankment! He wasn’t too big, but was sure in a big hurry.

Not only is this blog entry a biggie because we’re celebrating the end of school, but it’s also a mile marker since we’ve officially been on the road for one year. About this time last year, we were visiting our dear friends, the DeLange’s, in South Dakota. It’s hard to believe how many places and people we’ve visited in this 12 month period.

We departed from Alaska on June 17, 2008 and headed into Canada through the Yukon, British Columbia, and Alberta. We entered the “Lower 48” in Montana, and continued to North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. We re-entered Canada and toured Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. This was a great part of North America to spend the summer months living in an RV.

Next, we headed south in Sept and Oct to enjoy the breathtaking fall colors of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Thom made the command decision that it was time to try a Space A flight to Europe at this juncture. So we flew out of BWI (Baltimore) to Ramstein, Germany. It was easy! We didn’t catch a flight on our first day of attempt, but we caught one on day #2. We rented a car and drove through 7 countries with all four boys. What an education! Our favorite spots included Amsterdam, Paris, and Ticino, Switzerland. We caught a return flight back to Baltimore on the first day we tried. This all took place in late Nov/ early Dec, which is a good time to catch military flights.
By now, it was too cold RVing it in Maryland, so we headed south for the winter. We visited friends in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Then we soaked up the sun in Florida for 2 ½ months from the end of January through early April. We met so many people who escape the cold every winter living full-time in their RV’s in Florida. Now we understand why. Disney World, Key West, and the Dry Tortugas were highlights!

We drove north through Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Kansas. We looked up old friends, and made so many new friends. Thank you everyone for all the delicious dinners, sleepovers for the kids, and great company. Our kids often remember their favorite stops based on whom we visited, as opposed to where we were. So many great people have truly made our trip incredibly memorable.

Now we’ve been in Colorado for three weeks, and our whole family loves it here. It’s our favorite state, and fits our family like a glove. People here are athletic, friendly, and they love the outdoors. We know that God has a great plan for our family, and we would love for it to be here in Colorado. Please keep us in your prayers, as we look to make big decisions over the next month. As Carrie Bailey shared with me, “Pray for wisdom, not necessarily for patience.” Thank you Carrie!

We drove to the top of Pike’s Peak, one of the few summits in Colorado over 14,000 ft that can be accessed by car. There’s actually a car race here every summer, with speeds up to 120 mph! We spent Father’s Day there, which was a gorgeous day in the 80’s at the base, but only 37 degrees at the summit. Brrrrr! “America The Beautiful” was written by Katharine Lee Bates after she visited this memorable place. We then drove to Cripple Creek, a gold prospecting area which unfortunately now is just a magnet for gamblers. We walked around town, had dinner, and headed home.

Colorado Springs, CO

2009-06-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

The campground (Famcamp) at the Air Force Academy is one of the nicest ever. We’re surrounded by the woods and beautiful Rocky Mountains. People are extremely friendly, and the boys keep busy by playing in the woods. They like to explore the woods, and name the nearby areas. A few days ago, Sam was shooting the BB gun and surprised himself when he actually shot a bird. What a lesson! He felt terribly guilty. The bird was still alive, but couldn’t fly. So Sam spent the entire day caring for the blue bird he named “Flapper.” He gave it water, peanut butter, and petted it frequently. By the end of the day, it was obvious Flapper was down to his last moments on Earth. Sam was so sad. When the bird had passed, Sam dug a little grave and buried Flapper, saving one blue feather for a memorial. Then Sam said, “From now on, I’m going to shoot cans and cups.”

Thom attended a job fair here in Colorado Springs for people with security clearances. He was disappointed that most employers (defense contractors) were in search of engineers and IT professionals (computer people). There are a lot of jobs here in Colorado Springs who appreciate and need people like Thom. They just don’t seem to be hiring at the moment.

Thom continues to send resumes to job openings in renewable energy, but so far nothing has opened up. If things don’t come together soon, we’ve decided we’ll head back to the Albany, New York area next. Thom grew up there, and many family members live just east of Albany. It would be nice to finally live near family. So Thom’s been on the job search in Albany, and a few interesting possibilities exist. We’ll keep you posted.

Great news….the boys are working on lesson 158 of Calvert! They are down to their last week, with lesson 160 marking their final tests and end of their school year. We’ve spent many days at the local library where we’ve all been incredibly productive. The boys realize all their friends are on summer break, and they can’t wait to finish their school year also.

Ron, Carrie, Clayton, and Spencer Bailey invited us over to dinner last week. They’re friends from Ft. Greely, AK who moved here in Feb. Their house is beautiful, and in a short time they’ve made it a warm home. We enjoyed a delicious lasagna dinner with Caesar salad. Carrie baked a coconut cake that could have been straight from a bakery’s window! Thom and I departed, while the six boys celebrated their reunion with a sleepover.

Later in the week, we visited the Kiraly’s, another wonderful family who we knew from Ft. Greely. They moved to Colorado Springs last August. Ruby and Mark welcomed us into their expansive home with a breathtaking view of the Rockies. The boys joined up with their old buddy, Zack who is now 10. Amen, now 3, joined them after his nap. I can’t believe how much he’s grown since we saw him last June! They all disappeared into the basement to play with the toys.

Ruby’s parents, Caled and Raja are visiting for 6 weeks, and their home is in South Carolina. They both grew up in Jerusalem originally, and it was fascinating to talk with them. They are Palestinian, and passionately shared their views on world politics. Once again, I feel fortunate to meet so many people from different backgrounds who can enlighten me in ways I never understood. Raja and Caled watch after Zach and Amen while Mark and Ruby work, so this is working out well for everyone. Mark continues to work in Missile Defense through the National Guard, just as he did at Ft. Greely. Ruby now works for Lockheed Martin, and she gave Thom great advice concerning the job search (resumes, interviewing, etc).

We’ve explored many nearby attractions, including a bikeride through “Garden of the Gods.” This is a large area of giant sandstone rocks, reaching hundreds of feet high. Seeing the towering red pillars, with blue skies and puffy white clouds was a sight to behold! The boys climbed some of the rocks, but with dangerous, steep drops, we held them back from climbing the “black diamonds.” We invited the Bailey’s to hike and camp overnight at Stanley Canyon Reservoir. This is a hike we went on last week, and loved. So yesterday, we geared up to carry sleeping bags, tents, food, etc and climbed over 1000 feet up a treacherous but magnificent hike. The views were truly spectacular. The kids led the way across creeks, over boulders, and up jagged edges. Carrie shared with us her good news that she accepted a job offer, and will start work on Monday! I told her I hope her good vibes rub off on us!

We arrived at the reservoir just as the sun was setting. The boys went for a quick and chilly swim, and then we set up camp to include 4 tents. Sam, Ben, and I rounded up firewood, and Will got the fire started. He’s working on his Boy Scout requirements to move up to First Class. After a round of too many marshmallows, the boys took off with their flashlights to explore in the dark. The adults hit the sack, and the kids returned to tell ghost stories around the campfire. Will stayed up late reading his scouting book.

Let’s see….sleeping in a thin sleeping bag at 9,000 ft when the temp drops down in the 40’s, oh and without an air mattress, is the perfect setting for a night of minimal sleep. Then about 3am, Sam came to our tent shivering to inform us he was freezing, and he’d thrown up in his sleeping bag! Ahhh (too many marshmallows!). So he jumped in with Thom while I went to check out the damage. (Why is it that Moms always get the job of cleaning up after these disasters?!) The good news is that Sam contained it all in his sleeping bag. The bad news is we had one less sleeping bag to keep us all warm. I finally fell asleep about 6am when all the kids woke up and went fishing, and then I rolled out of “bed” around 9am.

I soon learned that Will had taken a fall down some steep rocks when he and the other boys were rock climbing. Thom was nearby and heard him groan. Will twisted his ankle badly, and we were all wondering if he’d be up for the descent. Thom wrapped his ankle tightly with an ace bandage, and tightened his hiking boot laces. Although I know he was hurting, Will showed a positive attitude and climbed down cautiously. He’s not a complainer, and in fact, felt embarrassed that I carried his backpack. I’m proud of our boys, and can see that they’re all becoming independent young men. All in all, it was a successful camping trip into the great Rocky Mountains.

Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and Colorado Springs, Colorado

2009-06-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

How wonderful it is to be in Colorado! This is state #31 as we continue our travels around North America. We’re quickly approaching our 1-year mark of being full-timers on the road. Our departure date from Alaska in the motor coach was June 17, 2008. We’re now camping at the Air Force Academy’s Famcamp nestled right into the breathtaking Rocky Mountains. We’re at about 7,000 ft, and Pike’s Peak towers up at 14,000 ft just south of us.

Let me back up a week to where I left off in Liberty, MO. We headed west for Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas for a wonderful visit with the Galvin’s. Jim and Thom were classmates four years ago at Univ of Texas at Austin, when they acquired their fellowship (War College equivalent). Regina is a senior editor and fantastic writer, and they have two daughters, Shelby (15) and Olivia (11). Jim just retired as a Colonel last month, and they’re moving to Evergreen, CO where Jim accepted a fantastic job offer with NREL (Natl. Renewable Energy Lab) in Golden, CO.

After a delicious ham dinner, we had two visitors stop by. Paul Funk is another UT classmate who will soon be moving to Ft. Leavenworth with his family and he’s being promoted shortly to Brigadier General! It was great seeing him. Also, Dave McBride who is a West Point classmate of Thom’s and a neighbor of the Galvin’s, stopped by. He and his family are moving to Heidelberg, Germany this month. What a memorable evening!

The kids had a sleepover and had a great time playing Guitar Hero and other games. Olivia and Will were best buddies back in Austin. The six kids played outside the next day and helped a precious baby bird which had fallen out of its nest. Before we left, it was flying on its own. We all walked around Ft. Leavenworth on an ideal spring day, taking in the sights of the wide Missouri River and visiting the museum. Lewis and Clark came right through this area.

Bryce McCloskey saw us walking along and caught up to give us a bottle of wine from his brother-in-law in Iowa. Thanks Bryce! Regina and I enjoyed our time together, and she showed me pictures online of their beautiful home in CO. Thom’s applied to NREL as well, so there’s a possibility that we could be neighbors. That would be terrific.

We took our time driving west along I-70, staying at two different campgrounds along the way. Kansas is a huge, flat state thriving on agriculture. This is truly America’s bread basket, with wheat fields stretching as far as the eye can see. Thom enjoyed watching at least a hundred giant wind turbines as we drove through western Kansas.

The boys continued with school work. We’re now at lesson 150 out of 160, so the boys are close to the end of their school year. They’re so excited for summer to truly begin. Most kids are out of school now, so our boys are motivated to finish. Thom and I are proud of their efforts, and looking forward to summer break as well! Here's a photo taken in Kansas at a truck wash because the coach and SUV were sooooo dirty.

We didn’t notice an obvious difference crossing the Colorado border, but before long, we all were looking out the windows as the landscape quickly changed. It was so beautiful! Thom exited I-70 to drive more rural roads, and we continued through rolling hills, pine forests, and saw lots of horses. The boys said, “We love Colorado. Let’s move here!” It wasn’t long before the Rocky Mountains came into view. It reminded all of us of Alaska, and our drive last summer through Banff and the Canadian Rockies. Pike’s Peak grew larger and larger as we approached Colorado Springs. We then spotted the Air Force Academy, which is quite visible from the main highway since it sits up high and you can easily see the football stadium. What a magnificent location. We set up camp, stocked up at the commissary, and the boys explored the woods nearby. We plan to stay at least a week, and maybe longer. We set up school yesterday at the Academy’s library where the boys were quite productive.

The Bailey’s are friends from Ft. Greely, Alaska who moved to Colorado Springs a few months ago. Ron, Carrie, Clayton (14), and Spencer (11) came to visit at our campsite. The six boys took off to play in the woods while the four of us visited and made dinner. Once again, it was great catching up with friends, talking about kids, school, work, and buying houses. They bought a house at an ideal time when prices are low and mortgage rates are fantastic. We can’t wait to see them this week at their new house, and the boys are looking forward to a sleepover!

On Sunday morning, we headed east to the cute little town of Simla. Our friend, Pastor Gene Raiford was giving his last sermon at the Methodist Church, before departing later in the week for Alabama. His wife, Ronda worked with Thom in Alaska in missile defense, and she now works in Huntsville in the same arena. We enjoyed our time with Gene and Ronda, and their congregation obviously loves them and will miss them dearly. Gene’s sermon was about transition, which was perfect for our family’s situation. He said a beautiful personal prayer with our family before our departure.

Next, we drove to the Carter’s Ranch in Peyton, CO. What a memorable visit! Roger and Sue put the boys to work outside, and the boys loved it. They have a 5-acre horse ranch and are finishing their vegetable garden. Robby, Will, Ben, and Sam grabbed rakes and made a new garden, complete with railroad ties. We all planted about a hundred strawberry plants, and Sue was delighted. Sam jumped in the Bobcat and Roger taught him how to drive. Sam paid attention to every word, and before I knew it, he was in complete control. That little man absolutely loves to operate machinery. The other boys got a lesson later.

We took a break for a delicious lunch, consisting of shrimp, potatoes, corn on the cob, and sausage. Roger boiled it all in a huge steamer in the garage, and when it was done, he simply dumped it all out on the picnic table. We dug in with our hands while pouring butter, mustard, and other fixings right on the plastic table cloth! What a perfect ranch meal.

Ben was dying to ride a horse, so after lunch, Roger saddled up Dusty, the 9-year old black gelding. Roger showed Ben how to handle the reins, and walked him all over the field. Each of the boys took a turn, followed by Thom. Roger let the boys ride the 4-wheeler, and Sam found the riding lawnmower to drive around. It was a hoot. We all went inside for fresh strawberries, apple pie, and whipped cream. Lastly, the boys stripped down to their underwear and took a dip in the hot tub. Yes, they all want to settle down on a ranch or farm!

Last night was another Ft. Greely reunion. Greg, Kristin, and Carmen Bowen were our immediate neighbors in Alaska for our first year there. They’ve been here in “The Springs” for the past 3 years, and Greg just took over Brigade Command for the Ground Based Midcourse Defense System. Congratulations Greg! He told us about his trip up to Ft. Greely last week, and how good it was being back there. He’s happy to be commanding after three years being a staff officer! Kristin’s doing really well with her career in human relations as she helps place executives.

Their home is stunning and they treated us to a wonderful BBQ dinner. In addition, today is Carmen’s 8th birthday, so it was fun for all the boys to be with her. Sam gave her a cool airplane he picked out at the Academy’s gift shop (along with one for himself!), and they played inside and out with them. Their friend, Marshall joined us for dinner and we enjoyed hearing about his career starting with West Point, Iraq, Colorado Springs, and he’s soon heading to Ft. Benning and Ft. Bragg. His wife is active duty and currently in Iraq. She returns in August and it’s obvious he’s looking forward to that time.

It’s 7:45am, and the boys are still asleep. What a change we’re all in for when school starts in the fall! The sky is blue with puffy, white clouds, and it’s a cool 60 degrees outside. The boys like the fact that it’s not so hot here, and they LOVE the mountains. Yesterday we toured the visitors’ center, and watched a 14-minute movie on the Air Force Academy. We’re taking advantage of our time this year to show the boys many college and academy campuses. Who knows? Maybe one of them will be a cadet here someday!

Iowa City; Liberty, Missouri

2009-06-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

After a quick night’s stop in Iowa at a beautiful campground, we headed south to visit friends in Liberty, MO. It was a nice driving watching the green fields and rolling hills go by. We also spotted huge wind turbine blades going down the highways loaded on the back of tractor trailers. They are enormous. There’s a huge future for these turbines in the Midwest, and Thom sure would like to work in that field.

Mike and Sue Conge were our neighbors in Bel Air, MD back in 1996-98. Their daughter, Christine is Robby’s age, and son, Mac is Will’s age. We haven’t seen each other since about 9 years ago, and what a great time we had catching up! The boys had sleepovers 3 nights in a row, and Sam enjoyed playing with their yellow lab, Duke. The kids spent hours in the backyard on the trampoline, having a water balloon war, and getting wet on a hot Sunday afternoon.
Mike, Sue, Thom and I shared stories and pictures of the last decade. Mike was laid off work this past Jan, but just started a new job last month. So we had good conversations about the job market and the economy. Sue works for Home Depot in kitchen/bathroom design. We all went to church on Sunday at The Vineyard, which was wonderful and reminded us of our Austin, TX church called Gateway. Mike spoiled us every morning with a delicious breakfast of waffles, eggs, pancakes and coffee! They grilled chicken, burgers, and hotdogs later, and the boys were in seventh heaven!

Bryce and Michelle McCloskey also live in Liberty, and we hadn’t seen them since 9 years ago as well. We spent a day at their home catching up, with another terrific BBQ meal. Bryce Jr is now starting his senior year in high school, and is taller than both parents! Twins Taylor and Dylan are 12 and had fun with our boys. Dylan shared all his electronic games and toys, while Taylor shared her artwork with Thom and me. She’s quite a talented artist! Bryce shared so many great stories, which kept us all in stitches. It’s cute to see his kids roll their eyes as he makes his jokes. I couldn’t help but laugh, since he’s one of the funniest people I know! Bryce now works for SAIC after retiring from the Army about 6 years ago, while Michelle is a nurse. We all attended an outdoor play that evening of Shakespeare’s “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream.” Christine had told us about it, and she attended as well with her boyfriend and Sue. Seeing friends has truly been one of the best parts about our journey these past 11 months.

Chicago

2009-05-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

This is our last morning camping on Lake Michigan. It’s really peaceful looking out over the calm lake, although the weather is grey and 56 F. This Great Lakes Navy Station has been a good stop, where we could easily pop into Chicago for the day. It was also an ideal place to spend Memorial Day. We attended a solemn Naval ceremony overlooking Lake Michigan, where we stopped to remember all the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and for our country. It is important to Thom and me that our children grow up with these traditions to honor our service members.

Thom visited yesterday with a cardiologist at the VA Clinic. He’s had heart palpitations for many years, but they’ve increased over the past year and especially the last 3 months. When we were in Key West, FL, Thom saw a doctor also. He wore a 24-hour heart monitor there, as well as here. The good news is that both locations say these are not reasons for serious concern. The cardiologist explained to Thom that many people have palpitations, and they’re easily controlled by daily medications called Beta-blockers. Thom also had many blood work tests run, including cholesterol and thyroid. It’s good peace of mind to have these things checked out.

Last weekend we were thrilled to visit with Matt, Julia, Alex, and Sophia from California again! They flew to Chicago for 3 days to celebrate the 50th birthday of Matt’s Navy friend, Marty. It was also Matt’s birthday (not 50th yet!). Our reunion evening was spent at the Navy Pier where we had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Thom surprised our waiter by answering almost all the Forrest Gump trivia, and Matt surprised us all with his talented dance moves standing on a chair for his birthday! Way to go Matt!

Last Sunday was our marathon day in Chicago with Julia’s family, where we packed in so many great activities from 10am to 10pm! It was a beautiful, sunny day. We went on an hour river cruise where we learned about Chicago’s architecture. I had no idea that the buildings here are world renown for design. After the Chicago fire wiped out thousands of buildings around 1870, the whole city was rebuilt. Did you know that Chicago is home to the first skyscrapers, and that there are plans in the works to build the world’s tallest building of 2000 ft. here? The Sears Tower holds the record here in North America at 1454 ft.

We went to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building for the view, followed by lunch…. Chicago’s famous stuffed pizza. We discovered you only need half as much pizza as usual, since their pizza is over an inch thick. To work off the pizza, we rented bikes and pedaled north against the winds off Lake Michigan. There we walked through the Chicago Zoo, with some pretty amazing gorillas. We headed back to Julia’s hotel for a bit of a respite, followed by ice cream for dinner! We love seeing our dear friends, and the kids had a lot of fun catching up since our time together at Disney World three months ago.

The boys diligently continue their school work. Today, they’re finishing lesson 140, which is the big green test! They only have 20 lessons to go, which includes the final green test. Calvert is an impressive homeschooling program, and our children have benefitted, especially in the area of writing skills. If we keep up our same school pace, they’ll finish up at the end of June.
From here, we plan to head west to Colorado. Not only is it a beautiful place, but it’s also at or near the top of our list of choice places to settle down. Thom’s applied for a few jobs there, but we haven’t heard anything back. Colorado Springs is one of the key missile defense places in the country, which of course ties in with Thom’s last job in Alaska. There are no missiles in Colorado, but instead have radio and communications.

So we’ll take the boys to Colorado, and check out housing, schools, and the general atmosphere. Who knows? We all love to snow ski, and of course the boys want to jump back into hockey. We all like the idea of living in a less populated area. This is perfect timing as our year winds down. We’ve now been traveling for 11 months! Ideally, we’d like to settle down in July in order to have the boys start school at the end of August. So please keep us in your prayers.

When we enter Iowa later today, it will mark the 30th state we’re visiting this year. We’ve experienced so much, and met countless people who have made our trip memorable. All six of us realize this is the journey of a lifetime. God has been infinitely good to our family by keeping us safe and showing us so much. Now we’re all eager to find home and put down roots.

May 22, Michigan
From Nappanne, we drove north to Charlotte, MI where Spartan is located. That’s the company that built our motor coach chassis. So we came up to have them do a “44 Point Inspection.” The good news is they only found one problem, which was an oil leak that only took a day to fix. The bad news is that the oil pan needed replacing, and of course we have the most expensive oil pan made! So $3000 later, we were done and on the road again.

While in the area, we visited the Grand Rapids Art Museum in order to see Cousin Steve’s painting. Celeste, one of the curators who knows Steve, met us and showed us the painting. It’s a stunning huge canvas of Western Michigan with gorgeous colors and luminary warmth. Once again, his use of writing text within the painting is engrossing. Steve dedicated this painting to lovely Bridget, his wife who grew up in Grand Rapids and who we all miss dearly since she passed away five years ago.

Nappanee, Indiana

2009-05-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since my last posting, so this will probably be a long journal entry. We love Nappanee! It was great coming back to the small town we explored 2 weeks ago. The best part was spending time with so many new friends, some of whom we met on our last visit. We returned to this area to have work done on our motor coach at Newmar (air conditioner, fix and paint 3 bin doors, satellite TV, and a few minor repairs).

Marlene and Larry Burkholder invited us to dinner, along with John and Sara’s family. These are Amish friends we met on our last visit. What a treat for our entire family! The Burkholder’s have two children, Michael (14) and Kari Jo (10). John and Sara came with two of their children, Jonathon (13), and Carry (19). We all sat at two long tables where Larry and Marlene served us a delicious home-cooked meal. Sara and I brought salads, and the food never ended! Everyone enjoyed the meal and conversation, followed by three freshly baked pies of Marlene’s including pecan, rhubarb custard, and peanut butter.

The kids harnessed up Princess, the white pony, to a small carriage and wagon, and went for rides all around the farm. The adults talked inside as the sun went down, sharing our very different lifestyles, but also finding out how much we have in common. Thom and I learned so much about the Amish religion, family upbringing, and daily lives. It was memorable. Before departing, John and Sara invited us to visit a farm where a wedding would soon take place. We jumped at the chance!

For five days straight, we visited the Nappanee library where we made good progress in school. The boys quickly learned that if they worked hard, they could take recess on the library’s computers! It poured rain on two of the days, so it was nice to be inside watching the Amish horses and buggies go by outside.

It was sheer coincidence that we met the Wahl Family, and we are so thankful we did! Tom and Mary Claire have 3 children, Joe (12), Anna (10), and Sam (7), and they are on a journey exactly like ours!! It’s unbelievable. Mary Claire retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Force last August, and they decided to buy a Newmar motor coach and travel North America for a year with their children! They are home schooling, and trying to decide where they’ll settle down, just like us! They met our friend, Chris Miller, in Florida. Chris gave them our email address, since he figured we’d enjoy connecting. So we had emailed back and forth a few times over the last few months. We didn’t know they owned a Newmar or were in this area. They came to Nappanee to have work done on their Newmar also. God brought us together, and we had a fabulous time.

The kids enjoyed every minute playing together. Ben and Sam had a sleepover in their RV, while Joe slept at our place. The next night, their Sam slept at our place, while the 3 oldest boys pitched a tent and camped outside! All the adults had great conversations about our travels, lessons learned, military life, tips about driving a motor coach, home schooling, and settling down. Mary Claire’s last 4-year assignment was in German near Ramstein where we flew last Nov. We spent five days with the Wahl Family, using our home base of “Camp Newmar.”

Sara invited the Wahl’s along for our trip to see the wedding set-up. We went on a Wed evening, and the wedding was set for Friday. This is truly a community event, where everyone helps. The men set up all the benches, chairs, and tables for the wedding and reception, while the women prepared all the food. No catering needed here! The wedding was taking place at the bride’s neighbor’s home, while the reception was at the bride’s home. We enjoyed meeting everyone involved, and they welcomed us to see everything. The sense of community is wonderful. All weddings take place on weekdays, because no work is allowed on Sundays. That day is reserved for church, which takes place in people’s homes. We met Wanda and Steve, the bride and groom. They, along with many people toured through our motor coach.

Oh, I forgot to mention that since Sara had been so kind to give us a ride in her buggy, we gave Sara and her family a ride in our motor coach! Many Amish people work or have worked in the RV business, but rarely get a chance to see the inside of an RV. They know more about our motor coach than we do! The kids, including Joe, Anna, and Sam Wahl, played together with the Amish children and had a ball.

We drove Sara, John, and their two boys back home and once again, they showered us with kindness by giving us 3 dozen eggs and frozen ground beef. After a beautiful prayer, we said our good-byes. They have been one of the most special families of our entire trip this year, and we will keep in touch!

Newmar finished working on our coach, but we didn’t want to leave. So we stayed an extra three days! It’s great having full hook-ups and being with other Newmar owners. We met people from all over the US, Canada, and even Germany who brought their Newmars in for work.

One afternoon, I drove over to meet my high school friend, Sheryl Walsh (Garlit), and her two sisters Lori and Sue. We all went to high school together back in Lakeport, CA, and their family returned to Indiana in 1979 which is where they originally were from. Sheryl and I got together 2 weeks ago for pizza with both our families. It was great seeing her for a second visit, and wonderful to catch up with Lori and Sue. We talked about our families, parenting, work, travel, and how important God is in our lives. Sue and her husband Pat have a beautiful home, and we all sat on the back deck overlooking a huge pond. It was a lovely visit!

Marlene suggested we attend an Amish horse auction on Saturday, so we went along with the Wahl’s. As we pulled up, we saw signs for Buggy Parking with at least 100 buggies! There were just as many bikes, since many Amish use that mode of transportation. I’d say 300 people were gathered to view the sale of at least 50 horses. The excitement was under a huge tent, where the auctioneer loudly called out the bids. The kids asked what he was saying, since it was hard to make out the fast, musical words. One man walked or ran each horse as it was auctioned, while at least 4 or 5 other men orchestrated the bidding process. They’d watch the crowds for bids, which was extremely subtle. No paddles were used. Only the blink of an eye or tip of a hat were the gestures used to place a bid. Hundreds of men, women, and children sat on hay bales to watch the auction. Most horses sold between $1500 and $2500. On our way out, Thom placed Sam high on a post to take a picture of all the horses and buggies in the parking area…what a unique sight!

More fun followed when we took all the kids to the theater to see Planet Earth, the new movie by Disney. What a great film. They must have shot thousands of hours of footage to capture these incredible moments in nature. We’ve seen much of it on the collection of Planet Earth DVD’s given to us by Leanna, and now it’s great to see “the best of the best” in one movie.
Following that, the Besch and Wahl Families rejoined our friends Marlene and Larry for a fish fry at a local auction building. It was a fund raiser for an Amish school, and hundreds of people attended. I truly felt privileged to sit amongst so many Amish families, sharing delicious food and good company. People stopped by to say Hello to Marlene and Larry, and we were then introduced. What fun!

Marlene invited both our families over for one last visit. The Wahl’s had the chance to shop in their store, and found the perfect pair of croc’s for Anna (shoes). The kids played outside for hours as the sun set, while the adults visited inside. We met Larry’s mother, Anna May, who is 76 years old and walks a mile a day to keep in shape! She visited Alaska 14 years ago. Marlene gave us asparagus from her garden, and sausage. The generosity is overflowing! It was hard to say goodbye, but we were all leaving the next morning. Again, this is a special family who we will miss, and definitely keep in touch with.

The Wahl and Besch kids enjoyed their last night of sleepovers, and then it too was time to say goodbye. They’ve spent most of their last 8 months in the west and south, and are now heading to Washington D.C. and the northeast. They hope to catch a Space A flight to Ramstein, Germany just as we did! We’re heading north to Michigan for a couple days, and then back to Chicago.

Chicago

2009-05-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

May 9
We’ve spent the last week in Chicago where Thom attended the AWEA Wind Convention (American Wind Energy Assoc). Over 20,000 people attended the event held at McCormick Place. He spent 4 full days at the huge convention center where he listened to seminars, attended their job fair, and visited hundreds of exhibitors’ booths. Thom hopes to work in this growing field for his next career, now that he’s retired from the Army. In 2008, when most other industries took a huge hit due to the poor economy, this field continued to grow. Our country is finally waking up to realize we can capture wind energy through modern wind turbines, thereby generating electricity from our own backyards. The technology exists. Our government’s RES (renewable energy standard) has determined that we must produce 20% of our electricity from wind by the year 2030. After attending the conference, Thom believes our country can produce more than that, even sooner than 2030. The Midwest and Texas are the most promising wind areas.

Thom met many people and exchanged business cards. Now he’s following up by sending his resume to many of these contacts. Most companies aren’t hiring at the moment, but are poised to hire as soon as loans are available again. The general feeling is that within six months, they’ll be putting in machines (turbines) all over the country and hiring again. Thom learned much about home turbines as well, which is growing rapidly. Maybe we’ll have one in our backyard one day! Thom thinks many people will be interested in having them soon, and there may be a market for selling, installing, and maintaining them.

Our hopes are that NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) will hire Thom. They’re based in Golden, Colorado and have many job openings. It’s run by DOE (Dept of Energy) and is one of their several labs that work to make renewable energy more efficient, practical, and accessible. Thom met many people from NREL at the convention. So please keep us in your prayers as we continue our job search.

Photo: sunrise over Lake Michigan from our campground at Great Lakes Naval Station, north of Chicago.

While Thom was busy in Chicago, the boys and I did school, school, and more school (as they like to say). We’re now on lesson 134 of Calvert. There are 160 lessons, so the end of our school year isn’t too far off. I think we’ll finish near the end of June. I’m proud of all of them, because homeschooling is a lot of work and requires self-discipline. This, along with improved writing skills and all the knowledge they’ve acquired will benefit them throughout their lives.
I drove the boys into Chicago on the final day of the convention so we could attend the 2-hour opening to the public. Wow! The McCormick Place is huge, and the wind convention only took up a portion of the place. We met Thom who toured us up and down the aisles of exhibitors. The boys were impressed, and Robby in particular asked many questions. He enjoyed talking with the company reps about their products. The other boys quickly discovered that each booth had goodies, such as candy or pens, flashlights, nerf balls, etch-a-sketch, Japanese fans, measuring tapes, key chains, and all sorts of other things. Since it was the final day, most exhibitors were delighted to give out goodies even if we weren’t potential business clients. Everyone I spoke with sounded upbeat and positive that the convention had grown from 13,000 last year to 22,000 this year. One lady came by and “hired” the boys to haul out her 3 luggage pieces by paying them $2 each! While we exited, she told us that her company hauls freight, and she wrote up all kinds of new business here. She said everyone there builds huge things and needs to have them delivered from Point A to Point B. So she was thrilled. Our boys were thrilled when we arrived at the limo awaiting to take her to the airport, and she invited them in for a tour!

I also treated the boys to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. They just opened the Harry Potter Exhibit, which will run for four months. Here we saw hundreds of props used in the movies, of which we’re all big fans. We saw Snape’s potions, the marauder’s map, Prof Umbridge’s pink dress and shoes and detention quill, Harry’s wand and glasses, Tom Riddle’s diary, Creature and Dobby, Lord Voldemort’s robes and wand, along with moving pictures from the walls of Hogwarts, to name a few. The museum had an electric car, a huge pendulum, a German WWII submarine called the U-505, and the Idea Factory where the boys played with water toys. They also had an area called “Petroleum Planet” where I learned the average American uses 1000 gallons of crude oil/yr. I was disappointed to read a big sign that said enthusiastically, “Our National Reserve has 150 billions of barrels of crude oil – enough for another 70 years!” We need a new plan…like using wind energy!

Now we’re on our way back to Nappanee, IN to have some more work done on our motor coach. They ordered parts for satellite dish, bin doors which need smoothing and repainting, and a few minor things. After that, we don’t know our exact course. We’re hoping opportunities open up after this last week in Chicago, so we’ll keep you posted.

Nappanee, Indiana

2009-05-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

May 2
Last summer on a day’s drive, we headed south from Wisconsin along Lake Michigan, through Chicago, briefly through Indiana, and up along the east shore of Lake Michigan to visit Cousin John and Laura. I’m so glad we returned this week, because now we’ve spent four days and discovered how beautiful Indiana is. We came to Nappanee, the RV capital of the world, to have work done on our motor coach by Newmar. Its headquarters are here so we’ve had a chance to meet other Newmar owners.

Thom pulled our RV right up into the “campground” at Newmar where they provide free electric and water hookups. At least 20 other Newmars were already parked. Everyone camps in their RVs and then the workmen arrive at 6am to drive the RVs to their work areas. They work on the rigs until 2pm, and then have them back by 2:30. So we visited in the waiting area with many other owners, comparing notes on RVs, the economy, good places in town to eat, and this is when we learned that Nappanee is the third largest population base in the US for the Amish and Mennonite communities.

So three days in a row, we woke the boys up at 5:30am, went inside to say hello to our neighbors, and then headed into town for a hearty breakfast at the Corner Café. Our waitress was Amanda, a sweet teenage Amish girl who has 5 siblings, rides her bike the 7 miles from home, wakes up each morning at 4:30, and treated us like family. She told us her family makes all their own clothes and she made the dress she was wearing. She wore a small, white bonnet which is part of their daily attire.

From there, we went to the public library three days in a row, hauling quite a few books along with us to do our home schooling. Nappanee has taken an especially hard hit with the economy since it is the RV capital of the world. Many RV companies have closed their doors, and their supply companies in the area have struggled as well. The unemployment rate in these small towns ranges from 18 to 25%. Many people were in the library using computers to job search, including many Amish men. Over 50% of the local Amish men had worked in the RV industry, so they’re especially feeling this downturn.

While we were there, we visited my high school friend, Sheryl Walsh and her family in South Bend, IN. It was great seeing her after 22 years! We went out for pizza together with her husband, Ron, and daughter, Lindsay. Lindsay is a sophomore in college studying to be a teacher. We caught up on family, the past, and the present. They’re doing well, and have a son who is engaged to be married this summer. We said our goodbye’s, and then made a small tour of Notre Dame University since we were in the neighborhood. We walked past the famous football field, and then drove around campus, stopping in to browse through the huge bookstore.

Now, back to studies at the Nappanee Library. As we read and did our schoolwork, I enjoyed hearing the “clip-clop, clip-clop” of horses’ hooves out on the streets. The Amish travel by horse and buggy, and we saw them everywhere, even at nighttime. We decided to visit Shipshewana, about a half hour away. There we visited Mennohof, a big house open to visitors to teach about the history and customs of the Amish, Mennonites, and Hetterites. It was informative! The three religions can be traced back to the Anabaptists from the 1500’s in Switzerland. Much like Martin Luther, they were dissatisfied with the Catholic Church and wanted to start their own church. They met resistance, which caused their people great suffering and torture. Years later, they came to America in search of religious freedom, and settled initially in Pennsylvania. Oh, here comes a horse and buggy pulling a small open cart right in front of where our RV is parked! What a lovely sight on a sunny, Saturday morning.

William Penn welcomed many religions to Pennsylvania centuries ago. When we lived in Maryland, we visited Lancaster, PA in order to see and learn about the Amish people. The boys don’t remember, so I’m glad we’re here now where they too are learning so much.
There aren’t any remaining Anabaptist religions to speak of in Switzerland and other parts of Europe today, but their communities have grown in the US.

On our way back from Mennohof, we stopped in the cute little town of Emma at an old fashioned soda bar. We sat at the soda bar speaking with Colleen after she’d served us huge waffle cones, which turned out to be our dinner that night (true story!). She introduced us to her husband, Ron who runs a dairy farm nearby. Wouldn’t you know it….they invited us to come visit! Ron showed us the small barn with 10 calves, 2 of which loved sucking on the fingers of our boys! This reminded us of our visit to a dairy farm in South Dakota with Marchell DeLange’s family last June.

Ron then showed us 100 dairy cows, and the milking area. He gets up at 3:15 every morning for the morning milking, and then they’re milked again in the afternoon. Our boys think this is so cool, and would love to live on a farm. We keep reminding them of the early mornings, and extensive chores, but they still claim this is what they want to do! The highlight of the tour came with the tractor ride. His tractor is enormous, with tires taller than me! The boys all squeezed in there and headed out for a 10 minute ride. They each had a turn driving. We thanked Colleen and Ron and headed home.

Yesterday was really special. I was at a laundromat in Nappanee and noticed an Amish woman talking with the female manager. By and by, I meandered over and introduced myself. Sara, the Amish woman introduced herself and the three of us had a lovely conversation. I told her about our visit to Mennohof and how we enjoyed learning about the Amish and Mennonite people. Ben and Sam were helping me, and she invited us over for a buggy ride! I was thrilled. She said they had an appointment with the local Ferrier, a man who shoes horses.

So two hours later, all six of us drove to her farm south of town and met her husband, John. Once again the boys enjoyed being on a farm. John asked them to let the chickens out, which Will happily did. Sam hung out with the baby calf, and the boys all noticed the many dogs and cats as well. We watched as John and Sara harnessed up their horse, Boots. Soon, the four boys and I climbed into the buggy with Sara and off we went! She drove Boots along the lush green back roads and waved at many neighbors. The familiar clip-clop, clip-clop was rhythmic and musical as we went. Sara happily told us about their lifestyle, and we all asked many questions. This was like a dream come true!

Thom joined us 4 miles away at the Ferrier’s home and we all observed as he adeptly changed out Boots’ horse shoes. Jonas was the ferrier’s name, and he lives there with Rosemary and their 7 children (ages 13 to 1). Our boys were soon running all around the farm with their kids. Ben rode a pony, and the boys visited the goats. Will went to our car, grabbed his Wave (his funky new skateboard), and taught their 8-year old how to ride it! Jonas finished the job on Boots just as the next customer pulled up in his buggy. Jonas shoes 10 or 11 horses a day.

We said our farewells, and this time I drove while Thom rode in the back seat of the buggy. We all stopped at an Amish store on the way home and met the owner, Marlene Burkholder. She sold everything from shoes, to hats, to toys, to books, to intricate clocks. This is where the ladies come to buy their fabric and sewing materials since they all make most of their clothes. As a gift, we asked if we could buy a new bonnet for Sara. She was surprised and very grateful, and accepted politely. We told them how happy we were to share this afternoon together, and then mentioned we’ll be back in about 10 days for parts on our RV. Marlene invited our two families to dinner upon our return trip. We gladly accepted….something to look forward to!

Back at the farmhouse, John served us his freshly baked cinnamon muffins, and homemade red wine! We exchanged addresses, and Sara packed up fresh eggs, muffins, and wine to go. I shared with them the boys’ comments from the Mennohof. As we learned about their religious beliefs regarding Jesus Christ, baptism, and his resurrection, the boys said, “Well those are all the same things we believe.” Sara loved it. The more we talked, the more we realized how similar we all are. We look forward to meeting the Hochstetler Family again soon for dinner!

Before we arrived in Indiana, we visited Abraham Lincoln’s Museum in Springfield, IL. It’s one of our favorites. Ben is standing next to Tad Lincoln in the picture! There are two outstanding presentations, one of which took place in the Ghost Library and still has us guessing as to how they did it. Our beloved 16th president was quite a man, a humble leader who accomplished great things. What struck me as I toured the museum was the minimal support he had. He obviously was despised by the South, and surprisingly, the North was never happy with most of his actions and decisions either. They either felt he wasn’t doing enough to stop slavery, or they didn’t think it was worth going to war over. Many said, “Let the South go and start their own country. Who needs them?” I was glad to see the museum was packed with school kids on field trips. Our youth especially need to learn this important part of our history, and this was the ideal place for it.

Nashville, TN and St. Louis, MO

2009-04-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

We said Goodbye to Cousin Tucker last week, and Thom took him to the Nashville airport where he flew home to NY. Our week together with Tucker was wonderful. He helped with chores whenever asked, and had a great time playing with his cousins. These are memories the boys will all cherish, and although we’ve never lived close by, they have a very close bond. We hope they’ll grow up keeping in touch and being good friends as Thom is with his cousins. Thanks Tucker for being a roadie with us for a week!

From Nashville, we headed northwest to Ft. Campbell, KY where we camped for 3 nights. It was a quiet, picturesque place along a rivulet that had swelled from recent rains. The rapid current carried lots of dirt, and went over 3 waterfalls nearby. Across the water hung a suspension bridge, where the Besch Boys loved to jump up and down. Within walking distance was the skeet range. Thom took the boys over on two occasions for shooting practice. They haven’t done this since our days at Ft. Greely. Robby and Will loved it, shooting many clay pigeons. Ben and Sam tried, and Sam shot down one clay pigeon! I’m impressed, since I have a hard enough time hitting a stationary target. Our time spent shooting at the Gargulinski’s range has the boys motivated again to improve their gun skills.

We made three solid days’ worth of progress in school. Robby and Will each have a challenging research project to complete, spanning 30 lessons (about 1.5 months). Robby chose the topic of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV’s), while Will is learning all about Australia’s Kangaroos. The Calvert curriculum does a tremendous job teaching about research, note taking, bibliographies, formal outlines, rough drafts, and the final paper. Ben also has written many compositions for school, which require the outline, rough draft, and final. Their writing skills have improved remarkably this year! Sam’s now starting his 2nd grade curriculum and doing very well.

We departed KY, and drove through Illinois to St. Louis, MO to visit our friends, the Piatak’s. John and Thom went to West Point together. Our boys now say, “Dad has so many friends from college!” There truly is a special bond between alumni from that traditional military academy. Thom says they’re all friends for life because they shared such a difficult and challenging four years together.

John and Robin lived in Austin, TX for many years, which is where we last visited 4 years ago. They have four beautiful daughters to include Mary (14), Catherine (13), Nicole (11), and Kelly (9). They moved to St. Louis almost 2 years ago, and have a lovely home. All the kids are having a great time hanging out. Will got a “wave” for his birthday last week, which is similar to the rip stick they learned to skate on a few weeks back at the skate park in FL. The girls hadn’t tried it before, but our boys gave them lessons. Catherine and Nicole picked it up right away, while Sam or Ben zipped around them on a scooter. The favorite room inside is the basement rec room, complete with big screen TV, games, computers, ping pong and air hockey! The boys have spent 2 nights down there, and I know won’t want to leave tomorrow.

Yesterday, we had a perfect day in St. Louis with John, Mary, Catherine, and Nicole. We visited the world-famous Gateway Arch. First we toured the museum and watched a fascinating movie about how the arch was constructed back in the 1960’s. Amazing! It’s built out of huge, steel triangles stacked on each other. Each leg was built independently, and then joined at the top with one final triangle only a few feet in width. Then they built an elevator to go to the top on each side of the arch.

Yep, we rode to the top! There are 9 connected cars which make up an elevator. The cars are attached but shift position as they go up and across. Only 5 people can fit in each car. Then you get out of the car, climb the last steps to the top and look out through small windows at the incredible view from 660 feet up! There was a Cardinals baseball game going on at the Busche Stadium, and we could see the buildings, Mississippi River, river boats, and tiny people.
From there, John took us to “The Hill” which is like the Little Italy of St. Louis. We had dinner at the well-known Cunneto's where we indulged in huge plates of pasta. After that we visited the City Museum. The boys now call it their favorite museum because it’s so much fun.

It’s an indoor-outdoor 7-story play area with slides, airplanes, a giant pencil, caves, ball pit, and funky places like Beatnik Bob’s where the kids played old pinball games and drank soda. It opened in 1998 and is called a museum because it’s chock full of antiques and old steel and cables which have been welded and sautered together. We didn’t leave until close to 11pm!
Today Robin and Kelly returned from a 2-day soccer tournament, and the kids are playing kickball, football, washing cars, and having a blast. I’ve enjoyed talking with Robin about schools, moving, home projects, and job changes. Seeing their home once again gives me great ideas about our future home. I especially love her kitchen!

John recently changed jobs, and loves his new position at Labarge. His advice to Thom is invaluable as they discuss Thom’s ongoing job search. We’re on our way to Chicago, where next week Thom will attend the annual wind convention hosted by AWEA (American Wind Energy Assoc).

Thom has always been interested in renewable energy, and would love to work in this promising field. Our country, as well as the rest of the world must find other ways to meet our energy needs than simply using fossil fuels and coal (dirty fuels, per Thomas Friedman). Over 15,000 participants are expected at the convention, and Thom’s eager to visit with exhibitors and listen to speakers. They’re coming from all around the world. We’re praying that he’ll have the opportunity to interview soon with NREL (Natl. Renewable Energy Laboratory) in Golden, CO. Jim Galvin, a friend who’s soon retiring from the Army, has long been interested in wind energy. He had the chance to interview with NREL recently, and was offered a job last week! Jim recommended Thom to NREL, so keep us in your prayers. All six of us love the idea of living in the foothills of the Rockies, just west of Denver.

Huntsville, Alabama and Nashville, TN

2009-04-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

April 19, 2009
The last four days have been like old home week! We had the good fortune to visit so many people in Huntsville. They each travel so often that we were lucky to find them all in town. Bill, Penny, and Megan Lamb had us over for dinner on our first night in Huntsville. What a lovely home, and the boys enjoyed their huge back yard where they played tag for the first hour. We saw Bill in Alaska, but the four of us haven’t been together since our days in Austin, TX when Thom and Bill attended UT together. We had a good time catching up and getting to know Megan who is a senior in high school. The boys ate burgers, brownies, and watched King Kong….heaven for Besch Boys!

The next day we headed for Space Camp. Robby was our tour guide, since he attended a week-long class there back when he was 10. Tucker and his cousins loved the museum, the rocket garden, the space shot ride, watching the artist spray paint cool planetary art, and shopping at the gift shop. The new Davidson Building which houses Saturn V was awesome! We watched an exhilarating IMAX movie called Magnificent Desolation narrated by Tom Hanks which showed what it’s like to walk on the moon. John Fellows stopped in for a visit while we had lunch, and Thom and I enjoyed talking with him.

That evening, we were delighted to host dinner for Jack Clouse, Lin Beckem, and Ronda Raiford, who we know from our Alaska days in Missile Defense. Thom especially was interested in how people are doing, after 10 months of being away from work. We enjoyed hearing about Ronda’s family, with Gene coming soon to join her in Alabama. Her two infant grandsons, Leo and Tyler are now home from the hospital – yahoo! Leo’s birth weight was only about 1 ½ lbs and his twin Tyler weighed in at a miniscule 13 oz!! God is watching over them.

Another exciting day followed when Scott and Faye Campbell invited us to join them at their cabin on Lake Smith, about 1 ½ hours south of Huntsville. Before we departed Huntsville, we got a chance to see their beautiful home and Japanese tea garden. Faye especially has worked hard on a complete kitchen remodel. (What a great collection of ideas I have for our next home from all these visits!). As we drove to the lake, we noticed the dogwood trees in full bloom and just how green everything is here in April. I had to call Tina Jenkins in Alaska to find out where she grew up in Alabama, which turned out to be about 100 miles northwest. It’s just so gorgeous here. Faye stopped to buy freshly picked strawberries at a roadside fruit stand, and soon after we stopped to walk across Alabama’s longest covered bridge. We picked up Alabama BBQ (pulled pork) and headed for the cabin.

What a peaceful place it is sitting on their porch overlooking Smith Lake! The limestone rocks are a natural platform to dive into the deep lake, which is a reservoir. All five boys, including cousin Tucker were soon swimming in the chilly water. After a tasty lunch of BBQ and fresh strawberries, Scott and Faye treated us to a boat ride down the lake. I couldn’t believe all the enormous, expensive homes, many of which are weekend getaway homes! Their daughter, Shana was married in a beautiful mansion overlooking the lake last July, which they pointed out to us. We stopped at the marina where the boys fed crackers to the mammoth carp…about 3 feet in length! There must have been 10 fish with huge mouths, and the boys were able to pet their slow moving bodies. Will water-skied on a slalom ski, which was a great way to end the boat ride. On the way home, Faye showed us an old civil war jail which was tiny yet held as many as 100 prisoners. She told us that this Alabama county actually seceded from the Confederacy to be part of the Union during the Civil War! Although Faye is a retired elementary school teacher, she still enjoys educating children at every opportunity.

Thom joined Bill Lamb and about 10 others for breakfast on Saturday morning, while I went to a local laundromat to do 6 loads of laundry! It adds up quickly when you have 5 boys who love to play in the mud! Soon after we returned to the RV, General and Mrs. Campbell bicycled over to visit us! They came to Ft. Greely together a couple years back, and we very much enjoyed our time with them. General Campbell played quite a bit of hockey growing up in Massachusetts, so he came over and skated on the Besch hockey rink behind our home at Ft. Greely. The boys still talk about playing hockey with him! Kathy told us to let them know if we were coming to Huntsville, and we’re glad we did! They toured our “home on wheels” and every minute spent in conversation was a delight.

Another terrific visit was with the Armstrong Family. Scott Armstrong and Thom worked together in Alaska, but this was our first complete family visit (except for the oldest son, Taylor). Scott and Donna invited us a small lake right on Redstone Arsenal. We had the place to ourselves since the main road was blocked by fallen trees from a recent storm, and the alternate route had one deadly mud bog. We gunned it, sprayed the SUV with mud, and didn’t get stuck! Our car no longer has 4-wheel drive, since Thom altered it in order to be towed behind the motor coach.

Scott, Donna, Trevor, and Robert are true outdoorsmen and throw a great BBQ, complete with grill, table, and delicious food. The kids headed for the lake with two inflatable boats and fishing poles. Nobody caught a thing except minnows, but we all enjoyed a nice afternoon listening to bull frogs and cicadas (loud, chirping insects). Their dog, Rygel kept the boys entertained as he played fetch for hours. Our boys can’t wait to have a dog.

Today was our last day in the Huntsville area. On our way north, we visited Patty and Tom Gargulinski along with their sons Chris and Tony. Thom worked for Patty in missile defense, and she visited many times over the years at Ft. Greely. It was our first time seeing their home on 40 awesome acres. This is what our boys would love. They have two ponds for fishing and swimming, and although the weather was lugubrious and rainy, Sam and Ben swung off the rope swing into the water! The highlight was when all seven boys had their air soft pistols firing away on their target range. Will was thrilled to shoot his 22 at the ten steel plate targets from about 40 yards. Even when the rain poured, he refused to come in or even put on a coat! It was really great to see Patty and get to know her family.

We finished the day by driving north to Nashville, where Tucker will fly home tomorrow morning to New York. Since Will’s birthday is April 21, we decided to celebrate it today before Tucker leaves. He’s become a huge fan of western writer Will Johnstone, so we headed to the Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville. The place is huge with 3 floors all focused on the stage and dance floor. We arrived just in time for a dance lesson, and I was really pleased that all the boys were brave and came out on the dance floor. A dance instructor taught us to line dance with all the steps, kicks, turns, claps, heel-ins, and heel-outs. I’m sure most people were wondering why these five young men were in a saloon on a school night at 8:30! We had a ball. Then a band played for an hour while the boys shot pool. I enjoyed watching the dancing, which included couples doing the 2-step as well as more line dancing. Thom and I even kicked up our heels a bit more.

We returned to the motor coach where Will blew out the candles to his home made cake (yes, everything is possible in this RV!). Did I mention that we camped out in Sam’s Club’s parking lot? We wanted Tucker to have the full Besch RV experience!

Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee

2009-04-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

April 15, 2009
Now we’re back to chilly weather where we wake up to 48 deg weather in the morning. Time to put away the shorts, and get out the long pants and sweatshirts! How strange when we were melting a week and a half ago in the Keys.

Cousin Tucker flew in from New York two days ago, and is spending his week-long spring break with us! Tucker is 10, and fits in with our boys like peas in a pod. We picked him up in Nashville, in the middle of a spectacular lightening storm. It was his first time flying solo, but he didn’t seem bothered by the storm nor fears of being alone. Robby, Will, Ben and Sam were excited to meet him at the airport, and have been playing with Tucker nonstop.

So now there are 7 Besches living in the motor coach! We try to wear the kids out during the day so they go right to sleep at bedtime. Yesterday we drove to Chattanooga where we explored Look Out Mountain. In 1863, Confederate soldiers tried to cut supplies to the Union soldiers in this Tennessee city. The Confederate generals watched from the towering Look Out Mtn. Union General Hooker was ordered to take the mountain, which was quite a mission. Union soldiers climbed the steep mountain while being shot at from above. In the end, the Confederates retreated and the Union took the mountain.

So Thom and the boys hiked up 1.5 miles to reach Point Park, while I drove! What an incredible view we experienced from the top, overlooking the winding Tennessee River through Chattanooga. Tucker’s never been to TN, so this Civil War introduction was educational. On our way down, we spotted a daring hang glider braving the strong winds up in the clouds. We then walked the streets of Chattanooga and had a yummy dinner of 6 different flavors of wings.

Today we headed south, and it was Tucker’s first time driving in our rig. At one point, we had 5 Besch boys in the back bedroom reading or playing their gameboys and DS’s. It was kind of amusing. I enjoyed sitting up in the Queen’s Throne, reading undisturbed. For the past few months, I usually worked with one of the boys on school while Thom drove.

Now we’re in Huntsville, AL to see many friends from Thom’s missile defense days. This is the headquarters. Also, Robby attended Space Camp here 3 years ago, so we hope to visit there as well.

Madison, FL

2009-04-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! We’ve spent the past 3 days at a terrific campground in northern Florida. It reminds us of last summer when we camped because there are loads of families and kids. Everyone’s on spring break. Our boys have made friends while swimming, playing kickball, shooting pool, and especially at the small skateboard park. The latest thing seems to be the skateboards that wiggle, called ripsticks and waves. Will, Ben, and Sam have caught on pretty quickly. For the last six months at campgrounds, most of our neighbors have been retirees. Kids have been in school, so the boys haven’t had friends to play with.

We’ve been busy at school, with Robby, Will, and Ben taking their green tests #120. Sam finished First Grade today by completing his green test #160! When we were in MD, we visited Calvert and met the staff. At that time, we knew Sam was progressing quickly, so we purchased the 2nd Grade curriculum. Now he’ll start 2nd grade, and we’ll see how far he gets. Once school starts in the fall, he’ll register as a 2nd grader.

Tomorrow morning we’ll attend an early morning church service right here at the campground. We’ll celebrate Jesus’ resurrection in the beautiful outdoors overlooking the lake and peaceful campground. Then we’ll depart Florida, drive through Georgia, and end up near Huntsville, AL. Cousin Tucker flies in to spend his spring break with us on Monday. The boys have worked hard to finish their tests before Tucker’s arrival. We’re all ready for a spring break!

We left Key West over a week ago, as the temps headed into the mid-90’s with high humidity. It was sad to leave after so many beautiful sunsets, great snorkeling, and walks down Duval Street to Mallory Square. Before we left, we visited Ernest Hemmingway’s home with all the cats. He lived an interesting life, having been married 4 times and earning the reputation as one of our country’s greatest short story novelists. We bought Old Man and the Sea, which three of us have since read. Sam painted a coconut to resemble one of the colorful local fish, which is a popular thing to do here. On our way out, we bought a conch shell which is quite loud when the boys give it a blast.

We stopped for a memorable barbeque dinner at Pascal and Judy’s house in Miami. They were nice enough to let us camp out front for the night, after the kids swam all evening. Lea and Luc shared all their toys once again. We headed out the next morning in the direction of the Everglades. Sure enough, driving along we spotted many alligators on the canal next to the road. Thom picked out a cool stop, where we all went for an airboat ride through the Everglades. We spotted a few alligators, plentiful birds, and turtles. Then our tour guide sped along the shallow water for an ultra-smooth ride. It’s strange going right over the grass and mud without getting stuck.
Next we sat in for an alligator show. The host asked for a volunteer, and although Thom raised his hand, the man instead picked me. The host had me going. He told me very seriously to pay attention as he demonstrated how to place a hand in an alligator’s open mouth. The gator was 7 years old, and about 10 ft long! He then demonstrated how to jump on this alligator’s back from behind, pull up the gator’s mouth to your chest, and hold the alligator’s head with your chin! Yes, he told me I had to do all those things! Then of course he brought out a much smaller alligator named Larry. Larry was much smaller, at only about 4 ft. So I got to hold Larry, and his mouth strap was even removed for about 30 seconds! I didn’t take my eyes off him. Thom said he knew all along the guy was pulling my leg. The boys then each took turns holding Larry. Another adventure!

We spent a day in Brandon, just east of Tampa, checking out schools and neighborhoods. Thom’s had one good job offer here. It’s a nice area, but we’re really hoping to settle down in the northeast, closer to family and the cottage in Canada. We’re keeping all options open at this point.

Jim and Ann Clifford invited us over for a scrumptious dinner. They’re friends from my single days in Southern Calif, who came to visit us at Disney World back in Feb. The boys enjoyed a swim in their pool before we all settled down for chicken, mashed potatoes, wine, and key-lime pie. Mike Landers drove all the way from Orlando to join us for dinner, and he brought us our recent packages/mail. Thanks Mike, Ann and Jim!

Dry Tortugas

2009-04-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Camping at Dry Tortugas National Park definitely goes on our “Top 10 List” of adventures this year. It’s the most remote national park, located 70 miles west of Key West on Garden Key. Back in the 1840’s, the US decided to build a state of the art fortress called Fort Jefferson, and it would serve as the watchdog of the area for ships going to and from the Mississippi River. They built it from brick, and I imagine slaves did most of the hard labor. It’s a large, hexagon-shaped structure that’s 3 stories high, and you can spot it from miles away.

Most people sign up for the day trip, which includes a 2 ½ hour boat ride out, breakfast, lunch, 4 hours to explore the site, and then of course the return trip. We found out that camping is available, so we chose to spend the night! Robby and Will, our Boy Scouts, planned the whole trip, including meals, water, tents, snorkel gear, etc. We headed for the boat at 6am with loads of gear, and boarded the Yankee Freedom II, a beautiful catamaran.

On the boat, we read books, explored the upper and lower decks, played Sudoku, talked with other tourists, and studied the fish identification guides. We heard the snorkeling off Dry Tortugas is like swimming in an aquarium.

Ponce de Leon named the key back in the 1500’s when he and his crew discovered turtles everywhere, and hauled them onboard for food and oil. “Turtles” translate to Las Tortugas. “Dry” was later added to the name because the key has no fresh water.

We arrived and set up camp, with the Besch boys taking charge. I stepped back and took pictures while they erected 3 tents. We couldn’t wait to explore. The water color changed from turquoise to teal to navy blue as we looked out to sea. Incredible! The moat surrounding Ft. Jefferson was built to defend against enemies and also against hurricanes. A low exterior wall surrounds the moat, and we decided to start by walking the full perimeter on the wall. Sea life thrives on both sides of the wall, and we saw urchins, colorful fish, small barracuda, sea cucumbers, upside-down jellyfish, and hermit crabs. On the outside of the wall, coral grows well, which brings multitudes of fish and other life with it.

The imposing fort takes up the entire key, except for a very small offshoot which is where we camped. We learned that the fort became a prison, and had terrible living conditions. With ships came rats and yellow fever. Although this was paradise for us to visit, it was lonely and miserable here for the prisoners and soldiers. During the Civil War, they had over 500 people here, which is hard to imagine given that Dry Tortugas has no fresh water. Dr. Mudd was the most famous prisoner, and the boys were fascinated to see his prison cell. He set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Lincoln, after Booth escaped. Dr. Mudd was sent to Dry Tortugas as a prisoner where he lived from 1865-69. During that time, he helped many sick people, especially with the yellow fever epidemic. He was pardoned in 1869 and returned to his family in MD. Due to yellow fever and multiple hurricanes, Ft. Jefferson was abandoned in 1875.

It was used as a coal refueling point around 1900 by our naval ships, because it’s one of the few deep-water channels where big ships can get in. There were 2 areas on the key which used to be the coal storage areas, with huge pilings going down into the water. Now all that’s left are the pilings, with the sun pouring down through them into the water. The coral thrive there, supporting a huge ecosystem and food chain. So we snorkeled with the kids through these two areas, seeing a whole myriad of fish and coral. Unfortunately, Will touched some fire coral and his leg is now really itchy.

On the cat, we met a nice family from FL who has a 10-year old son named Eric. Ben and Eric were like two peas in a pod, going everywhere together. His family stayed overnight as well, although they were inside the fort as a guest of a friend! We had a nice time talking, and Eric’s Mom, Kathy snorkeled with us. She showed us some great coral heads off the sandy beach. Ben and Eric had fun collecting hermit crabs, as did Will and Sam. We discovered a "Chug" which is a Cuban refugee boat. Over the years, many Cubans attempt to cross the 90 miles of water to land on American soil. If they touch foot on soil, we let them stay. If we find them en route by boat, we take them back to Cuba. This photo shows a Chug that probably brought 16 Cubans here!

When the boats left in the afternoon, it was like we had the whole island to ourselves. Including park rangers and other campers, there were only about 40 or 50 people left. We enjoyed a tour inside the fort, hotdogs and a pasta salad dinner, followed by a dazzling sunset.

Then we headed for our tents. Will, Ben, and Sam decided to go out after dark with flashlights in search of lobsters on the moat wall. They spotted a huge spider crab. The boys, including Thom, camp all the time with Boy Scouts and also just for fun. I think the last time I slept in a tent was when Sam was a baby, and we literally got rained out in West Virginia. That must have been about 6 years ago. It was fun, but I sure missed my bed! Thom and I awoke to watch the sunrise, by simply walking a few feet from where we’d just watched the sunset the night before! We walked the moat at 7am, and saw two enormous lobsters. After a quick breakfast with the boys, we all headed out for a morning snorkel. What a great way to start the day. The sky was clear and blue, not cloudy like the day before. The colors underwater were supernatural with the sun flooding down through the blue. Will’s taken to snorkeling the most, and is the last to get out of the water. He studied all types of fish ahead of time, so he could identify the different fish. Sam is a natural snorkel boy too, and is quite courageous. It’s great watching them all dive down to swim with the fish and explore up close. Ben finally got comfortable after being a bit nervous. He said his snorkel and mask didn’t fit well, so he constantly pulled them off, refitting the mask. Robby swims and snorkels well, but once he’s chilly, wants to go in. So usually it’s Thom, Will, and me who continue snorkeling after the others exit the water.

That was the case at Dry Tortugas after our initial morning swim. The three of us walked over to the main boat dock and decided to go in before the boats arrived with the day tourists. Little did we know that the area was off limits for swimming. We’d spotted a huge, mammoth Grouper the evening before. Also, a fisherman caught one which was massive. So in we went. We cautiously snorkeled along the pylons, seeing small groups of fish. Then I heard Thom’s guttural voice through his snorkel. He spotted the Grouper!! And it was colossal!! He was looking up at Thom from about 15 ft down, and slowly moving closer! The three of us kept our wide eyes on him as we slowly swam backwards towards the beach. I’ll bet the Grouper weighed over 500 lbs! When he opened his mouth, I could have fit half my body in there! Once near the beach, he turned and swam away. I got out of the water! Thom and Will swam back and watched from a distance. Wow. Even scuba diving, I’ve never been that close to such a large fish. We talked with the park rangers later, who were surprised we snorkeled there, since it’s off limits. Anyway, they told us about 6 or 7 Grouper live here and get so huge because they’re protected. The one we swam with is nicknamed Otis.

Knowing we were leaving in a few hours, we savored every minute. I took loads of pictures. The boys had fun with Eric, and then we said Goodbye to his Mom and Dad. We boarded the Yankee Freedom II and headed out past Bush Key where thousands of birds were nesting in preparation for their migration north. The sky above the island was a moving, screeching, cloud of birds. Amazing.

The boys enjoyed standing at the bow of the catamaran on the 2 ½ hour boat ride home. They could look down and see the rushing water zoom between the two blades. We visited the bridge and talked with Cpt. Cory. He pointed out the location of the Atocha, the sunken Spanish treasure ship I talked about in an earlier blog. The ship carried $400 million of silver, gold, and emeralds, as well as thousands of artifacts. It sank in 1622, and was finally discovered in 1985 after years of searching. They’re still diving the site bringing up new treasures regularly. We saw some turtles on the surface, and before we knew it, we were back in Key West, just in time for another striking sunset.

We’ll stay a few more days in Key West, and then head north. The boys are working hard at school, and our goal is to finish the green test 120 for the three older boys, before Cousin Tucker arrives on April 13th. We can’t wait to have Tucker spend his Spring Break with us for a week!

Key West, Florida

2009-03-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Camping at Key West is a dream-come true! We’ve been at Sigsbee RV campground for 5 days, which is a naval base. To dry camp here runs us $12/day, as opposed to over $100 a day at the commercial campgrounds in this pricey neighborhood. Dry camping means we have no hook-ups, which is less convenient. We have to drive the RV about every 3rd day over to get potable water, and also to dump our grey water and black water. It’s only a few hundred yards away, and doesn’t take more than about 20 minutes. The showers and laundry facility are very clean. The best part is we’re just a stone’s throw from the Gulf of Mexico, and we can see the sunrise over the water from our bedroom window. Palm trees are everywhere, and the temp has been in the low to mid-80’s.

We rode our bikes into Key West soon after our arrival. The kids brought their snorkel gear in backpacks, and went swimming from the beach at Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park. They spotted many fish, but not nearly the sights we experienced out on the coral reef a few days earlier. We rode our bikes around the outdoor art exhibit, which was quite unusual, bordering on bizarre. The coolest thing was a huge display of at least 15 wind pipes, each about 20 feet long. You could hear the wind whistling, as the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico. That’s when we spotted all the commercial sailboats heading out to enjoy the sunset. We walked around the old fort, which is still surrounded by a water-filled moat, and the boys spotted a huge iguana.

Thom rented a boat from MWR here on base. The six of us headed out 7 miles across the gorgeous multi-colored blue waters, in search of coral reefs. We spotted Sand Key, an ideal snorkeling spot, and tied up to a buoy. On went the snorkeling gear, and over the side we went. At first, we couldn’t see anything except a beautiful, never-ending blue. Then the reef came into view, along with the unnerving, menacing barracuda. I only spotted two, and just like last time, I kept my distance. We continued on to shallower waters where we saw a puffer fish, parrot fish, and many others. The visibility (about 30 ft.) wasn’t as good as our earlier trip, but it was still captivating and beautiful.

Thom repositioned the boat a couple more times, and the third location was the favorite. There was a channel running through the reef where multitudes of colorful fish congregated. My favorite part was seeing about 5 huge dark purple angelfish. Ben got the hang of free diving! He now knows how to dive down, swim with the fish, and clear his snorkel upon surfacing. It’s a thrill watching the boys interacting with nature and loving every moment. Will bought an underwater camera and dove down repeatedly taking close-up shots of sea life.

Each day we continue our studies with Calvert, and the boys are up to about lesson 107 now (out of 160). We try and spend at least 5 or 6 hours a day at school. Sam’s ahead of everyone and just completed test 140. We want to get started on the 2nd grade Calvert curriculum soon for Sam, especially in math.
Oh, the other day while Thom was teaching outside at the picnic table, he suddenly jumped up and said, “It bit me!” Sure enough, there was a bright green caterpillar he flicked off. Within minutes, he had a bright red, swollen band across the back of his leg. Later the same day, another caterpillar got him on the foot. Luckily, he didn’t need any treatment and the swelling and pain went away. It’s just strange when we come across unexpected insects. There are also “no see-um’s” which bite you leaving mosquito-like bites. Luckily, the mosquitoes haven’t set in yet.

After a full day of school, we jumped in the car and headed to this area’s famous Mallory Square, where everyone goes to watch the famous sunsets over Key West. Street performers were everywhere and included musicians, jugglers, unicycles, comedians, dancers, and mimes. We even spotted a man who was all tied up in chains like Houdini, and within 5 minutes, he’d worked himself out of the chains as well as the straight jacket. The boys took it all in, and loved putting money in the hat at the end of the act.
We took pictures at the southern most point of the US, which is right here in Key West. It’s one of those great towns to just mosey around in, taking in all the sights. We also want to visit Hemmingway’s house before we leave.

One of my favorite stops has been Mel Fisher’s Maritime Museum. Wow! For those of you who don’t know, Mel Fisher was a scuba diver who searched for shipwrecks full of treasure for years. Finally in 1985, his crew found the Atocha, a Spanish ship that sank in 1622. To date, they have brought up over 35 tons of silver ingots (bars), 125 gold bars and discs, thousands of “pieces of eight”, the famed Spanish coins as in “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and loads of emeralds including one weighing 78 carats! Included in the museum is a jewelry shop, selling unique items such as an 80 lb silver ingot for $60,580 and a gold necklace for $130,000. To date, Mel Fisher’s crew has salvaged over $400 million in treasures from the Atocha!

The story goes on. Although Mel Fisher passed away in 1998, his family and crew continue to dive for treasure, since they have exclusive dive rights to that shipwreck. Thom and I inquired about their investors’ program. For $10K, you can join their investors’ club and go diving with their crew for a year. You keep the first treasure you find (up to six times what you’ve invested). Since Thom and I both dive, we thought this might be the ultimate retirement…….maybe in 11 years when the boys are off to college! Ah, we all must have our dreams. It doesn’t get much better than diving for treasure in the turquoise waters off Key West!

Key Largo, Florida

2009-03-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

We decided to spend St. Patty’s Day in green. What I mean by that is we took a boat 5 miles out from John Pennekamp State Park of Key Largo to the coral reefs. Turquoise and teal were the greens we saw, for as far as the eye could see! Thom and I are scuba qualified, but we’ll have to wait a few years until the kids are certified before we dive again. So we all went snorkeling for over an hour in the most beautiful water ever. It was about 85 degrees, and the water was probably 72. So, time for science!

The captain arrived at a coral reef called Grecian Rocks, anchored The Encounter, gave us a little intro, and the Besch boys were the first in the water out of about 50 people. I’m thrilled they’re such great swimmers and so adventurous. Most people snorkeled near the boat, but we headed past the bow and off to the edge of the reef. As we kicked along looking down with the sun on our backs, we spotted about 4 barracuda! The captain had named fish we might see, but I didn’t expect barracuda to be the first! Luckily, they seemed to be passive and not very hungry. We told the boys to keep their distance. We swam over sea grass and saw the giant conch shells the captain had described. The conchs were fished to extinction in the Keys, and they’re now being reintroduced and protected.

We came to sand, and then the colorful coral reef. It was like Dr. Seuss’s One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! There were tiny electric blue and neon yellow angel fish, striped black and gold seargent major fish, long trumpet fish, and giant schools of silver snapper fish. It didn’t matter which direction…fish were everywhere. My favorite are the parrot fish, decked out in their purple, bluish green, and pink colors. I just floated and watched as they chomped on the coral. I spotted a symbiotic relationship between a tiny, busy fish cleaning away on a parrot fish’s back. The little fish eats away the parasites on the bigger fish, which is good for both.

The boys were into it, big time. Will, Robby, and Sam have learned the trick of diving down to swim with the fish, and then clearing the snorkel upon surfacing without removing it from the mouth. It’s a cool maneuver that comes in handy, and allows you to free dive. Thom and I dove down quite a bit, once we were past the barracuda! Ben was nervous, and stayed close to Thom, not wanting to try the diving. Thom held Ben by the arm as they swam, pointing out many things.
We heard a loud air horn, and I looked up to spot the captain pointing at guess who…the Besches. He signaled us to come closer. We did, but it’s too bad since that was the best, deepest area we saw. There were giant sea fans, long trumpet fish, and colorful schools of fish everywhere. The coral was the basis for all the life out here, at depths of only one to 20 feet below us. We saw fire coral, brain and star coral, and many soft corals that I thought were plants (sea fans and sea whips). The only plants were the sea grass.

The boys said it was like swimming in a huge aquarium. The visibility was crystal clear for probably 50 or 60 feet. As we swam back to the boat, we again spotted many barracuda, carefully swimming around them. Thom and Will said they came within 10 feet! We climbed back on the boat, and Sam was the last one up. The captain had jokingly warned everyone ahead of time that the last one back had to buy everyone the first round of drinks on St. Patrick’s Day. When Sam came up the ladder, the captain congratulated him, held up his hand, and announced to everyone that Sam would buy the drinks!

We camped right there at the state park where the boat docked. We’ve been so lucky to find a place for our big rig, since this is the height of the season, and spring break for some colleges. Today we’ll drive about 80 miles to Key West. Thom was here 20 years ago, and the rest of us have never been. So we’ll take our time making many stops on the way to see the sights and enjoy the gorgeous azure seas, along with mangrove trees everywhere.

Pembroke Pines, Florida

2009-03-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

We’ve spent the last four days at C. B. Smith County Park in Pembroke Pines, just north of Miami. We chose it since it’s near our friends, Albert and Sol Tio. Thom worked for Colonel Tio about 15 years ago when Thom was a Captain in Garden City, NY. This was when Thom and I were married, and I relocated from California to be with Thom. COL Tio was one of the greatest bosses Thom ever had. Now that both are retired colonels, he insists that we call him Al or Albert.
After at least 12 years, we had a wonderful reunion yesterday at their beautiful home. Their son, Sergio joined us along with his wife, Anita, and children Gabe and Allie. Our boys loved swimming in their refreshing pool, and playing with the grandkids. Sam was the water taxi for little Allie (3), and later played monkey in the middle with Gabe.

Sol cooked up an exquisite Cuban dinner, since she and Albert are originally from Cuba. We talked about so many things including life after the army, family, travel, Cuba, and work. We loved every minute, and laughed at so many of their stories.

We’re heading south this morning to the Florida Keys! Before we depart, the boys insisted on one more round of golf at the park’s driving range. Thom’s been taking the boys there daily, and now they each spent allowance money on golf gloves! Sam decided that golf is his favorite summer sport.

This park is huge and offers tennis, a water park, open picnic areas, baseball diamonds, and even ski/wakeboarding lessons behind a boat on the lake next to us. We heard loud music the second evening. Upon closer investigation, we discovered an adjacent school was hosting “Relay for Life.” This is a terrific all-night fund raiser for the American Cancer Society, which brings public awareness to the fact that cancer never sleeps. We participated in the past with Relay for Life in Delta Junction, AK. It was fun to compare how they do things in Florida. Our campsite is very near the event, so we heard them late into the night, and early the next morning.

Another fun thing we did here was link up with friends Judy Lee, her husband Pascal, and kids Luc and Lea at Miami’s famous South Beach. The biggest difference between this beach and all the other Florida beaches we’ve experienced are the enormous crowds! We sat in traffic just getting to the beach for about an hour. Once parked, the fun began. The color of the water is gorgeous, like teal or turquoise. The boys noticed right away that many women go topless, and Ben even spotted a woman sunbathing completely nude! There were so many activities with surfers, airplanes pulling advertisements, parasailers behind boats, beach paddle ball, volley ball, football. A funky band with drums walked down the beach, with a woman on stilts in the sand! A handsome man dressed in full tuxedo walked along the beach interviewing beautiful women, accompanied by a camera man and two others. We still don’t know what they were doing. Thom and I sauntered down the beach and came upon the Cosmo Bikini Bash. At least 150 women were dressed in identical blue bikinis, posed in formation for the helicopter and giant crane. Camera crews, a producer, a director, and the press were there for over an hour taking photos. So we’re going to keep our eyes open for Cosmo’s South Beach edition, and buy a copy as a souvenir!

We haven’t seen Judy since Clipper and Wendy’s wedding about 12 years ago. She and Pascal have a beautiful family and life here in the Miami area. It was great visiting on the warm, sandy beach while the kids surfed and played paddle ball. We hope to link up with them again on our way north, after the Keys.

That evening, we put away the beach toys, and meandered down Ocean Ave through the famous art deco restaurant area. The boys enjoyed all the cool cars, including Corvettes, Ferraris, muscle cars, and Hummers. We spotted a huge sand castle across from the restaurants with amazing details of manatees, alligators, birds, a snake, and fish. Women were decked out in high heels and fancy clothes. Another experience to add to our world travels!

Long Point County Park, FL

2009-03-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up before the others, and went outside to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. All was quiet as I looked around at our neighboring RV’s. Robby, Will, and Sam camped out in the tent, once again. Yet when I looked in their direction, I spotted Sam’ orange sleeping bag in our red kayak. Sure enough, I went over and discovered Sam sound asleep in the kayak….that's a first! I thought we’d tried all possible sleeping arrangements by now, but I was wrong! Sam came in later, and said he can’t wait to sleep in the kayak again.

God is good to the Besch Family. He’s blessed us with safe travels, good health, the opportunity to learn and teach not only about Calvert School’s curriculum, but also about our world and history. Most importantly, we have this year to spend together as a family. It’s not always easy sharing our limited space between six of us. The boys continue to argue and annoy each other, yet they’ve grown in their understanding of respecting each other and negotiating. Thom and I practice patience daily, and he amazes me with his level of tolerance, at times of the boys. He’s a great teacher, and our kids are learning so much from their Dad. He teaches them about the stars, fishing, camping, tying knots, electricity, fire safety, geo-caching, and catching lizards. For homeschooling, he takes the lead in science and algebra, as well as poetry!

We’re approaching the 9-month mark of our journey. We departed Delta Junction, Alaska in our motor coach on June 18th. I’m seeing signs that we’re getting ready for our transition to a “traditional, more typical lifestyle.” First of all, it feels great to just stay in one place for awhile! We’ve been in Florida since Jan 19th (almost 2 months), and at this particular campground since Feb 26th. Two weeks at one spot is a long time for our family. We’ve met many friendly people here, and the boys have made friends too. That’s hard to do when we stay only a couple nights at a campground before moving on. We accomplish more school time staying in one place. And lately, Thom has spent more time online looking at job possibilities.

In the past nine months, we’ve traveled through 26 states, seven countries in Europe, and many parts of Canada (Yukon Territory, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia). It has been a fabulous opportunity to show our children first hand this beautiful world. Now I see we’re slowing down, as the travel bug is diminishing. We had thought about making a full circuit of North America with travels to the southwest and California. Now I’m not sure how much further we’ll go. We love Florida’s weather in March, and as I mentioned, it’s so nice to stay in one place for awhile.

The boys mention things like, “I can’t wait until we live in a house,” and Ben asked just this morning, “Mom, can I have my own room? It’s OK if it’s really small, as long as it has a closet where I can keep my things.” Sam complains that our toilet doesn’t flush as well as a “regular toilet!” Will misses his friends from Delta Junction, and of course playing hockey. Robby looks forward to going to school with other students, and with “regular teachers.” These are all good signs. When I remind them that we’re nearing the end of this adventure, and we should enjoy our school mornings started by swimming with dolphins, they smile. It’s a special year that we probably will never experience again, in this depth. And yes, it’s true about the dolphins. One of our campsites here at Long Point was next to the intercoastal waterway of the Sebastian Inlet. Dolphins swam regularly past our campsite, and so the boys swam out three mornings in a row, getting within 10 feet of the dolphins!

Please pray for us as we make our big decisions. We pray that God will show us where He wants our family to be next. Thom worries, as can be expected with our economy the way it is, and lays awake at night. I remind him that he continues to be a wonderful provider for all of us. Thom wants to please us by finding a job so we can live in the northeast near his family, near the cottage at Frost Point, Canada, and of course where the boys can play hockey. That would be ideal, but more importantly to me is for Thom to find a job that he’s excited about. He’s fervent about renewable energy, especially wind power. I’d love to see him working in this field, especially with all the problems in our world, including global warming and our country’s dependence on foreign oil.

Now we have about 3 months of travel time remaining. In June or July, hopefully Thom will have a job offer and we’ll look to settle down wherever that job may be. It’s a great real estate market for buyers, so we’ll most likely buy a home. Then the boys will start school in August. So, again, please include our family in your prayers as our travels wind down, and we move onto our next chapter.

Sebastian Inlet, Florida

2009-03-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

We continue camping at Long Point County Park on Florida’s intercoastal waterway. School is the focal point now, and the boys are working hard to make up for lost school time at Disney. They’ll be taking green tests #100 this coming week. It’s nice to stay in one place for a week, with both Thom and I teaching. The kids get into a nice rhythm, and make rapid progress with their lessons. For recess, the boys ride bikes, fish, paddle around in our red kayak, or play in the sand. We’re at an ideal campsite directly on the water. Dolphins swim past, and yesterday we spotted about six fins. We watch pelicans diving for fish from our small beach where Sam likes to build sand castles.

Last night the boys all went tent camping while Thom and I had the RV to ourselves. They’ve done this many times, but last night was different because they paddled out in the kayak to camp on an island! They made multiple trips hauling their tent, sleeping bags, food, and gear. They kept in contact by radio, and let us know at 7:40pm that it was time for bed. We asked what time they thought it was, and Will guessed 10pm! Thom paddled a canoe over this morning, and found them eating oatmeal. What an adventure.

The boys love playing in the Atlantic, which is a 5-minute car ride from our site. Yesterday for recess, we all went over. The waves were the largest they’ve seen, but they all went in! Poppa bought a surfboard for the boys, and they also have their boogie boards. Tommy, a friend of ours who lives in the area, loaned the boys three surfboards. With the big waves, they just decided to play and get pushed around by them. The water’s too cold for Thom and me, so we watched from shore while doing our pilates exercises. Julia and Matt introduced us to this workout using stretchy bands. It’s perfect for us living on the road.

We’re all reading books more than ever before. That’s a real plus for this lifestyle. Ben’s on his 4th Harry Potter book, while Will’s on his 3rd book by cowboy author William Johnstone. Robby’s a big fan of Tom Clancy, and Sam’s reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Thomas Friedman is the author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded which is keeping my attention with its eye-opening news about the pressing need for alternative energy. We’ve got to wean ourselves off of foreign oil! The book analyzes global warming and how Americans have been incredibly short-sighted with our consumption of energy. Thom’s reading the same books as the boys, along with Homer’s The Odyssey. We watch very little TV, and about once a week the boys watch a movie on the big screen TV. Most of our news comes from the internet and NPR. Thom and I recognize how much time we’ve wasted in the past watching TV. Well, the boys are paddling the kayak back, so I’d better go.

Feb 25
Clayton and Louise flew home to New York today after a very good visit with us for a week. I know Louise was sad to leave this lovely beach atmosphere in the middle of winter, but I think Clayt was ready for home. Halfway through their visit, we changed accommodations to a beach house through MWR of Patrick Air Force Base. It’s been wonderful! It’s a 3 bedroom house that comfortably sleeps 8 people, and it’s right on the beach. Diane Vose’s son, Tommy, lives nearby and he loaned us 3 surfboards. So now the kids are doing a completely different February sport from hockey….surfing!

One day we all headed over to Cape Canaveral to visit the Kennedy Space Center. Discovery STS-119 is the space shuttle scheduled for launch hopefully in about 2 weeks. We saw it in position on the launch pad! There’s a chance we’ll still be in the neighborhood to actually view it on the launch day. At the space center, we watched many movies of Apollo rockets, and the earliest astronauts from the Gemini series. We rode a bus to three different stops, so we saw much more than just the main museum. We learned that “the crawler” moves the shuttle from the vehicle assembly building to the launch pad about 3 miles away. The crawler weighs 6 million pounds, and carries another 12 million pounds for a total of 18 million lbs! There are 14,000 employees at Kennedy Space Center, and I encouraged our boys to consider working there one day. Will informed me that he’ll never live in Florida because it’s way too hot here. We also learned that each space shuttle is worth about $3 billion dollars. We spotted numerous alligators in the small canals and waterways throughout Cape Canaveral.

Thom flew up to Maryland for a couple days to complete his VA medical review. He’s pleased with the appointments so far. Once he flies back to FL tomorrow, we’ll head south a bit and continue with school.

Feb 20
Florida’s east coast is beautiful with long beaches as far as the eye can see. Around this area just south of Cape Canaveral, it’s not as developed. We’re enjoying this slower pace, after our Disney venture. School has risen to the top of the priority list. The boys have settled into a nice pace, checking off at least a lesson per day and sometimes more. We spent a few days at a terrific campground called Long Point. It’s about a mile inland from the coast, but is on the intercoastal waterway with most campsites on the water. Dolphins, pelicans, and fish can be easily spotted, giving the boys lots to do at recess. A local wood stork which stood at least 3 ft high awkwardly stepped around the campsites in search of handouts. The boys rode their bikes, swam in the small pond, and fished daily.

Thom’s parents’, Clayton and Louise, arrived yesterday from New York to spend a week with us! Thom arranged for them to stay at a nice little hotel right on the beach. Thanks to Diane Vose for all your help! We pulled our RV into the parking lot where the hotel’s letting us stay. Sam woke up the morning of their arrival excitedly saying, “Today Nana and Poppa are coming!” The boys have gone boogie boarding each day, as the giant cruise ships head out to sea in the distance. It’s quite lovely sitting in a beach chair, reading a good book, and just taking it all in. Today, Thom bought a used surf board and wetsuit for the boys. Will was the first to try. He took a surfing lesson 3 years ago in Hawaii, and seemed to catch on with the basics, like paddling out. Once the kids get cold, they all head for the Jacuzzi!

It’s nice spending time with Clayton and Louise. They left sleet and freezing temperatures behind in NY. The weather here is cooler than last week, with high’s in the 60’s. I’m not complaining though! The boys are getting along nicely, and we’ve played cards and read books with Clayt and Louise. We’ll finish the night with a dip in the Jacuzzi.

Orlando, Florida

2009-02-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

Feb 16
We’re now departing Orlando after a fun-filled two weeks. Our friends Julia, Matt, Sophia, and Alex flew home to California yesterday, welcomed by rainy, stormy weather and a power outage at their home! We miss them already. One of our favorite days was the day before they left. We just stayed at the resort and enjoyed the activities there including tennis, paddle boats shaped like swans, miniature golf, bike rentals, and of course swimming. At one point, we had 8 players on one tennis court….what a hoot! Having kitchens in the condo gave us the added flexibility of prepping meals while the kids swam and played. The best dinner was Julia’s turkey burritos, and we all caught up on conversations missed over the last year and a half.

While here, we were busy visiting all four parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios) along with a trip to the water park (Blizzard Beach) and also to the game site of Disney Quest. On Valentine’s Day, Julia hid chocolate hearts for all the kids to find, and gave them each a Disney character pen. On our last day, Alex and Sophia gave our boys a complete bag of magic tricks! Sam was especially excited to learn the magic coloring book trick, and Robby stayed up late one night working on tricks with Thom.
We’re heading east to the Atlantic where we hope to find a good camp ground on the beach. Now it’s time for school.

Feb 13
Yesterday we stayed at our room and had a school day. We’re reaching the saturation point! The boys asked if we could just stay here and swim instead of going to a park. So I proposed a school day, and although they weren’t crazy about the idea, they didn’t resist. Matt, Julia, Alex, and Sophia went off to the Animal Kingdom and had a nice afternoon. They came back and cooked up a big Mexican burrito dinner for all of us!

Then we drove over to Disney’s All-American Music Hotel where we had a lovely evening with Roger, Tammy, Parker, and Jackson Hoselton. We also met Tammy’s brother, Brian who is visiting from North Dakota. The Hoselton’s are friends from Delta Junction, Alaska and it worked out great to be here at Disneyworld simultaneously. The kids all swam together, and then Parker and Jackson shared their toys and guns for out-of-the-pool action. We brought Thom’s guitar, in hopes that Roger would treat us to some live entertainment. He did! He sang some new songs like the Alaskan Rooster and Welcome to the Deltana Fair, as well as old favorites like Mini-Me’s, This Old Black Guitar, and Lexapro. Yes, this brought back so many fond memories of Ft. Greely, Alaska. It was great seeing them again.

A couple days ago, we picked the warmest day to go to Disney’s Blizzard Beach. It’s a terrific water park with about 8 different large water slides, a lazy river encompassing the park, and a huge wave pool resembling the beach. Thom, Alex, and all our Besch boys shot down the challenging “Summit Plummet” where a single person drops straight down a chute reaching speeds up to 60 mph! I expected one of them to get cold feet up there, but nobody did. They all loved it, but weren’t willing to stand in the hour-long line again for a 2nd run.

That evening, Thom and Matt took all the kids to Disney Quest, the 5-story building packed with video and interactive games. Julia and I went to a piano bar with dueling pianists. They’re phenomenal. Two pianists play songs on request from the audience. There’s no music or lyrics, and these two men knew what to play. They were great, comical entertainers as well. Julia had never seen dueling pianists, and she could really appreciate their talent since she’s an excellent pianist herself.

Feb 10
Whew, now it’s late after a full day at Epcot with our friends. Even though our own family was just there three days ago, we had a terrific time exploring parts of Epcot we hadn’t seen yet. The weather was ideal, and for the first time, we all applied sun block. New things for us included Test Track, where you get to try out “new cars” on things like bumps, heat, cold, and speed. “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” was an interactive show we enjoyed.

For me the best part was walking though the countries of Epcot. We laughed at a street performance of King Arthur comedians in Great Britain, listened to drummers in Japan, and the best stop was seeing the Italian juggler. He took a liking to Sophia, and called her up as a volunteer. She’s a terrific 9-year old athlete, and that’s exactly what he needed. She was given a net, and then caught every ball thrown to her. By her 4th or 5th catch, the crowd was clapping and cheering her on. The juggler instructed Sophia to run way back behind the crowd. He threw the ball at least 100 feet and sure enough, she caught it in her net! Sophia was beaming!
We then watched the Chinese acrobats again, some of which are only about 10 years old. After that, we went soaring on Soarin, followed by the spectacular fireworks show again. Now it’s time for a good night’s sleep.

Feb 10
It’s a quiet Tuesday morning here. The boys are still sleeping at 9am, after a full day yesterday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Our friends Julia, Matt, Alex (12), and Sophia (9) flew in two days ago from San Francisco! As I mentioned earlier, our last visit was when they came to Alaska a year and a half ago. It’s great to see them, and all our kids are having a blast together. They’re treating us to a time share condo for a week. So our motor coach is parked nearby, while we’re staying in a beautiful 2-bedroom condo. There’s so much space! The boys noticed the gigantic Jacuzzi bathtub in Thom’s and my bathroom right away. Then there’s a nice kitchen, dining area, living room, and screened-in porch with a table and chairs. We’re right next door to Matt and Julia’s condo, so the kids zoom back and forth between the two places. In addition, we’re next to a fairly good-sized pool and Jacuzzi. The kids went for a swim both nights so far.

Yesterday was the first park day for our group at Hollywood Studios. Once again, Robby was the planner and navigator. He knows his way around all four parks quite well now. We’ve got the “fast pass” routine down well. The longest lines for the big rides can be as long as 2 hours, with wait times posted in front of each ride. You can get a fast pass for a ride by using your entry ticket. Then you come back to that ride later and there’s only a 10 or 15 minute line for the fast passers.

So we went on Tower of Terror, Aerosmith’s Rock-n-Roller Coaster, Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, and the Great Movie Tour. Disney’s shows are first class, and our group saw the Great Stunt Show, Indiana Jones, and Fantasmic. For the stunt show, we sat in the grand stands which seats thousands of people. They had at least 10 stunt cars which performed an amazing chase scene in a French village setting. Then there were about 5 motorcycles that did another chase scene, which included some seedoo’s getaway stuff. The highlight was when a car went up and jumped off a big truck, landing on a 2nd truck’s roof, and then finally landing on a huge airbag. One of the motorcyclists caught on fire, which was part of the show, and then the crew came out and sprayed him down.

I think my favorite was the roller coaster. I rode it three times, but Ben topped that by riding it four times! Most of it was in the dark, and it accelerated immediately at the start. Ben and I missed the Fantasmic show because we were on the roller coaster a bit too long. He said it’s OK since he liked that ride so much. But our friend Alex told us that Fantasmic was his favorite thing all day.

By the time we came back to our room last night, we were starving and exhausted. The guys cooked up steaks, sausage, and hot dogs, while Julia prepped a healthy salad. The best part of the day was relaxing with good friends, eating, drinking wine, and then sitting in the Jacuzzi!

Feb 7
I didn’t mention too much on my last update about the Animal Kingdom. We spent a full day there, and enjoyed it more than most zoos. We rode on their safari jeep amongst the lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, ostriches, and gazelle. They were all very active with the cooler weather, instead of just sleeping in a corner like we often see on a warm zoo day. We didn’t see the lion chasing the gazelle, although they were in the same vicinity. Thom said it’s because they feed the lions so well. ….pretty amazing to see.
We rode the Mt. Everest roller coaster, the scary Dinosaur ride, but skipped the water ride because we didn’t want to get wet. It was a chilly day. In the middle of the Animal Kingdom is the Tree of Life. It’s an artificial tree, but huge and the coolest thing is that it’s been personally carved by many famous artists. You can see all kinds of animals, birds, and insects carved into the tree. We also visited the petting zoo, where we watched a funky llama wriggle his head around in a weird way each time he reached one corner of his large area. We finished up at a great theatrical performance of Nemo, with live dancers and singers impersonating the beloved characters.

A couple days later, we decided to take a break from the Disney excitement. Thom drove us to a place in Orlando he visited a long time ago. He pulled up and announced we were at “Sky Venture.” Sure enough, we all signed up for our first experience flying in a wind tunnel! Thom’s been skydiving for years with over 100 jumps, so this wasn’t new for him, as you can see from his picture. But the rest of us were a little anxious as we went through our training. Angel was our instructor, who’s also a gymnast at Cirque de Soleil nearby. Sam’s now decided this is what he wants to be when he grows up!

After the training and putting on our flying suits and helmets, we proceeded to the wind tunnel. We all did really well! I went first, and had one minute in the tunnel. The wind blows straight up from below. With my instructor’s help, I simply fell forward and held the classic position with my legs and arms out. The wind blew my body up and I bounced around a bit into the walls and back down. Angel caught me, reminded me to straighten my legs a bit, and up I went. Each Besch boy then followed, one at a time. They all did really well, getting a feel for the new phenomenon. Sam had such an amazing back arch that he kept sinking down. Angel helped him straighten his back out to catch more air for lift. Ben was a natural, and his little body started zooming upwards right away. Thom said the instructor actually stepped into the wind to bring Ben down a bit! Robby’s legs were floppy at first, but he quickly got the hang of it. Will was a little stiff at first, but relaxed and soon was flying as well. Along came Thom, who needed no help from the instructor. Thom easily maneuvered his way around, catching air and quickly moving upward. We then each had a 2nd turn, again for one minute. Everyone improved, and Angel flew along with each of us to get us higher up in the wind tunnel. It was a blast. Thom attempted to flip over onto his back, but Angel quickly realigned him saying we could only fly in the beginner position. Thom understood, but was hoping to do some of his old stunts for us. Then Angel gave us about a two–minute demo of some pretty incredible stunts. We each received a flying certificate.

Later that day, we linked up with Cyndi Landers at a radio station. She works for 592 FM, along with five other radio stations in the Orlando area. Thom and her husband, Mike went to NPS (Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey) together about 15 years ago. Cyndi treated all of us to an eye-opening tour, which included time in two on-air personalities’ studios. Yes, they were on the air while we listened in! Shadow had country music going, while Hildy hosted classic rock. Robby and Will asked many questions, while earning credit towards their communications merit badge for Boy Scouts! Cyndi was then so kind as to give us t-shirts for all the boys from the radio station!

We then zoomed over to Disney’s Polynesian Hotel to meet our friends Anne and Jim Clifford. We haven’t seen each other since our last visit to Florida 11 years ago. They brought a variety of cheeses, bread, nuts, Greek salad, Jim’s homemade pumpkin pie, Anne’s apple crisp, strawberries, and chocolates. Oh, and a nice bottle of French red wine from the Rhone too! So we sat and visited, while the boys swam in the huge pool with a water slide. We all enjoyed Disney’s 8pm fireworks show, as well as the 9pm Boat Show with lights. Anne and Jim then came over to visit our home on wheels. It was great catching up with them again. All in all, it was another wonderful day in Orlando!

On Saturday, we explored Epcot. This is my favorite park. It’s huge, with so many things to see. There’s no way to cover it in a day. I think you could visit each of the other parks in a day, but not Epcot. We all loved Soarin, where you fly over the favorite places of California. Mission Space made me a bit queasy, as we accelerated and spun into space as astronauts. The part I enjoyed the most was exploring the countries around Epcot’s big lake. We watched a belly dancer and enjoyed lunch in Morocco, saw Chinese acrobats, went on a boat ride through Norway, and watched a wood carver from Africa. I was pleased that the boys recognized many things from our recent travels to Europe. Every night at 9pm, Epcot puts on a fabulous fireworks show called IllumiNations. Once again, Disney impressed us with music, a glowing and changing floating Earth on the lake, and of course wonderful fireworks.

Disney World and Tampa, Florida

2009-02-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

We are in the midst of our Disney escapade. Only Thom has been to Disney World before, and that was over 20 years ago. It’s really a new adventure for all of us. The boys used to say that everyone they knew had been to Disney at least once…when could we go? So here we are for two full weeks at the happiest place on Earth.
We’re camping at Disney’s Fort Wilderness, which is a first-rate campground. It’s huge, with 3 different bus routes just within the campground. From what we can see, it’s close to capacity but extremely quiet. Not many children and young families are here, yet it’s a favorite destination for retirees. Many people camp here for 3 months, and Thom even met a couple who’s here for six months! They set up their yards, complete with Disney character lights and signs marking their families’ names and site numbers.
We bought 9-day park passes….. can you imagine 9 days of Disney?! So far we’ve logged two full days, to include the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom. Disney is awesome. It’s not just the big things like Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Everest roller coaster that make it great. It’s more subtle things like spotting a robotic recycling container which looks identical to a trash can. The boys spotted it at Animal Kingdom as it zipped around talking with people. The trash can asked Sam where he’s from. When Sam answered, “Alaska,” the recycler replied, “Psst, I have a little secret. Tell your parents that Disneyland in California is a lot closer!” The boys loved it. Then as we were walking to Asia in the same park, we spotted a Disney entertainer camouflaged as a walking tree along one of the paths. She was marvelous, and posed for a hundred pictures.
Robby is working on his Family Life merit badge for Boy Scouts, and one of the requirements is to plan a family event. So he researched all the parks, and is our official guide. He has the map, briefs us as to where we’re going, and runs ahead to get fast passes for the big rides. This cuts down on the time we spend standing in lines.

Weather has been chilly, with lows in the 20’s and highs in the 40’s. We’ve been heading south for months in search of warm weather….where is it?? Luckily, the forecast predicts weather in the 70’s next week. Our first day at Disney was a soaker; fortunately we had our rain coats and the lines weren’t long anywhere. A little damp weather never slows down these Alaskans!

We were delighted to discover that our Alaskan friends, the Siers Family, are here. John and Susan called us the night we arrived. Their son Chance is Sam’s best buddy. So they joined us at our campsite for dinner, and Sam was in shock to see Chance all the way here from Alaska! He just stood there looking at Chance. Later on, Sam said he thought it was a boy from the campground, and he didn’t know it was Chance. Soon, they were running all around. We went to a marshmallow roast hosted by Chip N Dale, along with a sing-along cowboy. The guy called on John, and couldn’t believe he was from Alaska!

Chance celebrated his 7th birthday today, and Sam was able to spend the day with Chance and his family at The Magic Kingdom.

Next, Julia and Matt are flying in from California with their children Alex (12), and Sophia (9) on Sunday. They’re treating us to a week at their timeshare! Wow, a real hotel. We’re all so excited to see them. They traveled up to Alaska to visit us in the summer of ’07. They earned their “happy campers’ rank” as we toured all the way down to Homer with two pop-up trailers. Now we’ll spend a week together at Disney.
Another family we can’t wait to catch up with is the Hoselton’s from Delta Junction, Alaska! Roger, Tammy, Parker, and Jackson are arriving next week to escape the winter cold. Tammy home schools the two boys using the Calvert curriculum (same as ours). She influenced us in a very positive way as we made the big decisions regarding home schooling. They also took care of three of our boys last May when Ben underwent eye surgery in Anchorage. Roger is the talented songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist who many of you know or have heard sing in Thom’s retirement slide show. We’ll be sure and bring the guitar next week when we get together around the pool.
Tomorrow we’ll be visiting with Anne and Jim Clifford, friends from FL who I’ve known since my single days back in Southern Calif. We’re meeting at Disney’s Polynesian Resort so the boys can swim.
I should also mention amidst this fun and socializing that our boys have accomplished two full days of school since we arrived Feb 1. I wasn’t sure if this would be possible, but as it turns out, the breaks are good. Will awoke today with a stiff neck and could hardly stand up. Too many rides on the roller coaster? It could just be from a bad night’s sleep on the air mattress. Anyway, I was happy to lay low for a day since my legs were aching from all the walking. The boys are all now past the halfway point with school for the year!
Before we arrived in Orlando, we enjoyed a few days at McDill Air Force Base near Tampa. It was the weekend of the Super Bowl, so all campsites were booked. That’s OK. We “dry camped” which means no hook-ups. We had a good supply of our own water, and the campground provided showers and laundry.

We really enjoyed catching up with Chris, Sue, and Justin Miller who live at McDill. Thom and Chris attended the fellowship program at Univ of Texas at Austin together about 4 years ago. They had us over for a delicious teriyaki chicken dinner, complete with chocolate-dipped strawberries that Sue and Justin prepared! They have four precious puppies which our boys adored and played with the whole time. Even when the pups were exhausted from playing, Sam continued to check on them napping. He wants a dog so badly.
We also stopped by Paul Ostrowski’s home for a valuable visit. Paul and Thom worked together about 12 years ago, and Paul is now a Colonel in acquisitions at McDill. He built an incredible home in Tampa, which he designed with eye-catching archways and refinished antique furniture. The kitchen is a dream, and to top it off, he added a built-in pool and hot tub in the back yard. The boys went for a quick dip and now want a house with a swimming pool. Thom and Paul discussed the world of work, and opportunities currently available. We hadn’t considered Tampa, but we’re open to all possibilities. Thom truly enjoyed working with the soldiers as an acquisition officer, meeting their ever-changing needs. This might be just the right job for him.
Since we were in the Tampa area, we drove through the downtown area as well as Ybor City the day before Super Bowl Sunday. It was crazy! There were definitely more Steelers fans and jerseys, compared with the Cardinals. We went rollerblading along Tampa Bay, enjoying the beautiful sun and gorgeous homes.
Just north of Tampa is where we camped a bit earlier. The KOA campground had a small heated pool that the boys enjoyed daily. This was a good stop for school. They completed Test 80 for Calvert, which is exactly the halfway point…yeah! We had a chance to visit with Frank Riley, Wendy’s Dad. Wendy is our sister-in-law up in New York and she put us in touch with her Dad. Frank brought us fresh lemons and grapefruit from his own yard. The boys squeezed them for lots of lemonade and fresh grapefruit juice.
We’ll be here in Orlando until Feb 15th. Then we’ll make our way to Florida’s Atlantic coast, near Cocoa. Thom’s parents will fly in for 5 days to visit. I’m sure looking forward to Louise’s help as a teacher! She’s great with the boys. We may even get a chance to see the shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral.

Tampa, Florida

2009-01-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

I’m finally adding photos to our site…I’m far behind I know. The good news is that we’ve been taking loads of pictures. We’re just north of Tampa as we’re finishing our Calvert tests.

Yesterday was a highlight when we visited the Homosassas River on Florida’s west coast. We visited a state park which is just like a zoo of local wildlife including manatee, thousands of birds and fish, alligators, snakes, deer, and even a black bear. After that, Thom found a nearby swimming area where he and the boys ventured out. Guess what? They swam with 2 manatee! Two of the boys were in our red kayak to locate the manatee, and the others swam with these gentle, slow-moving mammals. They weigh close to 2000 lbs! Will said it was scary but really exciting to touch them underwater. These are memories of a lifetime!

Florida Panhandle

2009-01-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

Jan 25
This morning is our 3rd day at Ft. Andrews, a lovely state park near Panama City. Our motor coach is parked on the bay side, and the boys camped out in the tent last night after our campfire. Robby and Will are working on their Boy Scout merit badge for camping. Feels like summer again! The boys discovered many hermit crabs in the bay, so they’re out digging with spatulas and shovels, filling up their buckets!

We drove less than a mile yesterday to enjoy the surf of the Gulf of Mexico on the other side of this peninsula. The boys went out on boogie boards and our red kayak, braving the waves. Thom and I opted to stay out of the chilly water, playing lifeguards from the comfort of our beach chairs. Once again, we enjoyed a romantic sunset over the Gulf.

The boys are now taking Calvert Test 80, and have been putting in many hours at school. Lately, we’ve been doing about 7 hours a day. We’re very familiar now with the expectations of homeschooling. The Calvert curriculum is challenging and detailed. Once each boy finishes a subject, he moves right along to the next, so he’s always learning. This is different compared with their traditional classroom schooling. In the classroom, the teacher can’t move on until all the students get through the material (or the bell rings). So I think our boys were used to a certain amount of time for repeated lessons or “rest”. Now, they’re constantly working on new material, with reviews every 10 lessons. Probably the biggest improvement we see is in their writing skills. There is more time for teaching one on one, which shows in their compositions. Sam is learning cursive writing, and he too is writing more each day.

Today we’ll head east, and then south in search of manatees. We’ve been told they can be seen swimming in the rivers north of the Tampa area. We have one week before it’s time for Disney World! That’s another good reason to get as much school done now as possible.

Destin, Florida

2009-01-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

We’re finally enjoying the beautiful white beaches and emerald blue waters along the Gulf of Mexico here on Florida’s panhandle. Florida surprised us with temps in the 20’s and low 30’s, but now it’s finally warming up with a temp of 58 outside! Yesterday, the boys donned their swim shorts and ventured out into the chilly water to their hips. “Brrrr,” beachcombers said as they walked by scanning for shells. We rode our bikes this evening to the beach, arriving just in time to watch the sunset. That’s when the boys decided to take a swim with the beautiful orange and red colors as a backdrop.
This is an ideal place for the Besch Boys as we power through school lessons, looking forward to recess at the beach. The sand here is unnaturally white, due to the quartz and lack of rivers dropping brown sediment. We’re preparing for Test 80, our 4th big round of tests this year, which will mark our halfway point.
From here, we’ll work our way down towards Tampa and St. Petersburg. We have reservations at Disney World’s onsite campground in Ft. Wilderness beginning Feb 1! Thanks to all of you who’ve passed on suggestions about fast passes, military discounts, etc.

Charlestown, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia

2009-01-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

Jan 19
We departed this morning from the Turko’s home. Bob cooked up breakfast for all of us, rivaling the Fred McMuffins and omelets at the Cunningham’s! Thom and Bob completed a project together yesterday putting up 6 mirrors in their gym. Janet was thrilled, since she uses the gym daily. Thom was glad to utilize his handyman skills….any opportunity to work with power tools make him happy. They invited us to attend their beautiful new Catholic Church, and the boys helped with a service project. All the kids brought food to donate to needy people and families, and they assembled food bags in Sunday school. This trip is giving us many opportunities to attend many different churches. We’ve attended Baptist, Episcopalian, non-denominational Christian, and the United Church of Canada in addition to Catholic. Some are small, while others are huge. Everyone always makes us feel welcome.
Thom just gave us a driving tour of Ft. Benning, GA where he lived for 3 years as a 2nd Lieutenant and Captain. It’s fun hearing him describe to the boys exactly where he trained for parachuting (airborne), and what is was like jumping out of planes at night. He talked about Ranger school as well. Thom was a West Point cadet at the time. Here he is 26 years later driving his motor coach, wife, and 4 boys through the Home of the Infantry.

Jan 17
It’s snowing in Atlanta! We keep heading south in search of warm weather, and record lows instead are experienced everywhere we go. Perhaps we’re the ones responsible for the cold that we’ve brought from Alaska.

We’re now in Roswell, Georgia visiting Bob and Janet Turko, and their boys Robbie (10) and Chris (9). We won’t get a chance to meet their daughter, Mary, who’s on a ski trip, but all the boys are getting along famously. Bob is another classmate of Thom’s from West Point, and we’re enjoying this long weekend together in their stunning home. The boys stayed up until 1 am, and then their boys had basketball games the following morning! From there, we had a great lunch at The Five Seasons (thanks Clipper and Dennis!), and drove out to Stone Mountain. The latter is an enormous chunk of granite, and we all hiked 30 minutes to the top. The boys all crashed much earlier in bed the second night!

Before arriving in Georgia, we visited many friends in South Carolina. First, we visited with Miles and Laura Huff, who Thom worked with about 15 years ago in NY. Laura’s now retired from the Air Force, and Miles is a culinary instructor at Trident Technical Institute in Charleston.

Miles gave us a tour through the impressive classrooms and kitchens, and showed us how to make an apple bird as an attractive garnish. Ben’s already made one for our host in Georgia! We also had a chance to meet Laura and Miles first grandchild, Ethan, who is now 8 months old and absolutely adorable.

After that, Thom took us out to Patriots’ Point and Ft. Moultre. This historic fort protected the port of Charleston back in the days of the American Revolutionary War through the Civil War, and up past World War II when we worried about German subs. It was here where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Confederate Army soldiers fired from Ft. Moultre upon Union soldiers who had given up command of Ft. Moultre and retreated to Ft. Sumter. We could see the tiny island of Ft. Sumter across the narrow harbor.

Next, we met up with our Alaska friends, the Brady Family, who have relocated to the Charleston area also. Mike, Cindy, Nicolaus, and Adam treated us to dinner and a fun visit. The boys headed for the nearest park, and later played Risk while the adults shared stories about life since Alaska. We wish we could have spent more time with all our dear South Carolina friends.

Prior to that, we stayed in Fayetteville, NC where we worked hard at school, and Thom made contact with two friends he hadn’t seen in quite awhile. Dennis Callahan, another West Point classmate, was astounded when he received Thom’s call. They caught up over lunch, and later, he and his wife Karen had us over for a delicious spaghetti dinner. Their children, Adam (14) and Hope (8) were terrific hosts and shared their electronic games with the Besch Boys. We continue to be overwhelmed with so much hospitality!

Thom also spent time with longtime Army buddy, Bob Clausson. Bob and his friend, Holly joined Thom for breakfast and they caught up with what’s happened over the past 20 years.

North Carolina, Jan 11

2009-01-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

After two months of a stationery lifestyle in Maryland, we’re up and moving again. Currently, we’re visiting friends in Cary, North Carolina. Fred Cunningham and John Brundige were classmates of Thom’s many years ago at West Point, and we’re now enjoying a mini-reunion. We parked the RV in front of John and Juliet’s home, and our boys love playing with their children Ian, Bemmy, Rexy, and Thomas. After an afternoon of driving, Juliet had a home-cooked turkey dinner and wine awaiting us! This morning, we all headed over to Fred and Janette’s new home where they treated us to a wonderful breakfast of custom omelettes. Their children Laura and Mark shared toys with all 8 visiting kids. We could get used to this…life is good!

The chilly weather of MD in the 30’s is changing rapidly as we head south, and we awakened to a temp of 55 this morning. Our dear friends in Alaska experienced temps over the holidays of -55 F. All our winter gear is in storage in Alaska, and I don’t miss the extreme cold. The boys miss the snow, hockey and friends.

So let’s go back to Maryland. Before our departure, we were able to visit with Crystal, Mark, Charlie, and Josh Moran. Crystal and I met about 9 years ago through Moms Club, and spent many cherished times together at parks with our young kids. Charlie and Robby are the same age and reminisced about the old days, as well as discussing current issues like Boy Scouts and Disney World. Their family spent a week in October at Disney, and gave us all the insights. Josh shared his electronic games with our boys down in their basement, and they only surfaced for pizza and photos!

We had a productive doctor’s visit for Ben’s eye. The pediatric ENT was pleased to see he’s recovered beautifully. He described the surgery to remove some of the sinus tissue in his left nasal area, which is fairly straight forward with remote risks. Yet he cautioned us about jumping in so soon to have this procedure done. After discussing it, we opted to wait and watch, being vigilant about any possible congestion or sinusitis. The doctor agreed, and released Ben. So we can now head out of state, which means south for the winter! If Ben picks up a cold or congestion, hopefully we can keep his sinuses clear with Afrin and avoid the left eye from swelling up again. If he swells, we’ll run for the nearest hospital for antibiotics. At that point we may decide to pursue surgery.

A mini-tour of Washington took place following our DC doctor’s visit to include the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, a trip to the top of the Washington Monument, and a wonderful visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in the city. It was a rainy day, but we all enjoyed the sights. We drove past the White House and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial as well.

The next day we packed up and headed south to Fort Monroe, Virginia where we camped for 2 nights at their RV park. From our bedroom window, we watched the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean. I awoke the boys so they could peer out at the beautiful orange sky. After being inland so many months, it’s wonderful to be back on the water. The Army base itself is an old fort, complete with a full moat and “working” interior. Unfortunately, the museum was closed the day Thom took the boys to see it. We understand the base is on the BRAC list, but hope the museum will remain open.

We took a daytrip to the colonial triangle to explore Jamestowne, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. I had no idea they were so close together. You may remember Captain John Smith from your early American history classes as the man who established the first permanent British settlement in North America back around 1608. That’s Jamestowne. Will and Ben completed the Junior Ranger Booklet questionnaire, earning an official Jamestowne patch. We explored the visitors’ center, Fort James, New Towne, and the Archaearium where hundreds of artifacts have been found. The boys were fascinated with the human skeleton on display, which has been nicknamed J.R. complete with the bullet that remains in his right leg. It was a beautiful sunny, crisp day as we walked along the James River. We all put our imaginations to work envisioning life here 400 years ago, when just surviving the winter against disease and Indian attacks was a huge challenge.

From there we drove to the glassblowers’ building, where we watched a female artist create glass candlesticks. Later in the day, we visited a shoemaker’s shop where we spent 30 minutes talking with and watching a shoemaker work on a pair of leather soles. Back in the day, a good craftsman was capable of making 8 pair of shoes in a 6-day workweek. Our boys were impressed with the attention to detail and time spent. They asked many questions about apprenticeships, and learned that some, like shoemaking, required 7 years. It’s a shame we don’t have more handmade products these days.

We had lunch next to the beautiful William and Mary College campus, and then ventured into Williamsburg. It’s a quiet and slow time for tourists, so we stepped right up to the stockades. The boys couldn’t wait to place their hands and heads into the stocks! We spoke with men and women in costume, who explained interested things about colonial life. As I’ve mentioned before, this is a great way to learn about our country and we see firsthand how these “field trips” relate directly to their history lessons. Robby has American History for 8th grade now, which is ideal for this year on the road. Robby is a Star Scout in Boy Scouts, and is working on his Citizen of the Nation merit badge. He researched Williamsburg and designed questions for each of us to find the answers to on our daytrip. We then “reported back” at the end of our day, and passed!

Will is also a Boy Scout, with the rank of Tenderfoot. He’s working on a few merit badges, which ties in again beautifully with our visits to these historic sites. Ben is a Bear Cub Scout, and Sam is a Tiger, and you can bet they’re also checking off many requirements to achieve their rank.

Briefly, we drove into the Yorktown Visitors’ Center, which is only about 10 miles from Williamsburg. This is where General Cornwallis of Britain surrendered to the Patriots; thus, ending the American Revolutionary War back in 1781.

The day came to a fine finish as we drove to Doug and Michelle Mikatarian’s home at Virginia Beach. Michelle cooked up a scrumptious meal, which we enjoyed with their two daughters Kaitlin and Kendra. The Merlot from Folie a Duex flowed as we caught up since our last visit about 6 years ago. The boys pumped Doug with lots of questions about nuclear submarines, which Doug commands at Norfolk. It’s truly great catching up with so many long time friends.

Now we can add two more states to our map on the outside of the RV: North Carolina and Virginia. It’s a great way of showing all the places in North America we’ve visited.

Happy New Year from Ft. Meade, Maryland

2009-01-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

We’re still here at Ft. Meade, MD where our RV has been parked at the campground for almost 2 months. It’s hard to believe, and we certainly hadn’t planned on remaining this far north for so long. Our main reason for remaining into January is for follow-up doctors’ appointments for Ben. We have a meeting with his Pediatric ENT on Jan 7 to discuss a surgical procedure at Walter Reed Hospital. This will hopefully prevent orbital cellulitis from flaring up in his left eye again.

In the meantime, the boys have put their noses to the grindstone and worked hard at school. With chilly weather, we’ve spent most days in the RV focused on home schooling. I suppose this is why we haven‘t blogged much lately, since there hasn’t been too much change and excitement. I’m really proud of the four boys. Their writing skills are improving, and for the most part, they manage their time well. They can work through 1.5 to 2 lessons per day if they set their minds to it. At the same time, they’re well aware that most kids are on a 2-week Christmas vacation currently while the Besch Boys are busy at school. Yes, they complain and ask why we can’t be a normal family, going to normal schools. I think they realize the benefits, but it’s their job to complain about something, right?

We’ve had a number of highlights over the last few weeks. We had a terrific visit with our friends Chris, Kathy, Jack, and Alex Tone. Christ returned two months ago from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. We decorated Christmas cookies, enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Kathy, and shared many stories. We’re so glad they’re united together as a family. In June, they’ll move to Heidelberg, Germany for Chris’ next Army assignment.

Chris and Suzie Miltner invited us to a divine dinner at their home nearby just before Christmas. Their dogs, Jack and Millie, are the softest dogs I’ve ever petted! Chris shared his secret of using Prell shampoo on them! The kids really enjoyed running in the backyard with the dogs. Chris and Thom worked together before at the TIG’s office in Crystal City, VA. He and Suzie invited us over 5 years ago during that crazed stage of packing/cleaning/departing. It was nice to spend time and catch up again. Thanks for loaning us “It’s a Wonderful Life,” along with an Anne Frank biography.

We spent 3 days with Eric, Terry, Erin, Logan, Lauren, and Duncan Besch for Christmas. What a fantastic time! The kids were a little worried that Santa wouldn’t find us there in Frederick, MD, but he did! Our boys understood this wouldn’t be a big holiday season for gifts, because of our unique year on the road. So they each asked for one special gift. Each of our boys was delighted to find his special gift, along with a few others. We enjoyed celebrating with our cousins, and going outside to play in the park in the crisp, cool weather.

Eric cooked up an amazing and memorable “quail, inside chicken, inside duck, inside turkey” masterpiece! More than ever before, I enjoyed being in a warm home with the decorated tree, stockings hung by the chimney, and loved ones. It’s the first year since we’ve been married that we didn’t buy a gazillion gifts and get caught up in holiday stress. Simplicity at Christmas time is a beautiful thing. We enjoyed going to Cornerstone Church the Sundays before and after Christmas, along with attending Christmas Eve service with Eric’s family. Sitting at the Zelnosky dinner table while Sharon read the advent prayer was a joy. Treasuring the drives through lit-up neighborhoods, there was truly the feeling of good will and appreciating our blessings. Celebrating Christ’s birth is what this season is all about, and it was easy to do this year. This lesson is one I will remember for future Christmases.

Our good friends John and Juliet Brundige came up from North Carolina with their beautiful four children for a couple days. We explored the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum out by Dulles Airport. We’ve been to the one in Washington DC before, but not this one. Juliet’s friend Kurt and his two children were part of our group, along with Eric and the cousins. Off we all went with 14 children in tow! The kids loved the Blackbird, Space Shuttle, astronaut suits, Concorde, experimental aircraft, and IMAX pilot movie. That evening, Kurt was brave enough to invite all of us over for pizza. It was wonderful meeting his wife Kari, and once again being together in a beautifully decorated home during the holidays.

We decided to ring in the New Year by attending a party at the local roller rink. The six of us roller bladed from 9pm until 1am! They served everyone breakfast at midnight, and had a TV tuned into the ball being dropped at Times Square. We had a great time, and the kids were full of energy right up to the end. I finally realized a personal goal by learning to skate backwards, as well as flip around from forwards to backwards and visa versa (it wasn’t always pretty). Of course all the boys, including Thom make it look so easy when they do it, but they kept encouraging me. Wheee!

Yesterday was a special day. Our friends Lisa and Frits were visiting Lisa’s family in Virginia. You may recall that we visited them at their home in Switzerland last month. So we linked up at their hotel, with the kids swimming and the adults visiting. Dianne Del Rosso joined us as well. Dianne and Lisa served as young Army officers together for many years, and both attended our wedding. We haven’t seen Dianne in years, and neither had Lisa. It was great meeting Lisa’s Mom and Dad, brothers and families. Our boys shared stories with Lisa, and then played with Frits.

Later, Dianne joined our family as we headed over once again to visit Pancho, Veronica, and Francis Kinney. We wanted to see their daughter, Anita, who was only home a bit longer for the holidays. Sure enough, we caught up with her the night before her flight back to Oregon. Another great visit (thanks for dinner again, Pancho!).

One day after school, Thom took us to the Cryptology Museum adjacent to NSA only a couple miles from here. The boys learned about decoding, espionage, and cool spy stuff. We may try and visit the new Spy Museum located in Washington D.C. before we depart. There are so many things to do here. We’ve driven through the Capital a few times and they’ve had a chance to see The White House, Washington Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial. It would be nice to spend one day visiting the sites….maybe we’ll fit it in after Ben’s doctor’s appointment on Wed!

Christmas in Maryland - 19 December 2008

2008-12-19T21:40:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We caught a flight out of Ramstein, Germany on Dec 2. Although you don’t always catch the flight you want, flying space A is the way to go! We had to wait about 10 hours at the air base before getting on a flight. During that time, we talked with quite a few soldiers going to/from Iraq and Afghanistan. We also worked on home schooling. We arrived at Baltimore and stood in line for customs, listening to the cheering of a supportive crowd out front at BWI. Thom said volunteers come to welcome every flight with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. I felt so patriotic and proud walking with our soldiers through the fanfare!
Since then, we’ve been busy with school, school, and more school. The boys, especially Will really miss public school! They say this is a lot harder and more demanding. Thom and I remind them about our great experiences and opportunities, but how quickly they forget when it’s time to catch up on geography, history, composition, reading, grammar, etc. We brought math with us to Europe, so they were ready for testing in that subject upon our return.
After a week of school, Ben gave us another fright. He complained that his eye was hurting…his left eye. Some of you may remember that last May, he required emergency surgery on his left eye after being air medivaced from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Here we go again??!! Sure enough, he developed a mild fever and his left eye began to swell. We took him to Bethesda Naval Hospital here in the DC area. They hooked him up on IV antibiotics and drew blood samples for lab work. Next he went to Walter Reed Hospital where they have a pediatric ward for overnight patients. He spent 3 nights there, in order to continue the IV antibiotics. Luckily, the swelling and discoloration disappeared and he’s now “at home” on a month’s supply of oral antibiotics. We have 3 follow-up appointments, primarily to determine what must be done to prevent this from recurring. It appears that his left sinuses don’t drain properly, and he has a small opening into the left orbital eye area. So now he’s gotten orbital celulitis twice when he gets congested! Thom and I have been very impressed with the doctors, and their keen interest in Ben’s health. They want to solve this issue. We’re thankful that we were here in the DC area when this emergency arose.
So, we returned to our RV and tackled more school. We parked it over a month ago at Ft. Meade’s RV Park in Maryland. It’s nice to have the commissary, laundry facilities, and full hook-ups. We’re also located close to so many friends/family in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area.
We visited with Pancho, Veronica, and Francis Kinney twice now, and Pancho was kind enough to loan us an extra car during our hospital travels. Thanks Pancho! We’ve also visited again with the Zelnosky’s and Kieta’s. Now we’re on our way south to see Kathy, Chris, Jack, and Alex Tone in VA.
Robby and I joined Cornerstone Church in an event this past week serving the Baltimore community. We helped serve dinner to approximately 400 men through a charitable group called “Helping Up Missions”. The recipients were very appreciative, and knew we were all volunteers through church. Many teenagers like Robby served along with the adults, and it was good for all of us. It puts everything in perspective to see others in such need. God has blessed us with so much. Afterward, Robby and I walked along Baltimore Harbor and had one of the best conversations ever. He felt good to have served others, and of course he had a lot of questions about how people end up in such poverty. An artist was painting pictures of boats, and asked if we could possibly spare anything since he was desperate. So Robby picked out a colorful drawing of “The Pride of Baltimore” and gave him $10. The artist seemed genuinely appreciative. Again, more eye-opening experiences.
This Christmas is very different from any we’ve ever shared as a family. We’ve prepared the kids that they won’t receive loads of presents this year. First of all, we have no space to put them! Secondly, this year is all about doing things, not buying things. Most importantly, the holidays should be focused on love, and sharing with others, not on receiving a long list of gifts. We’ll spend Christmas day with Thom’s brother, Eric and his wife, Terry, and their 4 wonderful children. They live about an hour from us, and our boys are counting down the days. They can’t wait to see their cousins!

Switzerland Nov 30

2008-11-30T12:52:00.000-08:00

We had a marvelous time visiting Lisa and Frits in Switzerland on Lake Maggiore, only 2 miles north of the Italian border. We’ve known Lisa for about 18 years when she was a First Lieutenant in the US Army in California. She and Frits married four years ago, and it was delightful to spend 2 days at their charming Italian villa, which used to be the abbey for the church next door. Although the weather was dreary, cold, and rainy, we couldn’t help but gaze in awe at the lake surrounded on all sides by the Swiss and Italian Alps.
The boys loved playing with their dog, Fargo and sharing countless stories with Lisa and Frits. We stayed up late two nights in a row, surrounded by candles and a cozy fire. Thom and I especially enjoyed getting to know Frits, since this was our first time meeting him. We went shopping across the lake in Italy, where Thom purchased some great hiking boots. Frits treated us all to lunch, and then we drove up to a dam on the northern Swiss side of the lake. Here we stood at the top of an incredibly steep dam where a James Bond movie was filmed with the star (stuntman) bungee jumping off. We had a great time throwing snowballs down, waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, and finally hearing the loud Boom upon impact. Lisa and Frits said on our next visit, we must come during the summer to truly enjoy the beauty and swim every day. The only one brave enough to swim on this trip was Ben. On our last day as the rain poured down, Ben ventured into Lago Maggiore in just his swim shorts for a short, cold swim! We all cheered him on.
Now we’re heading back to our starting point, Ramstein Air Base, to catch a space A flight back to Baltimore…hopefully soon! It’s been a wonderful 2-week European adventure where we had a chance to visit Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, and Italy (briefly!).

Chateau Bonnet Nov 29

2008-11-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

After Paris we headed south to the Beaujolais region, which is very special to me. It was 25 years ago when I was a college student at UC Davis studying winemaking. I spent two months in France during “the crush” to gain wine making experience. The Perrachon Family owns a winery called Chateau Bonnet in the Chenas appellation of Beaujolais and they were kind enough to invite a college student for this opportunity. So in 1983, I traveled alone from California to France. Pierre-Yves and his father were in charge of Chateau Bonnet and their entire family was very hospitable. I lived in their home, picked grapes in the vineyards, made wine in the cellar, and worked in the laboratory. I met about 30 other college students from Europe who pick grapes to make money. What a great time of my life! Then Pierre-Yves invited me to travel to St. Emilion, Bordeaux to help his friend Pascal Dalbeck make wine at Chateau Ausone and Chateau Belair. The drive takes all day, and was well worth it! I learned so much about the vineyards and wine making.
So now we meet again! Pierre-Yves and his wife Marie-Luce have four fine-looking children named Pauline (20), Charlotte (18), Clemence (16), and Julien (13). Marie-Luce treated us to a wonderful welcome dinner, complete with a cheese course and dessert. Of course we enjoyed wine, including a bottle of vintage 2000 Chenas from Chateau Bonnet produced exclusively from 100-year old vines. Pierre-Yves then opened a 1997 Chateau Belair, the winery in St. Emilion I visited and worked at 25 years ago! Thank you Pascal for all the great wines you’ve made…this was fantastic!
Today, Pierre-Yves toured us around vineyards and his winery. Ah, the memories! The boys played in the vineyards where I once picked grapes, and Pierre-Yves explained how they prune the vines. He bought more vineyards and now owns 20 hectares (50 acres) in many parts of Beaujolais, which produce 120,000 bottles, or 10,000 cases/year. He has added barrels, fermenting vats, a “balloon” press which is important in this region, and much more equipment.
We met his parents, Monsieur and Madame Perrachon who look healthy and happy. I believe the wine is their secret! We tasted wine from the barrel (a white wine from Chardonnay grapes), and Chenas (red), and Moulin-a-Vent (red) all from Chateau Bonnet. He opened a bottle of unfermented grape juice for the boys, which they loved. We couldn’t leave without buying wine, and also his last bottle of grape juice for the boys. With the generous gift of wine from Pierre-Yves, we walked away with 8 bottles. What great souvenirs!
Pierre-Yves explained how they are in control of their wines, from the vineyards to the winemaking, to the marketing and sales. Pierre-Yves is happy that his daughter, Charlotte is studying winemaking in Macon and also his daughter, Pauline is a graphic designer who recently updated their wine label. He hopes all his children will specialize in part of the family business someday. These are wonderful experiences for us, as we plan our future as well.
After another delicious meal by Marie-Luce, we said our Good-byes and promised to spend more time on another visit. We also hope they will come visit us in the US…once we have a house!
I wanted to talk a moment about our drive from Paris to Beaujolais. The 4-hour drive passes directly through the famous wine region of Burgundy. So Thom liked my idea of detouring off the A6 autoroute to take the scenic drive first to Chablis. Yes, there is a charming little village by this name, and Chardonnay has grown here for hundreds of years. We stopped at a small tasting room where we enjoyed 3 Chablis samples of wine. Crystal and Rachel introduced us to the wines, and it turns out that Rachel grew up in California for 15 years! What a small world.
We then followed a well-known route that Rachel suggested, passing along the historic pinot noir vineyards of Clos de Vougeot and Aloxe Corton and towns including Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-St-Georges. I tried to take everything in, from the rolling hillsides of vines to the castles and old farmhouses, to the small village signs marking some of the most recognized wine villages of the world. This is where the red burgundy wines are made, which are probably the most expensive wines in the world. Soon we were back on the auto route zipping south. What a memorable detour!

Paris 28 Nov

2008-11-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

Paris is beautiful. Yesterday was a full day starting off with a metro ride to L’Arc de Triumph. Thom was impressed and said it was more than he’d expected. There are a few rooms near the top which display the history of France’s battles and wars. Then we climbed up the last of the 230 steps (Will likes to count as we climb). We found ourselves overlooking Paris from the top of the Arc! Just as we got our bearings, my Mom called from California to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. She was surprised to hear where we were!
After that, we visited the Louvre and discovered it used to be a palace for royalty. The rooms are expansive and show off the treasured art magnificently. The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory, Louis XIII jeweled crown, and Venus de Milo were some highlights.
From there we met up with Yolanda and David who were on vacation in Paris. As I mentioned earlier, Yolanda is from Spain and lived with us for a year as our au pair back in 1998-99 when Robby was 3 and Will was 1. How wonderful to be reunited in Paris! She was so happy to hug the boys, and we were so happy to see her again! The 8 of us trekked around Paris, stopping to enjoy landmarks like the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We enjoyed a delicious Chinese meal for our Thanksgiving dinner! David was excellent navigating the metro and streets, and we were happy to get to know him. We promised to take another trip to visit them in Spain.
The highlight was venturing to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, lit up in blue this year. Paris stretches out for miles in all directions, dazzling with lights, bridges crossing the Seine River over 30 times, boats, barges, monuments, palaces, and cathedrals. We spent over an hour on the three different levels enjoying the 360 degree view.
I was here with Julia back in July of 1984 when the gardens and fountains are spectacular. Although this time of year is greyer and definitely colder, we still enjoyed every minute of this memorable and romantic city!

Amsterdam to Paris 27 Nov

2008-11-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Paris! Of course, here in France it is just another Thursday. We arrived last night in the area of Clichy, just NW of the heart of Paris. We will have our petite dejeuner (breakfast) and then head off to explore on a sunny, crisp fall day. Yolanda, our au pair from Spain who lived with us for a year back in 1998-99, is in Paris on vacation with her boyfriend, David. We will meet them today!
Up until now, our favorite day was spent in the unique city of Amsterdam. It is a city of canals, like Venice. One million people live here, with one million bicycles. We enjoyed walking all around the canals, bridges, and city squares. Oh, and the architecture of the buildings along the canals is fabulous. You’ll see stair-stepped gables (tops of buildings), fancy decorated gables, and statues up high. Most have a hook and pulley up high outside. This is how they lift up furniture to the top floors, since the stairwells are too narrow inside. Then they simply bring the heavy objects in through big windows! We took a 1-hour boat tour around Amsterdam where we saw many buildings dating back to the 1500’s and 1600’s! The boys loved spotting sinking boats that were tied to the sidewalls of the canals. They also spotted bicycles that were locked to bridges or railings which hung down into the canal! Swans dotted the water, and we saw where the trading ships brought treasures back from India, China, and other faraway places centuries ago. Amsterdam was truly one of the centers of world trade.
We visited the Anne Frank Museum, a solemn building along a canal. We walked through the building which was her father’s business, and then we walked through the hiding spot behind the bookcase which led into the annex where Anne and 7 other people hid during World War II for two years. Our boys’ eyes have been opened to the tragedies of our world, first hand. They have many questions. Anne was outwardly a happy girl, but in her diary she shared her serious thoughts. We bought her diary there at the museum which we all plan to read.
Amsterdam is a city where prostitution and drug sales of marijuana are legal. Again the boys had many questions about things they saw for sale along the streets in the heart of the city, which is right downtown by the train. We all felt very safe with many other tourists and locals all around. Only Thom was allowed to venture into the Red Light District for a short walk…I told him he had to go! We linked up and returned by train to our hostel in Souse.

Holland

2008-11-24T14:15:00.001-08:00

The sun is shining as we drive into beautiful Holland. Thom keeps pointing out old wind mills along canals, new giant wind mills, sheep, and barges along the big canals. It’s really flat here, and green. I’m so happy the sun is finally out. We’ve had grey skies, rain, and snow ever since we arrived 5 days ago. We’ll be touring into Amsterdam all day tomorrow and maybe tonight if we get settled quickly. We have a reservation at a youth hostel outside of Amsterdam. The tour book says, “Don’t drive in Amsterdam!” With the canals, bikes, minimal parking, and break-ins, we decided to take their advice. So the hostel just outside Amsterdam has parking, and then we’ll take the train in. We’ve discovered that youth hostels are a great way to go for our family, which run us about $90 Euros/night (about $120 US). We all get one room with a bathroom, which usually includes some bunk beds. We have to make our own beds. Continental breakfast is included which is a great deal for the 6 of us! We try to avoid hotels because they require us to pay for 2 rooms since we have 6 people. This easily runs about $250/night in US dollars. I’m reminded of my travels around Europe 25 years ago. After Luxembourg, we went to SHAPE near Mons, Belgium where Thom hoped we could stay in military housing. SHAPE is an army base where NATO headquarters is located. Unfortunately, we arrived on a Saturday and housing was closed for the weekend. So we ventured into nearby Mons and booked the last room at a youth hostel. Then we walked into the local cobblestone grand square where a children’s festival was taking place. The kids were delighted, played a few games, and walked through the “Haunted House.” In the morning, we visited a stunning cathedral before departing. The artwork inside was breathtaking, including alabaster statues, unbelievable stained glass, wood carvings, and paintings. These cathedrals are so colossal. It was Sunday morning but very few people attended mass. I imagine that hundreds of years ago, this cathedral was filled with townspeople and organ music every Sunday. We drove through Brussels, and happened upon the weekend flea market. What a hoot! You can find anything from fresh fish, fruit, and candy to toys to all kinds of clothing. It’s been snowing, so we bought gloves, hats, scarves, and Will even bought a coat for about 10 Euros ($12 US)! From there we made our way through Brussels. It’s a good thing it was a Saturday because we had no idea where we were and the traffic was light. We found all the tourist sites, including the Grand Place, the cathedral, and the town’s favorite statue of Julien. He’s a little bronze statue fountain who pees gleefully. Thom was impressed to walk the Grand Place and see the artistic statues decorating all the buildings. A school group was posing for a picture in the square, yelling their school cheers. We also found a bronze relief of Jesus lying down, which was rubbed to a golden color by visitors wishing for their prayers to come true. From there we headed north, but only made it about 20 miles due to the snow storm. Cars were traveling about 15 mph. So we settled into another youth hostel in Mechelen, Belgium where we caught up on three loads of laundry. That’s a hard thing to do with all this traveling! In the morning we treated the boys to a trip to Europe’s largest toy museum. It’s normally closed on Mondays, but this Monday was our lucky day because it was open for many school field trips. We spent close to three hours learning about ancient toys from Egypt, Africa, Europe and all the way up to modern video games. I’m sure each of the boys will blog about their favorites. Then we drove north to Holland, which is where we are now. It’s amazing to think we’re in our 4th country and this is starting day #6 for us. Yet we only drove about 5 hours in Germany, 1 hour in Luxembourg, 4 hours in Belgium (through the snow!), and 2 hours in Holland. The countries are so small here….especially when we compare driving here with Alaska!

Luxembourg Nov 22

2008-11-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

We’re driving from Luxembourg to Belgium in the first snowfall of the season. Thom made sure we had snow tires when he rented the car, so we’re in good shape. This morning we observed a huge traffic jam in the opposite direction of the Audubon, due to trucks and vehicles incapable of climbing a hill on their summer tires. Maybe we brought Alaska’s weather to Europe!
Our European journey began 3 days ago when we landed in Germany. After using the USO facilities to set up our cell phone and check email, we headed down the road in our Nissan minivan (with GPS!). We all commented on how clean and orderly Germany looks, even the little villages with their spiral church steeples. After a couple hours, we arrived in Heidelberg, where we stayed at a US Army facility called Patrick Henry Village. We had a 3 bedroom suite with a kitchen, which is just what we needed to get caught up on sleep. Unfortunately, Will and Ben were unable to sleep on the red eye flight, and the rest of us only caught a few hours.
We spent our first day exploring Heidelberg. It’s a beautiful city along the Nekkar River with an impressive castle built up on the hills from the 1400’s. We climbed the cobblestone steps and toured the castle, discovering the prince’s and princess’ quarters, the chapel, the damp recesses inhabited by bats, and the high protective walls. The castle is home to a museum of apothecary and medicinal things. It was interesting to see how people were medicated prior to modern medicine. Robby and I enjoyed the laboratory with distillation, mortar and pestle, etc. The boys were surprised to learn that the moat surrounding the castle was used to raise animals, and then the royalty actually hunted there! Our tour guide explained that the women would cheer on their “brave” men from balconies above.
Walking down the cobblestone streets with cafes and shops was enjoyable. The boys deciphered many signs, since many German words are similar to English…just a lot longer, they noticed. We heard children at recess playing in a very small space. Our boys watched as the kids laughed, played, and called to each other in German. I think they miss their friends, and probably being at school too. They simply commented that they couldn’t believe what a small outside space the kids had.
We also noticed that so many people commute on bikes; students, working people, mothers with children behind, etc. Robby enjoys all the different efficient cars. We think the Smartg Cars are too cute! We found ourselves inside a sporting goods store in a mall. A track with 4 lanes wound its way through the store. Before I knew it, all the boys were on scooters zipping around the track, including Thom! Skateboards, 3-wheelers, 2-wheeler scooters, etc. They were having a ball, and I was amazed that the clerks didn’t stop them.
Next, we visited a friend of Louise’s who lives in Heidelberg, named Karin Diekmann. Louise lived with Karin’s family about 50 years ago for a little while as an exchange student. Karin invited us into her stunning home filled with beautiful artwork. She shared sparkling wine and a light dinner with us, as we discussed the wonders of travel, speaking many languages, and family. The boys loved her house because it has an elevator, a lovely outside garden with an incredible view of Heidelberg, and an inside swimming pool. You bet they accepted her offer to go for a dip in the pool! Thank you, Karin for hosting a perfect evening to complete our first full day in Europe.
Next we drove to Trier, one of the oldest cities in Europe, which is located on the western border of Germany. We visited La Puerte Nigra, “The Black Door”, which is some of the oldest surviving architecture built by the Romans. I couldn’t help but ask the boys in awe what it feels like to climb 3 stories up on a structure so old. Statues, relief artwork, and drawings are everywhere. We could see the distant vineyards up and down the hillsides along the Moselle River.
Our family then walked through the pedestrian-only streets, enjoying German folksingers in traditional costume. We tried schnitzel for dinner, which the boys loved. As an adventure, we spent the night in a hostel. Over 25 years ago, I toured Europe as a college student and stayed in many youth hostels and pensions. It’s a terrific way to meet people from all over the world. The boys liked being in bunk beds again, and meeting a local man from Germany.
Today we ventured into Luxembourg and learned about its history. The city is strategically located on steep hills, and was constantly being attacked. Spain, France, Austria, German, The Netherlands, and Prussia controlled it over the past 2000 years. Now it is finally its own country. Luxembourg is the cleanest city I’ve ever experienced, basing much of its economy on finances and banking. Thom spoke with a local man who said the poor world economy doesn’t affect them as much here because they’re very conservative with their loans. We stopped into 2 incredible cathedrals, and walked along the steep hillsides. How they built the bridges, walls, and large cathedrals on inclines like this from hundreds of years ago seems miraculous.
Now we’re driving to Brussels, and it’s still snowing. We hope to spend the night at a US Air Base Community, Shape Headquarters, near Brussels.

Where we've been since Connecticut

2008-11-20T22:14:00.001-08:00

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Ramstein, Germany

2008-11-19T04:09:00.000-08:00

How exciting this is! We’re on a flight to Ramstein, Germany. Now it’s truly becoming a world tour. We parked our motor coach at the RV park on Ft. Meade and tried catching a Space A military flight yesterday out of BWI (Baltimore). There weren’t enough seats available, so we returned to our RV, spent the night, had a full day of school today, and then returned in the evening to BWI. This time it worked. Two flights were going tonight to Germany, with close to 200 seats available. We heard them call “Besch” and off we went! We’re on World Airways, and it’s exactly like a commercial flight. The boys haven’t been on a flight in over 2 years. Sam especially was thrilled to try out the headsets, put his seat back, and was delighted when the flight attendant gave him a free activity pad with crayons! We’ll land at about 10am, German time. We hope to spend about 2 weeks in Europe, and then return to Baltimore. We all thanked Thom tonight for his 26 years of military service!

Elkridge, MD

2008-11-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

Nov 15
It’s a quiet Saturday morning, and everything is so familiar as I look out our “dining room” window. We’re parked at Scott and Sharon’s house, next to our old house at the end of River Birch Ct in Maryland. We lived here for 5 years, which is when Ben and Sam were born. It’s wonderful seeing the Zelnoskys, Kietas, Seemans, Gilligans, Giffords, Ruckers, Ritters, Brockmans, Dabecks, Synders, Lindermans, Hayes, Gerus, and so many other neighbors and friends. The boys are having a ball playing with their old buddies. Yesterday, Robby asked if we could visit his teachers and principal at Elkridge Elem where he attended Kindergarten-3rd grade. He enjoyed surprising Dr. Mumford, Mrs. Herman, Mrs. Fales, Mrs. Fastman, and Ms. Lloyd, and we had a good time catching up with everyone.
On our way here, we stopped at Calvert School’s offices north of Baltimore. Thank you Cecilia, Pam, Martha, Joan, and all the staff we met on that rainy day. We enjoyed our tour, and the boys love their Calvert baseball caps. Robby thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Mrs. Clark. We’re so sorry we missed Mrs. McMahon and apologize for not linking up on the 2nd visit. Thom forgot how much travel time to plan for given it was a Friday afternoon and raining. One more reason to miss Delta Junction and to look for somewhere less crowded. Calvert is a first rate homeschooling program and now that we’ve seen their offices and staff, we are even more delighted with our choice to go with their curriculum. The boys finished up their 2nd round of testing last week and have been diligent with their studies.
We spent 10 days at Eric and Terry’s home just west of here an hour. The kids played daily together, and we had school 5 days a week making good progress. Thanks to Eric and Terry for all the good meals, laundry facilities, showers, etc. Under Uncle Thom’s tutoring, Lauren progressed out of training wheels and now rides her big girl bike on 2 wheels. Duncan is close to doing the same! Erin tried out roller blading, and Thom took the boys ice skating twice.
We headed up to Gettysburg and spent a beautiful Saturday at the new Visitors’ Center and of course driving the battle field. Wow! Thom’s been there before and was a terrific guide with his West Point education touring us around. We all learned so much. Did you know that the South produced 75% of the world’s cotton at that time? Slavery of course was important to their economy. What we didn’t know is that the war occurred over whether the slavery should be allowed in the new territories to the west. If the territories had not brought the issue to a head, there is no telling how long it would have continued. Soldiers came from all over, including California and Utah. The 3-day battle involved more casualties than any other on American soil for a total of 51,000! The visitors’ center shows a fabulous 22 minute movie, which really holds the boys’ attention. Moments like these confirm to Thom and me why this trip is so important and we hope they remember these historic places. Given the historic election of Senator Obama to President, Gettysburg was particularly interesting and important.
We tied in a visit with our Alaskan friends, the Rennhack’s, who now live in Chambersburg, PA. Dawn cooked up a big spaghetti dinner while the kids played as though it was just yesterday when we last saw them. Then they treated us to a fun fall festival party at Darby and Darwin’s school nearby. Once again, it was great catching up with old friends. We also enjoyed visiting with the Sunderlys; Brian, Deni, Cameron, and Samantha in nearby Germantown. Brain was our pastor when we lived in Elkridge, and we enjoyed a bible study with the Sunderlys and several other families. The kids played like it had only been 5 days, not 5 years, and really enjoyed getting caught up with all Brian and Deni have been doing over the past few years. It was wonderful to see them healthy, happy and flourishing.
Another family we were thrilled to see again was the Hilldreth’s. We drove up to Carlisle, PA where Ted is attending the War College. We last saw each other in June as we departed Ft. Greely, where we were neighbors for 2 years. The boys enjoyed playing again with Ashley, Allison, and Aimee while Ted, Kristie, Pat, Thom, and I caught up. Our timing was great to see Pat, Kristie’s Mom, visiting from Alabama. We all went bowling, and although I didn’t break 100, we had a good time (not sure about the bowling league right next to us!)
From here, we’d like to catch a Space A flight out of Dover, DE or Baltimore. We’ve never done this as a family, and now is a great time to take advantage of this terrific military benefit. It’s virtually a free flight to Spain, Germany, Iceland, or wherever the military is flying that day. So if you don’t hear from us for a couple weeks, we’re probably in Europe!

Where we've been... (updated 11/11/08)

2008-11-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

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The Boys attended Senator Obama's last rally in Manassas

2008-11-11T15:17:00.001-08:00

2008-11-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

Here we are at Eric and Terry’s in Frederick, MD and it’s great to have 8 of the Besch kids back together again. Cousins Erin, Logan, Lauren, and Duncan have been sharing their scooters, bikes, big wheel, and toys with us. They live on a beautiful park, so there’s plenty to keep everyone busy. We arrived just in time to creatively come up with last-minute Halloween costumes, and off they went trick-or-treating together. Now we’re making good advances in school, and are close to the next round of tests.
Before this, we visited Pat and Mary Kay O’Neill in New Jersey, and their 3 children Sarah, Kayla, and Matthew. Due to a bad storm, electricity was out in the entire neighborhood. No problem! Not only were we self-sufficient in our RV, but we also plugged in their frig/freezer to our RV and kept it cold with our generator. It’s nice to help others when so many have opened their driveways to us! We enjoyed a romantic candlelight dinner in their beautiful home that evening, with all the kids! Pat was kind enough to let us keep our RV there, while we ventured into Manhattan for a daytrip.
We rode the NJ Railway 45 minutes into Penn Station, which was exciting for the kids. We read books, talked with commuters, and Sam even brought his sewing kit along to pass the time. The weather was sunny and crisp, perfect! Robby was a real trooper, maneuvering his way around on crutches like a pro. He sprained his ankle only 4 days earlier. We visited the Empire State Building, and the guides expedited us right to the elevators since Robby was “disabled.” The 50 minute wait only took us about 10 minutes, and suddenly we were on the 86th floor overlooking the breathtaking sights.
Our next stop was Ground Zero. Thom and I lived on Long Island, NY for the first 2 years of our marriage, so we’ve seen many of Manhattan’s sights. Yet our last time here was in the late 90’s. Ground Zero is the one place I really wanted to see on this trip. It’s easy to tell when you’re getting close, since it’s the only large area in Manhattan that has no tall protruding buildings, except for Central Park. As we walked 2 sides of Ground Zero, we could hardly see what was going on in the busy centerpiece. The views are blocked by large tarps for construction. Once we reached the south side, we could walk up to a 2nd level overlooking the giant construction scene. It’s truly amazing to consider what happened on Sept 11, 2001. Memories poured over me, as I recalled walking back from the boys’ bus stop that morning in Maryland, being 8 ½ months pregnant with Sam at the time. Thom had just started his new job about ½ mile from the Pentagon on Sept 10. Luckily, he was 10 miles south of there at Ft. Belvoir on Sept 11. To think about the innocent lives lost that day is something I will never forget. We walked past Fire Station Company 10, literally across the street from Ground Zero. A wonderful, artistic wall relief (like a mural) is a great tribute and memorial to all the brave fire fighters. I bought a DVD geared towards children and schools as a documentary of that fateful day. Robby was only 6 at the time, and I want our boys to understand the significance of 9/11. The Freedom Tower and three other sky scrapers are in the construction phase and are supposed to be up by 2012. What a great celebration that time will be!
The next stop was South Street Seaport where we caught a water taxi around Lower Manhattan. Ah, to be on a boat on such a picture-perfect day in this world-famous city was exhilarating. The boys loved it too! We snapped a bunch of photos with the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and skyscrapers of lower Manhattan. Again, we caught the Grayline Tour which drove past Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, The United Nations, and Fifth Avenue. We jumped off at Rockefeller Center, and the boys complained that we didn’t bring our ice skates! Yes, kids were skating on the rink for all to see. We walked to Central Park, and then caught a subway to The American Museum of Natural History where “Night at the Museum” was filmed. By now we only had a short time remaining, so we focused on dinosaurs. The boys are at ideal ages where they’re enjoying the sights without getting lost. Ben panicked a bit when he couldn’t see us in a crowd surrounding a McCain rally we happened upon in the center of Times Square. He spotted Will and came running. Then he burst into tears. New York is a scary place for a 9-year old on his own, he realized. Earlier in the day, he decided he’ll never live in a big city because there are just too many people. Now I’m sure that’ll be his opinion for years to come!
So let’s see, we enjoyed the lights of Times Square, which is definitely more lit up than I ever remember it. They’ve even added neon red stairs for people to climb and enjoy the view…directly in the center of Times Square! We caught the train located below Madison Square Garden where the Rangers were playing that evening, and headed back to NJ. We’d spent 11 hours in the city and I can’t imagine how we could have packed more in than we did!
Before NJ and Manhattan, we spent a couple nights at Round Pond, a campground outside of West Point. I want to mention it because we had 2 days of snow while there! Couldn’t believe it! I kept asking Thom, “What are we doing so far north?” We made good progress with Calvert schooling, and then headed south.

Oct 27 2008

2008-10-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

I’m in the motor coach overlooking the Hudson River at West Point, where we’ve camped for 3 nights. It’s been like old home week for Thom, connecting with many classmates. Army beat Louisiana Tech at Saturday’s football game which was the wettest football game we’ve ever attended! Our boys have experienced the life of a cadet here, with a tour of the mess hall, Grant Hall, the obstacle course, the game parade, and tail gating before/during the game. We’ve had a full day of Calvert School today, so we’ve even studied like cadets.
Thanks to Casey and Ester Haskins for a fabulous dinner in their beautiful home, and we enjoyed seeing their son, Aaron who’s a yearling now. It was also a great surprise finding Sam & Carol Johnson here. Thanks for breakfast, a great tour, and your laundry facilities! We had an enjoyable walk with Les Knotts and his sons Aaron and Tyler. Thom also caught up with Tom Gerard, Tim McDonald, Pat Ortland, and Mike White.
The only negative thing that happened was when Robby and Will were wrestling on The Plain on our walk back to the RV. Will ran to tell us that Robby was hurt, and sure enough, Robby sprained his ankle. Thom piggybacked him to the RV, removed his sock, and found a baseball-sized ankle. After X-rays, they determined it wasn’t broken, but now he’s on crutches for a week! Well, we have lots of school to do with his foot elevated this coming week.
So let’s see, after my last update, we spent a great day in Boston. With 6 of us, we opted for the trolley tour with 17 stops of historic Boston and Cambridge. Sights included the Boston Harbor, Paul Revere’s house, The Old North Church (1 lantern by land; 2 by sea…remember?), Breed’s Hill (misnomer Bunker Hill), The Boston Common, Fenway Park, and many others. We rode the T to avoid traffic and parking, which is Boston’s subway. Outside of taking one wrong train, we did pretty well and the boys experienced commuting at 5pm…a foreign concept after spending 3 years at Ft. Greely! Mort, Sarah, and Nathan Orlov treated us to a delicious home-cooked meal and we had a great visit after a 14-year gap. We caught up on laundry and school at Hanscom AFB’s RV Park (best Laundromat on our journey so far!).
After Boston, we headed south to Newport where we viewed the mansions along Cliff Walk on a glorious, sunny day after finishing schoolwork. Nice summer cottages those New Yorkers built over a hundred years ago! The kids loved the scary Halloween Festival set up near our RV Park by the naval base with graveyard and pirate scenes. Seems like there’s something to be seen everywhere we go!
We stopped at Mystic, CT to walk the tall ships and visit the shipyards of that celebrated era. The boys learned how ropes, sails, masts, and ships were built hundreds of years ago. We met David, a 13-year old boy traveling by sailboat around the world with his parents Rosemary and David. He’s homeschooling in the 8th grade Calvert program just like Robby! He’s currently working as an apprentice in an old printer’s shop at Mystic for a few weeks.

2008-10-23T17:22:00.003-07:00

October 20
We’re now travelling east into Boston to walk the famous Freedom Trail. Robby’s studying the American Revolutionary War so our timing’s perfect. Tonight we had a delicious dinner at the “Summer Shack” with Cousin Sally and Jeffrey in Cambridge. Robby was about 6 years old the last time we saw them, so it was great catching up. They’re off to St. Bart’s on Wednesday, and we feel lucky to have caught them just in time!
On the drive today, we stopped to visit my Uncle Don and Aunt Barbara in North Brookfield, MA. They prepared a wonderful lunch and the kids had a great time exploring their stunning 5-acre property. Ben even went for a swim in the pond, when last night was their first freeze! My cousin Cathy stopped by, and we also met with 8-year old Alexis. Thanks for a nice visit!
We definitely had to stop in Williamstown, MA to hang out with Cousin Steve, Cousin Georgia, and Aunt Liz. They introduced us to Joe and Tracy Finnegan, and their boys Patrick, Shawn, and Dan who treated us to an unexpected and delightful dinner. We’re overwhelmed with all this hospitality. Steve just finished a magnificent painting which is on its way to England, and we had the chance to see it just before its completion. Way to go Steve!

Prior to this, we spent almost 2 weeks at Uncle Clipper and Wendy’s farmhouse in West Sand Lake, NY. Louise and Clayt live ¼ mile down the road so we enjoyed a grand visit. This is the farmhouse where Thom grew up and spent most of his childhood years. Cousin Tucker (9) and Cousin Avery (7) shared everything from scooters, bikes, forts in the woods, computer games, stuffed animals, and cookies with our boys. We went to fencing practice (on guard!), a soccer game, choir practice, a medieval fair, and Friday assembly at Avery’s school. All of us attended the opening season hockey game of the Albany River Rats, who unfortunately lost to the Bridgeport, CT Tigers. Aunt Wendy arranged for a tour of the haunted Capitol Building in Albany to get ready for Halloween. The kids had one last chance to go back up to Frost Point, Canada with Clipper and Nana to close up the cottage for the winter. They helped move wood and do numerous chores while Thom and I enjoyed a quiet weekend at the farmhouse.
Being at the farmhouse for 2 weeks helped us move forward with the home schooling immensely. Nana was a huge help and assisted all the kids with reading, quizzing, etc. Wendy was a saint to put up with all of us invading her home for so long, more than doubling the number of occupants she’s accustomed to…thanks Wendy! We could easily settle down in this beautiful part of the country next year…who knows?!

October 6

2008-10-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

October 6
Our last 4 days were spent with longtime friends Victoria, Rich, and Bryce in beautiful Southern Vermont. Victoria and I grew up in the same home town of Lakeport, CA way back when. Her husband, Rich is the President of Bromley Ski Resort and their son Bryce is in 8th grade. We parked the RV right at their home, which made for a terrific visit despite the winding, narrow dirt road up to their home. Thom backed the RV down just fine; he’s a champ driving the big rig!
Our visit couldn’t have been timed better with the fall colors and their schedules. We hiked to the top of Bromley one morning where there’s a shelter and marker for the Appalachian Trail. The sun was hiding behind low clouds so we only caught glimpses of the view, although we spotted Magic Mtn and Stratton Ski Area. Ben decided to cut his own trail below a chairlift, and we didn’t catch up with him until an hour later at the base of Bromley. He hopes to climb Everest one day, but we don’t plan on letting him out of our sight on a mountain again until he’s 18!
Rich treated us to a playday at Bromley’s summer park, which includes the country’s longest Alpine Slide (4000 ft!), a big swing like you find at an amusement park where your stomach hangs in midair for a good 30 seconds, a bungee trampoline, space bikes, zip line, rock climbing wall, spinner, and basketball challenge. All 6 Besches played like kids as we ran from one attraction to the next. Thanks Rich for a memorable family fun day!
Bryce introduced the boys to skateboarding in his basement as well as the local skate park in Manchester. Ben’s already asking if we can find a skate park at our next stop in NY. The boys enjoyed hanging out with Bryce and playing his play station games also. Another highlight was when Robby and I visited Bryce’s school to attend “Frostival”, a celebration of the life of poet Robert Frost. Speaking of school, we finished almost 2 days of it while here. Victoria homeschooled Bryce using Calvert from Kindergarten through 3rd grade and loved it. She jumped right in and helped teach our boys as well.
Yesterday was Sam’s 7th birthday. He helped mix, bake, frost, decorate, and eat his cake! Victoria made a dessert pizza with the kids made of cookie dough, jam, white chocolate, and fruit roll-ups cut into “pepperoni” slices. It was a hit! Sam had fun celebrating his special day with friends.
Thom especially enjoyed hearing about the operations at Bromley, and what’s involved in running a ski resort. He had a chance to meet Billy, who is the water treatment manager at the mountain. Billy also gave Thom a hand in solving our problems with the RV’s hot water system.

The best part was just catching up with Victoria and Rich over good food and wine. We can see why they love Vermont so much, and we could easily choose this area to settle down next year. It’s only an hour from Albany, NY where Thom’s family lives. And that’s where we’re heading next.

October 1
Today was a big day as the 4 boys completed their first round of Calvert tests…whew! Their increasing age directly correlates with time needed for completion, and Robby didn’t finish until just before dinner. Now I’m compiling their tests, previous compositions, science homework, and maps to send in to the ATS (Advisory Teaching Service) of Calvert School in MD. It’s good to have professional teachers review their work and grade their exams for feedback. We’d like to stop in and meet them as we pass through Maryland next month.

Sept 30
We just pulled into our campsite in Glen, New Hampshire. We’re now hitting the height of the color changes in New England. Gold, orange, scarlett, red, and other brilliant colors cover the hillsides. For the first time in months, we’re next to a river, reminiscent of our travels down the Alaska Highway. Although the water’s awfully chilly, guess who’s out there now collecting rocks, driftwood, and looking for bugs? Robby, Ben and Sam! Will’s inflating the canoe with Thom’s help using our air compressor. We just saw a couple kayakers float past, and Thom eyed the fly fisherman in the middle of the stream further down. So it’s a good time to catch up on our website.
We passed through customs last week after a wonderful summer in Canada. It’s probably very obvious by now how much our entire family loves Canada. In addition to the province of Ontario where we were married and Ben was born, we have now spent time in the Maritime Provinces. If you ever have the chance to visit, we highly recommend you go!
We came through St. Stevens and down to Bar Harbor, Maine. Acadia National Park was donated by John D. Rockefeller almost a hundred years ago, and we decided it was time to do a serious hike. The boys opted for a long, strenuous hike so we chose the 9-mile (10?) climb to Cadillac Mountain. We started at noon, and returned to the car at 7:30pm! Robby and Will carried fairly heavy Boy Scout packs with food, water, and rain gear for everyone. We hiked through peaceful woodsy trails, along brooks, up steep granite rocks, to arrive at the peak at 1530 feet where we discovered the gift shop crowded with busloads of tourists! Hiking down was a challenge as the rain started to fall making the granite rocks slippery. The boys started complaining around mile #6 that this was a little too long! I was surprised since they’d been saying we hadn’t gone for a long hike in so long. The views were beautiful, especially from Eagle’s Crag overlooking Bar Harbor and the Atlantic. We celebrated our success by having pizza in town, saving me the chore of cooking!
Our next destination was home of LL Bean, Freeport, Maine. Of course we visited the landmark and enjoyed meeting Doug Brown, Clip’s college friend who works for LL Bean. He was quite helpful with outfitting us in rain gear…thanks Doug! We attended church in Freeport where we met Adam and Sarah. They kindly invited us to their home for lunch, where we learned more about Maine, NH, and their two younger boys, Ben and Nate. Thanks for the pizza, salad, cookies, and hospitality!
We ventured into Boudin College’s Art Museum nearby, which truly is a brave thing to do with our four boys! Being on a college campus in the autumn brought back a flood of memories, and it was a neat experience walking with our boys. I asked Robby how he’d feel about going to college like this, and he really liked the idea. Before we know it, we’ll be touring campuses to make these big decisions! Once again, I’m reminded of how lucky we are to have this time together.
We also enjoyed seeing Cousin Stephen Hannock’s painting of The Ox Bow at Boudin. It’s cool seeing his work, and we hope to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art in NYC where his paintings have been displayed in the past!
So you’re probably wondering when we fit schooling in, with our busy schedule exploring our world? Just ask the boys. They took practice exams yesterday to prepare for the first round of actual tests. The two older boys spent 4-6 hours completing the thorough tests in about 6 subjects. It’s comprehensive covering the last 20 lessons. Ben spent 3 hours at it, and Sam required about an hour and a half. They all did well. Today we’re reviewing the weak areas, and tomorrow they’ll tackle the actual tests. They’ve also had to complete compositions, poems, and loads of homework. They’ve had to read great books like Swiss Family Robinson, Johnny Tremain, and Robinson Crusoe. The curriculum is through Calvert and also includes spelling, vocabulary, science, geography, history, math, art and language arts (grammar). The school day lasts about 5 hours to take all 4 boys through one complete lesson. It’s nice when we’re in one place so both Thom and I can work with the boys. When Thom’s driving, I’ll read with one while another sits up front with Thom and reads science or another textbook aloud. Again, we constantly incorporate our lessons into everyday experiences like when we visited the museum and saw Egyptian bas relief, statues in the round, and cuneiform writings. Ben’s now writing his own poems about cake, pudding, and cheerios, and Sam’s taken up a new hobby – sewing! He loves it and wants to be the best in the family (he’s already better than me!).

Sept 24
This may be our last day in Canada for 2008. We’re in the lovely seaside town of Saint Andrews in New Brunswick, just a short distance from the Maine border. The RV is a stone’s throw from Passamaquoddy Bay, and the sun is just rising. It’s a crisp, clear autumn morning with the glorious colors of the season starting to show. Thom’s been working on the heater because this RV gets cold at night. I guess they’re built for winters in Florida! Last night it was toasty warm inside.
Let me go back to where I left off last time. We caught the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia which took just over an hour. Yes, we drove the RV towing the SUV right onto the ferry! There were big diesel trucks that make this run regularly. Thom requested a tour of the bridge, so before you knew it, all the Besch boys were up there talking with the First Mate and crew. They got a kick out of seeing the small joystick which drove that big boat, as opposed to a giant captain’s wheel.
Heading east, we crossed over into the picturesque province of Nova Scotia (New Scotland). Alexander Graham Bell and his wife fell in love with this area, and summered in Baddeck here for 35 years with their family. What a great museum! Bell was a born inventor, and we all know he discovered the telephone early on with his assistant Watson. What we didn’t know is that he went on to study aeronautics, hydroplanes and air foils for boats, genetics, kites, and photophones (which he considered to be his greatest invention), along with many other things. He was constantly outside with his young engineer associates flying gigantic kites or doing speed trials on the lake nearby. Once again, the boys watched movies and were inspired by new inventions (including Thom).
For months we’ve been hearing about the scenic Cabot Trail of Nova Scotia. We finally drove the 10-hour trek around the northern peninsula of this province in the SUV. We’d been warned not to take the RV. Good thing! It’s a steep, curvy road overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We made frequent stops at leather shops, chowder stops, and for sunset hikes. The boys never seem to run out of energy, always skipping ahead to discover what’s around the next bend, or to throw rocks into the sea below.
Another day we ventured out to explore the Fortress of Louisbourgh, which is as far east as our travels will take us in North America. This was a strategic fort built by the French in the early 1700’s to control the flow of sea traffic from the Atlantic into the St. Lawrence. In 1744, the British attacked and took control. Years later, it went back to the French, and finally again to the British.
In the 1960’s, Canada sent out archeologists to research this historic place. Over the next 25 years, Louisbourgh was rebuilt and is now open to the public as a giant reenactment from the year 1744 when the French ruled this part of the New World. Soldiers set off canons and fired old muskets. Cooks prepared meals while ducks and chickens hung upside down to be seasoned in the corners. Sam loved watching the heavy weight that slowly turned the mechanism of a rotisserie in front of a hot fire in order to cook a chicken. We also walked through the museum showing much of the archeologists’ work, which is exactly what Will is studying currently in geography.
Thom and I notice daily how easy it is to incorporate the boys’ schoolwork into our adventures. Robby recently announced that history is now his favorite subject. He’s studying the early explorers of the New World and the early colony life. Well, that’s exactly what we’re visiting currently. In fact, this town of Saint Andrews was a place where Loyalists came back in the 1770’s. These were colonists who disagreed with fighting the British, and not wanting to fight against their fellow colonists, they headed north to this area. Many in fact dismantled their homes and shipped them by barge to be reassembled here in Saint Andrews.
Back to Louisbourgh. We noticed a large group of people in costume heading down a backstreet and so we followed along. A maid had been caught stealing from her employer, and was being punished. The townspeople were ridiculing her as she was marched along in old-fashioned hand cuffs. Some men wanted to hang her, while the women begged that she be forgiven since she had 10 children to care for. She cried out as she walked along, but the men yelled at her. Boy was Sam concerned! He kept asking me if they really would hang her for stealing. I had to remind him that they were all actors, and this was just pretend. They finally decided she’d spend time in the town square with her head and hands in iron locks, where all could ridicule her. It was quite memorable!
We drove southwest to Halifax, which is comparable to our Ellis Island. Halifax is where 1,000,000 immigrants came into Canada from the 1920’s-1970’s. We visited Pier 21 which has a tremendous museum dedicated to this era. First hand accounts of immigrants were there to see, hear about, and read. We learned also that Canadian soldiers departed and returned here during WW II. Many soldiers married women in Europe, and these “war brides” came through Halifax shortly after WWII to be reunited with their new husbands. Some thought that Canada was part of Europe and had no idea it was so far away! While there, we looked up Paul Mayer’s ship from July 4, 1951 called the Anna Salene! We also walked up to the Citadel located at the crest of Halifax. Once again, we enjoyed walking the fort and exploring the powder rooms, officers’ quarters, and the boys love checking out the old-fashioned outhouses! Robby and Will pretended to be guards who marched their younger brothers off to prison.
We watched an enormous Cunard cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth II swing through around George’s Island. It filled the entire bay! Two tugboats helped the large ship do a U-turn, and then the cruiser let out a loud honk, honk, honk as all the people on board waved. Back to sea they went.
We read much about the largest tides of the world, located in the Bay of Fundy. The biggest vertical difference is over 50 feet from low to high tide! This is due to the shape of the bay, which is like a giant funnel. It is a shallow, gently-shaped bay so the water level changes significantly, almost by the minute. We watched the tidal bore arrive in Moncton. Twice a day, as the tide comes in, you can actually see a wave come up. We sat there waiting to view it for almost an hour. Sure enough, it arrived…just a constant wave coming all the way up a narrow inlet.
We then visited Hopewell Rocks. This is a cool, surreal place on the north side of the Bay of Fundy where rocks have been carved away for thousands of year from the daily tidal change.
We first visited Hopewell Rocks in the evening at high tide. We literally couldn’t go all the way down the stairs because the waves lapped at the stairwell with a large chain and sign preventing our passing. We returned the next morning at low tide. What a difference! We not only passed all the way down the stairs onto the sand, but we walked for hundreds of feet down through the mud to the water line. The boys loved it! Luckily, Thom brought their water shoes and we all rolled up our jeans to the knee. At the furthest point, Ben was knee deep and attempting to skate through the mud! He said he caught an edge once but managed to keep his balance.
Speaking of Ben, he celebrated his 9th birthday on Sept 22. I baked my first cake in the RV’s oven, which turned out to be mighty tasty! It was a quiet birthday with only the 6 of us to celebrate, but he received homemade birthday cards from his brothers along with “chores for a week, or chores for 3 days” as gifts. He loved being “prince for the day!”
It’s time to start school. The boys are all up, had breakfast, and are now picking up laundry for me. It’s great to do 4 loads of laundry at a time (especially after we had so much mud to wash out from Hopewell Rocks!). We let the laundry build up for about 5 days, and then do it all at once. Sam loves putting the coins in the machine, while the other boys do the boring work like carrying big laundry bags! They’ve been getting rich on earning lots of allowance money.

Sept 16, 2008
Tomorrow morning we’ll depart PEI by ferry to Nova Scotia. We’ve spent an entire week on this exquisite island. The tourists have gone home and the leaves are starting to show off their festive fall colors. It’s quiet and we’ve enjoyed exploring many places here. Home has been a terrific campground named after the famous Marco Polo sailing ship which was shipwrecked at nearby Cavendish Beach 130 years ago. The campground hosted a 2-day bluegrass festival, and the staff is wonderful. We climbed the West Point lighthouse, again witnessed the increasing number of windmills going up, biked about 15 miles on the east side of the island by Montague, and visited Charlottetown where pre-Canadians held their first organized discussions to form their own country 150 years ago. Yes, we visited the requisite House of Green Gables and walked through The Haunted Woods to visit the site where L.M. Montgomery lived and wrote most of her greatest works. We even met the mayor of Georgetown who owns his own jewelry-making business. The boys collected sea glass on his beach and then Peter showed them how to make pendants and necklaces. Ben loaned me his royal blue sea glass necklace since he’s wearing a recently purchased dolphin necklace. I feel so honored!
Thom finally did it…he took kite boarding lessons! The first lesson lasted about 4 hours and was the “dry land” portion where he worked on his kite flying and safety skills. He had to wait a couple days for the wind to settle down before his 2nd lesson. That was today, and we all tagged along to watch Dad. He and his instructor went out into a shallow protected bay in their wetsuits, since the water’s cooling down fast. It wasn’t long before Thom was pulled up on the board while simultaneously flying a huge purple kite about 100 ft overhead. He worked hard for the 4-hour lesson and by the end he was moving along well. As I filmed the graceful kite powering Thom along, I thought how wonderful that he’s out here learning new sports. Now Will can’t wait to learn to kite board!
The boys have really worked hard on school here on PEI. Being in one place for 7 days straight helps our routine. The boys have completed lesson 13 and we’re getting into a nice groove with the homeschooling dynamics. Will and Ben prefer to wake up early and start school by 8am. I assist and guide, but am pleased they’re able to read through lesson plans and proceed with work independently. Robby’s been doing this since the first lesson, and now the others are catching on. The first big tests happen at lesson 20 so we’ll see how they do. Sam needs Thom or me to work with him one on one, and he’s doing well with his curriculum. He’s strong in math and reading but needs more practice with writing skills. My favorite times are when he reads to me, perhaps because he’s our youngest and therefore the last to go through this wonderful stage.

Sept 10
Here we are at beautiful Prince Edward Island (PEI). It’s so picturesque; right out of Ann of Green Gables. The author, L.M. Montgomery grew up here and wrote this famous book 100 years ago. So the entire island is celebrating their most famous author. Thom, Robby and Will read the book last month in anticipation of our visit.
We arrived today to discover that the World Cup Kite Boarding Competition is here currently. It’s the only stop in all of North America on the tour. Thom’s been interested in learning this sport for a few years now, but hasn’t had the opportunity. So we found the freestyle event and watched the men compete performing impressive flips, twists, and jumps in a windy bay. I hope Thom can take a lesson while we’re here…he’d love it!
We’re at a campground in Cavendish and the boys immediately found the multiple playgrounds here. We plan to stay a few days, using the SUV to explore after we finish school each day.
Our previous stop was to a special part of Canada called Miscou Island in New Brunswick where we visited LTC Hunt Kerrigan’s Mum, Grace. She overwhelmed us with her kindness and hospitality. She welcomed us with a delicious home cooked meal, including her own hand-picked blueberry pie. We spent 2 lovely days and nights at her summer cottage by the sea, which is as far northeast as you can go in the entire province. We watched the herring boats go out at 5pm with the high tide. Requiring another high tide to return to harbor, they must spend another 12 hours out fishing. Thom and Robby went to the wharf early one morning to see the boats return with their catch. Robby enthusiastically described how the vacuums suck the fish right out of the boats and send them off to market. Grace toured us around the island, sharing its interesting history, boardwalk, light house, and lobster traps with us. Thank you Grace!
Before we reached New Brunswick, we spent over a week travelling the perimeter of the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec. In Cap Chat, we schooled the boys for 2 full days, making great progress. We also toured a wind farm and had the good fortune to have our own English-speaking guide, Josie. We tied in the visit with science and economics for the boys. Thom is fascinated with wind energy as well as other alternative energy forms. It’s great to see him motivated and energized to learn more about this ancient, yet youthful force in today’s energy crisis. We plan to visit more wind farms as we travel…who knows what the future may hold?
Perce was a memorable stop, with a walking trip out to the colossal Perce Rock. Thom was disappointed that all visitors must be on a guided tour. Not only did this cost our family $24, but we weren’t able to go all the way out to the rock and the tour was only given in French! Oh well, it was a beautiful walk along a narrow path that’s only open for crossing during a 2-hour period at low tide.
We also stayed a couple nights at Carleton-sur-Mer in Quebec, which has a great campground on a peninsula into the Bay. We’ve really visited some beautiful campgrounds and met incredibly friendly people. Now that we’re so far from home, it’s fun to see people’s reaction when they read our Alaska license plates. They can’t believe it, although many of these folks have visited Alaska!
Crossing from New Brunswick to PEI today, we drove the Confederation Bridge which was completed 12 years ago. It spans over 7 miles, and is the world’s longest marine bridge. Driving 45mph, it took us almost 10 minutes to reach the island.

Sept 2
Our 2nd day at Mathieu’s home, we had a school day. Homeschooling fits our life style perfectly. Here it was a Saturday and the boys had a full day of school! We’re all getting a better feel for Calvert. We find the most challenging part is to interact with all 4 boys, who are of course at different grade levels doing different subjects simultaneously. Robby manages his time superbly and can take his curriculum and go do it. He’ll ask questions from time to time, and then I’ll review his work halfway through, or at the end of the day’s session. Will requires more supervision and he tends to get stuck (day dream?), but he’s getting the hang of it. Ben is a sharp little cookie with a stubborn attitude at times. Once he realizes that the directions and assignments are not negotiable, he gets the work done quickly and well. Sam is zooming through his 1st grade work but requires the most one-on-one. Thom and I are like jugglers and teachers at the same time. Patience and a good night of sleep greatly improve the chance of success for all of us!
We continued on to the charming and historic site of Quebec City. We enjoyed perfect weather on the ferry ride across the St. Lawrence admiring views of the walled city and Hotel Frontenac, a fairy tale castle at the top. Quebec celebrates its 400th year, and we were there over Labor Day Weekend with thousands of people. Traffic was congested, especially for us Alaskans so we opted to walk. We walked through Old Quebec, the promenade, Plains of Abraham, Parliament and its fountains, St. Jean Ave which was blocked off for pedestrians only, and then we returned to the port to enjoy the highlight of the day. Quebec and its ingenious artists created a movie highlighting its 400 year history. They show it every night outside on guess what? The “screen” is comprised of at least 30 huge grain silos and a large building in the middle which can be viewed by thousands of people for free. It’s not in French, but includes sounds of trains, music, people laughing, etc. I’ve never viewed anything like it. The French Canadians should be complimented on their creativity! We all stood mesmerized staring up at these huge silos, listening to the hundreds of speakers that were in place all around the port.
Now we are driving up around the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec. We spent a night at an unexpected point last night. I don’t know how Thom saw it, but we were driving along and he said, “Hey look, there’s a submarine out of the water!” It was wild. The day before, a submarine was brought to a small town with the plan of removing it from the water and making it part of a museum. Well, the plan went awry when the submarine, mainly out of the water, tipped over! Two guards were on duty to keep people away, but all the townspeople kept stopping by to ooh and ahhh at the attraction. They play to float the sub once the highest tides return in 2 weeks, then secure it out of the water with concrete supports. This is next to a museum we visited for the Empress of Ireland, a cruise ship which sank 4 miles from here in 1914. Over 1000 people died, and the story is so sad, much like the Titanic. A cargo ship crashed into the cruise ship at about 2am in a fog bank, and the cruise ship went down in 14 minutes!

Sept 1, 2008
It’s a good time to catch up as Thom’s driving along The Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, Canada. I’ve been working on my French, which is quite rusty. When I was 20, I lived for 2 months in France with the Perrachon Family working at their beautiful winery and vineyards. I was never fluent, but knew a fair amount of French. The boys know Bon Jour, merci boucoup, sil vous plait, and Bon Soir. The people of Quebec are very friendly and hospitable and appreciate when we make an effort to speak their language. It’s good for our boys to be in a place where everyone speaks a foreign language. Ben gets frustrated when people talk to him and he doesn’t know what they’re saying. I told him it’s good to discover we’re not the center of the universe!
We met a nice family back at Liard’s Hot Springs in the Yukon Territory who live near Montreal. At that time, they invited us to come stay at their home on our travels. So we called Mathieu and Isabelle and they remembered us. In fact, Mathieu had just been reading our updates on our website he said! So we spent 2 nights parked at their beautiful 200 year old home just SE of Montreal. They have an ideal location in the country with farms all around and a huge yard with Poplar Trees that must be 100 years old. Within 30 miles is the international city of Montreal. Their hospitality was unbelievable and they even gave us a key to their home. Mathieu, a chemical engineer, manages a plastic recycling plant nearby. He toured us through and we saw how they buy plastics sorted already by number. They melt it and create small pellets to then sell to companies which can be made into new containers. It was fascinating and opened our boys’ eyes to yet more ideas for jobs and future opportunities.
Our kids had a great time playing with Juliette, Christian, Maximillion, and Beatrice (ages 8 to 2). We enjoyed watching them play in french and English with no language barrier problems. They figured out a way to play and communicate, and Juliette’s English was quite good.
We spent a wonderful day in the diverse city of Montreal, which is an island in the St. Lawrence River. In a way, it is reminiscent of Manhattan. Bridges connect the island all around. The summer Olympics were held there, and so we visited that area which now includes a Biodome, insectarium, and botanical gardens. The Biodome was similar to a zoo, but inside with 4 zones (arctic, tropical rainforest, forest, and marine). We walked through the zones and in most areas interacted with the animals without much of a barrier. Birds flew overhead closely, monkeys were within arm’s reach, and alligators were just under bridges. The boys loved the insectariums with spiders, bees, beetles, ants, etc. The exhibits were interactive and very educational. The botanical garden is where we ate lunch and enjoyed a long walk, including the Chinese Garden and Dream Lake.
From there we drove through a university area with lots of restaurant, apartments, and shops to St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Mathieu told us it’s worth visiting. People have climbed up with crutches, canes, etc, and after praying, have left their crutches behind. He went to the university nearby and said he used to pray to get through his studies! So we parked and Thom noticed all the people on their knees praying as they climbed the 300+ steps outside to the church. We were amazed at the beautiful mosaic artwork above the alter, but didn’t see any crutches nor canes. Then Ben and I went outside and discovered a tiny, old church above and behind this church. Inside was only enough space for about 10 people to pray. There were the crutches, at least 50, hanging on the walls from past visitors. So we all kneeled and prayed for health and safe travels.
We hiked up to the top of Mount Royal, and enjoyed a view of southern Montreal all lit up. Then we had dinner at in Old Montreal down by the port. Walking along the streets we watched artists paint and stopped for a quartet playing music for dancers performing the Tango. It was all very romantic in this French Canadian environment!

August 27, 2008
We dropped down into New York for a day to visit the Clayton Antique Boat Museum. We also had the good fortune to visit Linda Thompson, a dear friend of the Besch’s from West Sand Lake. She and her husband, Larry own a cottage on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Over dinner at her cottage, we watched a huge ship pass as it moved down towards Lake Ontario.
We already miss family and all our friends at Rideau Ferry. Thanks to Paul, Theresa, Nan, Don, Holmes, Yvonne, Maggie, Doug, Owen, John, and Chris for a wonderful visit. We owe you Don for taking all our trash up the lane!
We headed down to Kingston, Ontario to visit Fort Henry. The British built this to defend their colony at the time against enemies coming down the St. Lawrence River. We saw soldiers in uniform from the 1860’s who shot off canons and rifles. We toured their sleeping quarters, mess hall, officers’ quarters, jails cells, and wine cellar. The boys dressed up as soldiers carrying long rifles and guarding prisoners for the most common offense: drunkenness.
We then drove to Sand Banks Provincial Park where we spent the night and enjoyed huge sand dunes. We all swam in Lake Ontario, our 5th and final Great Lake! The boys will tell you that they’re the ones who swam in all 5, since Mom and Dad skipped Lake Erie (we only can get credit for 4).

We’re starting back up with home schooling. After the cousins arrived in Canada, it was hard to keep up with school work since they all had so much fun playing. So we’re now starting lesson 5 of 160. I’m pleased that Robby is focused and wants to keep on track. He’s very aware that his Alaska friends are in their 2nd week of school and doesn’t want to fall behind. The other boys aren’t as conscientious…they leave that up to Thom and me! From here, we plan to head up to Quebec, New Brunswick, and PEI (Prince Edward Island).

August 24, 2008
We’re closing up the cottage, putting boats away, and departing Frost Point for the summer. It’s a sad day, and we’re the last to leave. We’ll have limited internet access for the next few weeks so I doubt we’ll be updating this page much. First we’ll head to Lake Ontario to swim in our 5th and final lake of the Great Lake Series. Then it’s on to Quebec, New Brunswick, and PEI (Prince Edward Island) of eastern Canada. From there, we’ll head south through New England.
It’s been great staying here so long. Thom’s made up for all the lost time since his last visit here four years ago. Between the riding lawn mower, weed wacker, and chain saw he opened up the views of the lake from the cottage. He’s been fixing things like door locks, sailboats, and screens. We’ve enjoyed every minute catching up with relatives and friends and have finished off countless bottles of wine and beer in the process! The kids said Goodbye to all the cousins, most of whom we’ll see again this fall as we head south. The weather is at its summer best, making it even harder to leave. The motor coach is all packed up, and we’re ready to home school daily now.

August 16, 2008
Will and Tucker awoke at 6am and are now at the boathouse fishing. It’s quiet, so I decided to get up as well and catch up on journaling. The challenge here is finding uninterrupted time to do this since we’ve had 12 kids here….can you imagine?! Maybe the boys will catch bass and sunfish for breakfast for everyone. It’s a tradition here to have fried fish for breakfast.
We’re coming to the end of our time at Frost Point. Thom’s been so busy mowing, trimming back the small trees and brush, fixing things like screen doors and lawn mowers, repairing sailboats and floating toys for the kids, and cleaning things up. This cottage is over 100 years old, and used only during the summer since it’s not winterized. Maintenance is a big issue and there’s always work to be done. Thom spent every summer of his youth here dating back to his birth, and it’s truly his favorite place on Earth. He hasn’t been here in 4 years and loves catching up on all kinds of projects. Transitioning from military to civilian life has been easy so far! His beard is full with a tad bit of grey, reminiscent of a sea captain.
It was great to spend time with Cousins Charles, Anna, Jennifer and Neal. They’ve now continued on to Denmark for 2 weeks. Anna and Jennifer are close in age to Thom, and they haven’t been here in over 20 years. They too spent summers here, and it was wonderful hearing their childhood stories. Anna remembered the boat trips in the Frowildo, the family’s beautiful wooden boat dating back to 1927. It was named after 3 related families: Frost, Willard (Thom’s Mom’s maiden name), and Dodds (Anna’s family).
A reporter from the local paper came out last week to interview Louise and Eric, since they remember and know so much about family history. She took pictures of the sixth generation which includes all the kids. We were delighted to see the full page story 3 days later, with a big picture of all the kids in front of the big cottage entitled, “Frost Descendents Still Call Local Cottage Home.” It’s a well done article with information dating back to 1858. Thom’s maternal grandmother was born a Frost and a Canadian. We traveled here almost 9 years ago so that Ben would be born a Canadian, and his middle name is Frost. Yes, this is a special place and we’re so happy to continue the traditions with our own children. Watching them play and get to know their cousins is wonderful and we hope they will always treasure Frost Point as well.
August 12, 2008
We’ve now been at Frost Point, Ontario, Canada for almost a month and it’s been great visiting with the extended Besch family. Thom’s parents (Clayton and Louise), brothers (Clipper, Eric, and Fred), spouses and girlfriend (Wendy, Terry, Emily), and kids (Tucker, Avery, Erin, Logan, Lauren, and Duncan) have all been here or will soon be here. In addition, Cousin John and Laura and their kids Alex and Sushila are at their cottage next door. Cousins Charles, Anna, and Jennifer along with boyfriend Neil are visiting from California for the first time in 20 years. Eric invited friends Kathy, Jack, and Alex who stayed for a week. My Mom and her friend Bob spent a week with us as well. What’s really cool is that people have traveled from New York, Maryland, Virginia, California, and Alaska to be here together. It’s truly the biggest family reunion we’ve had in over 10 years.
The kids range in age from 4 to 13 and are busy all the time. Today they’re adding on to the tree fort near the tip of Frost Point. They swim everyday in the Rideau Lake just outside the door of the cottages. They kayak, take out the Little John rowboat, paddle around on the windsurfer board, fish off the dock, play on the swing set, or build castles at the sandy beach. Frost Point is a peninsula and they can do all these activities right here. They’re all tanned, with blonder hair and lots of mosquito bites.
My Mom and her friend Bob just flew back to California yesterday. Having them with us for one week was enjoyable. Mom’s moving around slower these days, needing a walker and wheelchair to get around. Yet she was outside most days watching the children swim, fish, and play. She took lots of pictures. Bob came out in the boat and after watching a bunch of us ski, decided to give it a try. He popped right up on double skis, headed across the wake, and after a valiant attempt at keeping his balance, went down in the water. He unfortunately pulled a hamstring, but we admired him for his courage! He’s doing better Mom says, and saw his doctor when he got home.
The boys are doing some amazing things behind the ski boat. Will is able to get up on a single ski (slalom) without kicking off a 2nd ski. Each time he goes out, he tries out those edges with turning and crossing the wake. Robby likewise can now slalom ski. Ben and Sam pop right out of the water on double skis. Thom bought a wake board, which we’ve all gotten up on. I find it’s squirrely and hard to turn, but the boys love it. Thom turns well and crosses the wake, and has almost mastered switching the board 180 so he changes his front foot. Will aggressively crosses the wake on it. Sam is probably the biggest dare devil of all, and it’s his favorite thing to do up here at Frost Point.

July 24, 2008
We started home schooling today. It’s a big undertaking but it went really well. It’s a bit of a balancing act with a 1st grader, 4th, 6th, and 8th grader. Thom and I have always been involved with their schooling in the past, but we’ve never BEEN the teachers. I certainly couldn’t do this on my own without Thom’s help. The boys ask many questions and need direction and guidance. So we’re hopping!
The positive attitude paid off as we all completed Lesson 1 of Calvert curriculum. Only 159 lessons to go! It’s the journey that matters, not the destination. We’re starting in July so we can take time off in the fall if we catch Space A flights oversees. Also, I’m hoping the boys won’t be as rusty if we start now instead of Sept. Calvert comes highly recommended by many friends and teachers. It’s very thorough, and has a great lesson plan laid out for the teacher. The boys worked diligently and I think were pleased with the program. Oh, and they love recess. Thom took them for a boat ride, where they each took turns waterskiing or wake boarding!

July 21, 2008
I can’t type for long, but it’s time for at least a quick update. We’re in Ontario, Canada at Frost Point. Thom’s family has owned cottages (the big cottage and little cottage) on the Rideau Lake since his great grandmother’s days. We were married here in 1993, and Ben was born nearby in 1999. It’s a beautiful place this time of year, and is reminiscent of summer camp. We’re on a small peninsula with favorite spots for swimming, fishing, reading in the hammock, boating, etc. We unloaded the motor coach and have moved into the big cottage. I must say it’s nice to have space again!
Thom’s parents arrived last night from New York. Brother Eric and family will arrive in about a week from Maryland. Brother Fred will arrive at the end of July from California. Brother Clipper and family will arrive hopefully in early August from New York. Oh, my Mom and her friend Bob will spend a week with us in August, and they’re flying in from California. Cousin John and family will fly in from Seattle at the end of July. So you can see we’re getting ready for a big reunion!

July 16, 2008
Today we’re driving to Sault Ste. Marie, MI. We’ll cross over into Canada tomorrow. Thom and I have never been to this area before and really enjoyed Michigan.
Happy Birthday Clayton! We’re looking forward to celebrating July birthdays at Frost Point, Canada. Thom celebrated his 49th this past Saturday. I must admit it’s hard to keep track of dates when we have no schedule, so thank you Aunt Liz for the morning phone call singing Happy Birthday to Thom!
Swimming in all the Great Lakes is one of our short term goals, and we’ll conquer Lake Superior today. Yesterday we stopped just before sunset at Lake Huron and all dove in. Brrrrr! Even the boys admitted it’s cold. By the time we hurried back from the sand bar, our toes were numb. We had just crossed the immense Mackinaw Bridge connecting the 2 land masses of Michigan, so we were at the northern end of Lake Huron. The boys all tried holding their breath for the length of the bridge…impossible. That’s more like a 6-breath bridge.
Once again, the boys are sleeping all around this morning. I woke up at 7am to run over and do 3 loads of laundry. We don’t have a washer/dryer aboard, and with 4 boys who love to play in the sand and water, the dirty clothes add up quickly. The nice thing is I can do 3 or 4 loads of laundry simultaneously since most RV parks have 5 washers and dryers. We have an ongoing quarters collection!
Just after my last entry, we visited Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI. What a great place, especially for kids! Henry Ford built this place as a tribute to all inventors, innovators, and craftsmen. It’s not just about automobiles. It’s a village of at least 100 buildings, many of which are originals that he transported here. We learned about pottery, glass-making, printing presses, saw mills, farming, and machine-making to name a few. There were also many homes of famous people like Robert Frost. They had a school, slave’s quarters, jewely/watch shops, and other buildings to make up a community. My favorites were Thomas Edison’s laboratory; along with the Wright Bros bicycle shop, and Henry Ford’s movies of how he automated the car-building industry. Thomas Edison invented so many important things including the light bulb and telephone. His patents were numerous, and many included no references, meaning he was the first to delve into those areas. Ford and Edison were friends and encouraged each other during Ford’s early years. Fifty years after the light bulb was invented, Ford invited Edison to visit Greenfield Village and made a big commemoration. The chair that Edison sat in for this was nailed to the floor and remains in the same position today. Henry Ford created Greenfield Village initially for students only where they could study and learn about all kinds of science. He knew that it is our youth who come up with new ideas and innovative ways of doing things. I loved sharing this with the boys. Who knows what they’ll design one day?
We returned to Stony Lake, MI to visit again with Cousin John, Laura, Sushila, and Alex. Cousin Steve and his daughter Georgia just flew in from Massachusetts. We haven’t seen them in 4 years, so we couldn’t wait to catch up. Georgia just turned 8, and she had a good time playing with all her cousins. We had a day at the beach with ideal weather.
We also spent a lovely evening with Georgia’s grandparents, Jim and Jan Watkins. They have a beautiful cottage on Stony Lake, only about 2 miles from John and Laura’s. Many of their family members were visiting from Texas, Virginia, and New York. It was wonderful sharing stories on the deck over burgers, beer and wine as the kids rowed the boat and paddled the kayak below. We even had an experimental aircraft guy fly by a couple times, which Thom especially enjoyed. Steve talked about his adventures of painting around the US and world. He’s become an accomplished artist, with works being displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art in Manhattan (The Met). He calls his work neo-romantic landscapes (I think I got that right). Steve’s currently working on about 20 paintings, primarily for museums and is planning to be in Italy for a couple weeks in August. It’s great listening to him talk about all the cool things he does. Steve also played ultimate Frisbee as well as hockey in his youth, and the boys enjoyed talking with him about his years as a goalie. We’re delighted that he and Georgia will join us at Frost Point at the end of July.
After we departed Stony Lake, we visited Elberta, MI where Thom hoped to do some paragliding (yes, we have his gear packed in the back of the SUV!). There’s a club with its own ramp overlooking Lake Michigan, but unfortunately the winds were too strong. Instead we made our way into the cozy town of Frankfort. Thom was fascinated watching a kite boarder rip back and forth adjacent to a causeway. When he jumped, the wind carried him at least 20 feet off the water! We stood on the cause way leading out to a lighthouse and watched him for a long time. It was like windsurfing, wakeboarding, and paragliding all rolled into one sport. Thom’s been interested in trying this for years, and now that he’s seen it up close, he’s talking of buying his own equipment! Thom introduced himself to the kite boarder, whose name is Jay and he has 4 boys too. He’s a pilot for American Airlines out of Chicago, and lives way up here in MI. He hang glides with the club I mentioned earlier, and also wake boards. He spent a lot of time teaching Thom what to do from the sandy beach. Then, he went out in the water with a smaller sail, took all of 5 seconds to slip his feet onto his board, and whoosh, the wind pulled him straight out into Lake Michigan. In the meantime, Will brought out Thom’s kite which looks like a mini-parasail. The winds were strong and he was flying it like a champ, sometimes getting pulled right up in the air and landing 5 or 6 feet away! When I tried flying the kite a few days ago, I landed right on my rear end. At best, I could keep it in the air about 30 seconds before losing control and sending it into the sand. Will does crazy-eights and power turns. Jay’s 2nd son, Luke is 12 and he flew our kite well. He wants his Dad to teach him to kite board this fall. Jay taught his 16-year old son to kite board during the winter by using a snowboard. Jay told us he cruised along on his snow mobile giving instruction. What a cool family!

July 11, 2008
I’m up early while the kids are sleeping all around me. We tend to arrive late in the evening at new destinations, and by the time we finish dinner and setting up, it’s often 10 or 11pm. So we’ve all been sleeping in.
Here we are at a huge RV park in northwestern Ohio on Lake Erie. The boys love staying at parks with beaches, lakes, and pools where they can swim.
We spent the last 2 days visiting Bea, Raul, and their 2 boys Iker and Nicolas. Bea was our first aupair 11 years ago when Will was a baby and Robby was about 2. She’s from Spain, and her boys are exactly the same ages as Robby and Will were when she lived with us! Raul works for Avery, and they live near Cleveland in a beautiful home and yard. The boys I’m sure will blog that the coolest thing is their indoor swimming pool. It’s one that has a current you can swim against for exercise. The Besch boys were in there for hours! We really enjoyed meeting Raul and the boys. They’ve lived in Spain, France, Mexico and now the US, so we had a great time talking about travel, culture, and family goals.
Yesterday we all went to the Cleveland Zoo. Bea thought it was funny we’re coming from Alaska where we had moose walking through our back yard and now we’re excited to go to the zoo! We saw kangaroos, orangutans, hippo’s, rhino’s, giraffes, electric eels, piranhas, elephants, lions, ostriches, frogs, otters, cheetahs, and lots more. The boys are at a great age where they stay with us and can read as they go. I remember taking them to the zoo 5 years ago where it was total chaos! Bea had Iker and Nicolas in strollers. They enjoyed seeing the animals the first half, and snoozing in strollers the second half! We always new Bea would be a great mom, and it was wonderful to see her with her family. Thank you Bea and Raul for your hospitality!
We plan to return to Michigan to visit Cousin Steve and his daughter Georgia who fly in today from MA. We also hope to visit Greenfield, MI where we’ll learn all about Henry Ford. Thom’s doing a marvelous job driving all over this great country of ours. He makes it look easy driving a 43’ RV towing an SUV through cities like Chicago and Cleveland We’ve discovered that a GPS is a requirement!

July 7, 2008
I’m at Cousin John and Laura’s cottage overlooking Lake Michigan. What a beautiful place! Laura spent many summers in this area growing up. She and John bought this property and built a log cabin 3 years ago. It’s our first time visiting and we all love being here. The main attraction is the beach, located a 3-minute walk down the steps and through the forest. It’s just like being at the ocean with fine, golden sand and water for as far as the eye can see. It’s unlike any lake I’ve ever visited. John says he often sees the big freighter ships on the horizon.
We arrived here late on the 4th of July. It was great seeing John, Laura, Alex, and Sushila. John and Thom are first cousins and the same age. Although it was getting late, we headed for the beach. The kids swam as the sun set over Lake Michigan, and then played in the sand for a good hour building harbors and irrigation canals. We saw fireworks in the distance. Thom and John parked the motor coach as best they could nearby in the forest. Unfortunately, there were scratches and small dents suffered on the coach due to the tight roads and full trees. Thom was not a happy camper.
We spent our first full day here at the beach with ideal weather. Will worked on his skim boarding skills, while the others attempted to build an island in the surf. They discovered a sand bar off shore they could swim to and then stand up. Ben carried a chair out there to stand on! We explored the area by car on day #2 and loved Silver Lake with its gigantic sand dunes. The kids rolled down, while I preferred running down (a lot easier than the requisite hike up). There were dune buggies and even sand boarders. Today is day #3, and we awoke early to an intense thunder/lightning/rain storm. We spend the day indoors playing games, reading, and watching old Popeye cartoons. Now the sun’s out and the kids are out shooting off rockets on the beach. Cousins Jeff, Amy, Alix, and Jena arrived from Ohio so now we have quite a large group!
Before we arrived in Michigan, we spent 2 nights in different locations in Wisconsin. The first was at one of the nicest RV parks we’ve experienced with a putt-putt golf course, swimming pool, and skate park. There I caught up on laundry. The 2nd was at Lake Winnebago where the boys swam and we had our very first camp fire on this whole trip! Out came the hotdogs and marshmallows. We visited the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, WI (Experimental Aircraft Assoc). Most of you know how much Thom loves to fly. He once owned a single engine plane, and has since bought 2 kit planes to build. Both had to be sold before he’d completed the building, due to all our moving around. One day he’ll build one. Anyway, the museum was worth the stop. Not only were there at least 30 or 40 full size planes on display inside, but also there were 30 or 40 hands-on displays we could all do. The boys loved the hang-gliding, flight simulator, fluid and magnet dynamics, and fighter pilot activities the most. Maybe someday they’ll learn to fly!

July 2, 2008
We’re now in Cannon Falls, MN. This is where we bought our motor coach in Dec…online! We stored it at a wonderful shop called Sandstrom’s Repair for 4 months. Then in April, Thom flew to Minneapolis where owner Andy Sandstrom picked him up at the airport. Andy, Aaron, Heather, Michelle, and Chris were very friendly and helpful as Thom learned all about our new acquisition. Thom then drove it home to Alaska. So since we’re now in the neighborhood, we wanted to meet and thank them for the help. It’s a good thing we did. The mechanics opened up the engine to check the transmission fluid. Not only were we low on fluid, but we also needed some welding done on the coolant system. If we hadn’t stopped by, we probably would have ended up stuck on the side of the road somewhere soon. So once again, we’re having a repair/maintenance day. While Thom’s working with Chris on the RV, the boys and I are enjoying swimming and a picnic at nearby Lake Byllesby. The temp is 75 F with sunny, breezy skies…..ahhhh to have a tan again!
Last night, we all headed over to the county fair where the annual demolition derby took place. This was a first for the boys, and they loved every minute. I think they totaled 40 cars and trucks by the end of 2 hours of crashing into each other. We saw car engines on fire, cars getting pushed up and on top of concrete dividers, reverse driving and sandwiching. Andy Sandstrom sponsored 4 or 5 vehicles, so we cheered for his cars along with his family and team. The most exciting race was probably the trucks, with 10 entries. Andy’s truck won after some serious bashing battles.
Yesterday brought us good news. Ben had an ophthalmology follow-up appt at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Garrity is not only a practicing orbital ophthalmologist, but he’s a professor as well. He knows Dr. Rosen, Ben’s surgeon from Anchorage, and was aware that Dr. Rosen is the only one in Alaska who handles surgeries like the one Ben required. He spent a lot of time with us yesterday and is very pleased with Ben’s progress. When he saw the CT scan we brought that was taken just before Ben’s surgery, he was surprised at the magnitude of the abscess behind Ben’s left eye. He rarely sees them anymore that size. He said that immunizations have just about eliminated infections like this from happening anymore. Ben’s immunizations are up to date, but he said that Strep. Pneumonia is one which still causes orbital cellulites. He called in another well-known ophthalmologist who apparently just gave a lecture about this exact condition recently, along with 2 interns. They all seemed impressed with the CT scan. I asked about Ben’s 2nd CT scan, taken 2 weeks ago. It showed a collection of fluid behind his left eye, which concerned the Fairbanks ophthalmologist. Dr. Garrity of the Mayo Clinic wasn’t concerned and said this is normal after Ben’s trauma.
Ben asked if he can swim, and Dr. Garrity said, “Yes, like today.” Ben asked, “Can I go underwater?” The doc answered, “Only if you come up for air.” This was the highlight of the visit for Ben!
Ben is past the danger point and no CT scan is required. Dr. Garrity suggested we see an ophthalmologist again in 6 months. Ben’s eyes match pretty closely now, although his left eye doesn’t open quite as much as his right. He’s now at 20/60, which is a great improvement over 20/150 two weeks ago. He can be corrected to 20/40 with glasses, but the doctor recommended holding off on glasses for now. Ben has a little issue with color blindness in that eye for reds, and is missing a little of his upper right quadrant vision in his left eye. We continue to pray for healing and improved vision. God is good and has helped our family through this difficult time. I know I’ve never prayed so much as I did these past 5 weeks for Ben. Dr. Garrity told us that patients with this size of an abscess typically suffer a 25% mortality rate, and the majority would have lost vision entirely in that eye. We are thankful that Ben is happy, healthy, active, and can see so well. THANK YOU GOD!

June 30, 2008
We’re now crossing the state line from South Dakota to Minnesota. What a great state we just left! We visited the world famous Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and got the full tour. Thom said he’s watched many basketball games on TV that took place here. Next, we linked up with our dear friends, Marchell, Jake, Jadie, Allie, and Luke DeLange in nearby Scotland, SD. They live in Delta Junction, AK but are visiting family in SD where Marchell grew up. Scotland is a picturesque farm town in the heart of corn country with a population of 800. She told us she played a lot of basketball games at the Corn Palace! We camped in the town park, adjacent to the swimming pool, baseball fields, and conveniently located one block from Marchell’s family. Everyone was really excited to see each other, and they all jumped on bikes and started exploring the park. Before long, we were in swimsuits soaking up the sun at the pool. All the DeLange’s sported a nice summer tan, but the Besch boys suffered mild sun burns on shoulders due to white Alaskan skin! We were lucky to visit on a day when Jake and his team had a baseball game, which they won 3-2….way to go Jake!
This morning, Marchell arranged for all of us to visit her friend’s dairy farm. Brian, Dawn, Josh, and Jason were terrific hosts and showed us 40 dairy cows, 200 steer, 2 sheep, 3 new kittens which all the kids loved, a dog, 2 horses, and a new colt. They also grow corn and have huge silos. We saw the newborn calves including a 3-day old who sucked on our fingertips. Many of us were brave enough to try milking cows by hand…you’ll have to read the boys’ blogs on that! We saw the big milk tank where the milk is stored before a truck picks up every other day. The kids all had a chance to ride a horse, and also to climb up into the hayloft. The DeLanges and Besches all had a great time, and gained a new appreciation for dairy products. Thanks to Marchell, Brian, and Dawn for setting this up.

June 26, 2008
We’re now in eastern Montana, where the mountains don’t get in the way of the view (as Greg Bowen would say!). We had a great trip down the Alaska Hwy to Dawson Creek. Wildlife was unbelievable, with 12 bear sightings, deer, beaver houses, over 20 stone sheep, and even a swimming moose. That stretch to the west of Fort Nelson was awesome, with incredible views of the mountains and rivers. You can’t help but wonder where the next gold rush will take place…Thom and I both believe there’s gold in them thar hills.
We’re settling into a routine in the motor coach. We started with all of us being buckled up in front. That’s all changed with the boys cycling between the back bedroom and the front sofa. They all get a kick out of going to the bathroom with Dad still driving, watching the mountains pass by!
We were hoping to spend time in remote campgrounds near lakes for good fishing an d swimming (yes, these boys love the cold water). However, the starter on the RV was acting up so Thom wanted it checked out. He found a good mechanic in Fort Nelson who replaced a solenoid and also discovered a crack in the pipe leading to the muffler. After a half a day, we were on the road again. We spent about 4 hours there, and then continued to Dawson Creek.
After the AK Hwy, we headed south to the Canadian Rockies. The drive from Jasper, to Lake Louise, and finishing down at Banff is one of the most beautiful scenic day trips I’ve ever enjoyed. We stopped many times for photo op’s, throwing rocks in the river, walking to waterfalls, and seeing stone sheep up close. My favorite was visiting the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel. What a setting! The opaque, milky magical blue-green glacial water of Lake Louise attract millions of people every year. The backdrop of a glacier framed by towering mountains is breath taking. We camped in our RV right there in the parking lot after Will grilled up some shish kabobs for us! Robby loved the Banff Springs Hotel, which reminded him of Hogwarts from Harry Potter.
Tomorrow we have an appointment at a dealership in Bismarck, ND for the RV. Thom discovered this place when he drove from MN to AK in April. He was so impressed with the friendliness and quality work that we decided to return for work that’s necessary on our heating system. My Dad was born there, so I’m curious to visit. We hope to then swing to the south eastern corner of South Dakota to visit the DeLange Family! Maybe e we can catch one of Jake’s baseball games!

June 22, 2008
Welcome to our family’s website! We’ve dreamed about traveling around the world with our four boys and now it’s time to live the dream. Thom retired from the Army after 26 years from Ft. Greely, Alaska. We packed up our 43’ Newmar Mountain Aire motor coach towing an SUV and headed southeast on the Alaska Highway on June 18, 2008. First lesson learned…we packed too much!
Our first night on the road was spent in Alaska just outside of Tok along our cherished Tanana River. Robby, Will, Ben, and Sam scouted a trail down to the river where they collected sticks gnawed down by beavers. On day 2, we crossed over into Canada where Ben announced, “Now I’m home!” He’s our dual citizen, born in Ontario, Canada 8 years ago. Will grilled up burgers next to Pickhandle Lake where a territorial muskrat tried scaring us off. Thom and the boys hooked a northern pike as Will took sunset pictures at midnight in the Yukon.
We all realize we’re down to our last few sunny midnights as we head south towards the Lower 48. Living in Alaska for 3 years has been a wonderful experience. Our boys especially like the winters even though temps drop to -50 F. They realize they’ve lived in a unique place that not many people ever experience, especially in the winter. We all miss our friends from Ft. Greely and Delta Junction. This past month was emotional as we said our Good-bye’s to so many wonderful people. With Ben’s emergency eye surgery on May 29, we experienced the most generous community support and love. Thanks to Leanna, Ray, Tammy, Roger, Carrie, and Ron for helping with Sam, Will, and Robby during that stressful time.
Ben is healing well, and had 3 follow-up appointments with ophthalmologists. Orbital Cellulites set in above his optic nerve on his left eye. Less than 3 days after he complained his eye hurt, he was in surgery in Anchorage. What we’ve learned is what our friend Diane Schultz warned…Don’t mess with the eyes. If you ever have swelling around the eyes combined with fever, head to an eye doc. The good news is that Ben’s eyes now look almost the same with almost no swelling. The bad news is that a recent CT scan showed a fluid pocket exists behind the left eye, and his vision isn’t back to normal (20/150 instead of 20/20). Ben has an appointment at The Mayo Clinic July 1, so please keep him in your prayers.
So back to our trip. We spotted moose, beaver, muskrat, and bald eagles. Thom noticed the Canadian moose are greyer than the brown moose we’re used to seeing in Delta. The bald eagles sat on a sand bar in the Yukon River as we roller bladed on a nearby bike trail in White Horse. We haven’t spotted bear, dahl sheep, or mountain goats but have the camera and binoculars nearby as we drive.
White Horse was a great stop. Thom discovered a great welder, Brendon Heney, who worked late on a Saturday fabricating a new and stronger trailer hitch receiver for our motor coach. The bumpy Alaska Highway took its toll on us as we towed the SUV and bike carriers. Damage to the rear bracket needed attention before we could continue our journey. Coincidentally, Brendon is from Ontario, Canada which is where Thom spent most of his summers as a boy. We were married in Ontario, and our third son was born there. We look forward to spending a month in Ontario at the Besch Family reunion. Thanks Brendon for all your help, and we’re happy to make your special delivery to family in Ontario!
Thanks also to Andy Hudgin who recommended we visit the Games Center in White Horse. It’s a huge indoor athletic facility which includes 2 ice rinks, huge swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, basketball court, soccer field, running track, and all the amenities. Unfortunately, the rinks had no ice so we couldn’t skate. Part of our daily goal is exercise, so we definitely got our fill here. Thom especially enjoyed the jacuz, sauna, and showers after spending the day helping Brendon with the welding project. Oh, here’s a tip for other RV’ers. Wal-Mart lets you park overnight in their parking lots. That’s where we stayed in White Horse, since the RV parks had no more space for pull through’s like ours. About 15 other RV’s camped at Wal-Mart, and we grilled once again about 11pm.
Our next stop was at Teslin Lake, where we could see the longest bridge on the Alaska Highway from our RV. This was an excellent stop because I finally got organized and decided where to put about 6 boxes of stuff that had been sitting in the main area of our RV. I’d intended to do this before we departed Ft. Greely but it took longer than I expected. Something again about packing too much stuff and just not having enough room. The SUV we’re towing holds the stuff we don’t use as much…newly renamed the attic!
Now we’re heading into British Columbia. We have a timetable to keep with Ben’s July 1 doctor’s appt in MN, but we’re hoping to explore the Jasper/Lake Louise/Banff area of Alberta. People have described the area as one of Canada’s jewels. Tonight or tomorrow we hope to visit Liard’s Hot Springs. The kids still talk about that stop from our drive up here 3 short years ago.
Here’s another lesson learned before I sign off for the day. If you ever smell rotten eggs inside the RV, check the pilot light of the frig/freezer. Ours went out, but still drew out the liquid propane. Stinky, as the boys said! Relighting the pilot light solved the smelly problem.