Costa Rica, March, 2010

Costa Rica is a gorgeous country! We've found the people very friendly and the animals meeting our expectations. We've been staying at Leaves and Lizards, a little farm, and have awoken early each morning to milk Daisy and gather eggs ~well we girls have. Daren did milk his first cow this morning however. We're moving on today to the beach near Manual Antonio and eating mangos along the way as they are in season and the best we've ever had. I got 10 of them for $2.

We began our vacation with some little bumps however. When we arrived at our hotel at 11pm, they looked at the 5 of us with wide eyes because they had saved a room with 1 double bed for us. I showed her our confirmation email saying it was the room for 5...but it didn't change things and so we were out on the streets of San Jose until 1am looking for a place. Then, on our way to breakfast 2 days later, Alena tripped and fell. When we got back to our casita we saw that the blood wasn't only from her lip, but that her front tooth was missing. I actually found it in the road and El Raton visited her that night! We asked the locals and they laughed that we expected a tooth fairy.....it's The Rat here.

We road horses to the prettiest waterfall and swam beneath it. I think it may be the highlight of the trip as it was spectacular. Rachel rode on two horses at once! Her horse, Beauty, is 9 months pregnant.,,she's due in June. Alena got to ride with Cheeto, who she is now in love with....or is it Carlos the farmer? She throws herself into their arms when she sees them. Cheeto used to be a famous bull rider, but is retired now. We watched bull riding last night on a tv and now she wants to be just like him and give it a try. NOooo

Our casita has a view of Volcano Arenal. Today it's too cloudy to see it. We were lucky apparently, to have gotten 2 solid days of clear skies to see it. Two days ago the scientists who monitor its activity issued a warning that it is more unstable. The politicians shut them up quickly we hear. We did hear it rumble that day and saw more smoke. I'm rather glad to be getting some distance from it now.

Yesterday, we toured a place called Hanging Bridges. My knees knocked as we crisscrossed the mountains. I loved watching Wilson photographing lizards and exploring. The hike ended with the best sighting, 2 Great Curasows. We then headed to an animal rescue organization for a tour. It's called ASIS and they also offer a language program. Rachel was thrilled to see 2 owls and to hold a kinkajou. I got to hold hands with a spider monkey named Jessica. Their hands are baby skin smooth and soft. The mosquitos are stealthy here. We didn't even feel their attack and suddenly noticed we had many bleeding spots all over our legs. Again, the Ledum saved us! I will never run out of the stuff!

Off we go.....hasta luego!

Williamsburg, VA

(jessie - August 1st) It seems I'm the only blogger on this trip. The others aren't motivated and are worn out. Touring Williamsburg in 100 degree heat left us dragging and grumpy. I believe I mentioned that Arvy was "raring to go." Well, he made it about 15 miles before losing power again. We limped on to Williamsburg anyway. I'm sure people were shaking fists at us..."can't you go faster?" Well...no. After some online research tonight and Daren's handiness and forethought to bring extra parts, Arvy is once again raring to go. I am more confident than ever!

Williamsburg was a bit of a disappointment to us. Perhaps the costumed workers were just as hot as we(hotter due to the amount of clothing they wear)and tired of their same shpell. We really had to ask questions to learn anything as they weren't that forthcoming. But, we did it and i think it did give the kids a feel for what an early colony was like. We couldn't do Jamestown today and so will go tomorrow.

Perhaps tomorrow looking back, we will be more enthusiastic about Wiliamsburg. I'm already thinking well...I did learn that 2 curls on men's wigs meant that they were a leutinant and that the preachers wore crazy white wigs for humility. The tailors had to apprentice for 7 years, and every shoe makers shop had different sizes and so you always must be properly measured. I want some of those hand made boots! Rachel did say that the carpenters exhibit was her favorite. Alena decided she is scared of cows and they really don't say MOOOO subtly. It was loud and scary!

Wilson and I have finished the last Harry Potter book by the way. I am in deep depression to have finished. Like saying farewell to an old friend forever. sad sad....We both agree that the last book was the best. I cried and cried...sad...happy...didn't matter. Never does. Rachel is finally interested in reading them and is on the 2nd book.

Buenos Noches Amigos

OFF WE GO AGAIN>>>>>of bears and horses

(Jessie July 31, 2007) We're on the road again and have safely, though limpingly, arrived in Virginia to visit with the Hug clan. We drove for four long days across Kentucky and West Virginia to get here. Since we've arrived, we've relaxed by the pool, kayaked, fished and laughed a lot. We're heading out today towards home. Today we'll be visiting Williamsburg and Jamestown.

The RV barely made it and had to go in the shop. The last day was to take us 4 hours, but as we could only get the RV to go an average of 30 mph, it took us 9 hours to get here. It's better now and raring to go.

The kids and I have been reading historical fiction about Jamestown and have finished up this year's study of early American History. Today will be a fabulous field trip to finish up those studies. But it's HOT....hotter than in AR even.

West Virginia took forever to cross as we took our time, wrong turns and maneuvered the hills. It was gorgeous mostly, but hard to look at at times. The poverty is strikingly obvious and the highways littered with garbage. We preferred the eastern part of the state and camped in a national forest and want to return with more time. We road our bikes to waterfalls and followed a cascading river full of fish. It was lovely. As we were settling down for sleep, I heard some noises and peered out our window to witness a 200 pound black bear licking off the hamburger remains from our grill. The girls were still awake and got to view him. Really exciting to safely view one from 10 feet away!

Alena has had an amazing journey. She realized a lifelong passion and got to ride her first horse. Uncle Phil took her to the stables and took her for a ride. She even got to trot! With the pool in the backyard, she swam so much her little toes are blistered on the bottom. At one point she simply took off her swimmies and climbed in the pool. WAIT we cried! I said "let's let her try." Away she went, dogpaddling with no support at all. We practiced and practiced for an hour. Her excitement was her only hindrance as she had a hard time closing her huge grin and kept taking on water. She has a little cousin, Andrew, here who is only 6 days older and they have been instant best pals, inseperable.

Wilson & Rachel have played hard with their cousin Austin and have been performing for us. They also have little swimming pool blisters and their arms are tired from fishing. Rachel caught 3 yesterday!

So, home we go....we'll try to check back in soon. We'll pass through a bit of the Smokey Mountains and then see our Cobb cousins in TN. We'll be home on Sunday! Hasta Luego!

|-| () /\/\ E /-\ G /-\ | |\|

Hooray for my last blog! Boohoo for my last blog! Yeah! Finally we got home after the long drive through Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and finally, Missouri and Arkansas.
An overview of the longest time I've ever been away from home:
We started on August 12th, 2006 (no duh for 2006 part) and we got home on September 9th, 2006, almost a month in a 150 square foot RV (yikes). Believe it or not, there are a lot of things that I didn't tell all you fans about. First, sleeping in the same bed as Rachel is a BIG pain. Before she goes into deep sleep, she tries to get her feet under my legs and I'm almost having to slap them or something. I was SO glad when I got to sleep in my own bed. Also, (I forgot to write about this) in Vermont before the Ben & Jerry Factory Tour, we went to the Great Vermont Corn Maze. We thought it would be just your average 15-minute maze, but it turned out to be HUGE, the average time was at least 3 hours! We didn't have enough time for the big maze, but luckily they had LOTS of other stuff! First we did a smaller (make that 7 times smaller) maze that was right next to the Big Maze. Then we went over to some Box Mazes. They are like tiny mazes that you can see over and look super easy, but on the first maze, you could only take right turns. On the second one, you had to start out with a right turn, and then take a left, then right, then left, etc. THEN we went to the Barnyard Nature Center, and under it were some "gopher tunnels" that you could crawl through. Rachel, Lena and I all had a blast in the tunnels! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
I've never been away from home so long, but I have been farther away then Canada. That was in Ireland. Plus I've gone to Mexico. Don't say I'm not a well-traveled young man! Canada definitely gets the reward for the most activities, and it was FUN!!!! Oh yeah!

List of things we did in chronological order:
Saw the St. Louis Arch in St. Louis, Missouri
Visited the Columbus Zoo, Columbus, Ohio
Ate our first pizza in North East, Pennsylvania (I liked that)
Visited Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, New York
Uncle Sam Boat Tours in Alexandria Bay, New York
Visited a Nature Center in New York
Crossed into Canada!
Visited Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Hiked in Mt. Albert Park, Quebec
Got to Tete d'Indien
Ride our bikes in Forillon National Park to a lighthouse
Went to Bonaventure Island to look at the Gannets and hike
Visited a Fromajerie and hiked to a place called Emerald Pool
Left Tete d'Indien
Visited Miguasha Natural History Museum in Quebec
Visited a nature center in New Brunswick
Crossed into Prince Edward Island (P.E.I. for short)
Visited a castle-model-park thing (it was cool)
Bikeride on P.E.I
Visited Lucy Maud Montgomery's house (she wrote Anne of Green Gables)
Looked for fossils in Novia Scotia on the Bay of Fundy
Visited the Hopewell Rocks, home of the world's highest tides, in New Brunswick
Whalewatch in the Bay of Fundy
Crossed back into the U.S.A.
Visited Acadia National Park, Maine
Went to Mt. Washington, New Hampshire
Maple sugar and syrup factory in Vermont
Great Corn Maze, Vermont
Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour, Vermont
Visited Aunt Jessie and Aunt Milly in Connecticut
Went to Barnes & Noble booksellers and bought a book
Took the X Cave tour in Kentucky
Ate at Lambert's Cafe, home of the world's only thrown rolls!
Got home...Yippee!!!!!

The trip was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Home at last

[rachel]Three days ago we finally got home. When we pulled around the corner to Monkey's [ grandma's] house on White ST Alena started screaming "unkey unkey unkey home" and almost pierced my ear drums. When we got out of the rv we ran across the sreet to Monkey's house. Luckly there were no cars. After all that mushy, love, i am so glad to be home stuff I rode my bike over to my friends house, Indigo. We played and talked until it was time to go home. About 1 mile away from our house I started singing the theme song of Jarrasic Park. When we pulled up in our drive way Wilson and I leaped out of the rv and ran to the door opened it and started to run around and scream. We all could not wait to take a real shower but we were disappointed when we realized how bad the water smelled from sulphur. The water had been sitting in our well for 1 month. It felt good to sleep in our own beds after sleeping with my brother.

My favorite state was Vermont because of all the beautiful mountains.
I really liked Quebec city. It made me think of Eureka Springs because of all of the little shops everywhere. The only thing I didn't like about Quebec City was that everyone was speaking French and I couldn't understand a word they said! All I heard was "blah, blah, blah." Afterwhile it gave me a headache. I think Alena's favorite part was at the campground Tete D'Indian in Gaspe. It had 2 big fields with soccer, bocce ball, volley ball and other sports and she could run around hitting us with the racket. What a trip!

(Rachel)Hi Everyone, We are 4 days from getting home and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed! Right now we are in Vermont and it is very mountainous and pretty here. Yesterday we woke up and had doughnuts for breakfast. They were delicious!!! Then we drove to a maple factory, Maple Groves Farms, the largest canner in the US. I learned that it takes 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup. I also learned that there are severeal different kinds of maple syrup; light, sorta light, medium and dark. It was very fascinating there. We got to go on a tour through the factory and watch people making maple candies. We got to try some maple candy. They were very sweet but good. Then we went to Ben & Jerry's. It is a huge factory and the people there are kooky because they get to take home 3 pints of ice-cream every single day! For my amazement, one-half the people there weren't that fat. We got 3 different kinds of ice-cream to try, Berry Berry Extroidinary. It was delicious! The second one was Coffee Coffee Buzz, Buzz, Buzz. It was good too! The last one we got was lemon sorbet. It was sour, but still delicious, but not as good as my mommy's lavender sorbet! Ben & Jerry sure made a lot of weird names for the ice-cream, like Phish Food, God Father and Fossil Fuel. On the tour we learned how Ben & Jerry got together and created a little gas station into a huge world wide company. We went up to a graveyard then. It wasn't a normal graveyard, but one of ice-cream skeletons! There were tombstones for flavors that didn't make it.

Earlier in the day we saw lots of maze signs with corn pictures. We decided to follow the arrows. After about 12 miles, we were about to give up but then we saw the corn maze. We were expecting a 15 minute maze, but found out it was a 2 hour maze! We were disappointed and about to give up when my dad asked the guy about it. He said there were lots of other smaller mazes. THere was a smaller 15 minute maze and 2 box mazes where you could only turn one direction. They also had a barn with tunnels underground. The only thing about the tunnel was that Wilson & I had to crawl. Lena began chasing us and she could stand up and go fast and would always end up winning!

...Captain's Log...Stardate 9/6/06...

(Daren) Is it really September? The hard part has been remembering which day of the week it is. Wow! Where we have been! It's hard for me to even fathom that just a week ago we were on Prince Edward Island. Since then we've added another 1500 miles to the odometer (over 4000 total so far) and driven through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont! Having all the pictures has been the only way I can go back and remember everything we've done. I've taken over 2000 pictures, deleted several hundred, culled through and posted just a few (sparing you all the rest for now) and the kids have taken many as well. I wish it were easier to post pics and log comments, unfortunately, it takes time and it's the last thing in the day we get to do--if we have internet. Hopefully you all who've read our web log have enjoyed reading it as much as we have writing it- it's been lots of fun for us going back and reading it ourselves! This will likely be my last post as we near the end of our adventure. Tomorrow we make a dash down Hwy 7 through the rest of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, making a short visit to see the Aunts in New York, then onward to somewhere in Pennsylvania or Maryland by tomorrow nite. Then if weather and traffic cooperate we'll be through West VA and Kentucky by Saturday and hopefully home by Sunday.

In a week from now we'll be sitting at home and our lives will be back to normal. But as we sit around our big breakfast table one morning at home, I think we'll all sort of miss our cramped little table in the RV. I hope so anyway. This has been for all of us a trip we will never forget, and one that, I think, has changed each of us in some small but positive way. I know the kids will always remember it fondly, even Alena. Jessica and I have had the experience of a lifetime, not just visiting dreamed-about places, but being together as a family with our kids, and that IS what it's all about... 'til the next adventure, I'm signing off. Daren

Flavor of the month! Alena and Horsey's Favorite!

Ben and Jerry????

A highlight of our day in Vermont, but we all had sampled a little too much by the end of the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour!

Alena made some new friends at the petting zoo.

Did you think he'd skip the Maple Syrup tour?

Gangsta's in the maple syrup plant in Vermont!

and who are those 2 dorks with shower caps on in the back? jeezzz!

Chained down for a good reason!

Yes, the chain is there to help hold the building down! There were several chains bolted into concrete and strapped and bolted to the building to keep it literally from blowing off the mountain. The group of scientists who were on the mtn when they clocked the 230 mph winds said they were glad the chains were there.

News Flash! Horsey climbs Mt. Washington!

The Summit of Mt Washington, New Hampshire

Our guide/driver told us he had driven people here who came 2 times a year for the past 30 years and had never gotten a day as pretty as this and it was our first time around! visibility was 80 miles for a short time but it quickly clouded over.

Weird Bug that hit our windshield!

no clue what kind it is.. any ideas?

Admiring it all...

Sitting on the pink granite boulders and staring at the ocean, it was hard to pull yourself away from the sight, the smell of the salty air, and the sound of crashing waves below! A moment to savor forever!

Acadia's Beautiful Coastline

Second only to the Gaspe in our opinion!

Acadia Natural Gardens Area

A beautiful small garden with every plant species labeled and a nice brook alongside the pathway made for an enjoyable walk.

Horsey at Bahhhh Hahhhbah!

That would be Bar Harbor, I say Bar Harbor Boy -to us Suthna's, that is! Taken atop Cadillac Mtn at Acadia National Park, Mt Desert Island, Maine. Bar Harbor, a beautiful town--like a big Eureka with lots of $$ floating around.

Y /-\ Y__|3 /-\ ( |<__T()__T|-|E__(_).S.!!!!

(wilson) Hello, all, I am glad to say that we have finally crossed the border back into the United States of Hysteria! Actually, it's been several days since we crossed the border, but we've only had internet once since then. We went into Maine and stayed at Acadia National Park, and had our first Mexican food on the trip! We stayed another night in Maine, then entered New Hampshire. New Hampshire was really pretty and cool. The reason I typed so little about Acadia, which was cool, too, is that I've been saving the room for our trip to Mount Washington in New Hamphsire. We drove to Mt. Washington, in the center of the state, and decided we would take a guided tour in a van up to the summit. We got into Stage 15 (they call the vans stages) and met our tour guide, whose name was Rick. Rick drove us up Mount Washington, which is 6,288 (six thousand, two hundred, eighty-eight) feet high! And believe me, there are probably more world records and strange stuff on that mountain than there are on Mount Everest! Here are some facts we learned driving up Mt. Washington:
It is second only to Mt. Everest in the total number of deaths claimed.
The largest permanent resident above the treeline (where the trees get smaller and eventually stop growing) is a 14-inch long weasel/ferret (can't remember)!
It is home to the smallest furred animal in the world, the Pygmy Shrew.
The trees near the treeline are 5 feet tall at the largest, but get this---they are some of the oldest trees in North America (I find that hard to believe)!!!
And here is another interesting fact I learned that applies to all mountains:
Every 1,000 feet you go up a mountain is the same thing as going 230 miles north. Didn't get it? Going up a mountain 1,000 feet brings the same temperatures, climates, and landscapes as it is 230 miles north. So at the summit, we were superficially well within the Arctic Circle! No need to go to the North Pole.
Plus, one year it snowed 4 inches on the4th of July at the base of the mountain!!!. The staff celebrated the fourth skiing!
When we finally got to the summit of Mt. Washington, we gasped at the view and stood there for a moment. Then we turned around and there was a sign saying "The highest wind speed ever witnessed by man was recorded HERE. It was 232 MPH!!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow!!!!!!!!! I was blown away (haha). We explored the summit, took more pictures of Lena's horse, and took the stage back down the mountain. I LIKED Mount Washington. As that was a few days ago, I've done a lot since then. Here is exactly what:
Hiked to Ellis Falls in NH
Gone to a maple sugar factory in Vermont today
Ate at a pizza restaurant
And guess what? We went to the REAL BEN & JERRY'S ICE CREAM FACTORY TODAY!!! We took a cool tour and got to sample some apple pie flavored ice cream...mmmmmmmm.
Hmmm...what should I draw a picture of today? Uhhhh...how about a bear? We WERE in bear country when we stayed in Maine.
-------__/|/|-------------------
------:___o,,\/,\___,,,,,,,__---
-------;;;/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, \--
-----------\_|,,/,,,,,/,,,|/|/--
-------------/,/\-----\,,/------
------------/,/\|------\,\\-----
---------==/_|=/|----==/_/|\----
--------------------------------
There it is, if you can't see it, you should use a scanning electron microscope or something.

We are also very sad to announce (if you don't already know) that Steve Irwin, AKA the Crocodile Hunter, was killed by a stingray the other day.
________
/,,___,,_|@__^__@,|
|__/-\_()|
| _____ //
|//---\\/
\_____/

Sunset at St. Andrews By the Sea, NB, Canada

9/3 We depart Canada today bound for somewhere Maine, who knows where....? the adventure continues....

"Tharrrr she blows!!!!!!

The mighty fin whale, 2nd largest in the world behind the blue!

High Tide at Hopewell Cape

Why are the tides so high in the Fundy Bay, you ask? Well, you'll just have to ask our experts Rachel and Wilson for an explanation.

Low Tide at the Bay of Fundy

These are the famous flower pot rocks at Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick. During spring tide, the water here rises and falls 58 feet every 6 hours. Here we are at low tide walking on the ocean floor. In about 3 hours the water will be about 20 feet over our heads!

Famous Paleontologist Wilson Guillory

Throughout the course of history, the famous have always ridden their way to glory on the backs of others, such as it was when Guillory made his famous discovery in Joggins, Nova Scotia alongside such other greats as Sir Charles Lyell.

\/\/ |-| /-\ |_ E \/\/ /-\ T ( |-|

(wilson - 9/2/06)Today we woke up in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. I got up at 7:30, and unusually, my mom was already up. When everybody had awoken, we got on our bikes and rode to eat breakfast in St. Andrews, which isn't far away at all from the RV park. We ate at a place called the Red Whale, and we had to hurry because we were eating at 9:00, the whale watch boat we were going on was leaving at 10:00, and everybody was boarding at 9:30. We ran onto the wharf and boarded the boat at 9:50 (I think). There were 3 floors on the whalewatching boat. The main one was full of chairs, the top floor had no ceiling and was another place where you could sit down, and the lower floor was the bathrooms (washrooms for you Canadians). After a while we all went up to the top floor and soon we spotted a fin whale (finback whale to some of you guys). They're the second largest species of whale in the world, after the blue whale, which can grow to 100+ feet. Finbacks can get up to about 90 feet. We watched the fin whale go up and down at the surface a while, and I tried to get some footage of it with the video camera. I zoomed in once, meaning to record a short video, but I realized I hadn't pushed the record button! Grrrrrr... Later, the fin whale went off to find more food and we had to search elsewhere for whales. Here is the list of the whales they have at the Bay of Fundy:
Humpback - up to 60 feet, they are known for their spectacular breaches
Fin/Finback - up to 90 feet, it has a bigger dorsal fin than other whales
Northern Right - up to 60 feet, it has a huge head
Harbor Porpoise - up to 10 feet, haha
Minke - up to 35 feet, the smallest of balleen whales
and no dolphins!
Later we saw a minke whale doing some BIG breaches off in the distance. Unfortunately, it was so far away it was just a black line coming out of the water, followed by a big spray of water. The boat raced towards it, but it can go only about 22 mph, so it stopped breaching by the time we got there. After that we saw lots of harbor seals and porpoises.
The whale watch was really cool. I thought it would be a lot harder to find a few whales in the middle of a huge bay. But nope! We saw a bunch!
Here's another symbol picture of a whale. If you can't see it, your retinas must not be working properly.
------_----------
-----|_\---------
-----\_.\--------
-----/|__\-------
-----|/___>------
-------\__|------
--------\_\------
--------/\|\-----
-------(/--\)----
-----------------
And just to tell you, it's vertical and the dashes are just the background

Alena's Whales

(jessica) Today's whale watch adventure was a big success. We were on a rather small boat with personal commentary provided by a native fisherman who educated us on much more than the whales. He knew the fishing industry ins and outs as well as was an ornithologist of sorts. We all loved the journey, but none more than Alena. I had had doubts that it was even a good idea to bring her along on the 2 hour ride due to her current inability to be sedentary once off of her throne (carseat). She would yell "go whale, go big fish!" after a sighting. She would then bounce up and down squealing "I saw it, I saw it Mommy!" By the end of the cruise she had charmed the boat hostess and was occasionally in her arms and not mine for a change. They would walk around for Alena to demonstrate her horsey imitation for the other guests and she would inform them that her name was "My Baby." I may never correct her on that!

mmm. Dad IS in trouble!

"Stick Figures are BIG in Canada!

The kids took this pic for their friend Joah who loves drawing stick people comics. Joah, Wilson thought this would give you some inspiration- it sure gave us some laughs!

On RVing

(Daren) Three weeks into our RV adventure, I'm starting to get a feel for what the RV lifestyle is all about and if you've seen the movie "RV" starring Robin Williams you will get a glimpse of it but not the full story. Yes, as in the movie, full-time RV'rs are generally a very social and happy bunch of folks. They like to socialize and be reeeaall close to each other, they enjoy checking out each others RVs, they like to drink, and they love to show off their pets. Today we are camped out at a potentially nice campground right on the bay of Fundy in the lovely resort town of St. Andrews by the Sea, would be nice, but we're packed in here like the sardines we saw in the herring weirs today on our exciting whale watching cruise. EVERY other camper here has at least one pet, and we're not talking just dogs. Our neighbor behind has a full grown macaw, loudest thing- to our starboard side we have 3 lovely french poodles (one of which likes to sleep on the dashboard of the bus-at first I thought it was just an ornament thingy but it jumped up and yelped when I got within 10 feet like it was a doberman. Then to our port side we have a large man with sunglasses and a very ornamental purple silk jacket walking his little shitzu, what a site! Nothing however compares to the camper that Dan had at his place last year- a man with 6 dogs, 3 cats, 3 cockatoos, and a monkey! A regular travelling rv zoo. Sorry Jack but you're not ever camping with us--one of us Guillory's must retain his dignity! This evening we were entertained at the campground by the travelling Stage Stompers and my what a group they were, led by the famous Trevor Lord- a real Michael Flatley wannabe. Well, all I could think of as I sat along side the hundred or so other campers in my lawnchair, coveting every precious sip of the one beer I brought, was God, I'm actually here, if my brother-in-law Sal could just see me now! So, this is the real RVing at least the kind that most RV'rs do and it works out just fine for them, as I said, everyone is always happy. But for me, I prefer the getaways and the remote empty state parks that don't have all the hookups and big rigs, dry camping they call it--that's for me. As for being an RV'er well, I've taken jabs from my buddies about the whole thing and I deserve every one of them, but in the end I'm just a happy camper too!

goo-goo-ga-ga

For those of you who have requested a blog from Alena......

"I am really loving traveling with Wee-Wee and Rah-Rah and Horsey in Arvey. In Quebec, they thought I spoke French when I talked...alfkdjwoielkf enjjj Wee-Wee! Hee hee... Noone can figure out what language I'm speaking yet! I really love running beside the ocean and am dying to swim in it too, but Momma says "NO". I woke up with a cold so I'm kinda grumpy. I love sitting on my throne and being waited on. I do have down the commands of "MORE, EAT, JUICE, READ BOOKS, PLAY HORSEY". I keep everyone running so that I won't start warming up my scream. I have decided that I am just like Wee-Wee and won't eat any food that is mixed or touching. That freaks me out. I love meeting all these new people. I say hello to everyone!"

the momma's still doing great!

To all you pessimists who thought I was crazy to do the RV thing with 3 kids, I have proved you wrong! OK, so there are moments when I want to scream, but they are fewer than even I imagined. Mostly, we are all getting along beautifully. I see the children getting along even better than before. Wilson and RAchel are playmates again and sooo cute with Alena. I am missing my kitchen though and dying to bake! Ahhh homemade biscuits. Cooking hasn't been too bad though. I must thank Bob for the Bubba's chili. That was my favorite meal so far! Dump it on Fritos,and top it with cheese and voila!! We've been craving it ever sense.

I loved touring Dan's gardens and am missing mine. I hope people are pulling down to pick okra and squash! I tried his fava beans and beets and onions..fabulous! But, the dandelion wine.....I'll try to save some for you to try Mom, but it will be hard!

Yesterday was fun for Daren mostly. Getting him to leave Joggins, Nova Scotia was difficult. We were on the beach looking for fossils from the Carboniferous age and he was in heaven.I had to limit him to 30 pounds of fossils to bring home. He has a wonderful specimen of a tree with branch. He was in heaven with his hammer and screwdriver! Wilson said it would have been more fun if the fossils were of creatures and not trees. They have found prints from amphibians and reptiles there, but those are rare to find.

We're off to walk on the ocean floor as it's now low tide! Missing you all tons! love, jessie

Oh, have we mentioned the mosquitoes?? OH MY GOD!!! We’re fighting both the fresh water and salt marsh type now and it’s awful! We run from them everywhere, even the 2km hike we just did! To those whom I have professed my love of the homeopathy Ledum, let me tell you how much more I am convinced of it’s awe-inspiring power. Even Alena will relax from her frantic itching after 3 minutes of having taken ledum. GO GET SOME NOW!! Daren and I also both got stung one day by yellow jackets and within minutes the stings were gone.

Prince Edward Island

(Rachel) A couple of days ago, we went on a bike ride. We stopped at a little parking lot where you could walk down to the beach. Wilson and I kept thinking "should we get in or should we not?" Finally, Wilson took off his shirt and jumped in. I coudln't believe what he just did, so I did it too! It was freezing cold. Wilson and I would wait for a big wave and we would jump over it. When a really big wave came, we would run for shore. I usually didn't make it, but Wilson did. The cool thing about the ocean is that you could walk knee depth about 50 feet into the ocean and it wouldn't even get up to your belly button. After we got out we were soaked, so Mom said "run around the beach like crazy and dry off!" I found a couple little baby shells. Wilson and I also found this little shallow pond with a stream running down to the ocean. It was full of alge and gross green stuff. Wilson tasted it to see if it was fresh or salty. It was fresh and that made me wonder if it was coming from people's houses! We quickly got out of the water. AFter we were done playing at the beach, we kept biking along the road. Mom and I came to a big apple tree. They were beautiful pink apples. We stuck them in our shirts and mom said, "we'll make applesauce!" It sounded good. We came to a small town and played at a park. Alena had a lot of fun. We ate at a good restaurant and it was good.

When we got back to the RV, Mom tried the apples we had picked and said they were the sourest she had ever eaten! SHe tried another to be sure and we ended up throwing them all out in the woods.


We went to the place where LM Montgomery lived and where she wrote Anne of Green Gables. It was very fascinating. One thing that this nice lady told us is that when Montgomery published her book, it was so famous that people from all over the world came to her house and would take a piece of her house off! Without asking!! When her uncle had had enough, he tore the house down. Now there is only the cellar left.

Yesterday we went to a place where the tides are the highest/lowest in the whole world! In just a few hours in can rise up to 55 feet in the area we are in.

I can't wait to see you all when we get home! Bye, Rachel

/\/\ I G (_) /-\ S |-| /-\

(wilson) Several days ago we drove out of Tete d'Indien to the southern part of Gaspe to the Miguasha Natural History Museum. They didn't have any dinosaurs there, but it is known to be the best collection of animals from the Devonian time period, AKA the age of fishes. They highlighted several species of fish. They were Euphanerops (a kind of lamprey thing), Escuminaspis (a kind of jawless fish), Miguashaia (a primitive ceolecanth), Holoptychius and Quebecius (some lobe-finned fish), Bothriolepis (a small placoderm fish), Triazeugonathus and Homolocanthus (acanthodians), and the Prince of Miguasha, Eusthenopteron. Eusthenopteron could get over three feet in length and they think it could also breathe air. It's fins were strong, so they were transforming into legs and feet. Scientists used to think Eusthenopteron was capable of climbing out of the water, but now they think that its fins were too weak. Thousands of the Bothriolepis fish fossils have been found. They kind of look like eels with a big, bony head and spikes coming out the sides. Their eyes and nostrils were also all grouped into a small opening on the top. They had also discovered some lungfish at Miguasha (remember the huge one at the zoo?). The lungfish they find at Miguasha are Scaumenacia (kind of hard to say). It had large fins and a long nose. Triazeugonathus was a small fish-about 1 to 2 inches long-whose fins were tipped with small spines. One of my favorite fishes they had there was Elpistostege, which looked kind of like an amphibious lizard with fins instead of feet. Miguasha was really cool, and I liked the fish fossils and the huge mural of the fish they had drawn up on a wall. It's a lot better than the one in my closet! Sorry, no time for extra features today. We have to leave the hotel right now (that's right a hotel), it was too late to find a campground. Plus, I'm sorry that the names were so hard!

Moving on....

(Daren) 8/31/06. After leaving Dan's Monday we drove on down to Miguasha Park and visited a cool exhibit on prehistoric fishes. We moved on into New Brunswick, wary of moose crossing the highway--a major problem for motorists here. I spotted one in a stream near the highway but the big thrill was a huge black bear that scampered across the road just in front of us..wow!! We stayed in some campground in the middle of the province and crossed over into Prince Edward Island. Traveling off-season has its benefits as we're finding campgrounds virtually empty. We spent Wednesday biking along the oceanside and found a great place for lunch. The kids spontaneously went for a swim in the ocean! We visited the homestead of the author of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Then we headed out for Nova Scotia! Here we are waking in a motel....yes, we caved in..too late to find a campground and needing some space and nice showers. Today We're heading for more fossil finds at Joggins Fossil Center. Wilson can't wait! We'll then head back to New Brunswick and stay the next 2 days exploring the Fundy Bay region. Whew.....then we'll see what happens for Labor Day weekend...always an adventure around the corner. That's an update in a nutshell. Much more later!

They do still love eachother--(uggh from Wilson)

Even after 19 days in close proximity or is that closed captivity? - the kids are still enjoying eachother...look at that expression on Rachel's face...priceless.

Playing in the Atlantic

The kids had a blast playing in the ocean..even though it was about 50 F..brrrr..

"that's my horsey"

He's back!!!!!

Of course, horsey is still with us!

A nice harbor

Like most of the coastal towns in this area trapping lobster is the big thing here. This harbor is in the fishing village of North Rustico est. 1736, off the northern shore of PEI.

Pretty to Look At..but....

--
(Daren)Prince Edward Island, or PEI as locals call it, just off the coast of New Brunswick and connected by the Confederate Bridge, the worlds 2nd longest free span 9 miles..it's impressive. PEI is a pretty island, lots of vivid green fields and golden pastures, nice but lacked the history and charm we were hoping for. A nice place to go if golf or Anne of Green Gables is your thing. We honestly didn't give it fair shake though since we drove and biked it for only a couple days...

The Clan with Dan!

Well, all good things must come to an end, and though we stayed a day longer than planned, we had to say goodbye. We're all pretty bummed, even Alena I think, as Dan has treated us to an amazing time. His campground is impeccable in every way and we were so fortunate that he was able to spend a good amount of time with us. If you're so fortunate enough to find yourself in his company, just sit and listen while story after story of his life's adventures are woven into an educational experience that is like travelling the world while sitting in a chair. He is truly a remarkable person to know. Thanks Dan, if you get this, for an unforgettable time. From the wealth of knowledge you provided for us to explore the area, to the final toast with dandelion wine, we will never forget our adventure on the Gaspe.

"A Day In The RV Life"

We'll on this day the 27th-our last at Dan's- we had a cold/misty sort of day that kept us in a bit. We did some beach combing, exploring, visiting with Dan, and soccer and spent the balance packing up our stuff to head out to New Brunswick on our way to Miguasha -famous fossil dig, more on that later.

On Bonaventure Isle, a beautiful trail back to the ferry.

someone said something funny!

300,000 birds in one place!

by the beginning of Nov, no birds will remain on the island. They stay on the open ocean for 6 months finally returning in May to mate and brood their young.

A pair preening eachother

immature Gannet

It takes 3 months for a Gannet to fledge. a third die on their first flight!
It takes 6 years for a Gannet to mature into an adult.

Beautiful Flyers but clumbsy on landing!

they dive at over 80mph and down up to 20' into the ocean to catch fish!

males and females are indistinguishable

Gannets mate for life, but they only recognize eachother by the nesting site. Year after year they return from the sea to the same nest, if the nest falls into the sea from erosion, the couple is no more!

Seals basking in the sun

Common Seals, they dive down and eat clams, mussels and lobster!

Gannets on the cliff and circling above

Perce' Rock "Pierced Rock"

Tete' d'Indien "Indian Head"

look really close and you might see a bunny also!

Gannets !!!

{Rachel} Yesterday morning we went to a small town called Perce. It is called that because of a huge rock in Gaspe that has a hole big enough for a boat to ride through it. Perce means 'pierced'. We got on a boat and went around Perce rock. Then we went to a big island called Bonadventure to these big cliffs that had millions of gannets nested on the side of the cliffs. They are beautiful birds and their wingspan can get up to 2 meters. One interesting thing that a man told us is that when a female and male are together and if a nest falls off of the cliff, then the couple is done. That is because the only way that they recognize each other is by the location of the nest. Both birds take turns feeding the chick, once a day each. the birds are stinky and loud! We were going to eat lunch where the gannets are, but it was too stinky and there were feathers blowing everywhere. After we were done looking at the gannets, we hiked back to the boat. The waves on the ocean were really big and one point it felt like it was going to flip over. While we were shopping, Mom came back with a hand full of pastries and they quickly disappeared.

The day before we went mackerel fishing with Daddy. It was fun, but we didn't catch a thing. The guy next to us caught at least 20! We just didn't have all of the right equipment. The nice man was named Francois. He let us pull in a couple of fish. one fish almost pulled me in, so he pulled really tight on my waist. It was the biggest mackerel he had caught yet and I was really proud. So we went back to our little camp sight with no mackerel, but we had a great time!

G /-\ |\| |\| E T S

(wilson) |-| E L L 0. |-| I. |3 0 |\| J 0 (_) R. Yesterday we went to Perce town, on the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, Canada, North America, Northern Hemisphere, Western Hemisphere, Earth. First we parked our RV and Rachel and mom went into a bakery. We were going to Parc de la Bonaventure, which is an island full of Northern Gannets. The boat wasn't leaving for 20 minutes, so we thought we had time to eat and stuff, but then we found out that everyone was boarding the boat in 5 minutes. We rushed onto it, and took a 1-hour tour to Bonaventure. Only thing was, the captain, who was the tour guide, spoke French. So we just watched outside until we were right at Bonaventure. There were TONS of gannets flying around the cliffs, and we got to see a bunch of seals up close! I liked the sound the gannets made. It's kind of the same noise that a bunch of Pterosaurs make in a dinosaur program. When we pulled up at Bonaventure Island, we got off the boat and went on the Colonies hiking trail. It's 2.8 (2,8 to the Canadians) kilometers one way. The trail was nice, but after a while my feet were getting sore. When we finally got to the Northern gannets, we winced at the smell and died. Just kidding. Well, they were stinky. The colony was even bigger at the top of the cliff. They had the birds' nests roped off, but we could stand 5 feet away from some birds. The gannets' heads and necks were a nice shade of yellow. Also, some of them had 6-foot wingspans. When the gannets look towards the sky, that means that they're about to take off. They're filling up air cells in their heads that cushion the impact of water when they dive. Gannets are very good divers. I didn't see any of them do it, but they say that they fold up their wings and plunge straight into the water. Gannets also mate for life, but the only way they can recognize their mate is their nesting site. One parent always stays at the nesting site, so they can recognize eachother. Plus, it's impossible to tell females from males. The young gannets have fewer feathers and are almost black. After we left the gannets, we went back on the same hiking trail, and Rachel and mom figured out that total, we hiked 5.6 kilometers (5,6 to you Canadians). We stopped and had some lunch, and went back onto the boat so we could get to Perce. The waves are super high, and it feels like you're falling a lot. Mom got some pastries at Perce, and we left to go back to Tete d'Indien. I like gannets. Here's a picture of one:------/^/---------------------
<:: o \--/__|---------------------
----\ |__\__/__-------------------
-----\___/__|__>><==--------------
------\_____|/|-------------------
------------/||-------------------
-----------<<<<-------------------
---------------------------------- note-the dashes are not part of the gannet, just the background. If you can't see it, you're blind.

Setting the Standard

(jessica) We're planning to leave Dan's place tomorrow and he's set the standard to which we'll hold all campgrounds from here on out. Where else do you have free showers, fresh vegetables, complementary waves, fabulous story telling in the evenings and a view to kill for? Granted not all his campers get the stories or the veggies right from the garden to the grill, but we have been spoiled!

Happy Birthdays to my sister, Anna, tomorrow, the 27th; and to Suzanne on the 28th, along with 2 year old Garrett Lee in CO; and to my dad in AL on the 29th. Not sure where we'll be or if we can get in touch, so Happy early Birthdays!! We'll be out of email touch until we find another place with working wi-fi, but we'll turn our cell phones back on if we can find them. I don't have my email addresses, so unless you email me I can't email you. So please email!!

Staying here at Dan's has provided a much needed rest of sorts, staying in the same camp spot for 6 nights now. We're not even sure where we'll head after tomorrow. We know we're going down the coast of the Gaspe Peninsula to a Natural History Museum. After that we're either turning inland to Maine or turning out and going to explore Novia Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland....We'll let you know. I'll let the kids catch you up on our activities today when they journal in the morning. Birds, Birds, Birds!

Where are we?

Click the link to see where we are!
http://mapshare.delorme.com/Consumer/V.aspx?p=3bvw04w1

|-| i |< E___/-\ n |)___|3 i |< E

(Wilson) Yesterday at 10:00 (9:00 to all you guys) we left to go to this goat cheese factory, or a fromagerie. We looked at the goats (boy, do they stink!) and left. Not much there. After that we went to a hamburger joint where Mr. Rose said "They are the best hamburgers in the world!". I ordered a bar-b-q burger but it was hot and soggy and the BBQ sauce looked like ketchup. After we ate our lunch we drove a while to Forillon National Park (a Canada national park). We hiked down tons of stairs and along a boardwalk until we reached a 50-foot tall waterfall. The waterfall was nice, and the rocks by it were covered thick in moss. We stayed and looked for a while and continued along the boardwalk, back up the hill, to the RV. Then we went to a General Store thing that told people about the Gaspe peninsula in the 1700's. It was just about people catching cod, fixing cod, selling cod, eating cod. Cod, cod, cod, cod, COD! NO COD!!!! Then we went to a smaller building nearby where it was telling you how they shipped the um...you know, to different places. Then it started to rain. We were going to ride bikes but now we were having second thoughts. Luckily it was only a sprinkle. We got back to the RV and sat there for a minute (just like you are right now). When my dad and Alena woke up (they were asleep) we drove to the biking place, and on the way there, my dad saw a whale in the bay and practically yelled "Whale! Look, guys, whale!" We scrambled to the window, and got out so we could look outside. We watched for like, 5 minutes and I saw one, but RACHEL was watching a movie, so she didn't get to see it. When we got to the bike place, we spent 15 minutes getting ready (gosh) and finally got on the trail, which turned out to be a big hill at the very beginning. After our first 15 seconds on our bikes, we got off and dragged them up the hill. In fact, the whole trail was pretty much a big hill. There were only like, two times when we got to go down a hill. Luckily the trail wasn't a loop, so we could look forward to going down them when we came back. And guess what? The WHOLE last kilometer was the biggest hill I had ever seen! So we dragged our bikes up the hill for 2/3 mile, before reaching the top, when we thought "why didn't we just leave the bikes down there?!". Luckily the top was cool (and it had a bathroom). There was a relatively small lighthouse (about 36 feet tall), but we couldn't go up in it. Plus, we saw lots of seals in the bay below. Then it started raining again, this time harder. We went down the huge hill in the wet gravel, and luckily nobody fell off (remember my scooter incident?). We met at the bottom, and stayed there for a while because we saw LOTS of seals and a couple whales down below. We looked at the seals (or sea lions) with the binoculars and discovered that they kind of look like really, really wet dogs. We biked on, and before I knew it, reached the RV. Me and Rachel went "Thank goodness!" because we were flippin' COLD and our hands were numb. Thankfully, mom made us some hot chocolate and chicken noodle soup. Yum!
Here is a list of animals we've seen, and animals we should have seen:
We've seen:
Skunk
Seals
Porcupine (it was cool, we got 4 feet away from it and it didn't run away!)
Whales (can't figure out what kind)
Weird Caterpillar (remember the botfly larva?)
Seagulls
Solitairy Sandpiper
Minnows
Animals we should have seen:
Moose
Caribou
Black bear
Jellyfish
Fox
And this is really funny:
In Mr. Rose's shop, there was this rock on display with writing on it. The writing said, "Please turn me over". When you turn the rock over, there's writing on the other side that says "Thank you that feels so good". HAHA

t |-| E___E |\| |)

yet another waterfall...w/3 cute kiddos

what can u say about this?

Biking Forillon National Park--got a little wet!

The sky after the rain was spectacular! what a beautiful trail around the coastline up to the lighthouse!

Lots of Playful Seals!

We saw several whales (minke or humpback not sure) but they wouldn't stop to pose for the camera.

I'm gonna catch dat wabbit!!

wascally wabbitt!

Critter-Cam time! Big Porcupine!

The horsey loves lighthouses!

a lonnggg hill for the bikers! pulling Alena behind--go Mom!