Pages

Friday, September 30, 2011

Looking for Manatees

Yesterday was fun, we went out in search of some manatees!
(whenever I think of manatees, I hear Larry singing Barbara Manatee from Veggies Tales)

We didn't see any at the manatee viewing center, but then we decided to hike down to a nearby jetty where we were told we could probably find some, which we did!
Manatee
Manatee
There was actually 2 of them. They were so cute, just playing in the water! We didn't get to swim with them though. :(

I'm not sure what we are doing today, Just heading a little further south down the coast. :)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Hang Gliding

AMAZING. That's probably the best word to describe my hang gliding experience yesterday. I loved it!










Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center was really really neat. I loved seeing how the shuttles were made, the Saturn 5, and the way NASA looked when they sent someone to the moon.

I also really loved the Star Trek Exhibition. They had abunch of the costumes from Star Trek (like Troi's dresses, Data's uniform, Kirk's uniform, etc) They had phasers & communicators, and the bridge from The Original Series! So, we all got to sit in Captain Kirk's Chair. 
Awesome, right??

The Shuttle Launch simulator was pretty neat (but really bumpy) however I will NEVER be getting on a G-force simulator ever again. Never ever.

-Katie

Cocoa beach.

Yesterday I got the chance to go to Orlando and go Hang gliding at Wallaby Ranch. It was so amazing! Soaring over the landscape at about 1000 feet up, looking down at tiny trees and cars along the road. So glad I did it.

The day before we had went to Kennedy Space center. They had an awesome museum, we met an astronaut too. Got to see the launch pad , mission control from the apollo missions, and the Star Trek exhibit. I even got to sit in Capt. Kirk's chair. So did Kracko :)

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Loving this beach



Hey guys, Florida is amazing! The beaches, the jungles, the tacky tourist shops, I love it all! Today we are headed to the Kennedy Space Center which is going to be AWESOME. We are going to be super nerdy and visit all the Star Trek exhibits! Our trip is going to be coming to an end in a couple weeks, but until then we are loving all this Florida sunshine!

Monday, September 26, 2011

FLORIDA

Crossing into Florida gives one the impression of having stepped back in time to a Jurassic Park era. Giant palms and palmettos, jungle everywhere. One expects either monkeys or dinosaurs to stomp through at any moment.

Then just as unexpectedly the ocean breaks through with all its beauty and lovely beachfront homes line the shore.

Had a beautiful morning bike ride along the shore road out of Jacksonville Beach. Then we spent the day in St. Augustine, Fl.

Drank from the Fountain of Youth, feeling younger and more spry by the moment, lol. We also toured the Castille de San Marcos. It is still quite impressive after 400 years or so.

Ended the day at the Hilton , Daytona Beach. :)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

and the photo of the day is....

The Sunshine State


Okay, I'm finally updating the blog, We haven't had internet access the past few days. Here's what we've been up to--

We walked around Charleston, SC, which was interesting. Not my favorite place, but I think the history buff's      (taylor and dad) had fun.
We also got a hotel and spent the night in downtown historic Savannah, Georgia. I definitely liked Savannah better than Charleston, it was a nicer city.
And, Guess what?? We have finally made it to Florida!! The ocean here is so beautiful, the water is super clear. We went swimming yesterday, & built dolphin "sandcastles" in the sand. (didn't get a picture though.)
Tomorrow I think we are riding to St Augustine in the morning and than sight seeing around there for the rest of the day, Since it's the oldest city in the United States, and Fountain of Youth, etc.


Hopefully, I won't have trouble riding tomorrow, I've had a cold for the past couple of days. :(
-Katie

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Playing Mini Golf in Myrtle Beach

Yesterday as we were chilling out in Myrtle Beach we decided to go play some mini golf,(because Ruby has never played putt-putt before.) so we walked around and found "Captain Hooks Adventure Mini Golf" which was super fun.
I uploaded the pics onto flickr, but here are a few.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Day at the beach



Today I got to go to the beach in North Carolina. I met a new friend "Crabby". He was pretty cool and could run really fast. I guess you can tell I was pretty excited to see the water. I even got to model for a sand sculpture. Not a bad likeness if I do say so myself. Katie and Ruby built it.
The family went to the aquarium today, but I didn't get to go in. They said it was because they were afraid I might end up in one of the fish tanks. Well I will talk to you guys later. Kracko.

Love the beach

Kracko and Kracko
crabby
We went to the North Carolina Aquarium today, that was really neat. They had lots of cool animals and fish. Including sharks! :)
fishies!
Keith, gator and Taylor

Sunday, September 18, 2011

North Carolina

Just thought I would share a few pictures from yesterday and today.
Yesterday it was raining which was actually quite nice, because it wasn't a pouring rain, just a light drizzle. and today we stopped at the ocean and went swimming. We didn't have our swimsuits on, but that didn't stop us from getting in in our jeans. ;)

Bike quotes

Mark Twain. "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live

H.G. Wells. "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."

C.S. Lewis. "There is no reason why a man on a smooth road should lose his balance; but he could."

It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels. ~ Heinz Stucke

The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine. ~John Howard


A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal. And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson,

Saturday, September 17, 2011

a video

Dad and I recorded this the other day when we were riding, Just thought I would share it. ;)
-Katie

Kracko goes to Washington




Sorry this is late , but well I have been really busy with my friends. We went to Washington D.C. and I got to go to all these cool museums and the zoo. My favorite was the Air and Space museum. I have always dreamed of being an astronaut! Flying to the moon would be so cool. I tried on a space suit and saw the lunar lander :). I even got to go in the space station sky lab. I could be the first lobster in space!
Kracko in Spaaaace :). Well a lobster can dream anyhow, lol.

I also went to the sculpture garden, and saw some interesting pieces. The red one was my favorite. Here I am with Katie.

Anyhow, today I am riding shotgun with Tabatha in North Carolina. Who knows what I will see?


Friday, September 16, 2011

What day is this? Who cares?

067
Three weeks gone by. Three more remaining. Still having a blast! I think everyone should take extended vacations at least every 5 years. (Maybe without the daily loading & unloading of gear.)
This hasn't been at all like I planned it, but great nevertheless!

My priorities were:
1.) daily bike mileage goals to stay on schedule and do as much as possible
2.) make detours and time allotments for Taylor's independent linguistics research study
3.) lastly - have some fun.

In actuality, it has been the reverse!
Lots of fun, lots of detours, pedal the sweet spots in between (weather permitting), forget the rest!
I hope the remainder is just the same.

Mount Vernon and Manassas Battlefield!

Hey everyone, it's my turn to post today. Keith, Tabatha, and Katie are out riding while Ruby and I do some re-packing and I do homework. Today we are in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Either today or tomorrow we will be going to Richmond. Can't believe our trip is nearly half over!

Yesterday we stopped at Mount Vernon, the plantation estate of George Washington himself. The mansion was beautiful, we never realized how showy George Washington was. Every room in the house was painted a deep, rich blue or green. Paint was extremely expensive in the 18th century, so to have every room in the house painted an exquisite emerald green or royal blue was definitely a way of showing how wealthy and successful you were and that you wanted the best for your family and guests.

On the estate we also visited the tomb of George and Martha and the other buildings on the grounds. It is a very beautiful place with forests and fields and orchards. I think George Washington could be called the nation's first conservationist.

After Mount Vernon, we made a stop yesterday afternoon at the Manassas National Battlefield Park. Two of the civil war's most important battles were fought on these hills. It was very cool. The park itself is huge, imagine trying to win a war on the up-and-down, brush-filled hills, mountains, fields, and forests of Virginia. The young and old men of America attempted just this and hundred of lives were wasted on fighting each other.

Yesterday was a history-filled day that we wall enjoyed very much. Take a look at the pictures!

Washed out

Today would be described as a wash out , lol. Last night we had to stay on Onancock, Va due to a tractor trailer accident having the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel shut down. We couldn't get off the island so we camped there and listened to the rain fall on the tent. Crossed the bay this morning and into Virginia Beach. Took some time to do a little shopping on the boardwalk and play in the sand on the beach.
We HAD intended to ride out of Kitty Hawk all the way down the outer banks. However when we got to Kitty Hawk, NC we found out the the roads south of there on the outer banks were washed completely out in places by hurricane Irene and we were diverted west and are spending the night in Plymouth , NC.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

iphone pictures

Sadly, I forgot my camera yesterday while we were riding through Virginia so I took some pictures using my iphone. We also took a couple of videos which I will post soon!
The sun rising
A train
Keith
Tabatha and her bike
A giant mushroom
Keith riding
Looking through my mirror.
Keith taking pictures with my iphone.
Pretty flowers.
Mom and dad riding away from me.
Mom & Dad riding.
Guess who took this picture??

Virginia by bike

I have to say that I enjoyed riding in Virginia. Gentle rolling hills, pretty scenery, quiet roads. Katie will probably post a few pics soon. We made about 50 miles yesterday.

Also Taylor will be adding a post about Mount Vernon and Bull Run.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Air and Space Museum

I think the Air and Space Museum was probably my favorite thing in D.C.
Being the nerd I am, I loved getting to see the Enterprise model that was used in the filming of The Original Series!
Enterprise model from Star Trek TOS
Another cool thing at the Air and Space Museum was the SkyLab Space Station. I never knew that there was a space station before the International Space Station, so that was really neat!

Katie & Ruby in the space station
Of course, in the gift shop, there were fun postcards with rockets, (I've been collecting postcards from every state) and some Star Wars items, and the best--- Star Trek stuff! There was fun things like a star trek cookbook, star trek calendar, spock ears, etc. I got a star trek thermos with an enterprise on it! :)

I know, I'm a nerd, but I loved it.
-Katie

Monday, September 12, 2011

National zoo


Saw the pandas. They were cute. Somebody put the zoo on a hill though. Who would do that?

The Nation's capitol

Whew , my feet are TIRED.
We spent 8.5 hrs walking around Washington, Dc today. saw the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, WW2 Memorial, Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, American History Museum, Smithsonian castle, the Capitol Building. I think that covers it. The Reflecting pool was all dug up for repairs so it wasn't what you see in the movies. But Dc was really awesome. One of my favorite places so far. Especially the Air and Space Museum.
Now that the Floods are gone we are probably getting back on the bikes tomorrow. Heading south towards Richmond.

Here are the pictures from both yesterday (the national zoo) and today. (national mall)

Ocean City, Md

We enjoyed visiting Ocean City, MD. It had a '50's style carnival atmosphere. Midways, Arcades, souvenir shops.

The girls enjoyed some cotton candy and the arcade games. We walked along the boardwalk and saw the atlantic ocean too.
Katie and Ruby even rode an old "haunted house" coaster.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Beach Pictures

So, as mommy said in the last post, we've just been playing around the New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland beaches for the past few days. Last night though we drove up away from the beach towards Washington D.C. I can't wait to see all the neat museums in D.C.
Anyway, Here are a couple of slideshows with our pics from the past few days..

-Delaware-

-Cape May, NJ-

-Atlantic City, NJ-


I'm sure someone will blog and post pics about Ocean City, Maryland sometime soon. I think it was definitely the neatest city that we visited the past couple of days.

BTW, somedays I may not have time to update the blog, but I'm constantly uploading pictures onto flickr, There's a link to it on the blog sidebar, So you can hop over there to view all of our pictures.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

New Jersey to Delaware

For the past couple of days we've been on a detour away from flooded Pennsylvania. We headed east to the New Jersey coast, toured Atlantic city boardwalk, stayed in Cape May, NJ. Went on a whale watching tour, and then took the ferry to Delaware where we stayed the night at Cape Henlopen state park.
We even saw Dolphins playing in Delaware bay, picked up some pretty shells and basically hung out on the beach for the past couple of days.
The most interesting thing about Atlantic city was the fact that the streets were the inspiration for the spaces on the Monopoly board.

Philadelphia...We the People








PHILADELPHIA! Home to a cracked bell that no king or dictator would value but WE THE PEOPLE venerate as a remembrance of the struggle of that brave generation who declared our independence. And later a constitution drafted to rival any existing document known to man. What a great country!

Independence Hall was inspiring and the tour was quite interesting. They even had George Washington's chair :).

Later we toured the Franklin Institute, Philly's most visited museum. It was a very hands on place, not quite as interesting as the Natural History Museum in NYC.

We also got a chance to have some real Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. MMMMM. good.

Headed off to New Jersey and Delaware due to a flood forced detour. More to come tomorrow.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Night, er, DAY at the Museum

So, let me start out by saying this: NEW YORK CITY IS AMAZING! Even though I walked through pouring rain almost all day, it was still amazing! What I was most excited about, besides just being in NYC, was going to the Museum of Natural History. Seeing as its the setting in one of my favorite movies, (Night at the Museum in case you couldn't tell by the title) and I love movies, can you really blame me? Kracko shared my enthusiasm also, so we stuck together for this one!

Dum Dum likes gum gum!
Me, Rexy and Kracko: BFF's for LIFE!
We managed to squeeze in a quick Kracko family reunion! So much fun although they were all kinda stiff and quiet...