Mommy and Matthew Day - otherwise known as Me and You Day.
Since starting classes a couple of years ago, the kids have definitely noticed that my time with them has been reduced. When I first started, Hannah really struggled with having me gone. She came right out and asked me why taking care of her and the other kids wasn't enough and wanted to know why I was 'leaving them.' It took some explaining and some time to get used to the change, but now I am glad to say that she is proud of me and sees me as an educational role model.
Anyway, Matthew was only 2 when I started back to school, so he has been hit the hardest with my absence. A couple of semesters ago, I ended up with classes all 5 days of the week, and 5 days at the school's childcare proved just too much for Matthew, who has some sensory issues, to bear. By Saturday, he was a stressed out bundle of nerves and we would have to spend the whole weekend just calming him down - only to have it start back again on Monday. Since that semester, I have made absolute certain that I have at least one full day during the week with Matthew - just me and him.
This semester, Me and You day has been on Friday. And he's had the added bonus of Matthew and Daddy day on Monday since Ty is off of work on Mondays. It's been a great semester having a whole day to spend together while the girls are in school. It's nice to have that time with him! Now ... I just need to come up with a way of having that kind of time with each of the girls as well.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
6/28/2009 - Decision Time
6/28-6/29/09
I woke up in the morning expecting to have significant pain from the sunburn. I was surprised that it didn't hurt at all. In fact, the skin on my legs was rather numb and had these tiny purple pin-prick sized dots all over, mixed in with the lobster-red of the burn. They felt swollen and tight.
Got the kids dressed and ready to go downstairs for breakfast, all the time wondering what I should do. After hanging out in the room for a while, I finally had to make the tough call of heading home. I was really scared that I was going to get really sick from this bad sunburn, and I didn't know what I would do with the kids if I had to go to the hospital or something.
Canceling the rest of my trip was one of the hardest things I had done in a long, long time. I struggled with feeling like I was failing. I was really disappointed because I had plans with several friends on the next jag of the trip. And I went through ALL that trouble to get a passport. For nothing. It was hard.
Before I checked out of the hotel, I called all of the campgrounds to cancel my reservations and get refunds since it was all pre-paid. I let my friends know what had happened. I cried. I thought about the Statue of Liberty tickets we wouldn't get to use. Prince Edward Island and Anne of Green Gables. Maine. All the missed time with the kids and having to somehow save face with my friends and family.
And then, we went home. We stopped in Cleveland overnight and we were home by the next night. And just like that, it was over.
My legs stayed numb for almost 3 weeks. I didn't get sick. I didn't get giant blisters, even. But I did peel like crazy. I still wonder (a year later now) if I made the right decision. I know if I had stayed and gotten sick it would have been a nightmare. The kids were excited to get home. They loved seeing Daddy and sleeping in their beds and playing with their toys.
I would do it again! I would at least try again anyway. Maybe next time we will bring spray-on sunscreen and I will pay closer attention to what I am doing!
I woke up in the morning expecting to have significant pain from the sunburn. I was surprised that it didn't hurt at all. In fact, the skin on my legs was rather numb and had these tiny purple pin-prick sized dots all over, mixed in with the lobster-red of the burn. They felt swollen and tight.
Got the kids dressed and ready to go downstairs for breakfast, all the time wondering what I should do. After hanging out in the room for a while, I finally had to make the tough call of heading home. I was really scared that I was going to get really sick from this bad sunburn, and I didn't know what I would do with the kids if I had to go to the hospital or something.
Canceling the rest of my trip was one of the hardest things I had done in a long, long time. I struggled with feeling like I was failing. I was really disappointed because I had plans with several friends on the next jag of the trip. And I went through ALL that trouble to get a passport. For nothing. It was hard.
Before I checked out of the hotel, I called all of the campgrounds to cancel my reservations and get refunds since it was all pre-paid. I let my friends know what had happened. I cried. I thought about the Statue of Liberty tickets we wouldn't get to use. Prince Edward Island and Anne of Green Gables. Maine. All the missed time with the kids and having to somehow save face with my friends and family.
And then, we went home. We stopped in Cleveland overnight and we were home by the next night. And just like that, it was over.
My legs stayed numb for almost 3 weeks. I didn't get sick. I didn't get giant blisters, even. But I did peel like crazy. I still wonder (a year later now) if I made the right decision. I know if I had stayed and gotten sick it would have been a nightmare. The kids were excited to get home. They loved seeing Daddy and sleeping in their beds and playing with their toys.
I would do it again! I would at least try again anyway. Maybe next time we will bring spray-on sunscreen and I will pay closer attention to what I am doing!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
6/27/09 - Atlantic Ocean, Here We Come!
6/27 - Virginia Beach (it's been a while but I want to finish last year's trip update so I can start thinking about this summer!)
After such a long, tiring drive the day before, we slept in late and then got ready to hit the beach! I had brought along a container full of little sand toys, shovels, buckets, and a new snorkel set for each of them. We gathered everything together and set out after breakfast.
It was a beautiful day and the sun was nice and hot, so I made sure to generously apply sunscreen to the kids so they wouldn't get a nasty burn. I thought it was awesome that you could rent beach 'furniture' so I got us settled onto a set of loungers with an umbrella and we hit the beach running.
No pictures of the trip to the beach - I was not about to try to keep track of 4 kids AND my expensive camera all by myself!
The kids played tirelessly for hours. Even Matthew got into it and almost put his hands in the sand. Almost, but not quite. He was very happy with a shovel and bucket. And he was happy to have water shoes on his feet as well.
Hannah took to the water like a fish and I had to keep making her come back closer to where I was monitoring. Clara also took to the water really well and was really great about staying within my designated area. She also made about a thousand friends in the first 10 minutes. Rebecca stayed close to shore, alternating between swimming, finding shells, and playing in the sand. Matthew stayed glued to my side, and no encouraging him to have a little independence would help. That's ok, though - better to have him constantly on my legs than to have him constantly running off!
Clara found the first little hermit-type crab. She dug him up with her toes in the water. It wasn't long before we were all digging them up, and it wasn't long after that until Hannah decided she was terrified of them. And, since kids are the way they are, it was hard work to get the others to stop tormenting Hannah by showing her the little crabs and pretending they were going to put them on her or something.
Hannah, having a moderately rough time by this point, suffered a devastating loss when she took her brand new snorkel set to the water's edge to rinse it. The waves pulled her mask and snorkel right out of her hand and just like *that* they were gone, swallowed by the sea. Oh, did she cry! Her heart was broken. I am so thankful that the other girls offered to share with her before I could even ask them. It was sweet to see them so sympathetic to her, especially after the crab teasing we had just been through. Maybe they were trying to make it up to her, or maybe they really will just band together when they can see that one is really suffering. I hope so with all my heart!
Six hours later and it's way past time for lunch. The kids are tired, I'm tired, and it's time to go. So we start drying off, wiping off sand, etc. And I start to notice something strange. My legs! They are stinging. They don't look weird at all, but they sure feel different. Hmm, must just be the salt water drying on my skin. It couldn't be sunburn because I had been so careful. I had slathered up the kids. I had slathered up my face. My arms. My neck, shoulders, chest. I had even worn a large t-shirt to get extra coverage because my skin is so fair. But ... OH NO! I never put sunscreen on my legs! The kids were so anxious to get to the water that I just forgot! I had exposed my most delicate skin to 6 hours of brutal sun on Virginia Beach with no protection! My legs hadn't seen that much sun in literally YEARS!
Worried, I gathered up all our stuff, stopped by Chick-Fil-A for lunch (yum - we don't have this restaurant in Chicago!) and headed back to the hotel. I could feel my legs, burning and hot. How in the world did I not notice before we were getting ready to go that I was getting burned? I guess I was busy and distracted keeping track of the kids and just had not noticed. Argh!
Back in our hotel room, I surveyed the damage. Not good; not good at all!
I got the kids into showers and washed off fairly quickly, and settled them in front of the tv for a bit. I know that is terrible but I had to cool off my legs somehow. I took my turn in the shower and lingered under the cool water. Now normally, I am in and out of the shower in 10 minutes, tops. But this time, I stayed in for a long time. When I got out, I was sure glad I had brought a bottle of aloe on the trip, just in case. I was able to sleep comfortably in the wonderful hotel bed.
After such a long, tiring drive the day before, we slept in late and then got ready to hit the beach! I had brought along a container full of little sand toys, shovels, buckets, and a new snorkel set for each of them. We gathered everything together and set out after breakfast.
It was a beautiful day and the sun was nice and hot, so I made sure to generously apply sunscreen to the kids so they wouldn't get a nasty burn. I thought it was awesome that you could rent beach 'furniture' so I got us settled onto a set of loungers with an umbrella and we hit the beach running.
No pictures of the trip to the beach - I was not about to try to keep track of 4 kids AND my expensive camera all by myself!
The kids played tirelessly for hours. Even Matthew got into it and almost put his hands in the sand. Almost, but not quite. He was very happy with a shovel and bucket. And he was happy to have water shoes on his feet as well.
Hannah took to the water like a fish and I had to keep making her come back closer to where I was monitoring. Clara also took to the water really well and was really great about staying within my designated area. She also made about a thousand friends in the first 10 minutes. Rebecca stayed close to shore, alternating between swimming, finding shells, and playing in the sand. Matthew stayed glued to my side, and no encouraging him to have a little independence would help. That's ok, though - better to have him constantly on my legs than to have him constantly running off!
Clara found the first little hermit-type crab. She dug him up with her toes in the water. It wasn't long before we were all digging them up, and it wasn't long after that until Hannah decided she was terrified of them. And, since kids are the way they are, it was hard work to get the others to stop tormenting Hannah by showing her the little crabs and pretending they were going to put them on her or something.
Hannah, having a moderately rough time by this point, suffered a devastating loss when she took her brand new snorkel set to the water's edge to rinse it. The waves pulled her mask and snorkel right out of her hand and just like *that* they were gone, swallowed by the sea. Oh, did she cry! Her heart was broken. I am so thankful that the other girls offered to share with her before I could even ask them. It was sweet to see them so sympathetic to her, especially after the crab teasing we had just been through. Maybe they were trying to make it up to her, or maybe they really will just band together when they can see that one is really suffering. I hope so with all my heart!
Six hours later and it's way past time for lunch. The kids are tired, I'm tired, and it's time to go. So we start drying off, wiping off sand, etc. And I start to notice something strange. My legs! They are stinging. They don't look weird at all, but they sure feel different. Hmm, must just be the salt water drying on my skin. It couldn't be sunburn because I had been so careful. I had slathered up the kids. I had slathered up my face. My arms. My neck, shoulders, chest. I had even worn a large t-shirt to get extra coverage because my skin is so fair. But ... OH NO! I never put sunscreen on my legs! The kids were so anxious to get to the water that I just forgot! I had exposed my most delicate skin to 6 hours of brutal sun on Virginia Beach with no protection! My legs hadn't seen that much sun in literally YEARS!
Worried, I gathered up all our stuff, stopped by Chick-Fil-A for lunch (yum - we don't have this restaurant in Chicago!) and headed back to the hotel. I could feel my legs, burning and hot. How in the world did I not notice before we were getting ready to go that I was getting burned? I guess I was busy and distracted keeping track of the kids and just had not noticed. Argh!
Back in our hotel room, I surveyed the damage. Not good; not good at all!
I got the kids into showers and washed off fairly quickly, and settled them in front of the tv for a bit. I know that is terrible but I had to cool off my legs somehow. I took my turn in the shower and lingered under the cool water. Now normally, I am in and out of the shower in 10 minutes, tops. But this time, I stayed in for a long time. When I got out, I was sure glad I had brought a bottle of aloe on the trip, just in case. I was able to sleep comfortably in the wonderful hotel bed.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
6/26 - Virginia Beach, VA instead of the Outer Banks of NC
6/26 - continued.
So, after having ice cream at the gas station and surfing the net for a local hotel, I finally gave up and decided that a slight change in plans would be ok. We would drive north to Virgina Beach and stay at a hotel nearby instead of pitching a tent here on the Outer Banks. I was disappointed but I was afraid of having another yucky campground experience and to be honest, the last few nights at the Hampton Inn had me spoiled. It was my birthday and I wanted to be comfortable. So I made the reservation and was instantly relieved. That's a bad sign for the rest of the trip, if you ask me.
I explained to the kids about the change in plans and they didn't care one way or the other, as long as they still go to play at the beach. So I packed them all up into the van, called the campground to cancel (I think they probably had it figured out by this time - it was nearly 10 p.m.) and we headed out for another 2 1/2 hours of driving. All the way back north along the dunes of the Outer Banks. Through Nags Head and through Kitty Hawk. So much for seeing the Wright Brothers Museum or eating at the Top Dog Cafe. But that's ok - we have great things planned and there would be fun things to do in Virgina Beach as well.
What a long day - definitely our longest day in the car so far. The kids slept for this last stretch and the car was very quiet. It was hard to stay awake myself. That is, until we started trying to get through Norfolk, VA. Wow - crazy! And it was so dark and the roads were confusing. I got lost several times in a seedy part of town. Kept stopping at the same gas station to look at the map and find my way out. I couldn't get out and ask for directions and leave the kids in the car. It was so late, the place was just so ... scary. I don't want to be politically incorrect so I will only say that there was an air of desperation and I was very tense. And I don't scare easily.
So I finally got it figured out (just as our van was being approached by a dirty looking man in the parking lot) and made it onto the right stretch of interstate. You know how in a major city all of the roads twist and curve and interchange, and if you get in the wrong lane in traffic sometimes you just can't get over before you've already missed your exit? That is what kept happening to me.
On a side note, Norfolk looked like an interesting place. We went through several tunnels ... or maybe it was the same tunnel over and over again ... I can't remember. It would be neat to see it in the daylight. I wonder if it would be less intimidating.
So, at almost 1 a.m. (getting lost loses time!) I pulled into our hotel. Exhausted. Carrying a sleeping boy and nothing else. The only thing we brought in were the blankets the kids like to sleep with. The room was absolutely beautiful. It had two big, fluffy queen sized beds and a pull out sofa bed. A huge flat screen tv and a huge area of floor space where the kids could sit and play. And it even had a kitchenette! I almost wonder if we got upgraded or something - I didn't ask.
I just tumbled into bed ... it was so late ... and a bed never felt so good!!
So, after having ice cream at the gas station and surfing the net for a local hotel, I finally gave up and decided that a slight change in plans would be ok. We would drive north to Virgina Beach and stay at a hotel nearby instead of pitching a tent here on the Outer Banks. I was disappointed but I was afraid of having another yucky campground experience and to be honest, the last few nights at the Hampton Inn had me spoiled. It was my birthday and I wanted to be comfortable. So I made the reservation and was instantly relieved. That's a bad sign for the rest of the trip, if you ask me.
I explained to the kids about the change in plans and they didn't care one way or the other, as long as they still go to play at the beach. So I packed them all up into the van, called the campground to cancel (I think they probably had it figured out by this time - it was nearly 10 p.m.) and we headed out for another 2 1/2 hours of driving. All the way back north along the dunes of the Outer Banks. Through Nags Head and through Kitty Hawk. So much for seeing the Wright Brothers Museum or eating at the Top Dog Cafe. But that's ok - we have great things planned and there would be fun things to do in Virgina Beach as well.
What a long day - definitely our longest day in the car so far. The kids slept for this last stretch and the car was very quiet. It was hard to stay awake myself. That is, until we started trying to get through Norfolk, VA. Wow - crazy! And it was so dark and the roads were confusing. I got lost several times in a seedy part of town. Kept stopping at the same gas station to look at the map and find my way out. I couldn't get out and ask for directions and leave the kids in the car. It was so late, the place was just so ... scary. I don't want to be politically incorrect so I will only say that there was an air of desperation and I was very tense. And I don't scare easily.
So I finally got it figured out (just as our van was being approached by a dirty looking man in the parking lot) and made it onto the right stretch of interstate. You know how in a major city all of the roads twist and curve and interchange, and if you get in the wrong lane in traffic sometimes you just can't get over before you've already missed your exit? That is what kept happening to me.
On a side note, Norfolk looked like an interesting place. We went through several tunnels ... or maybe it was the same tunnel over and over again ... I can't remember. It would be neat to see it in the daylight. I wonder if it would be less intimidating.
So, at almost 1 a.m. (getting lost loses time!) I pulled into our hotel. Exhausted. Carrying a sleeping boy and nothing else. The only thing we brought in were the blankets the kids like to sleep with. The room was absolutely beautiful. It had two big, fluffy queen sized beds and a pull out sofa bed. A huge flat screen tv and a huge area of floor space where the kids could sit and play. And it even had a kitchenette! I almost wonder if we got upgraded or something - I didn't ask.
I just tumbled into bed ... it was so late ... and a bed never felt so good!!
6/26 - The Outer Banks, NC
6/26 - This day was one of the special days I was looking forward to from the beginning of our trip. Not only was it the day we were going to the see the Atlantic Ocean, it was also my 35th birthday. I planned this segment of the trip carefully so that we would be at the Ocean on my birthday.
We got everything packed away from the hotel and I got all of our laundry done before we left. I had been doing a pretty good job keeping up with laundry all along, if I do say so myself. Funny how much easier laundry is when you are only washing, folding, and drying about 10 sets of clothes over and over again. I should make note of that for home when we get back.
We drove for about 2 hours and stopped at a historical house called Ayr Mount. There is a charge to actually go inside the house and take a tour, but I'm too cheap for that. Instead, I had planned to just walk the mile-long Poet's Walk, a mulched trail that winds around the property and through the woods along the creek. It was very pretty, but very hot. The kids didn't like it much at all - they thought it was boring. I reminded them that it was my birthday and this is what I wanted to do and asked them to suck it up and pretend to have a good time for my sake.
Becky started to pretend she was a tour guide and was calling off interesting things to see along the way. It was SO funny - I wish I had been able to record it in some way. At one part she pointed out an area where "at least 500 people have been killed by a T-Rex. Trust me, you don't want to leave the path, ladies and gentlemen!" I had a good time listening to her and we laughed a lot.
I do have a couple of pictures of this but they're on the other computer - will have to add them later.
I had also planned a stop at the Borders bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC. It seemed straight forward enough, but I just could not find the place! We drove up and down and up and down the main road over and over again. I finally found it after stopping at a Trader Joe's to ask for directions (and to buy some yummy snacks!) but it took about an hour and a half longer than I had expected. And then the time we spent in the bookstore ... well I'm sure you know how that goes! We were way behind schedule.
How in the world did I leave Borders with $80 less than I started with and not even manage to get a single book for myself?! I didn't even have time to look at the grown up books - let alone pick one out. So, the kids were happy, I was on the way to the Atlantic so I was definitely happy even without a new book. I estimated that we would be at the campground on the Outer Banks by about 8:00 p.m., a little disappointed that it would be getting dark. But, we were planning on staying here for 3 or 4 days so it would be ok.
So we drove. And we drove and drove. East and east and farther east! It started to get quite swampy and there weren't very many towns or buildings or people. We really needed to stop and eat dinner but I just wasn't going to stop at any of the shanty towns we passed - they were all very scary looking with the bars on all the windows and doors and scary looking people loitering about. So I passed out some snacks that I had in the car and we made do with what we had.
Finally, we turn down the road that will take us past Nags Head and south down the length of the islands to our campground in Kinnakeet, a small fishing village quite a way south of Nags Head ... 40 miles south in fact. The little I could see was breathtaking. The sun was setting and the road just stretched and stretched ahead of us. The dunes are high between the ocean and the road, so you can't actually see much of the water, but I could sure smell it!
So, we get to the place where I thought the campground was and started looking for it. It's already 9 p.m. It's pitch black, and there is a big storm rolling in. The Outer Banks are already really windy, but this night - I couldn't imagine trying to set up a tent in the pitch black and the wind.
I started to have a little pity party, to be honest. It was my birthday. I didn't get to play in the ocean with the kids on my birthday like I wanted. The kids have been asking all day for cake or ice cream or just something to celebrate my birthday. We've been in the car forever and we're tired. And the mosquitos were out, too. And I still had to get a tent up in this violent wind and darkness!
I stopped to get gas at the only gas station for miles and found out we were actually still 12 miles away from our campground. That was depressing. The speed limit was only 40-45 miles per hour, so it had already taken a long time to get where we were and I was tired.
So, at the gas station, I noticed that they sold ice cream. And they had free wi-fi - perfect. I bought ice cream for the kids and let them sing to me. And while they were eating, I googled hotels in the area. Nothing. For miles. I googled the KOA that was right down the street that I had passed on when planning because of price, but which looked really really nice which made me regret passing them up for this no-name campground still 12 miles away. Nothing available. So I googled hotels farther north, near Nags Head. Nothing available. Farther south - nothing. West - nothing.
So I started looking more closely at the map. Where could we go that would have hotel space available (I guess I had already decided I wasn't setting up the tent that night) but still had a nice beach nearby?
We got everything packed away from the hotel and I got all of our laundry done before we left. I had been doing a pretty good job keeping up with laundry all along, if I do say so myself. Funny how much easier laundry is when you are only washing, folding, and drying about 10 sets of clothes over and over again. I should make note of that for home when we get back.
We drove for about 2 hours and stopped at a historical house called Ayr Mount. There is a charge to actually go inside the house and take a tour, but I'm too cheap for that. Instead, I had planned to just walk the mile-long Poet's Walk, a mulched trail that winds around the property and through the woods along the creek. It was very pretty, but very hot. The kids didn't like it much at all - they thought it was boring. I reminded them that it was my birthday and this is what I wanted to do and asked them to suck it up and pretend to have a good time for my sake.
Becky started to pretend she was a tour guide and was calling off interesting things to see along the way. It was SO funny - I wish I had been able to record it in some way. At one part she pointed out an area where "at least 500 people have been killed by a T-Rex. Trust me, you don't want to leave the path, ladies and gentlemen!" I had a good time listening to her and we laughed a lot.
I do have a couple of pictures of this but they're on the other computer - will have to add them later.
I had also planned a stop at the Borders bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC. It seemed straight forward enough, but I just could not find the place! We drove up and down and up and down the main road over and over again. I finally found it after stopping at a Trader Joe's to ask for directions (and to buy some yummy snacks!) but it took about an hour and a half longer than I had expected. And then the time we spent in the bookstore ... well I'm sure you know how that goes! We were way behind schedule.
How in the world did I leave Borders with $80 less than I started with and not even manage to get a single book for myself?! I didn't even have time to look at the grown up books - let alone pick one out. So, the kids were happy, I was on the way to the Atlantic so I was definitely happy even without a new book. I estimated that we would be at the campground on the Outer Banks by about 8:00 p.m., a little disappointed that it would be getting dark. But, we were planning on staying here for 3 or 4 days so it would be ok.
So we drove. And we drove and drove. East and east and farther east! It started to get quite swampy and there weren't very many towns or buildings or people. We really needed to stop and eat dinner but I just wasn't going to stop at any of the shanty towns we passed - they were all very scary looking with the bars on all the windows and doors and scary looking people loitering about. So I passed out some snacks that I had in the car and we made do with what we had.
Finally, we turn down the road that will take us past Nags Head and south down the length of the islands to our campground in Kinnakeet, a small fishing village quite a way south of Nags Head ... 40 miles south in fact. The little I could see was breathtaking. The sun was setting and the road just stretched and stretched ahead of us. The dunes are high between the ocean and the road, so you can't actually see much of the water, but I could sure smell it!
So, we get to the place where I thought the campground was and started looking for it. It's already 9 p.m. It's pitch black, and there is a big storm rolling in. The Outer Banks are already really windy, but this night - I couldn't imagine trying to set up a tent in the pitch black and the wind.
I started to have a little pity party, to be honest. It was my birthday. I didn't get to play in the ocean with the kids on my birthday like I wanted. The kids have been asking all day for cake or ice cream or just something to celebrate my birthday. We've been in the car forever and we're tired. And the mosquitos were out, too. And I still had to get a tent up in this violent wind and darkness!
I stopped to get gas at the only gas station for miles and found out we were actually still 12 miles away from our campground. That was depressing. The speed limit was only 40-45 miles per hour, so it had already taken a long time to get where we were and I was tired.
So, at the gas station, I noticed that they sold ice cream. And they had free wi-fi - perfect. I bought ice cream for the kids and let them sing to me. And while they were eating, I googled hotels in the area. Nothing. For miles. I googled the KOA that was right down the street that I had passed on when planning because of price, but which looked really really nice which made me regret passing them up for this no-name campground still 12 miles away. Nothing available. So I googled hotels farther north, near Nags Head. Nothing available. Farther south - nothing. West - nothing.
So I started looking more closely at the map. Where could we go that would have hotel space available (I guess I had already decided I wasn't setting up the tent that night) but still had a nice beach nearby?
Friday, July 3, 2009
6/25/09 - Emerald City
6/25 - After our experience with digging for diamonds on AR earlier in the trip, the kids weren't really looking forward to our emerald excursion today. I almost just skipped it after our disappointing campground experience in the emerald mine area last night, but my mom called and convinced us to at least try it.
I'm so glad she did! We had so much fun at Emerald Hollow Mine. For $5 each, we each got a seat at the sluice table and we also got a big bucket of dirt from the mine that was included in the admission price. Now, I don't know if the buckets were "enhanced" or not, but we found all sorts of pretty rocks. And not teeny, tiny ones either.
I have NO idea why I didn't dress the kids in the "old" clothes that I had bought for them when we were digging for diamonds. What was I thinking? We got plenty dirty, and this red dirt really doesn't wash out. Cheap souvenier, I guess. Ask Tyler sometime about the red dirt that he brought home from vacation as a kid. ;)
Anyway, sluicing was easy. The kids would use a provided hand shovel to scoop some dirt into their screening box.
Then, they'd set their screen into the stream of water and wash the dirt away with their hands and the provided scrub brushes.
Then, following sluicing ettiquite, they'd lift their screens on an angle to see what was left. Even Matthew did some sluicing. He had a lot of fun getting the dirt, washing it, and pulling out the pretty rocks.
Becky's "I'm supposed to smile but I'm really sick of your camera" smile.
The kids really had a great time since they were actually finding stuff this time.
Clockwise from bottom left: Quartz, Rose Quartz, Smokey Quartz
Clockwise from bottom left, with a penny for scale: Green Aventurine, Blue Aventurine, 6 small Garnets, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire. The small stones on the far right are all Sapphires.
Clockwise from left: Amythest, Mica, and something else. Not sure what it is but the rocks are pretty shades of brown. The Mica crumbles into sparkly flakes, and the dirt at this place in Hiddenite is all glittery with crumbled Mica. It's very pretty in the sunlight.
These are all sapphires. We had run out of our free dirt (ha ha) so we bought 2 more buckets. The man who sold them to us told me not to toss anything at all aside since some of these things really just look like rocks and nothing else. So I kept everything in my screen and when the man came around again he picked all of these out as sapphires. I did some research and he is right, but these rocks are obviously not gem-cutting grade. It would be neat to polish them somehow, although I read that tumbling them isn't going to be the best way of doing it.
The young man who was helping us was very nice. He tossed the following rocks into our screen and said, "Look, you found a Ruby and an Emerald, too!" I think he got a kick out of how excited the kids were about the whole thing. So this one is a Ruby.
And this one is an Emerald.
This is a sapphire with a tiny chip out of the exterior surface. You might be able to see that what is inside is shiny.
I'm so glad she did! We had so much fun at Emerald Hollow Mine. For $5 each, we each got a seat at the sluice table and we also got a big bucket of dirt from the mine that was included in the admission price. Now, I don't know if the buckets were "enhanced" or not, but we found all sorts of pretty rocks. And not teeny, tiny ones either.
I have NO idea why I didn't dress the kids in the "old" clothes that I had bought for them when we were digging for diamonds. What was I thinking? We got plenty dirty, and this red dirt really doesn't wash out. Cheap souvenier, I guess. Ask Tyler sometime about the red dirt that he brought home from vacation as a kid. ;)
Anyway, sluicing was easy. The kids would use a provided hand shovel to scoop some dirt into their screening box.
Then, they'd set their screen into the stream of water and wash the dirt away with their hands and the provided scrub brushes.
Then, following sluicing ettiquite, they'd lift their screens on an angle to see what was left. Even Matthew did some sluicing. He had a lot of fun getting the dirt, washing it, and pulling out the pretty rocks.
Becky's "I'm supposed to smile but I'm really sick of your camera" smile.
The kids really had a great time since they were actually finding stuff this time.
Clockwise from bottom left: Quartz, Rose Quartz, Smokey Quartz
Clockwise from bottom left, with a penny for scale: Green Aventurine, Blue Aventurine, 6 small Garnets, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire. The small stones on the far right are all Sapphires.
Clockwise from left: Amythest, Mica, and something else. Not sure what it is but the rocks are pretty shades of brown. The Mica crumbles into sparkly flakes, and the dirt at this place in Hiddenite is all glittery with crumbled Mica. It's very pretty in the sunlight.
These are all sapphires. We had run out of our free dirt (ha ha) so we bought 2 more buckets. The man who sold them to us told me not to toss anything at all aside since some of these things really just look like rocks and nothing else. So I kept everything in my screen and when the man came around again he picked all of these out as sapphires. I did some research and he is right, but these rocks are obviously not gem-cutting grade. It would be neat to polish them somehow, although I read that tumbling them isn't going to be the best way of doing it.
The young man who was helping us was very nice. He tossed the following rocks into our screen and said, "Look, you found a Ruby and an Emerald, too!" I think he got a kick out of how excited the kids were about the whole thing. So this one is a Ruby.
And this one is an Emerald.
This is a sapphire with a tiny chip out of the exterior surface. You might be able to see that what is inside is shiny.
6/24/09 - The Beginning of the End?
6/24 - We left Newport this morning and I won't say we were sorry. Waking up several times to shift to a different rocky spot or to scoot yourself back up after having slid down in the night doesn't lead to a restful night.
This may have caused some of the beginnings of homesickness as well, since I started to hear from Hannah that she missed her bed at home.
Anyway, on our way to Hiddenite, NC, which was only a few hours away, we stopped at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory, NC. We had a great time! The center was just big enough to keep the kids busy, but small enough that they weren't overwhelmed.
When I told them where we were going, they were so excited! They brought in notebooks and pencils so that they could take notes on their research.
The first exhibit we saw was a mock riverbed. Along one wall were tanks with fish and snakes, lizards, etc. And along the other wall was a tank where kids could touch turtles.
Clara really loved this until the turtle she was petting nipped her on the finger!
The next exhibit was similar but had a mock ocean instead. There was a tank where the kids could touch small rays in this room. Matthew found an eel that he got a kick out of.
In the next room there were exhibits relating to motion.
Matthew found a car where he could experiment with how the size of the circle you drive on affects how many rotations your tires make if your speed stays constant.
Mostly he just wanted to play with the car, but I think he made amazing strides in his physics knowledge today.
The older girls were really good about reading the information posted about each experiment instead of just playing. Of course, I think that just playing with the stuff is a way to learn also, but I think that Hannah and Clara really got a lot out of it because they were able to read and follow along. Here they are on the "human centrifuge."
Hmmm....
Getting to ride the Teacups at DisneyWorld ... $3000
Getting to ride the Human Centrifuge at Catawba Science Center ... $18
I may have to rethink my love of Disney!
The kids explored lots of motion experiments.
Then we went into the room about space exploration. Clara enjoyed making a dirt devil similar to the ones seen on Mars.
The next section was centered around a swamp theme. The kids really like this part of the science center.
We also saw a baby raccoon, baby skunk, lots of baby alligators, snakes, bats, birds, fish, possum and more. It was pretty neat.
The last part focused on the effects of force on motion. They had a set of chairs where you could use a rope pulley system to pull your chair up into the air. There was a bike you could ride to try to power different things. There was a lot more - the kids and I had a great time.
How hard does one have to roll a golf ball on a track to get it to the end of this set of hills?
Lastly, we found a chair designed to help you feel the difference in spinning speed if you have your arms and legs out compared to if you pull them close to your body. Well, Matthew didn't get that part but he did love to spin in the chair!
Clara, though, told me that this must be why ice skaters hold their arms close to their bodies when they spin, so that they could go faster. DisneyWorld never taught her anything like that!
We left the Science Center refreshed and with some neat things to talk about in the car on our way to the campground in Hiddenite.
When we got to the campground, things kind of fell apart. This was not a KOA campground, and while they did have a pool and a little petting zoo in easy viewing distance, I could not find the office to check in. We went around the camp several times in the van and finally I pulled to a stop in front of the bath house to get out and look around. I thought maybe the office was in the same building since it looked like it had several rooms. The kids stayed in the car with the a/c. I can't blame them.
I walked into the bathroom just out of curiosity and I honestly don't think I have ever been more disgusted. The walls didn't come all the way down to the ground - they were like the walls of a stall? Well, like an old bath house, I guess. And no door to the room - just an entryway that turned once for privacy like some public bathrooms are that you find in stores or restaurants. So, there was absolutely NO way to even begin to keep out flies and other bugs. I opened the door to one of the toilet stalls and there were at least 30 flies inside and that is not an exaggeration. The toilets had black mildew/mold growing all along the bottoms and up the bottom part of the commode. It was just so, so gross.
So I left the bathroom and went across to the "laundry" room. Everything in this room was covered in a layer of thick dust, and there were huge cobwebs in the corners of the room which were also covered in dust. The window was propped open by a big hardcover book, also covered in dust. Now, maybe dust just coats stuff here faster than I'm used to, but nothing in this room looked like it had been used in a month or more. There was a checker board on the table and several paperback books, newspapers, magazines, etc. I didn't even go inside the room.
I started heading back to the car (it was right there - I could see it the whole time I was gone), thinking that there was just no way we could stay there. You couldn't pay me to sit on one of those toilets, let alone let one of the kids. But I had already made a reservation and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to be charged for not staying, so I needed to find the office!
An old man dressed in nothing but shorts approached me, so I asked him if he knew where the office was, and he had to think for a minute. Then he pointed me towards a man on a lawnmower and told me that this man was the owner and he should be able to help me. So I asked the lawnmower-man where the office was and he pointed me towards a mobile home down the road a ways.
We pulled up to the trailer and lawnmower-man met us there, saying he thought his wife was home to help us but that she was out in the camp. I told him that we had reservations but that I was concerned about the bathrooms and that we weren't going to be able to stay. I felt bad, because I'm sure they needed our money. And I'm not normally a wimp in this way - I mean we had a lousy site at Newport but at least the bathrooms were clean there.
Luckily this man was very understanding and even told me that they've been concerned with the bathrooms for a while, too, but haven't been able to come up with a suitable (and I think he meant affordable) solution. I hope they are able to fix them sometime soon - it looked like a relatively nice place otherwise. They had lots of RV campers there and their rates were great.
Here's something that I don't understand about (some) people who live in the country. If you were working on a job, say ... fixing your fence, and you had your lumber and other supplies loaded in the back of your truck, and then your truck broke down along the way, why would you just leave the truck right there for the next 20 or 30 years and not even bother to unload the lumber and stuff from the back of it?! We passed a truck on the side of the dirt road leading to the campground that was clearly *old* considering the model of it, the amount of rust, and the fact that it had brush growing all around it and a tree growing through the engine. And yet it was still carrying its old and decaying load of lumber.
I just don't understand. I saw all sorts of things like this in both Tennessee and North Carolina. I saw a carport that had long ago collapsed onto what looked like 2 cars from the 70's. I think if I was a vintage car collector/restorer, I would just drive around the country roads in Tennessee and offer to buy the junk ones that are just sitting outside of people's barns. I can't tell you how many cool, old, discarded cars I saw just rusting to nothingness on people's property. I guess car restorers probably want ones that are in better shape, though. Still - what a waste.
Anyway, I called my mom and asked for help finding a hotel for the night. I'm so glad that she and my dad had offered us, earlier that day, a stay in a hotel for my birthday which was coming up soon. At the time, I had told them that I'd take a rain check in case we needed it later in the trip, but once I saw the bathrooms at this place, I new we needed the hotel now instead of later.
Mom helped us find a nice Hampton Inn nearby. It was a real luxury to take showers and not having to try to keep your clothes dry while you're putting them on in a wet shower stall afterwards. Or keep your son from yanking open the shower curtain while you're standing inside naked. And sleeping in a real bed was definitely a treat!! So thank you so much, you guys!
This may have caused some of the beginnings of homesickness as well, since I started to hear from Hannah that she missed her bed at home.
Anyway, on our way to Hiddenite, NC, which was only a few hours away, we stopped at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory, NC. We had a great time! The center was just big enough to keep the kids busy, but small enough that they weren't overwhelmed.
When I told them where we were going, they were so excited! They brought in notebooks and pencils so that they could take notes on their research.
The first exhibit we saw was a mock riverbed. Along one wall were tanks with fish and snakes, lizards, etc. And along the other wall was a tank where kids could touch turtles.
Clara really loved this until the turtle she was petting nipped her on the finger!
The next exhibit was similar but had a mock ocean instead. There was a tank where the kids could touch small rays in this room. Matthew found an eel that he got a kick out of.
In the next room there were exhibits relating to motion.
Matthew found a car where he could experiment with how the size of the circle you drive on affects how many rotations your tires make if your speed stays constant.
Mostly he just wanted to play with the car, but I think he made amazing strides in his physics knowledge today.
The older girls were really good about reading the information posted about each experiment instead of just playing. Of course, I think that just playing with the stuff is a way to learn also, but I think that Hannah and Clara really got a lot out of it because they were able to read and follow along. Here they are on the "human centrifuge."
Hmmm....
Getting to ride the Teacups at DisneyWorld ... $3000
Getting to ride the Human Centrifuge at Catawba Science Center ... $18
I may have to rethink my love of Disney!
The kids explored lots of motion experiments.
Then we went into the room about space exploration. Clara enjoyed making a dirt devil similar to the ones seen on Mars.
The next section was centered around a swamp theme. The kids really like this part of the science center.
We also saw a baby raccoon, baby skunk, lots of baby alligators, snakes, bats, birds, fish, possum and more. It was pretty neat.
The last part focused on the effects of force on motion. They had a set of chairs where you could use a rope pulley system to pull your chair up into the air. There was a bike you could ride to try to power different things. There was a lot more - the kids and I had a great time.
How hard does one have to roll a golf ball on a track to get it to the end of this set of hills?
Lastly, we found a chair designed to help you feel the difference in spinning speed if you have your arms and legs out compared to if you pull them close to your body. Well, Matthew didn't get that part but he did love to spin in the chair!
Clara, though, told me that this must be why ice skaters hold their arms close to their bodies when they spin, so that they could go faster. DisneyWorld never taught her anything like that!
We left the Science Center refreshed and with some neat things to talk about in the car on our way to the campground in Hiddenite.
When we got to the campground, things kind of fell apart. This was not a KOA campground, and while they did have a pool and a little petting zoo in easy viewing distance, I could not find the office to check in. We went around the camp several times in the van and finally I pulled to a stop in front of the bath house to get out and look around. I thought maybe the office was in the same building since it looked like it had several rooms. The kids stayed in the car with the a/c. I can't blame them.
I walked into the bathroom just out of curiosity and I honestly don't think I have ever been more disgusted. The walls didn't come all the way down to the ground - they were like the walls of a stall? Well, like an old bath house, I guess. And no door to the room - just an entryway that turned once for privacy like some public bathrooms are that you find in stores or restaurants. So, there was absolutely NO way to even begin to keep out flies and other bugs. I opened the door to one of the toilet stalls and there were at least 30 flies inside and that is not an exaggeration. The toilets had black mildew/mold growing all along the bottoms and up the bottom part of the commode. It was just so, so gross.
So I left the bathroom and went across to the "laundry" room. Everything in this room was covered in a layer of thick dust, and there were huge cobwebs in the corners of the room which were also covered in dust. The window was propped open by a big hardcover book, also covered in dust. Now, maybe dust just coats stuff here faster than I'm used to, but nothing in this room looked like it had been used in a month or more. There was a checker board on the table and several paperback books, newspapers, magazines, etc. I didn't even go inside the room.
I started heading back to the car (it was right there - I could see it the whole time I was gone), thinking that there was just no way we could stay there. You couldn't pay me to sit on one of those toilets, let alone let one of the kids. But I had already made a reservation and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to be charged for not staying, so I needed to find the office!
An old man dressed in nothing but shorts approached me, so I asked him if he knew where the office was, and he had to think for a minute. Then he pointed me towards a man on a lawnmower and told me that this man was the owner and he should be able to help me. So I asked the lawnmower-man where the office was and he pointed me towards a mobile home down the road a ways.
We pulled up to the trailer and lawnmower-man met us there, saying he thought his wife was home to help us but that she was out in the camp. I told him that we had reservations but that I was concerned about the bathrooms and that we weren't going to be able to stay. I felt bad, because I'm sure they needed our money. And I'm not normally a wimp in this way - I mean we had a lousy site at Newport but at least the bathrooms were clean there.
Luckily this man was very understanding and even told me that they've been concerned with the bathrooms for a while, too, but haven't been able to come up with a suitable (and I think he meant affordable) solution. I hope they are able to fix them sometime soon - it looked like a relatively nice place otherwise. They had lots of RV campers there and their rates were great.
Here's something that I don't understand about (some) people who live in the country. If you were working on a job, say ... fixing your fence, and you had your lumber and other supplies loaded in the back of your truck, and then your truck broke down along the way, why would you just leave the truck right there for the next 20 or 30 years and not even bother to unload the lumber and stuff from the back of it?! We passed a truck on the side of the dirt road leading to the campground that was clearly *old* considering the model of it, the amount of rust, and the fact that it had brush growing all around it and a tree growing through the engine. And yet it was still carrying its old and decaying load of lumber.
I just don't understand. I saw all sorts of things like this in both Tennessee and North Carolina. I saw a carport that had long ago collapsed onto what looked like 2 cars from the 70's. I think if I was a vintage car collector/restorer, I would just drive around the country roads in Tennessee and offer to buy the junk ones that are just sitting outside of people's barns. I can't tell you how many cool, old, discarded cars I saw just rusting to nothingness on people's property. I guess car restorers probably want ones that are in better shape, though. Still - what a waste.
Anyway, I called my mom and asked for help finding a hotel for the night. I'm so glad that she and my dad had offered us, earlier that day, a stay in a hotel for my birthday which was coming up soon. At the time, I had told them that I'd take a rain check in case we needed it later in the trip, but once I saw the bathrooms at this place, I new we needed the hotel now instead of later.
Mom helped us find a nice Hampton Inn nearby. It was a real luxury to take showers and not having to try to keep your clothes dry while you're putting them on in a wet shower stall afterwards. Or keep your son from yanking open the shower curtain while you're standing inside naked. And sleeping in a real bed was definitely a treat!! So thank you so much, you guys!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
