Key West, Florida

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.