Adventures of a Mama & Four Boys

This morning I woke up to the clip clop of hooves and stepped outside to see the popcorn, paintings, and bikes, all unlocked.  The sleepy little town still nestled in their beds knowing that all their goods were safe.  I’m in Amish Country.  I am staying in the driveway of a Mennonite man named Kenny’s shop in the middle of town.  Mason has made friends with a man named Clarence.  As Clarence and Mason go get the buggies and horses, the little boys are filing the horses’ water buckets and Aidhttp://4boysrvtrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/IMG_3112.jpgen is watering the flowers.  I love that they are putting these boys to work.

This was an unexpected detour and by far, the best cultural experience for my family and I.  We were heading through Indiana and in one of my travel guide books, “Across America,” we read about the Amish Country and thought we would take a drive through.  When we got to Topeka and found an Amish diner on yelp, we pulled into the diner. There were buggies parked in the parking lot and little girls with no shoes and little bonnets buying ice cream.  We ate fresh bread with apple butter and Amish peanut butter. It was Yummy!  My trip could have been complete there. But,  Ohhh no!  I was reading the “coffee shop” and stumbled upon buggy tours.  Well we got more than a buggy tour!  We toured Kenny’s son’s dairy farm and went to his daughter’s house for dinner.  Aiden describe it perfectly. “This place just makes me feel warm!”

After dinner, we had not settled for the night so Kenny let us just pull up at his shop on the boardwalk.  All morning long people have been stopping to talk and visit.  They are asking about my way of life and telling me about theirs.  I’ve learned the differences between Amish and Mennonites and about some of their fundamental way of being.  I have caught just a glimpse of these extraordinary peoples lives and I will forever be grateful to them for allowing us that glimpse.

Aiden Feeding the cows

Our camping spot

Amish Barn

Well Chicago is a bust.  We were supposed to tour Wrigley field but when it’s takes an hour and half to go 20 miles, you miss your tour time and they couldn’t get me on the early one the next day. We ate the Gino’s, which was delish!  Next day saw on the news that traffic again was going to be a nightmare because of a river festival so it’s off to the Dell’s.

I have been to Chicago before to visit the Cindy and had a great time.  I’m probably just getting wrapped up into the fact that my favorite Chicago family doesn’t live there anymore and no city can live up to it’s awesomeness when loved ones aren’t there to show you around!

We pulled into Cuyahoga Valley NP. We quickly went to the visitor center. Watched a movie on the history of the area and why it’s a NP. It is here, that the crooked river and canals were used as transportation.  After the introduction of the iron horse, the area was neglected and “washed up.” In the 60’s this area started getting developed and the history of this area would have been erased.  Thanks to many forces, including the beaver, the area was preserved became a National Park in 1974.   The Beaver made it way back to the area naturally and changed the entire landscape.  They brought back wetlands that were here thousands of years ago.  We had the see this! We took a night hike in search of their home! With the help of Ranger Scott and a couple other volunteers we searched the area of the Beaver Marsh. Although the beavers did not make an appearance, their home they built is quite impressive.  We saw snapping turtles, wood ducks, and the Great Blue Heron. It was a great night!

We visited the famous Niagara Falls!  I always thought it was just one fall but it’s actually 3 incredibly powerful and beautiful falls. There were 3 falls and we did the three top activities.  The Wind Caves with hurricane landing, the whirlpools, which are the only whirlpools in North America that whirl, counter clockwise. We finished the day up with The Maid of Mist.

Wind Cave was a walk on a platform built next to the American Falls every year and allows you to get so close that you have to wear a poncho.  They have to tear down and rebuild the platform every year.  As you walk up the rapids to the falls they are splashing you. There is a spot on the platform called Hurricane landing where the wind and the mist from the falls feels like you are standing in a hurricane.  I think this was Aiden”s favorite!

I thought the whirlpool was really cool.  It’s a small hike and there is a lookout point called devils hole.  The river whirls around a 90-degree turn and jet boats ride the rapids are scary and fun!

The Maid of the Mist gets you to the middle of Horseshoe Falls and spins around so you get the full impact of the power of those falls.

My favorite story, it’s a Mason one! When we went to wind cave, where we  got a poncho and a pair of sandals.  Mason was in disbelief that they gave out such awesome sandals that he has not taking them off. He thinks they are so comfy and rad!  He sported them all over town and even to Duff’s, home of the original buffalo wings….yes I know the Anchor Bar is suppose to have better wings but a discussion happen among the bus drivers and Duff’s won the vote!  60 wings later, the boys were full and mom and I were sick! It was awesome!!!

New York has text stops!! No bathroom or food just a big sign and an area to pull over to text!! So cool!!!

Wow!, Living in the city was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done! After leaving the city, it really got the best of me. It made me just want to fly home. Sadly, I still feel like that. But I did have so much fun while I was in Boston.  I had fun with Uncle Scott, Grandpa Mike, Grandma T, my cousins, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Erica. I love d the fact that we had new visitors like every week! To be honest, I think we hit every national historic site near or in Boston. We always had something new every day. We walked the freedom trail, and looked inside every single building. I am really proud of my mom because she is making this all happen. She works hard, wakes up early to do stuff. She definitely has more guts than I do! I’m really sad I left Boston, but I’m on my way home!

It’s been 5 weeks of city living. My boys know their way around a subway and have adapted incredible well to “city living.” One afternoon I was doing laundry and the boys were playing soccer in the street. When the cars come onto the street, they give a honk and the kids run to the side. Well one morning a delivery truck held his honk a little too long and Mason screamed at him to hold on a minute, he was just grabbing his ball. It was really funny because they went from being fearful of cars to fighting with them! Hehehe!

We have had several visitors. Started with the Debbie, Yvonne, and Jackson. We ate and drank our way through the city. There was not a yelp or trip advisory top ten that we did not hit! The girls got to help me figure out how to navigate through the city and negotiate the subway. They are a family that we have gotten very close to and look forward to many more mornings on the roof drinking coffee!!!

The next visitors to come were the lovers!!! Dan and Cristen. We have spent time with them at yoga and dinner but this was the longest amount of time. I gotta say…. I love’m!!!! We laughed, explored , and learned that Paul Revere was a dentist that made dentures out of hippo teeth! But one of the best things is that got I to see the love they share with each other! Can’t wait for the next yoga retreat!!

My brother, Aaron and Meisha, and Ursula came for the 4^th which happened on the 3^rd. I’ll explain all that later; for now, how do you spell fun…FREEDOM TRAIL BAR HOP!!!! It rained hard all day on the fourth so we decided to look for the oldest pub on the trail and visited all of them!!! I love these people and have not had that much fun in at least six months! Urs’ time was short but very full!!! We slammed of the major sights in one day…and that was the day after our freedom trail tour!!! This girl holds a special place in my heart and can’t wait for paris!!! We got to spend the entire week with Aaron and Meisha. Its very cool to spend time with my baby brother because he’s not my baby anymore….he’s my equal and I love that!!!! I loved getting to spend so much time with Meisha, we had a blast trucking the trail!!!!! It’s so cool having my brother and his great girl to vacation with!!

Our final guest was the Hodges! The statement that comes to mind when I think of there visit…Get’r Done!!! In one day we did the following….Drove to Plymouth. Did Plantation and Rock. Drove to Concord and Lexington. Went to Minute Man Historical Park and earned junior ranger badges. Drove to Walden’s Pond, dipped our feet in and got an ice cream. Finished the day up by driving ot Salem and going on a Ghost Tour….more ice cream and back to Boston!! It was awesome!!!!

Another great part of Boston was getting to be part of Mike’s family. It was like we really lived there and not just visiting! We got to spend so much time with family. I have to put a special shout out to Scotty! He was just a huge part of this visit. Whenever friends came into town, he took the time to come visit them. He changed plans if we were going to be around just so he could be with us. He offered to watch the boys so Mike and I could rock out with Justin Timberlake! “I love me some Scotty!”

The boys got lots of business done too. They received Boston’s Ranger badges for both freedom Trail and Charlestown, which earned them a master ranger badge. Their Minute man badge was a done in lightening flash time. We missed Lowell’s badge but we will be back for it!!! The boys loved Boston and there were serious tears shed as we were leaving!

The Boston part of this trip was amazing!!! We are truly going to miss it and all our family!!

Mike has got all the vehicles ready to roll. Mom flew in to do the trip back with us and we are off to Niagara Falls!

We have made it to Boston. The whole Marchlik clan was there to receive us. My dad got to see where Mike grew up and visit with the family. Scotty brought me my favorite bottle of vino. Steve and Erica came with cousins in tow. The cousins are all so happy to be together! We spent a great night gobbling up Grandma Trish’s Meatballs and spaghetti and talking about the journey!

We did however have to ay goodbye to papa. There were tears shed and Preston was beside himself that he lost his bunkmate. He got to sleep with papa every night and the two of them were like peas and carrots.

My dad and I have not done a road trip together in years and we had the best time! I love my dad and I love spending time with him. I think dad got the biggest ‘adventure’ part of the trip. The weather, the people, the roads, the smells, the time in that tiny car with fighting, and the history made this leg of the trip extreme in many ways.

The weather definitely contributed to the adventure. When we were driving to Shenandoah the fog and rain made visibility almost impossible. There were animals darting in front of us and there was even a tree down in the middle of the road. I actually tried to get dad to stop at a turn out and wait for morning. He was persistent and we made it. The next morning we saw the most secluded and beautiful campground. We hiked, did junior ranger stuff and made it back in time to watched and feel the biggest raindrops I have ever seen in my life!

The roads on these legs were particularly crazy. We would have 20 miles to go and it would take two hours. GPS lead us astray more then once and the narrow and winding roads were obviously not meant for RV’s. Trying to avoid low tunnels also added to the excitement. Overall the adventure led to great laughs and memories that my boys and I will always cherish.

I personally had so many favorite times with my dad. One of my favorites was the night we were staying on the river in the Smokey Mountains and the boys were eating inside. Dad and I sat out on the bank and ate dinner, drank wine, and talked for hours. In the background was the river lit by the moon and the lightening bugs blinking all around us. It was my favorite night. When it comes to dads I got the best one! I will cherish the memories I made with my dad and never forget watching him with my boys. Just when I don’t think I can love and appreciate my dad anymore, I see him share a moment with my boys and I love him even more!

THANKS DAD!

We had sights to see

Today we did DC

Lincoln Memorial

We jumped on and off the Big Tour Bus

Sometimes we couldn’t find the stop, which made mom cuss

We went to the Smithsonian to see all the planes

The touchable moon rock from Apollo 11, is all that remains

We visited the White House

So glad to see they got rid of the mouse

The Lincoln Memorial was a sight to be seen

Looks just like the movie that stars Martin Sheen

We took lots of pictures and giggle and laughed

I took some selfies,, that got bombed by an ass

Hanging at the park…all this history and right after this picture, turned into WWE

We took to the streets in pedicab in tow

We watched the rangers to on quite a show

We didn’t finish our Ranger books

So no badges for my little crooks!

…..Road Construction!

We finally made it to DC!  We left Shenandoah National Park.  It was a brutal drive. We were all excited about our 90 mile drive and thought we would have the entire day in DC .  We were very wrong! Our 90 mile drive took us 6 hours.  There were numerous road construction detours and two semi truck accidents.  One highway was completely shut down. It was ridiculous.

My US map should be not of Highways and Byways but of Road Signs: detour, merge to one lane, and  lots and lots of cones.  Way too many cones and way to many men sitting on the side of the road while one guy holds a sign.  Give me a break!

Ok …I’m done now!

D.C., here we come!!!!!