Driving through the tip of America

Cape Cod is the tip of America. On Sun, 31st, we left Peter's Pond and drove up from Sandwich and kept going up.

We stopped at a town called Hyannis, and checked in a visitors center. On the floor of this building, was a map of Cape Cod that went all across the room.

A man at a big desk yelled, "Please shut the door, please!" as we came in, not shutting the door. I quickly shut the door. He then told us about all the cool stuff to see in Hyannis, like amusement parks and theaters. "What about Martha's Vineyard," Dad said. He continued, "How can you take a car there?"

"You wanna take your car?!" The man asked in an annoying northern accent." Your car? They don't want your car on the vineyard. It costs a lot. You don't want to go through that annoying stuff. What you should do is take your feet over, get a taxi or trolley (or rent a car) and take your feet back over. That's what you should do."

We would be making fun of that guy's voice for days to come.

After that, we stopped at a National Seashore Park. It had a nice view, a museum, and an theatre. We went into the theatre and saw a very soothing presentation about David Henry Through going through Cape Cod. In the presentation, Through narratives, and it is very descriptive and soothing, while you are shown the things he narratives. S0 cool.

We left after the presentation, and then traveled up the cape. Rebecca wanted to go to the beach, but we weren't prepared, none of us having the proper footwear or chairs. (Rebecca and I did have bathing suits though.) Nevertheless, for about 20 minutes, we played at the beach. It wasn't much fun for, great fun for Rebecca though. Afterwards, I was totally sandy. That wasn't worth it for me...

Traveling up the Cape was really fun as we went up to Provincetown and the very tip of America. Then we had a cool dinner in Provincetown at a place called the Lobster Pot, although I had nice Salmon instead of Lobster. It was good though.

We went back to Sandwich, very late actually. I then went to bed with the bed again out.

I love Dora the Explorer,

Andrew.

June 12 until now - the bullet version

June Re-Cap

June 11-12

Packed the RV with the help of Julie Bourne, Lauren Bourne, Lacy Hicks and Marcia Hicks. Thank YOU!

June 13-14

Pulled out of 10655 Woodstock Rd. headed on The Big Trip. Drove to South Carolina and set up camp outside of Clinton, SC near Presbyterian College, Becky’s Alma Mater.

Visited PC, Randy Randall (Becky’s PC b’ball coach and current Alumni Director), and Jim Skinner (Becky’s PC English professor).

June 15-18

Drove to North Carolina and set-up camp in Roanoke Rapids, NC. Attended Rapid Jams Country Music Festival. Saw Willie Nelson, Sugarland, and Lady Antebellum as well as many other artists.

June 19-22

Drove to Outer Banks, NC to Camp Hatteras RV Resort. Played at the beach and had tons of nice children to play with. We visited Kitty Hawk Museum.

June 23

Stayed in Virginia Beach for one night. Had a great evening with Monica and Bob Appleton. Monica was Becky’s childhood next-door neighbor and great friend.

June 24-28

Drove to Urbanna, VA to Camp Beth Page. This RV resort has water parks and lots of fun activities. We visited Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg on this visit.

June 29-July 2

Drove to Gettysburg, PA to Drummer Boy RV Park. We visited the National Park, the battlegrounds and saw a Civil War Reenactment on the 150^th anniversary of the Gettysburg Battle.

July 3-7

Drove to West Chester, PA. Saw the musical Joseph at The Sights and Sounds Theater. Went to Philadelphia and saw The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Constitution Hall, and The US Mint. Visited The DuPont Museums and Mills in Wilmington, DE.

July 8-10

Traveled 50 miles away to Hershey, PA. We saw The Amish, Chocolate World and took a train ride.

July 11-13

We went to Rhinebeck, NY and the Catskills Mountains. We enjoyed beautiful mountains, nice restaurants, and FDR’s Home and Presidential Library. We even visited Woodstock!

July 14-17

We left the RV and the dogs for four nights and went to New York City. We stayed in a Holiday Inn on West 57^th Street. We walked the streets, went on a subway, and took a double-decker bus tour. We took in the Broadway Play Mary Poppins, visited Ground Zero and enjoyed The Museum of Modern Art. On our way back to the RV, we went to Maplewood, NJ and had a home-cooked meal with our good friend Erin McCall and her family Lauren and Nolan.

July 18-20

We packed up the RV and left Rhinebeck, NY and headed to Cooperstown. While we were in Cooperstown, we visited the Hall of Fame museum and took in some youth baseball at Cooperstown Dreams Park. Some of our friends from home were playing. We watched the team play two games, which they won by huge margins and then we enjoyed an awesome meal lakeside. Thank you Shane and Tanya Wilson! Before we left Cooperstown, we rented a pontoon boat and cruised one of The Finger Lakes. At our campground, we had a petting zoo, complete with peacocks and turkeys. Andrew and Rebecca also got to milk a cow and ride a pony!

July 21-28

We entered Massachusetts and stayed at a beautiful park called Normandy Farms. This RV resort is beautifully laid out with pools, trails, a dog park, a dog walking service, a kid’s loft, an adult loft, Frisbee golf, horseshoes, playing field, ponds and a Rec Center. We spent time at the campground while also visiting the city of Boston, Salem, Lexington/Concord, and Newport, RI. We only scratched the surface of the Boston Area before leaving Normandy Farms.

July 29-31

We tried to add on a few more days to Normandy Farms, but they were sold-out, so we moved down the road to Peter’s Pond in Cape Cod. We did Cape Cod one day and Martha’s Vineyard the next. What a treat! Once again, there is so much to see! We drove our jeep in Cape Cod all the way to the point called Provincetown. We had to go by ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and rent a car once we got there.

* * * * * * * * * * *

We are seeing so much history and so many cool places. Some days, we enjoy just hanging around the campfire and having a little downtime at the RV. Travel days are also nice because we clean up and organize a little. It’s also nice to call home and check email and Facebook. I also look forward to reading Andrew’s blogs, looking at our photos and hearing Rebecca’s recount of the day. The dogs are doing remarkably well. I am glad we brought them with us – at least most of the time!

We are looking forward to beginning our homeschooling. We have all of our materials, so that’s good. I think Andrew and Rebecca are almost ready for school too.

Andrew’s 12^th birthday is on Sunday, August 6^th. We are trying to decide on a celebration plan. We are in Maine now, so there are lots to choose from.

We have much more to see, but it’s amazing to think of where we’ve been so far. The states we visited in June and July are Georgia, SC, NC, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, NY, NJ, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Thanks for reading,

Becky

Drive to Cape Cod

On Sat, 30th, we got ready to leave Normandy Farms. Pulling off from the cool campground was hard. We got unto the main road, connected the jeep to the motorhome, and hit for Cape Cod. That's where we would be going next. We would be going to a nice R.V. Park called Peter's Pond.

Skip to an hour later.

An hour or two after leaving we crossed from the mainland into Cape Cod, a big arm looking land. They call it a cape because it wraps around another land (like a cape). We crossed a bridge named Bourne Bridge (our last name!) and entered the Cape. Right off of that bridge were letters made out of grass that spelled: Cape Cod. It was surrounded in a circle.

After seeing that, we entered a suburb named Bourne. It was so cool to see a city named with our same last name. If I moved to Bourne, MA, I could change my name to Matthew Andrew, and I could be Matthew Andrew Bourne living in Bourne, MA. That would be funny (but I'm not living there).

We entered Sandwich, a town in the left side of Cape Cod, and came into Peter's Pond. It had the arcade right across from the store and office, and had a volley ball court, basketball court, and teatherball court. We parked, got ready, and then Rebecca and I biked around. We met a few nice kids, and watched the movie ELF on the lawn with them. Then, we went to the park with them. All of them were pretty nice except for one 15 year old. He was weird.

I went to sleep at maybe 11:00, and slept with the bed out that night.

For now, goodbye.

John 3:16 is a great Bible verse,

Andrew.

Lexington and Concord

Before I begin this blog post, I must first acknowledge a friend of mine named Weston. I've known Weston since I was a little, little kid, and we've been friends ever since. Weston is fun, kind, and an all around good guy. Weston's birthday is today, so the least I can say to him is....HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you have a great day, buddy!

After the time at Rhode Island, we embarked in the jeep to go see Lexington and Concord, where the American Revolution began. At first we went to an American Heritage Museum and had a great time there. We also purchased tickets for the Liberty Ride, a circling of Lexington and Concord in a trolley, showing all the battle scenes and such.

Standing outside of The American Heritage Museum, we waited for the trolley to arrive. There we met some nice people from Colorado.

Finally the trolley pulled up and creaked to a stop. A our guide was waiting with us and went into the trolley. We boarded, and found open seats on the right side of the trolley.

We were seated so close to the tour guide I could see the wrinkles vividly on her face. She had a black and white bonnet on and a revolutionary overskirt. Her name was Nancy.

Nancy told us the importance of The Lexington/Concord battle, and that it was the first battle of the American Revolution.

We started to ride through Lexington, and that's where I started feeling the wind on my face.

In a quiet neighborhood the bus stopped on a street facing a bright yellow house with a black trim. Nancy explained that this was the home of Rev. Clark. Clark, Sam Adams and John Hancock were there on the night that Paul Revere came coming down on his horse to tell them the British were coming. I was baffled to see the location for that famous part of American Histo...of World History.

Later, we saw the Battle Green, the location where the first shot was fired in the American Revolution. The Americans and British were at a standoff, and as the Americans were turning away, a shot was fired. No one will ever know who made that shot that was "heard round the world." It was amazing to think that once that shot was fired, History would never be the same.

Surrounding this green circular area was a few old houses, and a tavern. Nancy told us that in the 18th century this area was the OUTSKIRTS of Lexington, and that no houses were here.

The following hour was spent seeing the road Revere took, where he, Dawes, and Prescott separated, where many of the battles took place, and homes of important people.

We were at this breathtaking part of history, the part where democracy was born.

We saw many other houses of people that the news was carried too, and we also saw the places where the weapons in Concord were stored.

I had a great time in that trolley, and I'm sad that you don't get to experience the wonder and joy that I had. I recommend Lexington/ Concord for a school trip. I learned so much there.

After the trolley ride, we saw a multi- media presentation at Minute Men Museum. It was cool.

The day ended with a CNN report I watched.

Take care, faithful bloggers. And again Happy Birthday Weston.

Beeping alarms,

Andrew.

Rhode Island

We traveled to Rhode Island the day after we went back to Boston, the date being Wednesday, July 27th. Rhode Island being the smallest state, we didn't have to spend more than a day in it. All we did was leave MA for a day and ride around in RI in the jeep.

It was beautiful. I liked looking at its seaport and all the sailboats. It was serene over the horizon. I also liked all of the many huge mansions. They were very nice, having a great front yard and wonderful structure.

It was very brick-founded too.

All of the sailboats had great painted colors, rich and true.

The waters shown in the distance, separating you from the ocean. It was so great.

We had lunch and dinner in Newport, RI, and I was very glad to do so.

Never will I forget the majestic beauty of Rhode Island.

I came back to Normandy, MA, and ended the day.

God created The Earth to hold wonderful and magnificent beauty,

Andrew.

The "duck" tour

Later in the same day of the Bunker Hill Monument experience, we boarded a large bus-sized vehicle with a boat shape.(although it had wheels) This was the duck.

We sat in seats in the back, and a man in a Boston accent (about 60) explained to us that The Duck Tour went in Land and Water, and that he would be the Land Tour Guide. He said his name was Joe, and that for the water section of the tour the narrator would be a man named David, who was currently driving. Joe showed us where the life jackets were (in case of an emergency) and told us that we should prepare to get wet.

The land part was interesting, Joe telling us of where the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre took place. He also gave prizes (only ponchos actually) to those who answered his questions.

After about an hour, Dave took over. We were very close to a salt mine, and the Charles River was on our port side (that's the left side for you land lovers). David prepared us for the dive into the water, and we zoomed in the water at a boat release place. Water went flying, and many bumps and splashes were made. It looked awesome!

Dave led us through a bridge, got us to see sailboats up close, and told us a lot of historical info. He even let me drive, steering left and right and pressing onto the pedals. It was so cool!

It was funny to think I was in a vehicle that went on land and water. So funny.

We went back to the place where we departed from, and then with a bump and a clang we were back on land again.

We got back to where we boarded and Joe handed us each a yellow plastic whistle in the shape of a ducks mouth. It made a duck sound when blown.

We got off and had a fabulous dinner at the NO NAME restaurant, mine consisting of Salmon, Shrimp, Scallop, Swordfish, and Scrod. It was so fishy.

I retired to the R.V. and went softly to sleep.

RASCAL FLATTS ROCK,

Andrew.

Back to Boston

The day after the day we stayed at Normandy Farms all day, Tuesday, the 26th, we left early in the car. We decided the train wasn't worth it to go over that drama again. As we rode through Foxboro into Boston, I saw many interesting sites. We came into a quiet little apartment neighborhood, and parked our car close to the sidewalk. Towering over me was a short hill, of bright kelly green. Through the thick trees I could make out a stone tower, looking about over all of Boston. It looked about 290 ft high (in reality it was 291 ft high).

I went over about 20 large wide steps, up the hill, and when I came finally up I realized how huge the tower actually was. Beside the tower was a City-Hall looking building, and a doorway entering it. Another door, led to the Tower entrance. If you were exiting the building (the one looking like City Hall) you would be trapped in an area with a fence. You would have two choices: to go through the tower entrance, or to go back through the other building, and exit the way you came through.

I entered the building with Mom, Rebecca and Dad. A lady said as soon as we entered, "Welcome to the Bunker Hill Monument". This building is the Bunker Hill Battle Museum and the 'tower', as some people call it, is The Bunker Hill Monument. It has 294 steps up, and 294 down, so if you have any of you have asthma, heart diseases, or claustrophobia, please be careful or don't go at all. The Bunker Hill Monument has 588 steps in all.

"Now, let me first tell you that this in reality is Breeds Hill, and there was a misunderstanding at the time. The museum is free, so feel free to look around."

"Thank you," Mom said.

"Where's the restroom?" Dad asked with speed.

"Across the road in the visitors center."

Mom, Rebecca and Dad went, and I stayed. I didn't need to go to the restroom.

During that time period of them being absent, I read the basics of the battle and read about all the different parts.

A few minutes later Mom came back alone. I asked her if I could climb the steps to the monument, even though she wasn't. She said yes, and, taking off my jacket, phone, and videocamera bag (although still taking my video camera) and took off to climb the moutai... monument.

I went through the small entrance, and took the first step. On one side of the winding staircase, was a rail. The other side none. All you had to hold onto was a rock cylinder, which the stairs circled around. The stairs were small and many, taking not long to get tired.

The structure (monument) was of a cylinder shape.

Now, I knew enough not to quickly go up. I took my time, slowly surpassing each step. After about the 50th step, I started to tire a little, but kept on going up. Also at this time was a big step, where people would most likely take a break. I would stop to take a break at these steps in minutes to come.

People started to come down, taking the side with the rail. In this little amount of room they made their way down. On their faces I saw weariness, weakness, and fatigue. That didn't exactly lift my spirits.

On the 75th step, I was once again on one of those big steps. This made me rejoice, for almost all the steps were congested, and tiny, being only 2 ft in diameter.

I stopped, and I looked around. I saw on the cylinder rock, a small fenced window. I couldn't make anything out on the window, but it looked to be inside of the rock.

Also, straight across from that window, was another window looking the same, peering out onto a part of Boston. It looked cool, and made me think,"Wow, I'm pretty high up!"

These moments also occurred on the 100th, 125, 150, and 175. I also took breaks upon these.

In all this time I saw very shaken and tired and sweaty people, one of which was a big man with a bandanna. Another a foreign couple from Asia. Yet another was an old woman, who looked as if she was about to faint.

On the 200th, I said,"94 sweats to go!" I said this because each step brought a sweat.

75 more passed, and I started to see light and an end to stairs. I was SO glad!

At 290 I saw the top, and 4 more and I entered a room. It was circular (the shape of the monument) and had two benches filled with people. REALLY!, I thought.

I did sit on the small windowsill up above the benches though. In reality I wasn't as tired as I thought I was.

As I peeked out this ant-sized window, I saw a neighborhood of Boston. It was amazing! I saw people going to and fro, and their cars and patio.

Through two other windows I saw Downtown Boston, with all of it's skyscrapers and factories. In the other I saw the sea. It was so cool to think I was this high up, and it made me smile and chuckle.

In the middle of the "room", (I really shouldn't of called it a room at all,it's more of a small hand) was a hole with nothing shielding it from viewers falling save a metal see through plate.

After a long rest, I disembarked back down. I put my hand on the rail, and wiped my sweat off with my shirt. At about the 175th step, I heard and saw Mom and Rebecca. Mom was panting like a pack mule, and Rebecca was trying to help Mom.

"Hello," I said.

I went back up with them, wanting them to see the great view I saw before. Had I gone down and not gone with them at all, I would of saved myself a lot of energy.

I walked up with them again, and showed them the great them the great view. After some more good rest, (mostly done by them) I, (and Mom and Rebecca) went back down. I started to get very tired at the 150th down. By the time I had reached the last step down, I was ready to faint.

My knees were wobbly, my eyes filled with sweat, and my throat dry.

We met Dad outside and Mom asked me to take a picture, BEFORE sitting down.

After the picture, (where I could barely hold myself up, we disembarked down the stairs of the hill and waited for Dad to unlock the car, BEFORE sitting down. Also in this time period I was not allowed water - the water was in the car.

As I got into the car, I drank the water faster than you could say pickle. Then, I collapsed into my seat.

Mom climbed 588 steps, Rebecca the same. Dad of course climbed zero, and after adding it up in my head, I realized I completed 763 steps. THAT WAS TIRING!

Things I would improve on Bunker Hill:

1: The choice between an elevator and the stairs.

2: Air conditioning! It was 90* the day we were there.

3: Wider, bigger steps.

4: Soothing music.

5: Small benches placed on the 150th and 250th steps

6: An eight week body building course required before entering the monument. Okay, maybe that isn't necessary.

Later, we took a ride in a "duck", a land and water vehicle, where we went into the Boston Harbor and the town. Although I will not address that part of the day in this blog post. That will be mentioned in another.

I hate yellow jackets - not the team - the bug. I was stung last night,

Andrew.