Home at Last!

Well, we've finally reached the end of The Blevins Family Excellent Adventure. We arrived Sunday evening and have been unpacking and settling in, and I'm now ready to leave my final message.

All told, we travelled 10,531 miles in 50 days. We saw 31 states and provinces, and lived a dream that my parents have always had: to spend an entire summer touring the United States .

Here's a list of some family favorites along the trip (or some not so favorites!)

Favorite Beach Experience: Definitely Hilton Head in South Carolina, where we got to not only see our family but also learned the fine art of body surfing from Uncle Mark, a skill that we used at every other beach we visited, even in Cape Code where the water was only 50 degrees (Wyatt was actually the only one who went in there).

Worst Food Experience: We all had some food that we didn't care for, but by far the one who experienced the absolute worst food experience was Dad, who got food poisoning from a Chinese buffet in Beaufort, SC, and was vomiting on his chartered fishing trip the next day.

Coolest Motel Person: Chuck at the Twilite Motel in Maine. He offered us great advice, and even warned us about the crowds at Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, and boy was he right. He gave us a nice, big, clean room, and even advice about where we should be sure to go. He was a real help, and a great guy.

Worst Hotel: Some $40-a-night dump off of the Jersey Turnpike. I don't want to elaborate. Too many bad memories. What I will say is that we never went without some kind of shoes, even in the shower.

Worst Drivers: The Quebecois up in Canada. They drive like they're in the Indy 500, and there are no traffic cops, compounded with the fact that the roads are in very bad disrepair. They were even worse drivers than in Chicago. Actually, Chicago driver's weren't particularly bad, they were just speedy and mean. Defensive driving on a whole other level.

Most Memorable Historic Site: The award really goes to Mr. Vanderbilt, because the Biltmore Estate takes the prize as our most memorable (and favorite) historic site. The whole experience was fascinating and fun, and it was certainly well worth doing. I'm not sure how educational it was, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Best Value: The Coney Island hot dog restaurant in New Castle, PA. It was a little local hole-in-the-wall place, with $o.99 chili cheese dogs and a double cheeseburger for $1.80. The entire meal for four, with hot dogs, burgers, fries, drinks included, cost about $15.50. It was definitely the best value of the trip.

This vacation was everything that we could have hoped it would be. We had few and minor hick-ups, and it was altogether a trip that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. We all give thanks to God for keeping us safe and smoothing the way. I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog, and to the faithful few who've stuck out to the end, thank you for giving me someone to write for. Until next time, it's been truly wonderful, and I wish you all a fair and fond farewell.

Jane

Day fourty-seven: The Final Stretch

Today we left the Silseth crew in Milwaukee and headed home, the final 1,500 miles. We ate at a Brazilian restaurant tonight, but other than that, we did nothing but drive. And that's what the next few days will be like.

Dear reader, this will be the last post on the leg home. Once we arrive and have settled in, there will be a final post with the miles, favorites, and that sort of thing. It will be big, and really finalizing. And, don't expect to see more pictures unless I mention it.

To those of you who've faithfully (or otherwise) followed this, thank you. Hearing about people reading has made this very fun for me, and I've kept it up as diligently as I could to please you people. I'll leave you with parting words in a few days!

Jane

Day fourty-six: Serbian Food

It was a full day in the Milwaukee area, and a good day.

We started out with a tour of Wilderness Log Homes, a company that builds or offers material for log homes (Dad owns some share in the company, as does John Silseth, with whom we are staying). We saw the plant, the offices, samples of the material and product available, and got to learn about the processes involved with a pre-fabricated log home.

We had lunch at a very fascinating place, the American Club. The American Club is across the street from the Kohler factory (in Kohler, WI), and back during the Industrial Revolution, it was the home of the immigrants who worked at the factory. It's now a very fancy resort with a large golf course, beautiful rooms, nice restaurants, and state-of-the-art plumbing, of course.

After lunch, we headed to another part of the building and toured the Kohler show room. It had displays of all the latest and greatest bath tubs, sinks, toilets, and whatever other plumbing you could think of. It was part function, part art.

We drove back through part of Milwaukee, and unfortunately there was a lot of construction going on and we had to take a different route home, and it took longer than anticipated, so we only had about 20 minutes at the house before be had to leave to make our 6:30 dinner reservation at The Three Brothers, a Serbian restaurant.

The Three Brothers is a James Bearde award winner, and serves authentic Serbian food, which was a new and great experience for us. We had stewed lamb, stuffed zucchini, Moussaka, and anything else you could want. It was fun, unique, and delicious.

This evening, we'll relax, and tomorrow, we'll put as many miles behind us as we can to get home. From the Silseth residence, it's 1509 miles. We'll see you when we see you!

Jane

Day fourty-five: Brookfield, WI

Yesterday, we visited Kasgro Rail, a company that makes specialty rail cars and has a fleet of their own. Dad is a partner in this company and we went to visit the factory.

Joe Crawford is the President of Kasgro, and he gave us a tour. The factory, two locations spanning over 300,000 sq. ft with 150 employees, has the capability of producing two completed rail cars a day along with many specialty cars, and they make everything at the factory. Dave, the plant superintendent, also helped us on our tour, explaining how everything worked and how the pieces and assemblies fit together. At the end of the tour we were given a ride in a small diesel locomotive that Kasgro owns. Today was one of our “hidden highlights”, something that we didn’t expect to be as neat and interesting as it was. It was a real treat.

Joe took us out to a very nice lunch, and then we left New Castle. We’re resting in (holy) Toledo, OH tonight and tomorrow we’ll head to Milwaukee to see the Silseth’s and what Milwaukee has to offer.

Today, we drove to Brookfield, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee, to see the Silseth's. John Silseth is a good friend and business partner of Dad's, and Milwaukee is one of the places that Dad frequented during his business days. We also get to visit with Pepe, another one of his old business pals.

After a lunch at a White Castle, we arrived and were able to visit and relax. Tomorrow, we'll see the city, and then, onward home!

Jane

Day fourty-three: New Castle, PA

Yesterday, we drove. From Quebec city to upstate New York. Today, upstate New York to New Castle, PA. Ta dah!

Actually, though yesterday was uneventful, today we made a stop at a major site: Niagara Falls. We pulled into the city of Niagara Falls, which was a little scary, but the Falls themselves were stunning.

After viewing to our hearts content, we continued on down the road. Hungry for a little lunch, we headed back to Buffalo, NY, to have none other than Buffalo wings at Frank and Theresa's Anchor Bar, the birth-place of the tasty all-American snack. We ordered fifty and took home something like four.

After arriving in New Castle and unpacking our things, we headed down-town to search out somewhere to eat. We found Cony Island, a restaurant established in 1923. We had, of course, hot dogs, plus some fries, a burger, and cherry soda. The whole thing was under $20. Not bad, not bad.

Tomorrow, Dad's buisness partner Joe Crawford will take us on a tour of the Kasgro Rail plant, where we'll see railroad cars being constructed. Then, onward to Milwakee.

Jane

Day fourty-one: Quebec, QC

What a day today was! I'm all launguaged out.

Today in Quebec City began at a patisserie, a little bakery. We had croissants, coffee, quiche, and some other things that I'm not sure of. It was great, and the French was not only easier to understand than I thought it would be, but it was easy to communicate and the Quebecois were very appreciative and forgiving of my French.

We roamed around the beautiful and historic down-town, popping into stores and seeing the Quebecois way of life. Lunch in a bistro, more perusing, more French, cha cha cha, and then, we got to witness "un spectacle dans la rue", a street show. There was juggling, unicycling, and humor that I only half understood.

We saw the historic Battery Park and then had one of our loveliest meals yet, at "Le Lapin Satue", or, in English, "The Jumping Rabbit". Even the rain couldn't spoil our day.

Overall, the Quebecois were gracious and friendly, and very kind. However, I will say this : my Grandma Lois, who lived in France, said that after being there a while and speaking the French, you felt a bit like, "OK, that's a fun game, but I'm ready to stop playing and speak English now; I don't want to play this French game any more"; but, of course, you have no choice but to play, because that's all they speak. I mush confess feeling ready to stop playing. Fortunately, unlike France in the 50's, everyone speaks English now, so when I, or even they, didn't want to "play", everything worked out well.

Quebec is one of the places that we would be very willing to come back and visit for a bit longer. Had we not been as advanced in our trip as we are, we may have stayed for a few more days, but we're ready to move on. We'll head south tomorrow, and go along down the road, marking the begining of our drive home.

Jane

Day fourty: Quebec!!

Aujourd'hui, nous sommes alles a Quebec, et je suis super hereuse d'etre ici! C'est un reve realise! Just kidding.

Today, we went to Quebec, and I'm very happy to be here. It's a dream come true!

We left our cozy little motel in Ellesworth and headed up north and...west. We've made the turn towards home, not an end to touring, but a turn towards Montana. We drove for hours through many small rural towns, and finally arrived at the boarder. There, we were sternly questioned multiple times, and even had to pull over while our camper was searched, but we were of course allowed in.

Actually, it was more driving after that. But all the signs were in French, and I could read them! It maybe wasn't as good for everyone else, but I was, and still am, in heaven.

The real test came when we had get a hotel room. I talked to the concierges in French, and they were very courteous, and it was very positive. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant, more French, and are now in our hotel trying to find not-French TV to watch. Tomorrow, we'll see old Quebec and whatever else there is, and I'm so excited I could pop. A Demain!

Jane

Day thirty-nine: Ellesworth, ME

Today went unexpectedly, but not poorly.

Our plan was to see Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, so we hopped in our rig and set off towards town. We soon discovered that Bar Harbor is one of the world's largest tourist traps, and one of the most popular. We didn't even get out of our car, primarily because there was absolutely no parking anywhere. Dad put it very well: "It was like Disney Land on the Fourth of July!"

We headed down the road to Acadia National Park, and unfortunately, it was much of the same story. We took a bus tour and hiked around a while, but left earlier than anticipated because A) we had seen very similar geography on the Oregon Coast many times and B) the hilly, wooded splendor was very similar to good ol' Montana.

Our concierge and the Twilite Motel owner, Chuck, had told us to avoid both places and had given us some alternatives, so we chose one, Stonington. It's a small, authentic lobster village, out of the way and on a poorly maintained highway; it was exactly what we were looking for.

Before I forget to mention it, lunch today was fun and extraordinary. We went to Jordan's Snack Bar, a local favorite, to have home-made burgers and their famous onion rings, which were some of the best we'd ever had.

We drove home, stopped for some blueberry pie, and are getting ourselves ready for...Quebec!! Hurrah! Je suis completement ravie (I'm totally stoked)! Chuck, who seems to know things, said that he and his family loved Quebec City, so we're all looking forward to a cultural experience.

Jane

Outside of Bar Harbor, Maine, not sure what day or where

Folks, it's late at night, I'm tired, we've had computer trouble, and since I want to go to bed I'm going to make it quick.

The biggest, grandest event of the day, and possibly the trip, was the fishing trip. This morning, Dad and Wyatt set off for their fishing trip, and it was total success. They each caught a lot of fish, had a lot of fun, and greatest of all, Dad caught a huge 22lb 36" striped bass. It's the size of a yardstick, to put in perspective. Basically, a toddler-sized fish. Unfortunately, we're having picture travesties, so I can't post a photo, but I will as soon as I can.

We did a lot of driving, and are all feeling a bit ready to head home. We'll see Bar Harbor, Quebec, and a few more stops before heading home. Right now, home is about 2,500 miles away. But, we're still excited to be on our trip, and would feel cheated if it were in any way cut short.

Jane

Day thirty-seven: Still in Maine

Today, after the boys returned from a fruitful morning fish, we headed up the coast to Freeport, headquarters of L. L. Bean. The store was larger than life, and if that wasn't enough, the street was lined with outlet shopping.

After a morning and partial afternoon of browsing, we went off to Kennebunkport, ME, home of former president George Bush, Sr., and many other prominent politicians. There, we had another lobster feast, looked around the village, which was very neat and full of character, and then headed back to our room.

The boys are gathering their gear for a guided fishing trip tomorrow, and the girls are getting ready for yet more outlet shopping.

Jane

Day thirty-six: Boston, MA to Ogunquit

To start, I'd like to remind the Resch family and everyone that we are not home, the 22nd has passed.

After leaving Boston, footies and leggies still aching, we headed down the coast and back-tracked to visit Cape Cod. We poked around that afternoon, looking in bait shops and getting fishing advice, and then we had a terrific burger at the local A&W, a native hot-spot. We slept in a cozy little motel, and set off the next morning to explore the Cape.

The towns, the shopping, the beaches; all were picturesque, but we found them to be a bit touristy for our tastes, with the hoy-paloy paradise reaching a frenzy in Provincetown, the town furthest out on the spit.

At our hotel that evening, we boiled lobsters and cooked some stakes by the pool, making ourselves a lovely and fun little meal. We ate the tails and relegated Wyatt to claw duty, because he had the little mallet and was eager to try it out. He gave the first claw a sizable whack, and it squirted goodness-knows-what lobster gunk all over his front and face. Overall, a very fun meal.

Today, we drove up from our motel to another, tucked away in the woods in a small Maine town called Ogunquit. The boys are planning a sunrise fishing expedition, and when that ends (around 8 a.m.), we'll head up to Freeport, the home of L.L.Bean. After that, onward to Bar Harbor and Quebec at last! My French-senses are tingling...

Jane

Day thirty-three: Boston, MA

Well, I think we all feel like we've pretty much seen Boston. Today, we tramped all around Boston following the Freedom Trail. The trail is marked by red brick or red paint, a stripe marking a 2 1/2 mile long (or so they say) trail that takes walkers to all the historic buildings, monuments, churches, and sites around Boston. We saw Paul Reveres house, two monuments to Benjamin Franklin, and even hiked up all 294 stairs of the Battle of Bunker Hill Monument, which looks a lot like the Washington Memorial in DC, and offers a beautiful view of Boston.

Taking a break from the Freedom Trail, we detoured to visit the historic World Head Quarters of the First Church Of Christ, Scientist, a beautiful Byzantine-style church, an addition to a smaller classically styled church, which was built in the early 20th century. The whole operation, featuring a church, library, and publishing center, covered a vast area, surrounded by beautiful lawns and a gazing pool. We also visited the Maparium, a room in the library; the room itself is a giant glass globe, as the world was at the turn of the century. You go inside to hear a presentation and see the globe as a whole. To our surprise, it was almost 100 years old, much older than we had expected.

We also visited Quincy Market, a building in down-town Boston which features restaurants, anything from Philly Cheese-steaks to Indian Cuisine to canoles. Also, we saw Faunial Hall, one of the best-know buildings in Boston. And of course, we saw Boston Commons. For those of you who don't know, it's a lovely park in the city, similar to but smaller than Central Park in NYC (and we thought of you Uncle Russ and Aunt Suzie!). And, we ate at The Union Bay Oyster House, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in America.

After touring the U.S.S. Constitution and taking a water taxi back to the train station, we were thoroughly tired and ready to head home. We'll all in the room trying to find creative ways to keep off of our feet, and are preparing for a fun day on Cape Cod.

Jane

Day thirty-two: Part 2

We spent the rest of the day touring Lexington and Concord, where the Revolutionary War began. We saw a really neat multi-media presentation about the fight and the Minute Men, toured another historic, Revolutionary era home, and watched a musket firing demonstration.

As a bit of fun on the side, Wyatt and Dad rigged up a little fishing pole out of a stick, some line, and a fly, and caught Bluegills right out of the pond next to the historic battle site! It was a lot of fun, and the boys got to go fishing again, which always pleases them.

Tomorrow we'll tour Boston, hiking the Freedom Trail and visiting the Mother Church, the original First Church of Christ, Scientist location. And, hopefully, we'll eat at the Union Bay Oyster House, the oldest continually operating restaurant in the U.S. Now, it's bed time!

Jane

Day twenty-nine through thirty-two

Today is the 19th, and I'll be updating later tonight, but here's what you missed!

As you probably figured out, the last few hotels we stayed in had no Internet service, but fortunately, nothing too monumental happened.

In the last few days, we drove through Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and we're now is Massachusetts, in a suburb outside of Boston.

Here are some highlights: we played in the ocean at Virginia Beach, ate at some fantastic road-side diners, spent the night on Chesapeake Bay (a really picturesque area), and drove the full length of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway (oh boy!).

Today, we're getting ready to set out for Lexington and Concord, where "the shot was fired that was heard around the world"; in other words, where our American Revolution began.

I'm glad to have Internet service again, and I'll be sure to tell you all about our day later this evening.

Jane

Day twenty-eight: Busch Gardens!!

Today, we spent our time at Busch Gardens Europe. It was one of the best days we've had yet. We rode all the rides, biggest to smallest, explored the beautiful Euro-themed grounds, and enjoyed ourselves.

After a day of Colonial Williamsberg and a day at Busch Gardens, we're pretty tire. Very tired, in fact. Tomorrow, we'll head over to Virginia Beach for a relaxing day of fun in the sun.

Jane

Day twenty-seven: Colonial Williamsberg

Today we stepped back into the past (ooh, aah!) and watched history come to life before our very eyes (oh!) at Colonial Williamsberg. We saw the historic exhibits, like silversmithing and clothes-making, and we saw such characters as Patrick Henry and Payton Randolph, all helping us to understand our American Revolution.

As interesting as today was, Wyatt and I are even more excited about tomorrow at Busch gardents. For now, it's back to our funky hotel room for a good night's rest.

Jane

P.S. Where have all the comments gone?

Day twenty-six: History, history, history!

The next few days will prove to be historic, to say the least.

The big event of the day was a visit to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson' home. It served as house, plantation, farm, and an ongoing architectural love-affair of forty years. We learned about how he lived, how he himself designed the home, and how is was constantly renovated to suit his likings. Monticello lies just outside of Charolettesberg, VA.

Tonight, we're staying in another retro hotel, the White Lion Motel. The rooms are spotless and big, with a retro kitchenette and bright blue shag carpet. Fortunately, they have wireless.

Now, yesterday's big mystery: where were we? Mt. Airy is Andy Griffith's home town, and the inspiration for The Andy Griffith Show's Mayberry. It was a real treat for Dad, since The Andy Griffith Show was one of his favorites growing up.

Tomorrow we'll tour Colonial Williamsberg, and the Busch Gardens the next day. We're excited to see some more history, and have a little fun this weekend.

Jane

P.S. New pictures are up!

Day twenty-five: Day twenty-four?

Friends, free high-speed wireless Internet at hotels is something that is easy to take for granted. Last night, we stayed in Boone, NC, in a very retro motel, and we had no Internet.

That said, yesterday was an interesting day. We finished our day in Asheville with a short tour of downtown, in pouring rain, and then we got onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, a highway that stretches across the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Apalachain chain. The drive is green and scenic, with plenty of beautiful valleys and vistas. We ended the day in Boone.

Today, we set of to finish the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our two destinations were Mt. Airy and Roanoke, where we are now.

What is Mt. Airy? Well, it'll be a little riddle. I'll give you some hints: we ate at Snappy Lunch, visited the office of the Sheriff/Justice of the Peace, and saw the inspiration for a classic sit-com town. What is this town's Hollywood name? Who was born here? Try to guess (and try not to use the Internet!)

After Mt. Airy, we got hopelessly lost on country roads trying to reach the Parkway, and finally, when we did find it, we went to the Mabry Mill. It's a historic site but, little did we know, the mill still functions, the black-smith's forge is still hot, and the history keeps on going. We saw a blacksmith improving his bellows system, a man weaving chair-bottoms out of chestnut bark, and a lady weaving willow baskets. It was such a scenic place, other state's have put pictures of it on their postcards! It was really unique and wonderful. Dad kept saying that it was "the sirloin of the Parkway!" We had steak tonight.

We reached Roanoke safe and sound, and are ready to lay back and relax.

Jane

Day twenty-three: The Biltmore Estate

Today was our grand tour of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. The Estate belonged to George Washington Vanderbilt, heir to the Vanderbilt family fortune.

The Biltmore mansion, more of a chateau, really, is the largest private home in the United States. It has over 250 rooms on over 125,000 acres. The beautiful home is surrounded by a thick forest, all planted especially for the Vanderbilt home. It is still owned by the Vanderbilt family today.

The tour was a lot more interesting than we had supposed, and we all (even Wyatt) enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We had a lunch on the Estate, which was a fresh, gourmet buffet, and after concluding or tour of the home we headed for the extensive gardens.

Late afternoon, we meandered back to our car and headed to a few stores in up-town Asheville. We lunched on leftovers in the parking lot, played some frisbee, and headed back to our hotel.

Tomorrow, we'll see downtown Asheville, and then head towards Virginia.

Jane

Day twenty-two: Columbia, SC, to Asheville, NC

Today started off with Daddy being chipper and fit as a fiddle. A good omen, by all accounts. We drove to Asheville, stopping at a Chick-fil-A for a bite of lunch and at Dr. Rush's office for a quick chiropractic adjustment. Then, onward, ever onward.

We drove through yet more rain and arrived in Asheville, NC, around dinnertime. Dad asked the concierge where to go for great Carolina BBQ, and without hesitation the man answered that Barbecue Inn was the place to go. So, we went, and it was fabulous Carolina BBQ, and very affordable as far as those places go.

After dinner it was too soon to head in, so we drove around down-town Asheville. Friends, it's like a Southern Missoula, only bigger. Neat shops, cool streets, and the hippie-lite feel of our dear home town. I miss Missoula, I'll be honest.

Tomorrow we'll see the Biltmore Estate, and cruise around town. We've even added another day in our schedule for Asheville, just so we can be sure and see it all.

Jane