But just how exactly do you get ready for a trip like this? Research, plan, map it out, go over your plans with a fine-tooth comb to make sure everything runs like a well-oiled machine. Then relying completely on the grace of God, fully expect to be flying by the seat of your pants! OK, enough with the cliches, but really, flexibility is key (especially when a surprise passenger comes along).*
Entertaining while driving: You cannot possibly bring every entertaining toy you own, it's just not possible. A few favorites are good, but the toys that are the most entertaining are new and unexpected things. Red Solo cup. Babies LOVE these. Fisher Price needs to market something like this: crinkly and makes a nice echo, but without cracking. That was a bummer. Plastic water bottles. Same crinkly concept as the Solo cups and the liquid inside is appealing as well. A bottle without small pieces like twist-off tops that toddlers put in their mouths would be really handy. Diaper wipes. Who knew the fun that a 2 year old would have by throwing a diaper wipe from one van row to another. Extra giggles come when it lands on Mom's head!
Alright, let's get loaded into the van and we're OFF! Oh, wait. WHAT does that text say from your brother? *Let's turn back and bring the dog along too, since he spent the whole night barking at his sitter's! (see what I mean about flexible?)
OK now we're off.
First stop for sightseeing is the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, PA. Obviously since most of our kids were not even born when 9/11 occurred (I was pregnant with #3) the youngers couldn't completely grasp the solemness of it all, but we explained best we could. 4 year old Alex kept asking where the people went after they crashed into the ground. :'(
If you have a chance, stop by and see this memorial. Although it had the smallest amount of victims lost in the 4 plane crashes that day, it still makes a large impact on your heart to see this.
As we traveled on to our next campsite we were treated by the AAA map that we printed out to the ride of a lifetime! Apparently they felt that 6% grades through the mountains with a 30 foot camper behind you would be FUN! Have you ever seen the movie "The Long, Long Trailer"? Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Need I say more? If you plan on traveling with a camper, you must watch this right before your trip or while you are on the trip. Hilarious! Watch it and try not to yell out "trailer brakes" to your driver!
Next we toured Gettysburg National Military Park. We all enjoyed driving around looking at the battlefields and marveling at the loss of life on some of those ridges. Incredible.
Here's a picture of the Wolfe9 with Honest Abe outside the Visitor's Center.
The monuments from the states involved were very cool, some very intricate.
After returning to our camper for lunch, we embarked on another sightseeing venture. The National Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, MD. We watched a short presentation then had a guided tour of the grounds and the buildings she lived in. It was very neat to see the chapel she would go to Mass in, right next to the room she died in.
Then we went into the Basilica where her remains are under a side altar. We were also treated to some beautiful stained glass windows. The mosaics all over were magnificent!
From Gettysburg we traveled on to Eastern PA and stayed at a campground about 45 minutes from Valley Forge, about an hour from Philadelphia. All of the campgrounds we stayed at except for one were public campgrounds with full hookups (that means electricity, water and sewer) They are a lot less expensive than private campgrounds. Those are nice, but you are paying for swimming pools, mini-golf and other amenities that people like us just don't use. So we paid a little less, but traveled a little more to some of our places. After we got the camper unhooked and set up we drove to Valley Forge National Historic Park.
6 yr old Jason, 4 yr old Alex (as Martha!?!) and Matt again.
Next stop on our tour was Philadelphia. We went to the Visitor's Center to get our free tickets to get into Independence Hall. I was next up in line and they ran out of tickets! Of course. Oh well, plenty more things to see, but it sure would have been nice to get in there and look around. Off to the Liberty Bell, it is.
Walking around in between all those old buildings, imagining what it would have been like in the late 1700's was incredible. While I was in awe of the history, I was taken a little by surprise that all this is right in the middle of hustling and bustling Philadelphia life! I figured it was set off to the side, in its own section, not right smack dab in the middle of everything. Traffic was a little crazy and trying to cross the streets with all those little kids was interesting! After all the historic buildings were done, we walked a few blocks to visit the US Mint and took their free tour. Everything we did on this trip was FREE! All the places we visited asked only for donations, so that really kept our costs down. It would have been nearly impossible to do this trip if we had to pay for every museum and building we went into. No photos are allowed at the US Mint, so I have nothing from that to post.
Hungry from all that walking, we hopped in the van and drove through some pretty crazy neighborhoods to a restaurant that was recommended to me by a Facebook friend. Oh the drive was worth it! Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks. They were delicious!! Thank you, Lisa! :) Gooey Looies was too small for our whole family to fit inside, thank goodness they had outdoor seating!
Since it was hubby Brian's birthday that day, we found a Dairy Queen on the way back to the camper and picked up an ice cream cake to celebrate.
After Philly, it was off to Washington DC. The next 2 days were spent doing all the typical DC touristy things. You really need an entire week to see everything. We had to skip a few things because we just could not walk any further! We had a great tour guide part way through the National Mall when our nephew Adam met up with us. Best part? He helped push strollers! Better part? He gave us directions to an amazing food court when our day was done and we were starving as all we'd eaten were snacks and shared TWO soft pretzels between the TEN of us!! (they ran out)
Our funniest moment of the day was when the foreign parking lot attendant asked Brian if we were the Duggar's and when he said No, then he asked if we knew the Duggar's! Ha-ha, yes--all the large families in America know each other, of course! We all got a huge kick out of that.
Here's a rundown of all the things we saw in our 2 days there. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, National Mall with all the war memorials, walked past the White House, Manassas National Battlefield, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum and the NRA National Firearm Museum.
Other interesting moments on the trip were getting a free night of camping at Bull Run Regional Park because the water hook-up didn't work and we had to move the camper to a new site, seeing a semi truck just about jack-knifed IN the campground, and being treated to a Blue Angels show while driving home through Chicago!
Well I hope you have enjoyed traveling through some of these great United States with our crazy family. While I can't speak for the other 10 people, I had a great time (some of the actual driving--with a 2 year old--was a little much at times) and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I sort of liken it to giving birth. It's one of those pains you soon forget and cannot wait to do all over again!
