Space

1/31/17

A couple of days ago, the toilet broke, so we had to go to Home Depot to get stuff to fix it. After Dad fixed the toilet, we went to a restaurant that was right by our campsite. We all shared an order of gator bites. They were really good. We finished them in less than five minutes they were so good. After we finished the gator bites, we all ordered our main course. I got a teriyaki chicken sandwich. Andi got butterflied shrimp. Mom got crab cakes, and Dad got a cheeseburger. We all liked our food.

JFK quote

Yesterday, we went to Kennedy Space Center. The first thing we saw was a quote by John F Kennedy, “For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peach.” 

Atlantis Space Shuttle

After we read the quote, we went to the Atlantis building. The Atlantis is a space shuttle. The real Atlantis that was in space was on display. It was way bigger than I thought it would be.

Me in the command module

There was also a replica of the cockpit of Atlantis. Andi and I sat in it for a really long time and pretended to fly the plane. 

After we were done pretending to fly the plane we got to go on a flight simulator. It simulated exactly what a flight in a spaceship would feel like. I was a little nervous, but I was mostly excited. It turned out to be really fun. After that we had lunch at the café. 

Crawler transporter vehicle that
transports rockets to launch pad

After we had lunch we went on a bus tour and saw where they put the rockets together. It is one of the tallest one story buildings in the world. We also saw the launch pads. The bus dropped us off at a building where we could see the Saturn V rocket they used for the Apollo missions. There were three stages. We also saw the bus that took the astronauts to the ship. We also saw a video about “The Race”. It was about the Russians sending a man into space before us and everyone panicking and then Neil Armstrong going on the moon and winning “The Race”. Then another bus drove us back to the main building. Then we saw a rocket garden which was a bunch of rockets standing up straight. Then we went home and watched Apollo 13.

Andi and I in the Apollo 1 memorial

Kennedy Space Center

Jan. 31, 2017  the 12^th day of my Big long Trip

Two days ago we had a problem with our toilet and Mom and Dad were really stressed out. We went to the store and got things to fix it. After that, we went and got gator bites. They were really good. But that was just our appetizer. I actually ordered shrimp that was really good too (just not as good as gator bites).

Nick and Andi on a big slide

Andi and Nick pretending to fly the command module

Andi driving in the command module

Yesterday, I went to Kennedy Space Center. We learned a lot (I mean a lot) of stuff about space. We read about nature (which I don’t know what that has to do with space). But I still had fun. We saw the rocket garden. It had four or five rockets. Then we went on an Astronaut rocket simulator. It was fun (I mean awesome). Then we saw the front of the space ship and it was a dream come true. It had buttons, buttons, and more buttons. I was the co-pilot. Nick was the pilot. Then we hopped on a bus and went to the launch pad. We watched a lot of videos. We also saw how many steps it took me to go across Saturn V. it took me 220 steps. 

Nick, Andi and Dave watching the Beautiful Planet in 3D

We went into a space building called milky way and asked when the show called the Beautiful Planet in 3D. Then we went on the playground and played for 15 minutes. Then we watched the Beautiful Planet. We saw Terry Virts on the show. We also learned a lot about space in it. Then it ended and we went home and watched Apollo 13. I love it. It is so awesome and sad.

My Big Long Trip!

Jan 20^th 2017 The Start of MY BIG LONG TRIP

Today I went to Lake Forest Oasis. I got Ice cream from the DQ there. It was yummy!! On Jan 19, 2017 (yesterday) my friends threw a party for me! I got lots of cards. I will miss my friends and home! I’m nervous about everything! I am excited to go sledding down the great sand dunes.

Jan. 24 2017 4^th day of MY BIG LONG TRIP

A cool shell I found

Yesterday, (January 23, 2017) I went to Fort de Soto, went biking, went to the beach, and went to the Blumettis’ house. First, I went to fort de Soto and had a self guide around the fort. My brother (Nick) and I had a lot of fights with broken palm tree branches we found on the ground. When we got to the beach I kept on asking if I could wear my swimming suit but she kept saying ‘No’.

Palm branch fight

The beach

Jan 25, 2017 6^th day of MY BIG LONG TRIP

Today I went to big Cypress and learned about mangroves. First, we drove to the boat launch. Next, we waited for the canoes to get there. Once they did get there we chose a boat. Nick and I sat at the bottom of the boat. It was really screwy. We saw lots of really cool mangroves. Our guide told us that there was three different kinds of mangroves the Red, Black, and White. We stopped a couple of times for the guide to tell us some facts about wild life. We went through a mangrove tunnel. We stopped and the guide told us a story. We kept going and had lunch. We went back the way we came. I tried to catch a crab except I couldn’t find any. We saw mangroves that came up from the water and some came down off another tree. Then we got back to the boat launch. We got off the canoe and helped clean up (at least I did I’m not sure about Nick). Then we went home.

The mangroves

Jan. 26, 2017 7^th day of MY BIG LONG TRIP

Today I went to loop road and saw lots (I mean like 50 of them) of alligators. They were all over the place. Some of them were on the bank and some were in the water. We went right over a big (about 9-10 feet long) female (maybe a male) alligator. Farther into the loop we found a baby alligator with big (like one inch) eyes. He (or she) was really cute. But I wouldn’t like to get in a fight with it. We also saw like four maybe two baby alligators on the side of the road.

The baby alligator with big eyes

Then we got out of the loop and headed toward our new campsite. When we got close to our campsite we stopped to check in. Nick noticed a nail stuck in the RV wheel. We got to watch our dad (Dave) fix it except it didn’t stay for too long. Once we got to our campsite we got to ride our bikes around the campsite. I got one scrape and a bloody knee. I screamed and wailed because I didn’t want Bactine. After I finally let mom (Lee Ann) put Bactine on she let Nick and I play our tablets. I played a game called color switch. I was stuck on a level and after a long time I passed the level. I passed one after and now I’m stuck on another! Uh Oh! Then mom told us to change. I got in trouble for walking in on Nick. It took us about ten minutes to get to the astronomy. We came about 1 minute late. There the person talking (Tim was his name) turned the lights out. He told all of the people a tale about the constellations. I got really bored. Ah! Finally it’s the end. We went home and took showers. Nick went first. I went second. Mom went after me and dad went last. Then I wrote in my journal til 10:03. Then I looked at a star book with constellations in it. I can’t believe it’s past my bedtime and mom doesn’t care.

Jan. 27, 2017 8^th day of MY BIG LONG TRIP

Today I went to the tropical tree walk. We learned a lot about trees. We learned that there was such thing as a Royal palm tree or the cabbage palm or the coconut palm. Can you believe that? My dad thought I wasn’t paying attention, but oh I was. I was so bored and so worn out and it’s finally the end. We tried to walk at Snake Bight (that’s how it’s spelled bight) but it was too buggy. We drove our car on Bear Lake and found Dagobah. Daddy and I found Yoda’s hut but Nick and Mommy couldn’t find it so we looked for it on the way back. Also on the way back our eraser broke and Nick and I played a dice game with the pieces and forgot to look for Yoda’s hut. Once we got home I made one of Nick’s paper airplanes without Nick’s permission. I thought he was going to be angry, but he said “Good job, Andi. Wanna test it out?” so we had fun testing it out. Then we went biking and couldn’t you guess I got yet another scrape, but this time when mom put Bactine on it I didn’t scream or wail. Mom put a band-aid on it. Then we had dinner.

The Beginning

1/20/17

Today we left for our Great Adventure at 1:10 pm. We drove for about an hour and then we stopped at the Oasis and got an EZ pass. We also got ice cream at Dairy Queen. We all got an Oreo Royal blizzard. I am very excited to sled down the great sand dunes in Texas. Yesterday my class threw a surprise party for me because it was my last day of school. They taped balloons to my desk and everyone made me a card. I also brought brownies in as a good-bye treat.

1/24/17

Yesterday we went to Fort de Soto. It is an old military Fort. There were really cool cannons and mortars. Andi and I found some branches from palm trees that looked like swords and we had a sword fight. In one of the rooms there was some sort of animal on the ground and we had no clue what it was. We also went to the beach. Andi and I played a game where we let the waves get really close to us and then we sprinted away as fast as we could and tried not to let them touch us. I also looked for shark teeth. The sand was really soft. We also went biking for a long time. The last thing we did is we visited the Blumettis’ new house that they just moved into. It was very nice.

1/25/17 (5^th day of trip)

Today we went on a canoe tour in Big Cypress. There were lots of mangroves, which are trees that grow right out of the water. Andi and I sat in the middle on the floor. Dad sat in the back and Mom sat in the front. 

All of us in the canoe

We were hoping to see lots of alligators, but we only saw one swimming in the water. We also saw lots of dead fish and jumping fish. The tour guide told us a story about a guy back in the day who got killed by a cop because instead of paying his workers, he would kill them. After the guide told us the story we went into a mangrove tunnel and it felt really good because it was shaded. After about a half of a hour, the tunnel got even thicker and there was no light at all.

Mangrove tunnel

 After we got out of the tunnel, we stopped at a sand bar to eat lunch. After lunch we headed back. Then we went to a spot where you can see lots of alligators. I saw seven alligators. They were not in cages. Finally, we went back to the camper.

Lots of alligators

1/26/17

Today we went on Loop Road which is a 24 mile long loop. We saw lots of ‘gators and birds. I’ll bet we saw fifty ‘gators, if not more. We also saw a bird that was so camouflaged that I couldn’t see it when I was staring right at it until it moved. We also saw a ‘gator on the shore that was huge. It was about 11-12 feet long. Not long after that, we saw a ‘gator under a bridge that was about 9-10 feet long. Another ‘gator nearby growled at us, and we got back in the car in a hurry.

Alligator under the bridge

Bad day for the tire

We also saw some baby ‘gators on the side of the road that were about 3-4 feet long. After we finished the loop we packed up the camper and drove to the next campsite. On the way we saw a corn field. I had no idea that corn grew in Florida. We also saw a lot of palm tree farms. We also stopped at a visitor center and when I hopped out of the car I heard a weird noise so I walked to where I heard the noise and I found a nail in the tire. Dad patched up the tire, but it didn’t work so we had to use the spare. 

After about 2 hours we got to our campsite and Andi and I rode our bikes around the site. There was a big blade of grass wrapped around Andi’s wheel and it caused her to fall two times before we figured out the problem. Finally, at 7:00, we went to an astronomy program where the ranger told us about all the constellations, planets, and exploding stars in our galaxy.

1/27/17

Today we went on Tropical Tree Walk with a Park Ranger named Mr. Bob. He showed us lots of kinds of trees that only grew in tropical places. They were mostly different kinds of palm trees. My favorite types of trees Mr. Bob showed us are the Gumbo Limbo tree and the Button Wood tree. The Gumbo Limbo tree has a sort of red bark. 

Gumbo Limbo tree with a royal palm to the left

The Button Wood tree had really rough bark and fruit that grew off of it that looked like buttons. During the tree walk we went to a beach to look at trees on far away islands and in that time I found a shark tooth. I couldn’t keep it because it was at a National Park and you can’t take stuff from those. 

Shark Tooth

After we finished the tree walk we went to Bear Lake Trail. There were potholes all over and since our truck was so big we couldn’t avoid them. It was probably the bumpiest road I have ever been on. There was a swamp on both sides of the road. There were so many different kinds of plants that it looked like a different planet. We all agreed that it looked like the planet Dagobah from Star Wars. Dad also saw some mound of dirt that kind of looked like Yoda’s hut (also from Star Wars). After we finished Bear Lake Trail we went back to our campsite and Andi and I went biking for a little while.

Setting off on the Great Adventure

Well, we made it out on Friday, January 20, 2017. We left significantly later than we originally intended. The initial plan was to leave around 9:00 am. My dad scheduled gallbladder surgery for that morning, so we decided to wait until he was safely out of surgery and decided to shoot for noon. We were, of course, still running behind. Given the cold Wisconsin weather, we opted not to do much settling in the RV in Wisconsin, instead stowing everything haphazardly in any possible nook and cranny. We hit the road around 1:10 pm (with dad safely on the other side of anesthesia). We had no problems with the roads or traffic, but the late start meant we didn't get very far. We spent the night at a Wal-Mart in Scottsburg, Indiana. We were lucky to find toothbrushes for the evening and had to crawl over boxes to get into bed. 

Saturday went much better in terms of traveling. We got started around 9 and made it to Lake City, Florida at another Wal-Mart. This morning, we were able to shower in the RV because we'd filled up with water at a Florida rest stop. We were still climbing over boxes and could barely find a thing.

However, the weather was definitely improving - it was in the 60s when we hit the road this morning and got up to 82. We made it into Manatee State Park around 1130 and were grateful that our campsite was open. We unhitched the RV and did a bit of unpacking while the kids explored. It is a lovely campground, with small palm tree-like plants everywhere (less than 5 feet tall or so). There is also Spanish Moss on the trees.

We did settle down to attempt to watch the Packers game, but gave up around half-time and dedicated a bit of time to unpacking. We were able to get the kids' room settled and a fair bit of the kitchen items arranged. Dave was able to get the railing up on the bunk bed - this was requested by the children. 

While we aren't intending to eat out very much during the bulk of our journey, we are in no way prepared for cooking yet (and we'd had our fill of packaged snacks and peanut butter sandwiches on the road), so we opted for a dinner out - seafood seemed appropriate. We found a nice place in Sarasota. Andi was happy with her shrimp. Nick had seafood gumbo and Ahi Tuna. I had a mahi dish with capers and Dave has fish tacos. It was delicious.

Tomorrow, we are hoping to get to Fort de Soto Park tomorrow and then meander up the coast to Clearwater. There is a family friendly nightly gathering on the Clearwater beach that looked interesting. We also need to grocery shop so that we can start cooking at home.

We're hoping to get completely settled over the next week or so. At that point, we're going to buckle down and get more serious about the road-schooling. Hopefully the quality, variety, and frequency of posts will improve as well.

Map - January

Based on tepid demand, here's an interactive map of where we were through January.  You should be able to zoom and pan around.  The button on the top left will bring up the menu, where you can turn layers on and off.