And so we come full circle

Today we listed the RV on Craigslist and Facebook. The last year has been amazing and the things we have seen and done, well, this blog has really only touched the surface of our experiences. It was funny, we took one of those Facebook poll things about national monuments and parks and things and the kids and I scored 100%, and had seen most of the ones listed, and have become intimately familiar with some and it made me feel peaceful with what we have done in this year.

For the most part, I never really believed we'd be able to keep the RV after our year of travel was up, although I would have loved it. In a fantasy world where bills aren't real and money is irrelevant to life and we have unlimited funds, I would love to keep the Bratmobile, and use it over the coming years, for things like summer vacation across country to NH and back each year, but again, the reality is, it adds time that we won't have and cost that we don't have and we really cannot justify keeping it even for once a year.

We won't be in a hurry to sell, and frankly we will ask for nearly what we owe on it and hope that someone comes close. It was a hard decision, mostly because it was a part of the family while hubby was gone and when we do finally get rid of it, I'll likely cry a little (and not from relief, I swear).  But since our family has been reunited, and I have begun seeking gainful employment, I have come to realize that we won't be able to use the RV, and paying to have it rot in a lot and never have time to travel or camp or anything would be more hurtful than getting rid of it.

So, on the market it goes, and if anyone wants to pimp our sale, feel free to share our link.  This whole thing has been a heck of a ride, and I still owe you a closing post, other than this one, but that will have to happen at another time.  Always remember the best of the ride...

Amazing views

Since our trip began, we have had an amazing opportunity to see the country, and this most recent leg of our journey has been some of the most beautiful of all that we have seen. While Thor worked on the RV, we visited the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan, where the kids attempted to sand-sled as we did in White Sands. The sands are Warren Dune were less conducive to sledding, as it is thicker and not as soft, but they certainly made a valiant effort before abandoning the sleds for swimwear and a float in Lake Michigan.

Before leaving Elkhart, I felt like we needed to check out the area and the Visitor's bureau (which happened to be just across from our hotel) had a great CD tour of the Amish towns and businesses in the area and we took a great drive around checking it out. We bought some cheese, and a few little toys and the kids actually enjoyed the journey much more than I expected them to.

Once we returned to the RV, several days later than expected, we ventured only as far north as Great Lakes, IL. First off, my directions were horrid and I turned in to the wrong gate, the one for boot camp, where I proceeded to get stuck, kind of at rush hour as everyone was leaving their offices for the day. Then, once freed, I made it to the RV park, only to find that it was electric only, and we had to get water down at the marina and the sewer dump was also near the marina. It wasn't a huge deal, but I had looked forward to just settling in for a few days, and that wasn't in the cards. We did take the opportunity while at the marina to fill up our propane tank, which we had run since we left Nellis AFB in Nevada (the first time) without refilling. Not bad!

After Great Lakes, we wandered up into Wisconsin, then down into Iowa for a night, and then into Minnesota. The RV seems to be running smoothly and we sailed smoothly out to Ellsworth AFB so that we could explore the long awaited Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. We, of course, stopped along the way at Wall, SD for the infamous Wall Drug. After 104 signs directing us there, I think C's head would have exploded if we didn't stop.

Ellsworth AFB was a nice little base, with a small commissary and exchange that allowed us to restock things that we hadn't had a chance to fill up while the RV was in the shop. We mostly used it as a base to visit Mount Rushmore, Wind Caves, Jewel Caves and Devil's Tower. The kids did Junior Ranger badges for each of these and we had a nice time touring the caves and hiking around the attractions. We ended up spending an extra night on base due to a day of extremely high winds and advisories not to drive high profile vehicles. I think it was a good call, since the area we stayed in next was fairly open and provided little in the way of wind breaks.

We headed to the Badlands, after consulting our map, and decided to go with the primitive camp to the west, because a) it was free and b) promises of buffalo wandering through camp. What the map didn't say, or perhaps I misunderstood, was that the unpaved road was so bumpy that we had to take the 12 mile trek at about 10 miles an hour! Needless to say, we unhooked the car and drove that around until it was time to leave. We only stayed one night, but the kids were so excited when the rangers told them that not only is going off trail allowed, it is encouraged! We went on several small hikes off trail and the views of the Badlands were just amazing. I would absolutely go back at least a dozen times, and our trip to the Badlands was, sadly, too short.

We left the Badlands and traveled south, though the lower portion of South Dakota and past the Wounded Knee memorial. I tried to convey to the kids the hubris of early American settlers and the way our nation treated the First Nation people (or Native Americans, or Indians), but it was hard to explain between the glorified account of Wounded Knee on the memorial signs and the Lakota people who are at the venue trying to sell things. I literally had zero cash with me or I might have purchased something, but it was very sad to hear their lamentations about the 89% unemployment rate in the area, and I was again saddened that I was unable to help at all.

We wandered down through farm country in the hills and valleys of southern South Dakota and northern Nebraska, which was a fairly brutal day of driving for me. Ended up at a small roadside RV park in Ogallala, where we had a chance to refresh and regroup. Yesterday we drove east, destination fairly unknown, and ended up driving over 400 miles. We will not be doing that again, particularly when my GPS cannot keep up with us, and left us 3 miles away from some pretty necessary turns, that would have kept us on a paved road, but instead had us wander into miles of unpaved cornfield roads, in the dark,  I kept envisioning Malachi from Children of the Corn stepping out in front of the RV as we drove, it was just that bad. I eventually managed to find roads that would get us back on pavement and in the right direction, only to have GPS fail, again, and we drove right past our scheduled stop. By that point, I had had enough and decided to continue on to the next real town and a hotel for the night. There is never a dull moment in this life, and I am just grateful to be living the dream!

Back on the road

Following our break at the grandparents', we headed out on our trip to the Thor repair facility in Elkhart, IN. Along the way, we stopped in Pennsylvania for a few nights, so we could visit what is, apparently an iconic place in the region, Knoebels Amusement park and Crystal Pool. We took advantage of their free tickets for military families, and went on a few rides, but spent most of the roasty day at the water park, going on slides and swimming and jumping from the diving boards. We finished the evening on the ferris wheel, that reaffirmed H's desire never to ride on one again.

I know that I have driven through PA before, but I guess it is just different in the RV, taking well over an entire day to cross the state. We took advantage of another discounted RV site just inside the western border of PA (Mercer) for another good break, which allowed us to make it all the way through northern Ohio and into Michigan to visit with friends, new and old, a friend from boot camp who must be way older than I, as her daughter is heading out to college this week and they had a celebration party for her graduation.

Following that, we headed to Indiana and moved into a hotel for a week while the technicians at Thor rebuilt our jacking system and windshield wiper systems as well as fixing some cosmetic issues and repairing our broken slide. They added a rail that will allegedly help ensure that the slide doesn't break again. They also replaced the door that surrounds the girls' bunks that had been broken a few times, and glued and broken again.

While the repairs took place, we celebrated another birthday, this one was spent at the American Girl Store in Chicago, which was about perfect for the now nine year old girly-pants. Her dolls had their hair done and she got a few new things for them and generally just enjoyed the experience. We snuck cupcakes from Crumbs into a corner in the mall and lit a quick candle for her to blow out. In all, she was happy about it.

Our general plan while at the hotel was to spend one day active and one day vegging at the hotel, in the pool, playing Wii and watching really bad TV. Our second adventure involved a trip to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, where the younger two got Junior Ranger badges, and then Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan, where we both slid on the dunes with our sleds from White Sands and swam in Lake Michigan. The third day of exploration involved a drive through the Amish areas of northern Indiana. The kids enjoyed that more than I expected, and we bought some cheese and candies and ate ice cream and enjoyed the countryside.

In all, I think Thor did a good job and I guess I wasn't sure what to expect, but I came away feeling like it is just a matter of time until things break again, but I guess we'll see. So far, the jacks have worked properly twice in five attempts.

Six months and a little break

While we have been on a little break from travel, first at Grandma and Grandpa's house, then up on our family's annual trip to Hampton Beach, NH, we passed a major milestone of six months on the road. We have traveled a vast distance, and been blessed to see things that most people never see in their lives.

We traveled from CA to NV to AZ then UT (back to NV and AZ), CO,NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, (back to AL, MS), TN, AR, (back to TN), KY, (back to TN), NC, SC, (back to NC), VA, DC, MD (back to VA, DC, MD) DE, NJ, NY, CT, MA, NH and now, back to MA for a total of 25 states (and DC) in half of a year which is a very nice even number, half of the states in half of one year.

Over the course if the next few months, we'll tack a few more states onto our list as we venture back to the Thor factory for rehabilitation of the RV. I'm torn as to what I am looking for from this rehab. On the one hand, I am grateful that they are going to fix the things that are broken and whatnot, but on the other hand, I am not confident that it will be enough, and that the issues we've had will continue, particularly with systems that have never worked properly such as the windshield wipers and the jacks.

The windshield wipers were not initially a huge issue, however the fact that they've been tended to six times and still malfunction does not make me confident that they'll be repaired completely and properly. The jacks have had repairs to the electrical system, hydraulics and the motor and they are still not properly set to auto-level.

I almost hope that they'll offer to take the darn thing back and just let us start over, but at the same time, our six month journey has been in this RV and despite it's flaws, we have come to love the Bratmobile and call it home. Hopefully something can be done to rectify the issues, but I am not feeling confident right now.

Beaches of NH are lovely

An amazing sunset

Sunrise with the flags at half mast, in front of the monument to those lost at sea and to war

End of the line for now

Today we drive what is one of the most harrowing parts of the trip for me - through New York and up to Grandma and Grandpa's house. If I were smart, I would have planned to go around, but I'm not that smart sometimes, so we proceed leaving the Naval Weapons Station at Earle, NJ and heading up the Jersery Turnpike and through the city on 95. If anyone has a few prayers to spare, well, I'm sure I can use them!

The last week was a nice, relaxing time in DC, if that is possible. Dancing Grandma was still with us, and we explored the city a little. It was hot, it was humid, and it was a lot of fun. We took an afternoon walk through the National Mall, and our first trip to the WWII memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Wall. It was interesting to be there the fifth of July and I was impressed at how well the Parks Department was able to clean up the grounds overnight, as I'm sure my fellow countrymen did a fine job of leaving trash everywhere, although I like to hope it was just a tidy crowd.

It was nice to go back to the Museum of Natural History, which has always been the kiddos' fave. We tried to do the Museum of Air and Space, but it was so crowded that all of the hands on stuff was nearly hands off, which was a little hard to handle. We also took an evening drive up to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and walked the waterfront for a while.

We stayed at Andrews AFB for a few nights and the kids were a little sad that we couldn't stay until Saturday or Sunday as the lady in the office said that the President comes to golf there regularly and Secret Service allows guests to say hello and shake hands on occasion,  Um, no thanks, not sticking around in the hopes of shaking the hands of a man that may not even be there. Besides, he was at my graduation when I got my Masters, as the Guest Speaker and I was unimpressed then and probably less so now.

And today, well, today will likely be hell, but as always we will make it through, and hopefully, the people waiting at the other end of the bridges and tunnels of NYC will make it all worth while, much better than shaking hands with the silly president!

Possible light at the end...

We were sitting at the Hotel, waiting for my mom's shuttle to arrive from the airport and eating breakfast, when my phone rang. It was a representative from Thor, who offered to pay for us to drive to Indiana, and put us in a hotel, while the reconstruct the entire coach and fix all of the things and make better all of the stuff and make it like new again. They wanted us to come beach week, but I told them we'd roll out there the first week in August.  Sooooo, perhaps we'll be back on the road and rolling smoothly on the last few months of our adventure.

We picked up the RV and things seemed to be all better, optimism abounded. Mom joined us and we headed to Seymour Johnson AFB, where we stayed for two nights. We headed to Cape Lookout and junior ranger badge #22. We took the ferry to the lighthouse and beach, and a beautiful view of a lovely part of NC. The recent shark attacks off the coast have ensured that the kids were smart, and stayed in the shallows for the most part, but we all had a really lovely time.

We also found a place to stay in greater Virginia Beach for the rest of the week, at a brand new park in Chesapeake, VA at the Naval Support Annex, and booked five nights for the holiday weekend.

Only, when we went to leave the Air Force Base, the mega slide that runs the length of the driver's side of the car, would not close. I cycled it off and on over and over to no avail. Ended up calling Thor, and then calling a mobile tech, who, in conjunction with a group of Air Force guys and civilians, disconnected the motor and manually pushed the slide in. )sigh( So much for being able to travel in peace and comfort. Once the slide was in, we cannot open it back open until after we return from Indiana, which means we all scrunch in and deal until after beach week.

We finally hit the road, late, in time to drive up to Chesapeake, VA just in time for the evening rains. Which were hard rains, which of course meant that the windshield wipers stopped working. Which of course meant missed turns, and long, slow windy roads to get to our destination. In the rain. With the wipers working only sporadically.  It was a blast. Again. And, of course upon arrival, we cannot open the slide and the kids, who would normally be able to run and splash in the puddles, cannot because there is no where to dry off and spread out and have any space to breathe in the house. So they were cranky and we were cranky and it was generally a bad day. Early to bed because the next day has got to be better, right?

I mean, after all, my most favorite girly had a fifth birthday to celebrate!

Cake, balloons, presents and her favorite foods, pancakes and sausage for breakfast, steak and green beans for supper, ice cream and junk food in between, made for a pretty perfect day. We ended the evening driving around looking for fireworks, but again, the rains took over and we ended up missing them, because they held them early due to the rains.

On the fourth, we headed to Maryland to visit our cousin Tracey before she moves to Florida. We're hoping the rain holds off and that we are able to watch fireworks tonight, perhaps from our hotel room. The window looks to be in the right direction. Who knows?

The saga continues

Soooo, in our continuing saga, we found ourselves in Pigeon Forge, with jacks  that were jacked up and slightly fixed, but not completely. We did manage to get the oil changed. We found another RV park that we could afford to stay in, thanks to the Passport America program, and stayed two nights, only to prepare to leave, and have the jacks get stuck in the down position. We were unable to raise them for about two hours, before we found the solution, and found a way to lock them in the up position, so we could at least drive.

While we stayed in Pigeon Forge we did our best to get the kids their twenty first junior ranger badge at the Great Smoky Mountains. Their badge was very different from the others we've done, in that every activity had to be a Ranger led program. They had a vast schedule of activities, but they were each on an opposite side of the HUGE park, meaning hours to get from one side to another. We had a very hard time collecting all of the requirements, one time we drove to the location, and missed the turn, on an eleven mile loop and therefore missed the activity. The next day, we drove all the way over the mountains to the other side (a full day), only to find that the program we tried to attend didn't start until the following week. It was very frustrating, but we managed to make it work. Eventually.

We drove to the other side of the mountain, in the RV and it was a nerve-wracking drive up and then down the mountain, but we made it, and found a place to spend the night, not too far from the end of the national park. It was a Jellystone Park (Yogi in the Smokies), but to be honest, I don't know that I'd stay there again, it was expensive and tight and not very comforting, but maybe that is just me (plus, not being able to drop the jacks, or extend the slide).

I was glad to hit the road again, and we drove toward the only military base we could get into, Shaw AFB with an eye toward setting up and finding repair shops and a little down time, only while we were there, the AC went out on the car. And we got bounced from our spot at the RV park and ended up in overflow, running electric off of a splitter from someone else's site and generally being disappointed and frustrated by everything. We tried to go to a national park in the area, but it was closed on Sundays, which I knew but had forgotten, and it was over 100* outside, so we couldn't really do a ton, no hikes or whatnot. Generally just frustration everywhere, but I did finally find a place to get the jacks worked on, in Myrtle Beach, SC.

So, we traveled to Myrtle Beach, found a place to stay that was WAY out of our price range, but near the repair shop, so we made it work. While awaiting repairs, I noticed that the walls around the girls' beds were literally falling away from the walls of the RV, with a gap of over an inch at the top. I called Thor, again, and they said they'd ask our repair techs to take a look at it. Unfortunately, there wasn't much that they could do as they didn't have a ton of workers there, and the jacks were already taking more time than they should have.  But they did get the jack motor replaced, so that was a plus.

We left Myrtle Beach at about 5:00 on a Friday afternoon, jacks working, bunks out of commission, but Thor had found another shop to work on them Monday morning, in Statesville, NC. So all we had to do was get there. Night one we made it to Lumberton, NC, and a newly-acquired KOA campground where they were very nice, and took good care of us. We considered staying a second night, but there were tornado warnings in the area, scheduled for the afternoon, so we headed out, only to hit the rain storm, and have the windshield wipers stop working. Again.

Lightning, with thunder less than a one count away, and we ended up making it only about an hour away to Fort Bragg, where we got into the RV park for one night only, again with no bunks, and girls sleeping in my bed and the couch and whatever else. But we were able to hit a commissary and grocery shop, a much needed trip. Sunday night we parked in one of the worst RV parks I've been too - very close, with trees in the way of driving, so they hit the top of the RV as you drove through, very nearly scraped the side of the RV and/or car a few times on trees, but we made it to our spot, only to find that we couldn't find a level spot, so was went to the office and tried again, and in our second spot, got into level. We went to the pool for a while, and relaxed a little and cleaned a little. I was happy to be able to extend the slide and have some space.

The upside was that this park was less than 20 minutes from the repair shop, so we dropped the RV first thing this morning.  Hoping they reset the zero on the jacks (make it easier to level), fix the windshield wipers, and get the bunks put solidly back into place so the girls can sleep comfortably in them again.

In the meantime, we are in a hotel for tonight, next to the airport in Charlotte, as my mom is flying in tomorrow. RV parks in this area are very expensive, and it was actually cheaper to stay here, with free breakfast in the morning, than to get back up to Statesville and into the RV, and frankly it is nice to not worry about things for one day. Plus, the hotel has a shuttle to pick mom up from the airport! Score!!! Tomorrow night... well, we'll see.

Epic weekend

Sitting in the house in an RV park in Pigeon Forge, TN, a park that I really appreciate being able to enjoy thanks to a new discovery, Tents for Troops, I suddenly hear banging and feel the house shaking. Since the kids are in the front room watching Wild Kratts, I don't suppose it is them, but I get up to investigate, find them sitting quietly, and decide to open the door. This is when I remember that the camp host had mentioned that we'd have a lovely view of the fireworks from Dollywood out our window, and sure enough, we pile outside to enjoy the show. A great ending to a fabulous stay that, while not free was certainly a very good deal for us.

Over the last week, we traveled first to Fort Campbell, KY, which was a horrible place for me, no internet, no television, no cell service, difficult to find, and although technically on base, not behind the gated part of the base, which made for an interesting crowd. We stayed the bare minimum amount of time there, although I will say, the kids wanted to stick around for another day because they had an amazing pool with a bunch of slides and such, but I couldn't be budged. ;)

From Fort Campbell, we traveled up to Mammoth Cave National Park, and celebrated H's birthday. We stayed at a nice park, Singing Hills RV Park, with kind hosts (Beth and Eldon - nice to hear that name!) that was just about right for us other than the fact that we didn't have access to a sewer set-up, and we were parked under a tree that dripped sap onto the RV, and it is now desperately in need of a good washing. We enjoyed having WiFi, and it was about as close as you can get to Mammoth Cave without staying in the park itself.

We took the introductory tour, which was my only opportunity to go into the caves, and B & I had a chance to at least see the Rotunda and a few other short passages. The kids earned their twentieth Junior Ranger badge, and H celebrated his tenth birthday with the cave exploration, followed by Birthday milkshakes at Zaxby's and a trip to the theater to see Avengers:Age of Ultron.  A quick store-bought strawberry shortcake and a free ice cream treat from Beth and Eldon rounded out our gluttony for the afternoon.  We finished the night trying to fish at the RV park, which was disastrous, likely due to my ineptitude getting his fishing pole set up and re-lined and re-lined and so on, plus the banks of the pond were so muddy that we all slipped at least once into the muck, and we had no access to laundry, which was a little bit of an issue when C took a tumble into the mud.

Homemade biscuits and gravy and sausage, breakfast of birthday boys everywhere

A rare photo of the five of us at Mammoth Cave entrance

Entering the cave

Don't look back - you can't chicken out now!

Ceiling in the Rotunda

The wall behind us in the Rotunda

Cool cove on the outside

Our post-tour hike

Crazy monkeys

Birthday cake

As the second part of H's big birthday weekend blowout, the three oldest took a Trog Tour, for 8-12 year olds (okay, we fudged a bit on C's age, but H really wanted him along for this, so C & K played twins for this episode of our adventure). I think the kiddos really had a great time, they came up from the cool caves sweaty, dusty and smiling.

Preparing for the Trog Tour

Helmets on

My blue eyes, Frank's everything else

Feeling pretty froggy impersonating an eight year old

Whew, they made it out alive

Taking off all of that gear

But, he did say that we lived up to his expectations set last year that his "big" tenth birthday should be "epic." Where does he get this stuff? Following all of this excitement, I think coming here to Pigeon Forge was a good idea, a chance to get a little down time, and I found a place to get the oil changed in the RV.

Except...

We arrived with an eye toward relaxing for the afternoon, doing a basic set-up and hitting the pool. The host set us up just in front of the pool, which was lovely, and since it was in the high 90's, and terribly humid, we took quick advantage of that cool water. I tried to set up and set the jacks, and someone turned on the air conditioning, which popped a breaker on the house batteries, which interrupted the jacks going down, which left the back jacks down, front jacks half way down and an error on the control panel which would not allow me to move any of them. I called the place that was going to do the oil change, and find they are the best known mobile service provider in town, so it was fairly convenient to reschedule the oil change for AFTER the jacks got fixed.

The mobile tech ran the jacks through a few sequences, and finally cleared the error from the control panel. He was then able to run the jacks through their paces, and they still weren't budging so he tapped the side of the motor, and low and behold, the motor worked again and the jacks operated smoothly three more times before I let the guy leave. The representative from the company who makes the jacks, Lippert, says that they'll cover the costs of getting them fixed. I'll hold my breath. It only took about four months to get a check from Ford, but at least this was a smaller wallet hit.

By the numbers (warning, there is a video embedded)

Nearly five months in, we have been through fourteen states, twenty-one National Parks (Monuments, Memorials, etc included), and thirty RV parks. I feel a little like we're running out of time on our adventure for the year and trying to decide where to go next, and what we have to keep on our must-see list. A year seems like so long, and in some ways it is, but in other ways, it goes by in a blink. I do know that the kids need another place, soon, that we can stay in one place for a week or so and not worry about moving or having to be anywhere, so I'll be looking forward to see what and where and when.

Since I last posted, we did finally make it to the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, and the kids LOVED it. We had a few issues when we first got there that soured me a bit on the experience, but I love that it has rekindled in K her desire to be an astronaut and to do the things it takes to work for it. I think that if we do end up back in public school, we really need to get her into a school that focuses on the sciences, and I know there is a Science Magnet school in our old district, so perhaps she'll have to leave the language programs and hit those science books a little harder. She is committed again to the concept and I certainly want to nurture that. H and C loved the robotics lab and could have spent the entire day there if I let them, but then we would have missed the rides out back. Who knew they had rides? I certainly didn't. Just three, but it was enough to cap off our afternoon, before we rode on down the road again.

Welcome to Huntsville!

See? They did send monkeys to space

The robotic platypus

K was the clear winner on this, hanging well over 90 seconds

C flying a jet pack

Astro-B

Don't distract me, mom, I'm landing the shuttle

Running through the missle and rocket park (to get to rides)

This has always been one of C's favorite rides

On the back of the lunar rover

Hanging with B as the other kids experienced G-force (she was too short)

Checking out a helicopter

B wanted to take a ride, but alas, it wasn't an active helo

The exhibits were impressive

No, seriously, this is all about monkeys in space

We left Alabama and headed west again, staying on base at Millington, TN (in the outskirts of  Memphis) along the way. West, you say? Well, on the way east, we had considered going to the Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas, but as we debated the issue, minor tornados had begun in the state and we had no desire to be a part of the evening news, standing in front of where our RV used to be, talking about how quickly the storm swept our home away, so we continued on east at the time. But, K was persistent that she really wanted to mine for diamonds, so we eventually turned back and camped out in Little Rock for a few days, during which we did eventually go mine for diamonds. For those who haven't been mining at Crater of Diamonds, it is a whole lot less Snow White's dwarves, and a great deal more Field of Dreams. You don't mine in caves, rather you mine a big empty field, basically an excuse to play in the dirt for the most part. Of course we hit the beginning of a heat wave in Arkansas, and the bank thermometer read 91 degrees at 10:00, so going out in a hot field for more than about two hours was not in the cards. It was hot, sticky and a little muddy, and we didn't find the diamond of our dreams, but it was long enough. Plus, we had big plans to check out Hot Springs National Monument the next day, so it was enough.

While in Memphis, don't miss the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid

There is an elevator to an observation deck that allows a pretty amazing view

Downtown Memphis and the Mississippi River

It is a pretty long way down!

And, of course, there are the fishies inside

Holy Moly, were we all the way up there?

Also not to be missed, The Peabody Hotel

The duck house at The Peabody Hotel, a penthouse suite 

Where the ducks spend their days

They line up on the fountain when not swimming

B loved seeing the ducks up close

The Duck Master

Waiting for the duck walk

Hot, sweaty work mining for diamonds

maybe if I lift this up, one will fall at my feet

Nope, definitely under this one, though

A rare shot of the five of us 

Hot Springs was pretty cool, with a chance to look at the bath houses of the 1920's. A few of them have been restored for tours, and one is still active. I would have about traded away the kids for the chance to partake of one of the baths they offer, but for some reason I'm kind of attached to them, so I didn't. We also took the curvy road up to the top of the mountain and took the elevator to the top. to enjoy the view.

One of the few remaining exposed springs

The grand staircase to the Grand Promenade

An open pool of HOT water

C tried to tell the girls that it was hot, but they didn't want to believe him

Yep, even the fountains are naturally hot

Inside the museum at Fordyce Bath house - mens bathing area

Gratuitous shot of the stained glass above the kids 

Mandatory sign picture

I guess they didn't realize how slimy things get, and then we drink it? Eww!

View from the top of the observation tower at Hot Springs

The final sightseeing adventure was a trip to Little Rock Central High School to learn about the end of segregation, and I was amazed to see how young the children who fought to enter that school were. The youngest was only fourteen, and we talked a bit about how amazing they must have been and how determined they were not to let anything stop them from attaining their dream. I know I wouldn't have been able to walk up that sidewalk at fourteen.

 Working on Junior Ranger badge #19 at Little Rock Central

Answering questions about why LRCHS is so important to our history

Little Rock Central High School - five floors of importance

The highlight of our time in Arkansas, was definitely meeting up with a friend I've known for over ten years, after we met in a due date club online when we were both pregnant with our first born kiddos. Her daughter and my H are both June bugs, who are turning ten this month. Not sure why ten is such a magical number, but we were blessed to be able to join my friend and her daughters for some little celebrations of this big milestone. Our kids really clicked, and we felt so blessed to spend so much time with them, and share such a great time, The kids loved playing on the trampoline in the back yard, ziplining (also in the back yard) and swimming at the birthday celebration pool party our last night in Arkansas.

H heading down the zipline

C takes a turn - he must have gone 15x if he went once

Wheeeeeee

Crazy man

Mini Birthday celebration with homemade ice cream

Even H gets a candle in his ice cream

H bouncing B on the trampoline

My good friend lighting the crazy candle on her daughter's cake

Blowing out the candles, including the candle of death

We are now back in Millington (Memphis area), and the kids were excited to go back to the cool splash pad here on base, which is free and open whenever anyone wants to go. They always connect with at least one new friend when we go to the base facilities and this was no exception, which always warms my heart. Even B is getting better about not being shy, and opening up to talk to new people which is HUGE for her.

Splash pad!

Tomorrow we head east again, to the big birthday celebration that the five of us have planned for his tenth birthday. The kids are so excited and I think it will be my first trip to Kentucky, if I'm not mistaken. I think it is the only state that I have not been to, or at least the only state I cannot definitively remember going to. Therefore the five of us spend H's tenth birthday in my fiftieth state and the kids will likely get their twentieth Junior Ranger badge of this adventure. The numbers just add up.