Hanging with the Presidents

Can't help but feel patriotic standing here!!

       Taking our leave from the Madsens, we headed out across western Wisconsin, Minnesota and into South Dakota.  I would love to share with you some amazing sights we saw along the way, but there really are none.  The sights are all vast farm fields.  It was also July 15th, which is a very special day for Cecelia and I.  This was the day we were married 20 years ago.  So, we decided to celebrate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

All that corn

     While driving across the farm plains of Minnesota that morning, Cecelia made arrangements for us to have massages.  So, we set the girls up with a movie marathon at a theatre that wasn't too far away from the masseuse's place.  It worked out perfectly.  Cecelia and I had our massages and went to dinner while the girls watched two movies.  We even managed to sneak in a sit down at a coffee shop before they finished.
     After all of us completing the anniversary activities, we drove about another hour and stayed in a nice little trailer park just outside Mitchell, South Dakota.  We stayed here, because friends told us to visit the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
    The next morning, we took off early so that we could get to Mount Rushmore, but we wanted to stop by the Corn Palace.  The Corn Palace turned out to be a performance and sports stadium.  This wouldn't be anything special except for the outside of the place.  The outside is decorated entirely in corn products.  Not only decorated, but in giant murals that depict cowboy and farm life in the area.  It is like the rose parade, but in corn.  It was a cool sight, but it couldn't compare to our next stop.

Tay still believes Jackalopes are real

    Starting in Minnesota we began seeing billboards for a place called Wall Drug.  This was some 359 miles away from the actual place.  So, along the long drive across South Dakota, we were entertained by signs that professed, things like free ice water, homemade donuts, fresh pie, souvenirs and so on.  By the time the town of Wall came close we were convinced that we needed to stop by, just to check out what was so special about Wall Drug.  When we arrived in the town of Wall, we were amazed by how many people were there.  The little town was packed and we barely could find a place to park the RV.
    Finding a safe place to park so that I could get out easily, we walked a block to find out what all the fuss was about.  We were soon to discover that Wall Drug is a combination of drug store, turned into restaurant, souvenir shop, art gallery, leather dealer and old west museum.  It truly is an amazing place, and their marketing campaign is awesome.  Their advertising draws people to the place like St. Patrick drew the snakes into the ocean.
    After fueling up on donuts, pie and fuel we jumped back on the highway for a short drive to our campsite near Mt. Rushmore.  Arriving at Three Forks, we immediately unhooked the trailer and embarked on an adventure to see George, Abe, Teddy and Tom.
    Arriving at the monument, we were soon be disappointed to find out that the public is no longer allowed to walk the 700 steps to the top of the Presidents; heads.  Apparently the park has had some security problems since 9/11.  There have been a couple of thwarted attempts at defacing and blowing up the monument.

From inside a small cave nearby

    It would be a real shame to deface Borglum's masterpiece.  The reasoning for this sculpture is very patriotic and the presidents that were chosen was well thought out.  I found this piece of art work to be absolutely mesmerizing, in its sheer magnitude and beauty.  My family and I spent a couple of hours staring at and photographing this awesome accomplishment of artistic fortitude.  I would equate the effort to Michael Angelo painting the Sistine Chapel.  Some may find this comparison a stretch, but if you just think about the commitment and passion that it takes to complete a task of such desire, you have to think it is divine inspiration that drives these artists on to success.
    Leaving with lasting memories of history and the grandeur of Mt. Rushmore, we left to go for a drive in Custer State Park.  Custer State Park is a wildlife preserve near Mt. Rushmore that has one of the largest free roaming buffalo herds in the United States.  Since we missed all the buffalo in the Central Plains, we figured we could get our fix here.  On the way, we drove a really cool road that had pig tailed turns on them.  You need to look pictures up on Google to get a good idea of the road.
    As we drove closer to the park, we had heard that there were free roaming buffalo, but had not seen any.  As a group, we began scouring the terrain with our eyes for any movement that might constitute a Tatanka(Buffalo) sighting.  We began to get very disappointed because we were meeting with no success, when all of a sudden a big bull stood up right next to the road.  I was so surprised, that I almost drove into oncoming traffic.  We then turned around and had to go back for a closer look.  When we arrived back at the original sighting, we found the big bull standing and looking at the traffic.  We got some great pictures and were excited.  Our party was to soon be more excited and get an unexpected Tatanka encounter.

Out on the plains where they belong

    Turning back around, we drove into the park itself.  The buffalo we saw before, was actually wild and roaming a different part of the park.  The ranger at the station directed us to the wildlife drive.  It is an 18 mile loop that travels inside the park.  As we drove along, we began to see Prong Horned Antelope and deer, but once again no Buffalo.  We were starting to get the feeling that we weren't going to have any luck, until I made the turn by the park's air strip.  As I rounded the corner I saw in the distance a large group of Tatanka on a hill.  As we got closer though the view began to be obscured and we lost sight of them.  We thought we were going to be limited to a view from far away until we came over the rise and found to our wondering surprise the entire herd grazing on the plain next the road.  It was an awe inspiring sight to see.  All 1400 of the animals were spread as far as the eye could see on the grassy plain.  Now this would have been more than enough to satisfy our thirst for the elusive creates, but the animals decided that this wasn't enough.

Getting closer!!

    While the herd was grazing along peacefully on the open plain like they have always done throughout history, I backed the tailgate of the truck up to a little knoll so we could sit on it and watch.  We grabbed some snacks and headed back to sit and watch.  The herd rolled out along the plain like a giant brown river flowing on top of the grass.  If you want to know peace, sit on the back of the tailgate of your truck and just watch Buffalo flow along grazing.  I was so surprised at the content feeling I got from watching these animals move along eating grass.  The scene was amazing!
    Little did I know that the peaceful feeling I had watching the Buffalo with my family was going to turn into an exciting adrenaline rush.  As I mentioned, the animals were eating peacefully and getting closer to us.  At this point we could hear some of the bulls making really deep rumbling sounds, almost like the growling of a lion.  While we were watching the females and babies, we didn't realize that the end of the herd was penning us in on both sides.  All of a sudden we were surrounded by Buffalo and the bulls that were making the sounds were standing in front of us, about 20 ft. from the tailgate of the truck.  At this point the bulls were bellowing louder and some of them were getting a little rambunctious.  We went from sitting on the end of the tailgate, to huddling inside the camper shell.  I had one hand on the camera and the other ready to snap the tailgate closed if anything drastic happened.  I did not want my family to become a viral YouTube video.  A moment later the animals moved on and we felt we were out of the woods, until we looked to our right and bringing up the rear of the herd was the largest bull we had seen so far.  The girls nicknamed him Mr. Fro, because the fur on his shoulder and head were so tall, it made him look like he had a giant afro.

Up close and personal with Mr. Fro!!!!!!

    We knew that Mr. Fro was the man, because when he came charging up from the back of the herd and bellowed all of the other Buffalo moved, Bulls, Females and Babies alike.  After Mr. Fro came our way, he decided to stop and stand right at the back of the truck and give us a stare and a bellow.  I was video taping the movements of him and the herd up until this point, but when I looked at the video later, there was nothing there but the top of my shoe and tailgate.  What do you think I was doing at the moment.  Moving farther inside the truck to huddle with my family of course.  I had to go back and protect them you know!!
    Mr. Fro then moved on without incident and pushed the herd up the road to surround a number of other cars and trucks parked on the side of the road as well.  At this point the Buffalo were starting to take over the road, so we decided to head out and see what else we could find.
    After our Tatanka experience, everything else was pretty anticlimactic the rest of the drive.  We did find a herd of wild donkeys that the park advertised were also on the wilderness drive.  Let's just say, their idea of wild and mine are not the same.  When we came upon them, there was a bunch of cars parked just off the road and people were out feeding and petting them.  They are about as wild as donkeys in a petting zoo.  Anyway, we got out and had a good time petting them as well.  The girls were infatuated with the baby donkeys.  They were very cute and fluffy.  I wouldn't quite say they were cuddly, because how do you cuddle a donkey.

Aren't they cute, and the donkeys are too!!

    We took our leave of the donkeys and drove the rest of the wildlife loop.  Here and there we saw more deer, Pronghorns and donkeys.  We didn't see another Buffalo until we were leaving the park.  It was standing right next to the sign for the park entrance.  It was a classic scene, because the entrance sign has a large stylized iron Buffalo cut out on top of it and the Buffalo was standing right next to it.  It was a bad angle for us and we didn't get a picture, but it was awesome anyway.
    Leaving the park, we headed for the town of Keystone.  Keystone is the town at the base of Mt. Rushmore and it has many restaurants and shops.  They also have a couple of really cool activities, two of them were an Alpine Slide and Aerial Adventure Course.  We went to check out the Ariel Adventure Course for the next day and ended up taking the girls down the Alpine Slide.  They had a great time.
   After the Alpine slide, it was time to get some dinner.  We went to a small cafe and had, guess what?  Buffalo Burgers of course.  Just because we admire them, doesn't mean we won't eat them.  We then headed back to the trailer for a good night's sleep.  Before turning in for bed, I was looking at the trailer and discovered that a couple of the tires on the trailer were not so good.  We were going to have to deal with them before we went much further.

Claire squeezing through the hoops

    The next morning dawned clear and beautiful.  The mountain air was crisp and clean with just a hint of cold.  It was just enough that I had to put on a sweatshirt for the first time on our trip.  There was even a Big Horned Sheep grazing on the lawn of the house that was next to our camp sight.  I called Cecelia out immediately, because she has been really wanting to see a Big Horned Sheep and a Mountain Goat on our trip.  This was her first opportunity.
    Cecelia took a couple of photos and then we settled in to have our morning coffee and breakfast.  While drinking our coffee, we decided that we were going to have to cut our visit in the area short so we could take care of the tires.  While I ran into town, Cecelia cooked breakfast and got the girls up and going.  We decided that we would do the Arial Course with the girls before leaving.

Tay climbing the tiny ladder

    The Arial Course turned out to be one of the best adventures we have had on the trip thus far.  It is a combination of climbing, zip lining and rappelling.  The company that came up with idea, has created a giant jungle gym 40 ft. off the ground in the pine trees.  They teach you all the safety features of the equipment and then turn you lose to climb around on six courses with different difficulties.  Everyone must do a yellow beginner circle course to prove that you can handle the equipment, but then once that is done you have an hour and a half to choose whatever you want to do.  Of course my family finding the green (already one step up from beginner) course to be too easy jumped right on the Blue Square which was a little more challenging.  Finally, to finish our time, we all did the Black Diamond Course.  The Black Diamond course was exponentially harder than the Blue Square course.  Of course everyone in the family finished, but not without some difficulty.  You need to be part gymnast and ninja warrior to finish all the obstacles.  Apparently we all have a little of both.  One safety pointer, try and stretch before you do this, because it is not good to get a cramp at 40 feet dangling from a rope.
   Feeling like we got some good exercise for the day, we grabbed the trailer and headed out to a town called Spearfish.  We met a really great guy named Mike that ran a small tire store and he took care of the trailer for us.  Four tires and $400 later we were back on the road to a trailer park in Billings, Montana.
   Paying for the tires was actually a good way to finish the day, because despite the cost, we could sleep well knowing that we avoided what could have been a major disaster if one of those tires blew out.

A Chinese Reunion in Wisconsin?

The Rat Pack from China

    Leaving the Chicago area, we took a long two and a half hour trip for the kids to The Dells in Wisconsin.  We were going there to meet our good friends the Madsens.
    The Madsens are the family that we taught with in China.  Jenny and Luke taught at the same school with us and their children, Hattie, Mason and Gabe went to school with Taylor and Claire.  Over the year that we were there along with us getting together as families to have dinner, the kids became a Chinese version of the Rat Pack.  This Rat Pack didn't specialize in singing, but did a great job exploring their Chinese community together.  Quite often, the kids would make some plan together and then come and ask for money.  We would then give them money and they would take off on one of the local buses to either go to a movie, water park or dinner together.  They were always required to come home at a certain time, but were free to explore the surrounding area.  They enjoyed themselves immensely and became great friends through the experience.  When we all left China, it was a very tearful goodbye.  At that time, we promised that we would come to visit them.
    So, we fulfilled that promise by meeting them at The Dells.  They had told us about The Dells while we were in China, so we had to check it out.
    The Dells, is the area of Wisconsin that is famous for being the water park capital of the world.  There are more water parks per square mile in The Dells than anywhere else.  The Dells are famous for water parks, but it is so much more than water parks.  The Dells is a city dedicated to creating a family camp atmosphere.  Along with water parks, there are amusement parks, miniature golf courses, mystery houses, wizard quests, animal parks, race parks, water ski shows, shopping, and eating.  There are also a couple of activities that I don't know how to describe.  One of which is a destroyed White House upside down with a Tyranasauras coming out the side.  It is truly an amazing place that would take a year to do everything that they have to offer.
    We met Jenny and the kids at a hotel to check in.  Now, you may be asking yourself why we would check into a hotel if we have a travel trailer.  The reason is that it is actually cheaper to get a hotel room, than to check into a campground because you get free water park tickets with your room.  The hotel we checked into was the Grand Marquis, because we wanted free tickets to Noah's Ark water park.
    After checking in, Jenny drove us all to Noah's Ark.  I know this sounds kind of redundant, but Noah's Ark is the largest water park in the water park capital of the world.  Noah's Ark is so big that it is nearly a half a mile from the front of the park, to the back.  They have two wave pools and so many rides, that it is nearly impossible to do them all in one day.  To top things off, they have a 4D theatre as well.

Luke, Jenny and the O's

     My favorite ride is called The Scorpions Tail.  Yes, it is exactly like the name describes.  You enter the ride in a glass box in which they close the door and then count down from three, at which time the trap door below your feet drops out from below you.  At this point, most people let out a short expletive, but not I.  I lost all of my breath, so I didn't have a chance to scream out.  After you drop away, gravity has no sway on you.  You rocket down the tube at like I said, breathtaking speed, only to begin going back up through a loop, finally to be dropped once again to the wedgie producing finish.  I finally took a breath at the bottom and said an unusual for me, expletive.
    The rest of the day was spent riding and sharing how things have gone the last couple of years, since our return.  It was an awesome day, finished a little early by an upper mid-west lightening storm.

At Paul Bunyon's Shanty

    Returning to the hotel, we all took a little rest and showered before heading into town again to meet Luke for dinner.  Luke couldn't join us during the day because he is taking classes to get his Admin. Credential.

Showing the young guns how it is done

    Driving into town we had dinner at a place that specializes in mac and cheese creations.  What do you expect, it is Wisconsin you gotta have something with lots of cheese in it.  While finishing up dinner the kids asked if they could go do an activity called Wizard Quest.  Just like the old days in China, we gave them money and sent the Rat Pack out once again.  While the Pack was off doing their activity, Luke, Jenny, Cecelia and I walked down along the river and then went to have a beer.  It was a great time of sharing how life has been since we returned.  Luke and I even had an opportunity to talk a little shop.  He has been an Athletic Director for the past year, and I was picking his brain as much as possible.  It is amazing how much the kids have grown, especially the boys who were shorter than everyone in China, except for Taylor and are now taller than everyone.  The boys love basketball, which they should, since they are 6 foot tall, twin eighth grade boys.  We might see them playing in the NBA some day.
    After a few hours, it was time for Luke to head back home.  He had to be up early the next morning for class.  This prompted us to pick up the kids from their quest, which by the way they didn't complete.  Apparently the Wizard was smarter than them.  We then made our way back to the hotel for a good night of sleep.
    The next morning dawned and we got up and headed over to Paul Bunyon's Cook Shanty for a hearty upper mid-west breakfast.  Paul Bunyon's is almost like an amusement exhibit itself.  When you purchase breakfast, you are basically purchasing a buffet, but everything is brought to your table instead of you going and getting it.  The food that is brought to your table are fresh homemade donuts, pancakes, bisquits and gravy, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns and eggs.  It is the kind of breakfast that you would have eaten in a lumber jack camp.  Breakfast is also served family style with everyone sitting on benches and a long table.  By the way, the food keeps coming until you tell the waitress that you are done.  You can imagine with five teenagers at the table, that we were there for sometime until they were all finished.  The atmosphere is outstanding and the food was surprisingly good.

Jenny with Hattie and her step daughter

    With bellies full of heavy carbohydrates, we headed out for a rousing game of miniature golf.  I had told all of the kids, that whoever beat me could have a treat at the end.  The match was very close for the first half, but in the end experience won out and my wallet was safe.
    The last part of the visit was spent walking along the river and the kids playing checkers at the river;s edge with sticks and leaves.  We also finished one final walk out on the main street to get an afternoon treat before saying goodbye.
    When we did say goodby, there weren't as many tears.  There is something reassuring when a promise has been met.  Even though we are miles and miles apart, we will always be extended family and the Madsens have promised to come and see us in Oakhurst.

 
 

Rudy and The Bean

I told you it was a giant jelly bean

The next morning, we got up early and traveled about nine miles south into Indiana.  There was a special place that I have wanted to see.  The special place to me, was the campus of Notre Dame University.  When I was graduating from high school, Notre Dame was one of the schools that accepted me.  Unfortunately, my parents could not afford to send me and I didn't have a scholarship.  Even though my family was not Catholic, we had all been big fans and I loved the tradition of their football program.  I was very excited to share this place with my family.
    It was Sunday morning and we arrived just as mass was beginning.  The atmosphere was magical, as we wandered into the walk of memories and the bells of the of the cathedral began ringing.  We had thought of attending mass, but felt that we weren't quite dressed for the occasion.
    As we sat in front of the main building and took in the atmosphere, Cecelia got a little teary eyed as she shared with the girls how it was for her at Santa Clara.  She used to go to mass every Sunday, while she was in college.

Notre Dame's Veterans Memorial

    After sharing some stories about college with the girls we went and found the football stadium.  With the chants of Rudy, Rudy, Rudy running in our heads, we got a glimpse of the football field through the Knute Rockney gate.  With a statue of the famous coach looking on, we turned to see touchdown Jesus facing the same gate.  The girls had seen and heard stories about touchdown Jesus, but it was exciting for them to see the real thing in person.
    Feeling pumped up about Notre Dame football after our visit with coach Rockney, we headed over to the book store to get some souvenirs.  We did a good job and walked out with quite a bit of navy, green and gold.
    Decked out in our new Notre Dame garb, we jumped in the truck and drove to west Chicago.  Our plan was to stay in a campground and take the metro into town.  All went well until we found out that the train into town took 90 minutes to get there and it ran on the hour on Sundays.  This made our time in the city short, because we were going to be meeting my good friend Dan, who I had not seen in nearly 20 years in the evening.  This gave us about a two and a half hour window to eat deep dish pizza and explore the city.
    When we arrived at the station in Chicago our intrepid band of resilient travelers knew what to do.  Cecelia, the navigator found the directions we needed to get to Millenium Park, Taylor and Claire then set the walking pace to get there.  My job along the way was to find Chicago's famous deep dish pizza.
    Along the way, we took in some of the iconic sights of the city.  Water taxi's on the river, Sears Tower, and the elevated subways system called the L.  As we were speed walking along, I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to find pizza, but I was saved by the famous Pizano's restaurant.  They sat us immediately for lunch and we had a wonderful meal.  The deep dish was outstanding and the atmosphere was just as good.
   Full of deep dish pizza, we walked about a block to Millenium Park in order to walk off the ton of cheese that we had just consumed.  It is a good thing that Cecelia is the only one of us that is lactose intolerant.
    I wanted to share the park with my family, because it is one of those special places that has so many unique features that it is difficult to take in one visit.  As we walked along, I pointed out the water features that had faces on them that changed every couple of minutes.  Water runs down them, while they smile and wink at you.  It is always a festive place, but there was one thing that I wanted to share with them in particular.  It was the giant Bean.

Trippie!!!!!!!!!

    The Giant Bean is like a giant chrome jelly bean laying with the hollow side down.  It is the wierdest shaped mirror that you will ever see.  As you walk around and under the bean, you look for yourself in the reflection.  It can be difficult sometimes, because all the curves make it difficult to find your group.  Luckily we found ourselves and took some photos before moving on to check out some of the other areas in the park.

    We walked closer to the shore of Lake Michigan, but unfortunately realized it was time for us to head back to the metro and catch our train to meet my friend Dan.  Hopefully we would get on the correct train.
    Arriving at the Wheaton station, we found Dan waiting for us.  Dan and I were like brothers, years ago and when we saw each other it was an emotional meeting, but one in which we greeted each other like we had just seen each other.

Intrepid Travelers

   After picking us up, Dan gave us a short tour of the town of Wheaton.  There are a couple of really interesting things about Wheaton.  The first is that it is the home of the Billy Graham Museum.  He was an alumni at Wheaton.  The second was to find out that the literature department has a display with C.S. Lewis's wardrobe and the desk in which J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings.
    Dan then took us to his home and we spent an outstanding evening reminiscing and sharing with our wives how our lives have changed.  It was great catching up about how our kids have progressed and what we have been doing over the years.  The time went too fast and it was time for us to return to the trailer.  We went to bed immediately, because we had a very important meeting the next day in Wisconsin.

A Day of Rest and Waterfalls

    Leaving the city that never sleeps, we headed through Pennsylvania and upstate New York.  We drove for about three hours and found a campground in upstate New York just over the Pennsylvania border.  We were looking for someplace quiet and we found the perfect place.  It was a little campground tucked away in the farms of upstate New York.  They had a pond with paddle boats and canoes.  When we arrived it was actually raining, so it was the perfect time to take naps and recover from our extremely busy week.  The fourth of July followed by World Cup and finally New York was very tiring.
    After our rest, Cecelia and the girls raced on the pond with the paddle boat and canoe.  I watched them from a small pier, while cooking oysters over an open fire.  They were having so much fun, that even the afternoon rainstorm that rolled in didn't dampen their time together.  They just kept playing on the water, while getting rained on.  The place had a Walden Pond feeling to it.  I couldn't help but soak in the peaceful atmosphere spent while watching my girls.

Ready, Set, Go!!!

    The girls finished playing out on the pond and showered.  They then returned and we had dinner.  It was really raining hard, so the evening was spent watching a movie.  We went to sleep early in preparation for our next adventure.
    The following morning dawned absolutely beautiful.  The sun was shining and glistening off of the rain dripping from the trees.  It was a magical feeling with many twinkling raindrops falling from the trees, like forest nymphs flitting to and fro.  Come on, I am trying to channel my inner Walden.

No description for this

   Leaving On Golden Pond we drove a few hours through New York and crossed into Ontario, Canada through Buffalo, New York.  We then headed to Niagara Falls.  It is amazing when your expectations are blown away.  The blown away part, was that we imagined trekking through some nature to see the amazing sight, much like we have to do at Yosemite.  But, this isn't the case.  We could practically drive up to the edge of the waterfall.  Everything is very commercialized and there is even a casino that overlooks the waterfall.  Despite all of that, Niagara Falls is an absolutely amazing sight to see.  We were glad that we took the advice of a couple of friends and went to the Ontario side to view the falls.  It is much better than the US side.  You get to face the waterfalls by being in Ontario, rather than looking at them from the side.  It is hard to describe what it is like, but when you are standing next to the falls, you can feel the power of them in your feet.  Also, while feeling the earth rumble under your feet, the mist from the falls wafts up to sprinkle you with a refreshing caress.  It is a magical place with many rainbows and wildflowers.  It is easy to see why so many couples have honeymooned here.
    That evening we spent the night at a campground called The Net.  It is in the middle of the Ontario wine country.  The campground was outstanding, except for a pointer that I need to share with you.  When you stay at a campground in Canada, you will probably have to pay a dollar for your shower.  This isn't a problem if you have a Canadian dollar, which I did not have.  Oh well, I just had to shower the next day when we got to Michigan.

Wasting no time

    The next day, we had a very long drive.  We were a day behind and needed to get across Michigan.  It was a long drive, but very beautiful.  The rolling hills and farms are very unique.  Some of the craftsman architecture that we saw along the way was amazing.

So calm, I was skipping stones off the mirror like surface

    Toward the end of the day we rolled into a small town right on the edge of Lake Michigan.  The girls wanted to take a swim, so we went to the lake before trying to find a campground for the night.  Arriving at the lake, we were surprised by two things, first that that the lake was so calm and that the water is crystal clear.  The beach is also covered with a seashell white, silky smooth sand.  The girls promptly went charging into the water, soon to find out that it may have looked like the gulf coast water, but was not as warm.  Despite the cold, they stayed in for sometime.  The atmosphere was very peaceful.
    Finishing their swim, the girls jumped in the truck and dried off while we drove.  We had not made reservations for any campgrounds, but fortunately found one that turned out to be very close to our destination the next morning.

Our Point East, New York City!!

Our view from Jersey.  Not too bad hugh?!!

    Driving through the state of Delaware, we arrived in New Jersey around 6 pm.  We quickly set up the trailer and changed into some nice clothes.  Our goal was dinner and a show on Broadway.
   We changed and headed to the metro to discover that it was going to be a little more difficult to get to New York from New Jersey.  Once we figured out the idiosyncrasies of the New Jersey and New York metro, we made it the Twin Towers plaza.  Even though we arrived at the Twin Towers Memorial, we didn't go see it because we were going to save it for the next day.  At this point we were still Downtown, so we needed to make our wayUuptown to Broadway and Times Square.
    Once we made our way, by metro to 42nd St. we located the ticket office for the discounted shows.  Unfortunately, we arrived a little late and couldn't get tickets to Phantom of the Opera because it started an hour earlier than we thought.  So, what do you do when you are all dressed up in New York City and no place to go?  You go to an Off Broadway show.  Someone gave us a tip to go see The Fatasticks and we could get discounted tickets because we had the kids.  The show started at 8, so we just had enough time to get a bite to eat from a street vendor and then get back for the beginning.
    The food we had from the street vendor was outstanding.  Cecelia, Claire, and I had gyros and Taylor had a hot dog and pretzel.  The gyros were fabulous, the best I have ever had.  This vendor made them a little different than usual.  Rather than have the lamb, vegetables and cucumber sauce,  he added a little spice to it that really brought out the flavors in the meat.  It was a great first time experience.  Not only was it cool, getting the food from a vendor, but standing on the street corner of Broadway and 54th chowing down was a surreal experience.
    After scarfing down our food, we headed down the block a little ways to the theater.  The theater that the Fatasticks was playing in was a small, quaint venue that really allowed us to get up close and personal with the actors.

Enough Said!!!!

   The play is about a boy and a girl, that believe their fathers don't want them to get together, but in reality the dads scheme to get their kids out of the house.  It is kind of a Romeo and Juliet in reverse.  The singing and story were outstanding.  The girls enjoyed their first experience off Broadway.
    Leaving the show, it was around 11pm and the perfect time to go experience Times Square.  All I can tell you is that it is dazzling!!  Even though it is late at night, if feels like midday.  You are bombarded by amazing advertisements from the latest clothing to the newest movie premier.  We liked New York and Times Square better than Vegas, just because it feels safer.

One lucky Man I am!!!!

    After marveling at Times Square and getting sensory overload, we headed out to find The Empire State Building.  It was only a few blocks away, but the buildings are so big and close together that, unless you have a clear view, you can't find distinguishing landmarks.  As we walked along the streets of New York City, we were crooned to by street musicians and entertained by the amazing amount of diversity and languages being spoken.  You could sit for hours in this city and just people watch.  Turning one corner, we were greeted with the top of The Empire State Building as it towered over some of the lower Manhattan shops.  As we got closer, our anticipation of going to the observation tower grew.  We stopped and took a few pictures from the street and then hurried along to our high flying elevator excursion that was surely going to give us our late evening adrenaline shot.  Arriving at the grand entrance to the building, it was just like we had seen it in so many movies.  There was a pleasant doorman waiting to let us in, and then another directing us up to the elevators.  Our journey came to an abrupt end and our adrenaline rush that we looked forward to, suddenly took a back seat to disappointment.   Just before the entrance to the elevator was a toll stop, and our sudden realization that everything has a price came to reality.  It costs $42 a person to ride to the observation deck and $48 per person to go to the highest point.  This was just too high of a price to pay for the iconic building.  Heck, I had just spent $36 per person for a great musical.  I wasn't about to pay those high prices for a ten minute elevator ride and a look over the edge.  Oh well, we got a great picture from the outside.  On the list of ten things to see in New York City, the Empire State Building is one of them.  The term see is the important part of that list, it doesn't say, go to the top.  After the experience of finding out the cost, I have a real beef with Hollywood.  In the movies, they never talk about the fee that has to be paid before going to the top.  I mean come on, do you really think that Meg Ryan would have paid to get to the top in Sleepless In Seattle if she had to pay that money.  No way!  By the way, in that same movie, how did the kid get to the top, if he had to pay that fee?  Anyway, I digress.

    Walking away from the Building, not totally disappointed we headed out to find a ferry to take us home.  Little did we know that all of the ferries quite running at ten pm.  We found this out, after walking a few blocks and getting lost along the way.  Thankfully we found a metro station and just headed back the way we came earlier in the day.  We finally arrived back at the trailer around 1 am.  It was a good start to our visit in The Big Apple.
    The next morning we had a plan to stay in the city all day and then go to a show, hopefully on Broadway.  The first thing we did, was find a ferry that was running and took it to downtown Manhattan near Wall St.  Our goal was to start the day in lower Manhattan and work our way north to Broadway.  Of course after getting off the ferry, we went to find breakfast.  So, what does one eat for breakfast when in New York?  Bagels.  So we hunted down a bagel shop and ate breakfast.  Breakfast was excellent and the bagels did not disappoint.  From there we walked around the financial district until we found the Charging Bull and New York Stock Exchange.  It was amazing to us to see all the security surrounding the stock exchange.  The city even has these concrete barriers that rotate up out of the ground to prevent cars from coming through the streets.  The ironic thing that we found out later, was that while we near The Exchange, they had their computer glitch that morning.  Not saying we had anything to do with it, but it is one of my dreams to pay off all my friends' mortgages, just saying!!!

Taylor and her new friend.  Appropriate for a girl that likes to shop.

    Leaving Wall Street, we headed out to find the Twin Towers Memorial.  Along the way we found The Trinity Church.  It was an absolutely beautiful cathedral in the middle of the city.  Outside, it had a bronze cast of a tree root.  The art was based upon a tree root that fell during the 9/11 disaster.  There is an amazing story that goes along with it, but I will save that for you to look up on your own.
    We left Trinity Church and found the Memorial a block away.  The Memorial is absolutely beautiful.  The waterfalls with the names of the people listed around them brought me to tears.  It is a true example of resilience to see what the people of New York have done to honor and pay homage to such a disaster.  Just seeing the size of the buildings and the surrounding area that was destroyed is awe inspiring.  We didn't go into the new museum that has recently opened because there was such a big line, but I am actually glad that I didn't, because I was so emotionally touched by the outside, I don't think I could have handled the museum.  Until this visit, I had not know how much, watching live on television the second plane slam into the other tower and then realizing at that moment that the first plane was not an accident.

A Powerful Display

    Leaving the Memorial with a heavy heart, we headed out to lighten and lift our spirits by going for a bike ride in Central Park.  We rode the metro uptown and arrived at the station just outside of the park.  At the top of the stairs there was a man advertising bike rental, so we took him up on his offer.  The four of us then took off on an exploration of the Park by pedal power.  It was a little warm, but not overly so, which made for a pleasant experience overall.  We were surprised to find that there are actually hills in the park.  We meandered amongst the walkers and horse drawn carriages throughout our ride.  Many pictures were taken and the girls even rode the carousel.  Overall it was a great way to experience such a famous place.

View from Central Park

    After returning our bikes, it was time for us to head once again to Times Square to hopefully get our prized tickets to Phantom of the Opera.  Arriving just before 3 in the afternoon, we went shopping for a sticker.  For those of you that have been following along, you will know that we are on a quest to get one from every place we have experienced.  This is harder than you may realize.  Some states we haven't been able to find any.  Anyway, as we were preparing to start our search, I noticed that line at the discount ticket booth was getting long, so I left Cecelia and the girls to the shopping and I went and took my place in line.  Fortunately I didn't have to wait long and the line began to move quickly.  There were many people talking about the shows that they wanted to see, and thankfully many of them weren't going to the show I wanted.  Arriving at the ticket booth, I acquired the prized tickets for my family.  Feeling like the best dad in the world, I tracked down my family in the throws of shopping.  The girls were very excited to hear that I had the tickets and that we would be going to the show at 8 pm.
    From this point on, we had about four hours to kill, so we headed out to do some more sight seeing.  We made our way a few blocks away from Times Square and stopped to have lunch.  So, if you have bagels for breakfast in New York, you have to have New York style pizza from a deli.  If the rest of the country had delis like the ones in New York City, there would be a few of us that would be willing to accept the extra pounds.  I don't know how people in New York City stay thin.  When we went into the deli, I wanted to try a little of everything.  I bought pizza, but I wanted a deli sandwich, curried chicken, and to fill up a box from their open buffet.  Fortunately, Claire and Cecelia sampled some things other than pizza and they shared with me.
    With full bellies we headed out to find a summer rain falling in the city.  We had a pleasant walk over to Rockefeller Center.  Along the way, we spied St. Patrick's Cathedral.  It is another absolutely beautiful church in downtown Manhattan that is definitely worth seeing.  It rivals those cathedrals that I have seen in Europe.
    Rockefeller Center is one of those iconic places that I have seen in many movies.  I was surprised to find how small it is in comparison to the movies.  Where the ice rink typically is, there were tables and umbrellas set up for dining.  It was hard to visualize the ice rink, with a giant Christmas Tree overlooking the place.
    After checking out Rockefeller Center, we headed out to get some dinner and find the theatre.  A few blocks later we arrived at the theatre.  One of these days someone is going to have to explain the difference between off Broadway and on Broadway to me, because the show we went to the night before was closer to Broadway than the theatre that hosted The Phantom of the Opera.  I am so confused.
    Conveniently for us, nearly next door to the Phantom theatre was this awesome food court.  For dinner Claire had sushi and Taylor had Japanese Noodles.  Cecelia and I, sticking with the promise to eat something different while in New York City decided to try a place that had butter sauted brussel sprouts, smothered in bacon, carmelized onions, nuts and grapes.  Along with those awesome sprouts, the main dish was a shwerma coated in a wine sauce and then placed over rice.  Need I say,  "Delicioutanding".  This means delicious and outstanding at the same time.  I keep coming up with the same adjectives to describe food in my blogs and I am running out, so I figure I will just make up my own from this point forward.
    After dinner, we had a couple of hours to kill so we found a nice place to sit and rest near the food court.  While all the ladies either read or played on their electronics, apparently I took a little nap.  I don't know for sure if I did or not, but I can tell you that my feet weren't quite as tired and I felt refreshed.

Two beautiful girls, waiting for the Phantom!!

   With a bit more energy than we had before, we took Tay to find some soft serve ice cream and then change for the show.  We didn't exactly have a tux and evening gowns, but we still wore some nicer clothes for the Opera.  When we entered the theatre, the girls were visually excited.  I had scored some great seats and they began to ask questions in anticipation.  They wanted to know the story line, but Cecelia and I just told them they had to watch.  From the very beginning musical number, the girls were mezmerized.  Neither of them seemed to blink during the entire first half.  When intermission arrived, we asked them what they thought, and they were both stunned.  The looks on their face were priceless.  After a short break, the second part of the show began and once again, they were in awe.  The show finally ended and we asked them what they thought.  Claire was enamored by the show and wanted to download the album right away.  Taylor, did not enjoy it as much, because she was creeped out by the Phantom.  I think Claire being older, understood the romanticism better than Taylor as well.  It was a special time spent with the family, one that we all will not soon forget.
   We then left the city for the last time and returned to the trailer via the metro.  We only had one more thing to do in the morning.
    Early the next morning we got up to accomplish our last goal and that was to see The Statue of Liberty.  Unfortunately it decided to rain in the morning so we didn't spend very much time in Liberty Park.  We were going to ride the Stanton Island ferry to see it better, but we had to leave the trailer park early.

Were we in China or NY City?!!!!

   So, to recap.  Of the ten things to see in New York City, we accomplished most of them.  They were Twin Tower Memorial, Times Square, The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, A show on Broadway, Central Park, NY Stock Exchange, The Charging Bull, Statue of Liberty, and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (we didn't actually walk across it,  but we did see it when we went to Wall St. the second morning so we counted it).  The only one we missed was seeing Yankee Stadium.  No great loss there, because a second show on Broadway trumps the stadium.
    Time for a rest, whew!!!

A Traditional Fourth Southern Style

Birthday Celebration!!!!

    Arriving in Atlanta, we were greeted with exuberance by the cousins Jack and Bailey.  The girls had never met Jack and they got reaquainted with Bailey.  Jan, their mother, welcomed us with open arms and we were excited to be seeing each other again after a long time away.  Our families have not been completely together for at least eight years, too long for all of us.

Look who is ahead!!

    After getting settled, we awaited the return of my brother Mike from a business trip he was on to Memphis.  He arrived in the evening and the festivities began.  We had dinner and began to plan for the next few days.  We had activities set up for both families in preparation for their annual trip to Lake Oconee for the 4th of July celebration.  Finishing preparations, we went to bend with a renewed excitement to spend time together.
    The next morning we got up, had breakfast and promptly headed for our first fun activity for the day.  We then drove to Stone Summit climbing gym to get some exercise and a shot of adrenaline.  We climbed for about two hours and finished the morning off by having races up some of the climbing routes.  I was the disputed champion, but not by much.  Claire gave me a run for my money.

At Top Golf

    Finished with our exercise, we then needed to replenish our bodies with some nourishment, so we went to lunch at a hamburger joint that Mike and Jan wanted to try.  The food was excellent and we were ready for our next family outing.
    We returned to the house to change clothes and for Mike to make a quick call to the office, and then we headed out to Top Golf.
    Top Golf is a driving range, but a driving range unlike any other.  In the range, there are these huge round targets with many square grids for you to hit the ball into.  Each person has their own balls that have a computer chip in them that is designated to each individual.  So, when you hit a ball into a certain grid, you get points based on how far and how close you hit it to the center of the circle.  There is a large scoreboard in each area that shows how many points you accumulate.  It is very much like bowling, but with golf equipment.  Claire was the big winner this time.
    Returning home, we spent the rest of the evening having dinner and watching the US Womens Soccer team defeat Germany.

     The next day, we all got up and went to meet my friend Jeff Donovant at The First Tee of Eastlake.  Jeff and I have been friends for many years.  Jeff is a special guy and has done a great job with Eastlake.  Not only has Jeff done a great job in Atlanta, but he is a top notch PGA Professional.  He is also a National Coach trainer for the home office, like me.  Jeff's dad was a special man in the Atlanta area.  He was the first black PGA professional in the South and played golf along with famous pioneers like Charlie Siefert and others.  These men paved the way for the likes of Tiger Woods and Jim Dent.  Jeff and I have coached together at many camps and been to a lot of trainings together.  It was a special treat for me to be able to take my extended family to meet with him.

At The First Tee of Eastlake

    Arriving at Eastlake, we met Jeff and he surprised us with a tour of the facility along with showing us the Elementary, Middle and High School that are part of The First Tee of Eastlake.  The entire facility is funded through the Eastlake Foundation.  Both schools are charter schools that are privately funded.  While sharing with us the entire facility, I was amazed by the story of transition the community has made over the last few years.  Jeff shared, how the area was known as one of the worst crime communities in the nation.  He said that the police wouldn't even go into the area, unless called.  The fire department wouldn't go into the area without a police escort.  Finally, he shared that one of the main stop lights in the area wasn't even used as a stop light.  Nobody would stop unless they absolutely had to, to avoid another car for fear of robbery and car jacking.  The change was so dramatic that a woman was jogging on the street while we were talking and he said that she wouldn't have been able to do it five years ago.
    So what caused the change?  Well, the founder of Eastlake was flying home from a trip and read that police commissioners always know where their crime comes from in a city.  So, this guy gets off his flight and calls to meet with the commissioner.  The commissioner tells him where in Atlanta the worst crime comes from, so this man takes a million dollars of his own money to start refurbishing the community.  He first buys Eastlake Country Club and then promptly establishes a chapter of The First Tee in the same neighborhood.  He then refurbishes the golf course and builds it to a point that the PGA plays the end of the year championship there.  They raise so much money, that they build the elementary school and then they just finished the high school.  The kids that go to the school come from the immediate neighborhood.  If there is space still available, they do a lottery for kids to get in from the surrounding area.  They limit the class size to 24 and when the kids leave 5th grade at the elementary school, they have already completed 7th grade curriculum.  By the way, golf for PE is required for all students.  Hmm, maybe golf can fix everything!

4th of July fun

    After our tour, we played 9 holes with Jeff on the Par 3 course and then took him out to lunch for BBQ.  No, the BBQ was still not as good as Memphis.  It was a great morning hanging out with Jeff, but it was time to go back to the house and get ready to head for the lake.
    The next morning, we all got up early and finished loading the vehicles.  We headed out to Lake Oconee, just west of Atlanta a couple of hours.  Mike and Jan have a piece of property at Reynolds Landing, so they stayed in one of the hotel rooms at the golf course.  We stayed at a KOA about 15 minutes away.
    As soon as were unpacked and settled in, we didn't waste any time and headed to Mike's boat.  That afternoon, we tubed, waterskied and knee boarded.  It was a wonderfully relaxing time.  All of us then returned to our places that we were staying and changed.  That evening, we BBQ'd steaks at our place.

Taylor Rockin the skis

    The next morning, Mike and I got up to play golf at a course called Great Waters.  It was a great time, despite not playing very well.  One of the exciting things that happened while we played was this amazing thunderstorm came rolling through while we were there.  Mike and I were on the tee box of the 15th hole.  The tee box is on the edge of the lake, so it gave us a great view across the lake.  While standing on the tee box we could see a wall of rain on the far side of the lake.  The wind began to blow and the wall began marching our way.  At first it was a slow moving storm, and then we could see boats on the lake running away from it.  All of a sudden, the boats that we saw running from the storm were engulfed by it.  At that point the horn for the golf course blew and we began running for our golf cart.  Once in the cart, Mike bee lined it for the nearest bathroom or storm shelter.  Just before we arrived at the bathroom, we were side swiped by the storm.  We were soaked in a matter of seconds.  Reaching the safety of the bathroom, we huddle under the covering with two other groups for about 45 minutes while the storm passed.  The weather in the south is truly spectacular at times.

    After finishing golf, Mike and I headed back over to the marina where we met his friends, Jason, Nichole and Jake.  They had just arrived with a new wake surfing boat that they had all purchased together.  Jason and Nichole had driven all the way to Wisconson to get it in time for the 4th of July weekend.  It is a beautiful red and black beauty.
    The boat was loaded into the water and then we all headed to the resort to get the rest of the families.  We all changed into swim gear and then headed out onto the lake to give the new boat a test drive.  Everybody had a great time, tubing and skiing.  I even wake boarded a bit.  This boat made it so easy that I actually looked like I knew what I was doing.
    Returning to the resort, we all changed into some nice cloths and had a semi formal dinner at the club.  It was a great way to end a very active day.

Jack and Gavin celebrating with fire

    The 4th of July dawned with some ominous looking clouds.  Cecelia, the girls and I loaded up our things for a day on the lake and an evening of fireworks.  When arriving to meet Mike and Jason that morning, there was some discussion to whether we should go out on the lake in the morning.  All of us had our phones out and were checking the radar.  With three different weather sites checked, we determined that the storm would pass us to the north.  So, we loaded twelve people into the boat and headed out.  It was a nice morning and there were a number of tumbles off the tube.  Jason and Nicole showed us why they love to ski so much.  They were both very good.  Jan and Mike had a chance to show off as well.
    Returning to the dock after the morning session to get some lunch and drop off the ladies, the guys headed out again for an afternoon session with the older kids.  The afternoon session was dedicated to exploring all of the gadgets on the boat and learning how to wake surf.  This process entails loading up water bladders on the back of the boat to weight the back of the boat down.  This creates a large wake at a slow speed.  Jason was the first to give it a try and was almost successful.  He did a good job, despite only surfing twice.  Jake then gave it a try, but he had trouble trying to ride backside.  He lived in San Diego for a couple of years and had done a lot of surfing.  I was the last to go, and without sounding like I am bragging, became the first to let go of the rope and surfed the wake.  It was an amazing feeling surfing behind a boat without a rope.  I would love to have tried it surfing front side, where I am much better, but I still was the only one to let go.
    After retrieving the kids, which we stranded on the tube in the middle of  the lake, we headed back while letting the kids take turns skiing.
    When we returned to the dock, we covered the boat and went to change for dinner and the fireworks show.
    We finished dinner and headed out to the Great Waters golf course.  On the 9th fairway, the course allowed patrons to set up chairs in the fairway to watch the show.  As well as the fireworks show, there were carnival games, bounce houses, hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches.  Unlike where we live, there were kids running around with sparklers everywhere.  It was a very festive environment.  Finally, the fireworks show commenced to traditional 4th of July music, and with Niel Diamond carooning to us about "Coming To America", I looked around with cigar in hand and thought of how great it is to live in a country of such diversity.  I took a moment to thank the Lord for all that he has provided and for the opportunity to share this expedition with my family.  I went to sleep that night a very happy man.
    The next morning we loaded up the trailer and went to the resort for one last visit.  I gave a couple of golf lessons to Jason and Jack and then it was time for us to say goodbye.
    Taking our leave, we headed further east to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.