Greetings! We have not dropped off the edge of the Empire State nor disappeared down a manhole in the road, rather our RV park doesn't have wifi - so we are out of internet contact whilst in NY (except for when we find free wifi like now - we're sitting next to the ice skating rink in the Rockefeller Center!)
A brief overview so far:
-our rv park is Basic (with a capital B!) - a gravel carpark - but it does have a view of the Statue of Liberty and heated bathrooms!
- we have successfully negotiated public transport - to get from our van park (in NJ) to Manhattan we take a light rail, the PATH (train under the Hudson River) and then the subway to whereever we want. Not too hard (although over 5's are adult prices - ouch!)
-Mike had a great 40th birthday - gifts, burgers,shakes, Mary Poppins on Broadway, cake and lots of love
-it is very cold - the highest temp so far has been 5 deg C
-we did an 8 hour walking tour of the city
That's enough for now! We're here til Friday (today is Monday) so more trip reports after that!
Karen
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Fabulous Fresh Family
Rippling Brook Drive, Sewickley (the Fresh's house is the one with our Rv in the drive!)We have just spent 6 days living with our friends Jim & Stephanie, Aaron & Jeremy Fresh in Sewickley, Pittsburgh, PA. They lived in Shellharbour for 5 years (from 2004 til 2009) while Jim worked at Bluescope in Wollongong. Steph, Aaron and Jeremy came along to Toddler Time at our church and that’s where we met. When I told Steph of our travel plans (back in 2009), she invited us to come and visit them.
Michael had a conference in DC at Capitol Hill Baptist Church from Thursday 17th March to Monday 21st March. We drove to Pittsburgh on Wednesday 16th then Mike flew to DC on Thursday while the boys and I stayed with the Fresh’s.
They welcomed us with open arms! They were so generous to us. Luke, Max, Ethan and Aidan loved having some other boys (and Bertie the weimaraner puppy) to play with.
Some highlights of the things we did while staying with them:
Michael had a conference in DC at Capitol Hill Baptist Church from Thursday 17th March to Monday 21st March. We drove to Pittsburgh on Wednesday 16th then Mike flew to DC on Thursday while the boys and I stayed with the Fresh’s.
They welcomed us with open arms! They were so generous to us. Luke, Max, Ethan and Aidan loved having some other boys (and Bertie the weimaraner puppy) to play with.
Some highlights of the things we did while staying with them:
- when we arrived they had a birthday cake and gift for Ethan
all the boys and the awesome icecream cake- lots of homework (much to our boys’ disgust!)
- a day at the Carnegie Science Centre – a fun, interactive place. Our faves were the robotics floor and the real submarine in the river that we went in
Max playing air hockey against a robot
in the submarine - we went to their church with them – an amazing experience – 2000 people attend each week, the facilities are amazing (including a rock climbing wall in the kid’s church room!), a fully robed choir sang at the service we went to – and the bible was taught well – engaging and challenging
- dinner out at a restaurant with an amazing view down over Pittsburgh to where 3 rivers meet
dinner, high above Pittsburgh- walked Bertie, played with Bertie, fell in love with Bertie
- Steph took me shopping to the most amazing craft shop I have ever seen – in 3 hours there I only saw 1/3 of the shop!
- the boys all had a movie night and sleepover in the toyroom
- Max, Ethan and Aidan went to a lego club Steph runs at the local community centre
- a cub scout hike and baseball game
- a cub scout hike and baseball game
- played basketball, bikes, cricket, rollerblades and scooters outside each afternoon with all the neighbourhood kids
l > r Aidan, Bertie, Jeremy, Aaron, Ethan, Max, Luke- played Wii
- heaps of eating! Stephanie is a fantastic cook!
- Steph and I did heaps of chatting, remembering, crying, encouraging and catching up – a very special time.
Also, Max and Ethan went to school one day with the Fresh boys… but I’ll let Max tell you all about that.
And, when Michael finally returned on Monday night (after his plane was delayed many times), Jim and Steph looked after our boys so we could go out to dinner – an early birthday dinner for Mike – and possibly (probably!) our only child free time in 14 weeks! We went to The Cheesecake Factory and tried to eat typical American foods – deep fried mac and cheese balls, bbq’d salmon with corn succotash, Salisbury steak and banana cream cheesecake with hot fudge. A great night.
We are so thankful to God for the respite and normality we had for those 6 days. Feeling recharged and ready for the next stage of this odyssey!
Karen
Pittsburgh, PA, 12.35pm, Tuesday 22nd March. By Max.
Yesterday Ethan and I went to Aaron and Jeremy's school to see what it was like. We got up at about 7.00 in the morning and got dressed and had breakfast. Then we put on our shoes and walked out the door to the bus stop. It was pretty exciting going to school on the yellow bus.
When we got there I followed Aaron to his grade 2 class. The entire school was indoors and it had a cafeteria. When we got to his class we went in after putting Aaron's backpack in his locker.
I sat at a desk next to Aaron's. I was introduced to Aaron's teacher, Mrs Parreaguirre. I started off by showing all of the kids where I was from and what it was like there. Then I sat down at my desk and did some of my homework. Next I sat down on the floor in a group and learned about mapping and North and South America. After that I went to the library and looked at a book with Aaron.
Then we all went outside to lunch and I spent my playing time with Aaron running away from my 'fan club'. Next I went into the cafeteria and ate my vegemite sandwich for lunch.
When I came back to class the kids asked me questions about Australia like: 'What do you do in your spare time?' or 'What sports are in Australia?' or 'What are some Aussie foods?' or'Do you have Nintendo DS in Australia?' and much more. Then we did a matching sheet (which mum and Mrs Fresh had made up), where you had to match the Aussie words with their American words for the same thing. Their favourite one was 'Sloppy Joe' which for us is a jumper and for them is a loose meat and onion food thing. Once I had told them all the answers I did some more of my Australian homework. Next we went to computer class and leaned about Cyber safety, who to talk to and who not to talk to. Then we went back to class, got our bags and went out the door to join the bus lines so we could catch a bus back home. When the bus arrived we got on and went to our stop where we got off and walked back to the Fresh's house.
Once there we unpacked our bags and went outside to play a fun game of cricket with Aaron, Jeremy and the neighbours who we taught how to play. It was so much fun. Once we had finished cricket we went inside and had dinner. After dinner we went back outside and played Zombie Tag which is exactly the same as tip but if you get tipped you're a zombie too. We played that for about an hour till we stopped and played basketball with the Fresh's and Andy (one of the neighbours). When it started to get dark we went back inside and got into our P.Js, read a book together and went to bed.
Max
me getting on the bus (in black)
Ethan on the bus
the front of their school, they have 700 kids there from K to year 5
When we got there I followed Aaron to his grade 2 class. The entire school was indoors and it had a cafeteria. When we got to his class we went in after putting Aaron's backpack in his locker.
I sat at a desk next to Aaron's. I was introduced to Aaron's teacher, Mrs Parreaguirre. I started off by showing all of the kids where I was from and what it was like there. Then I sat down at my desk and did some of my homework. Next I sat down on the floor in a group and learned about mapping and North and South America. After that I went to the library and looked at a book with Aaron.
Then we all went outside to lunch and I spent my playing time with Aaron running away from my 'fan club'. Next I went into the cafeteria and ate my vegemite sandwich for lunch.
When I came back to class the kids asked me questions about Australia like: 'What do you do in your spare time?' or 'What sports are in Australia?' or 'What are some Aussie foods?' or'Do you have Nintendo DS in Australia?' and much more. Then we did a matching sheet (which mum and Mrs Fresh had made up), where you had to match the Aussie words with their American words for the same thing. Their favourite one was 'Sloppy Joe' which for us is a jumper and for them is a loose meat and onion food thing. Once I had told them all the answers I did some more of my Australian homework. Next we went to computer class and leaned about Cyber safety, who to talk to and who not to talk to. Then we went back to class, got our bags and went out the door to join the bus lines so we could catch a bus back home. When the bus arrived we got on and went to our stop where we got off and walked back to the Fresh's house.
Once there we unpacked our bags and went outside to play a fun game of cricket with Aaron, Jeremy and the neighbours who we taught how to play. It was so much fun. Once we had finished cricket we went inside and had dinner. After dinner we went back outside and played Zombie Tag which is exactly the same as tip but if you get tipped you're a zombie too. We played that for about an hour till we stopped and played basketball with the Fresh's and Andy (one of the neighbours). When it started to get dark we went back inside and got into our P.Js, read a book together and went to bed.
Max
me getting on the bus (in black)
Ethan on the bus
the front of their school, they have 700 kids there from K to year 5Monday, March 21, 2011
RV photos
Sorry it's taken so long - Mike was going to do this but is still in DC so I'll post what I can find. Sorry, I have no idea of specs! They're pretty self explanatory. Excuse the mess!
Karen
Hi I'm back from Washington now and so here is some more specs for those thirsty for detail:
It is called a Class "C" RV, sleeps 6-8, is 29ft long and 8ft wide, 12-13ft height clearance. It is an Automatic, petrol V-10 engine with a 55gal fuel tank (we are averaging around 250 miles per tank). There is an excellent gas heating system and a very large fridge, the plumbing system is also quite excellent. On the downside the space seems huge but the layout is not great and the internal storage is mostly sacrificed for external storage which is cavernous. The sound system is abismal as are the rattles, and some minor leaks with rain. Our family business used to be manfacturing motorhomes and campervans in Australia, sadly nothing much has improved since 1989 and in many cases is nowhere near as good as what we used to build in Australia. Gripes aside it is a really terrific way to travel with a large family and I'm enjoying playing my role as (Robin Williams - R.V; Nigel Thornberry - The Wild Thornberrys).
You can find more info on the specific RV we are driving by following this link - http://www.campingworld.com/rvrentals/Motorhomes/ Scroll down till you find the J-29former life our family business
Michael
Karen
Hi I'm back from Washington now and so here is some more specs for those thirsty for detail:
It is called a Class "C" RV, sleeps 6-8, is 29ft long and 8ft wide, 12-13ft height clearance. It is an Automatic, petrol V-10 engine with a 55gal fuel tank (we are averaging around 250 miles per tank). There is an excellent gas heating system and a very large fridge, the plumbing system is also quite excellent. On the downside the space seems huge but the layout is not great and the internal storage is mostly sacrificed for external storage which is cavernous. The sound system is abismal as are the rattles, and some minor leaks with rain. Our family business used to be manfacturing motorhomes and campervans in Australia, sadly nothing much has improved since 1989 and in many cases is nowhere near as good as what we used to build in Australia. Gripes aside it is a really terrific way to travel with a large family and I'm enjoying playing my role as (Robin Williams - R.V; Nigel Thornberry - The Wild Thornberrys).
You can find more info on the specific RV we are driving by following this link - http://www.campingworld.com/rvrentals/Motorhomes/ Scroll down till you find the J-29former life our family business
Michael
Wonderful Washington - some photos which didn't make the other posts!
Look who we met ;)
A very excited birthday boy
The Washington monument
It was freezing! I've moved to 'don't care how I look, I just wish I could be warm'!!
At the Lincoln memorial
Karen
A very excited birthday boy
The Washington monument
It was freezing! I've moved to 'don't care how I look, I just wish I could be warm'!!
At the Lincoln memorial
Karen
Wonderful Washington Day 4, by Ethan
15th March 2011
TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
First we woke up and did presents. I got a snickers bar, M n M's, Reeses peanut butter cups, a watch, a teddy mascot from the snowtubing park, a wand from Ollivanders, a Jedi Training Academy jacket and a Gryffindor bag tag. Then we had breakfast, packed our bags and left.
We hopped on a bus and went to Union station and left our bags there. We then walked to the old Post Office tower which is the second highest building in Washington. We went to the very top. On the way there we went past a memorial to all the police officers from the US who have been killed in action. There are more than 19 000 of them. Some were killed by Billy the Kid and some on September 11th.
Then we had morning tea. I was allowed to have a hot chocolate and mum and I shared a red velvet cupcake and a cinnamon scone. Then we went to a bookshop which was huge. I bought a book with some birthday money from nana and grandpa.
Then we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. At the M.N.H. we saw: a giant squid, an elephant (it was stuffed, like in Night at the Museum), the Hope diamond and other jewels, dinosaur bones and even some Australian animals.
TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
First we woke up and did presents. I got a snickers bar, M n M's, Reeses peanut butter cups, a watch, a teddy mascot from the snowtubing park, a wand from Ollivanders, a Jedi Training Academy jacket and a Gryffindor bag tag. Then we had breakfast, packed our bags and left.
We hopped on a bus and went to Union station and left our bags there. We then walked to the old Post Office tower which is the second highest building in Washington. We went to the very top. On the way there we went past a memorial to all the police officers from the US who have been killed in action. There are more than 19 000 of them. Some were killed by Billy the Kid and some on September 11th.
Then we had morning tea. I was allowed to have a hot chocolate and mum and I shared a red velvet cupcake and a cinnamon scone. Then we went to a bookshop which was huge. I bought a book with some birthday money from nana and grandpa.
Then we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. At the M.N.H. we saw: a giant squid, an elephant (it was stuffed, like in Night at the Museum), the Hope diamond and other jewels, dinosaur bones and even some Australian animals.
Next we walked back to Union Station, hopped on the train, went to Richmond, hopped off the train, went to the supermarket, picked up our RV, drove to a pizza place and had dinner for my birthday. We had a cake too. Dinner was very funny, we all laughed and told jokes and everyone said what they like about me. We drove to our campsite and went to bed.
Wonderful Washington, Day 3, Part 3
Have you guessed yet that this was my favourite day in Washington (if not our whole trip so far)?!
We left the Art Gallery and walked down the Mall to the last stop for the day, The Smithsonian Museum of American History. After a quick refuelling stop in the cafe for afternooon tea, we were off! We had 2 hours before the museum closed. We decided that dividing was the best plan to see what each person was interested in seeing. Some of the exhibits we saw....
Mike and Karen- Julia Child's kitchen
Mike and boys- old cars, trains, boats, bikes etc
All of us- the original C3PO, Kermit, Michael Jackson's hat and Dorothy's red slippers
Karen- First Ladies' inauguration gowns, also photos, paintings, china, jewellery, shoes, bags etc from every first lady from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama
Mike and boys- Thomas Edison's original lightbulbs
All of us- the first star spangled banner
Karen- a quilt made for a newly wed missionary going to China in the 19th century
by her friends who had handwritten bible verses and messages in every square
It was another fantastic museum, and another one we could have spent all day in ('next time...' became a recurring phrase between Michael and I!)
After they shut the museum doors on us, we caught the bus back to Union Station, then back to the flat, and ate Checkers burgers for dinner once more - 6 very tired but very satisfied Willos!
Luke with an early racing car
Jacqueline Kennedy's inauguration ball gown
Michelle Obama's Inauguration jewellery (all real diamonds!)
'there's no place like home...'
Julia Child's kitchen
C3PO and the gangKaren
Wonderful Washington Day 3, Part 2
After we left the Capitol Building, we walked down to the National Gallery of Art. This has 2 main parts - the west building and the east building - east is post 20th century art, west is pre 20th century. We went west.
There was an exhibition on the ground floor called 'The Chester Dale Collection - from Impressionism to Modernism'. Dale and his wife collected and then eventually donated an enormous number of significant artworks to the nation, and they are usually spread throughout the gallery but have all been brought together for this exhibition.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Picasso, Renoir, Gaugin, Matisse, Cassatt, Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet, Dali, Braque, and multiple paintings from each artist. I had seen some of these artists' paintings before and most of them in books but to see the real thing, and so many all together...it was amazing. Even more amazing was that we were able to take photos of all the paintings - in fact security seemed rather casual given the priceless artworks! (not that we tried to take one from the wall... although Michael was tempted!)
Mike channeling Thomas CrownThe boys loved it too. They do a lot of art at school and so had studied quite a few of the artists represented there and could point out features and characteristics of different artists and their paintings. Poor Max (who had an unhappy relationship with Picasso in Year 3) had to confront some more paintings from his 'blue phase', luckily it ended up better than it did 3 years ago! My favourite painting was Picasso's 'Madame Picasso' (I've never been a real fan of his before either but it is a beautiful painting). Aidan preferred Monet's 'The Houses of Parliament, Sunset' (with Mike, above) and Luke loved Monet's Venice paintings.
Madame PicassoAfter seeing that exhibition (which was free, too - everything we saw in DC was), we headed upstairs and each borrowed headphones and an audio device and did a children's tour of the gallery - where select paintings have a number on them and you type the number in and hear about the history, artist, themes etc of the painting. The children's tour was excellent - they had actors voicing different characters in the paintings and pointed out things the boys were interested in. We saw some renaissance paintings (in fact, something by each of the ninja turtles, as Ethan pointed out!) through to the early 20th century. The gallery's most famous work is by Leonardo da Vinci called 'Ginevra de' Benci'- he painted it before he did the Mona Lisa and it's in a similar style.
GinevraWe had a very happy couple of hours there (I could stay all day, if not a whole week and still not see it all!) and reluctantly left -there was one more Museum to fit in that day!
An atrium at the Art Gallery (there were a number of spaces like this inside the gallery)
Karen
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Anzac Blondies
So, I had to come to the USA to taste these! Steph Fresh made Anzac Blondies to make us feel at home. Apparently it's a Donna Hay recipe. They're good. Have a go!
150g white chocolate chopped
125g butter chopped
1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup (90g) golden syrup
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour sifted
1/4 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup (120g) rolled oats
1/2 cup (40g) desiccated coconut
rolled oats extra for sprinkling
preheat oven – 160C
Place chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Place in a bowl with the sugar, vanilla, golden syrup and eggs and whisk to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, oats and coconut and whisk until well combined. Pour into a lightly greased 22cm square cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Sprinke with extra oats and bake for 1 hr or until just set. Cool in the tin. Slice to serve. Makes 12.
Karen
150g white chocolate chopped
125g butter chopped
1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup (90g) golden syrup
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour sifted
1/4 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup (120g) rolled oats
1/2 cup (40g) desiccated coconut
rolled oats extra for sprinkling
preheat oven – 160C
Place chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Place in a bowl with the sugar, vanilla, golden syrup and eggs and whisk to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, oats and coconut and whisk until well combined. Pour into a lightly greased 22cm square cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Sprinke with extra oats and bake for 1 hr or until just set. Cool in the tin. Slice to serve. Makes 12.
Karen
Friday, March 18, 2011
Wonderful Washington Day 3, part 1 - the Capitol
Monday, 14th March 2011
We had booked a Capitol Building tour this morning - our admission time was 9.20am so we had to be at the Capitol for our security checks at 8.30am. It was the most thorough check yet (actually, no, I had a full body scan at LAX - but second after that one!) We weren't allowed and food or liquids, nor backpacks - Mike and the boys had their pockets packed with cameras, hankies, pens, rainjackets, etc etc - we looked like sherpas! I had forgotten I had deodorant in my handbag and so there was a brief security conference to see if I could keep it or not - they must have decided I wasn't a threat to national security and let us through.
Emancipation Hall - the visitor's centre
looking up into the domeAfter the tour we went to get tickets to go into the House visitors gallery - after checking our passports and identities we were given some - we felt like Charlie Bucket! More security (they took everything we had with a battery - phones, cameras, even Mike's binoculars) and we went through winding corridors to the House chamber. Site of the State of the Union, an impressive room with plush carpets and statues and quotes everywhere. We were sitting near a knowledgeable young man who pointed out lots of features to us. It was Mike's favourite part of our day!
with our House Gallery tickets!Back in the visitor's centre (actually called 'Emancipation Hall'), we shopped in the souvenir shop, had lunch in the cafeteria and emerged after an amazing 4 hours.
a statue in Emancipation Hall - each state is allowed to display 2 statues- this one is from HawaiiKaren
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