Category Archives: United States

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 14

Today was an Adventure in waiting that finally got us a big step forward. What are we waiting for? – COVID-19 vaccine shots for the kids so they could be protected and we could better manage travel requirements. First we waited for months for the vaccine to be tested and approved, that waiting ended TuesdayContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 14”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 12

It was a fairly quiet school day here in Southern Ohio. The 5 Adventures Academy students continued with reading Call It Courage and completed a worksheet assignment for Chapter 3 (for those of you reading along). Mamoh started the slow cooker early this morning by loading a turkey breast and mixing in some chipotle sauceContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 12”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 11

We are nearing peak Autumnal color on the trees in Southern Ohio and it has really been lovely to see it emerge over the last several days. A frost mid last week really got things moving in the color department. Our SoCal kids don’t seem to be as impressed but Mom & Dad sure missContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 11”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 10

The Adventurers went through some classic Halloween traditions today. First, we completed the carved pumpkins that were picked out a few days ago. Then we assembled our costumes, props and attitudes for the night. Then we were off to find trouble candy. Our first stop was to visit Aunt Tara who promptly fed everyone withContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 10”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 9

Today was another birthday in the 5 Adventurers family – this one for Tiffany and she had a great day. To start, Tiffany’s Mom took her to the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati to see the musical stage production of Pretty Woman. After being away from stage shows for a couple years due to the pandemic,Continue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 9”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 8

Today continued our themes of school and Halloween and added a little vaccines to the mix. Today’s Halloween activity was some arts and craft kits supplied by Tiffany’s sister Tara. The kids loved making these houses and spent a lot of the day building and painting them. Suaram’s costume arrived so they also spent timeContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 8”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 7

We jumped into the Halloween adventures with gusto today. Rain was in the forecast so we took an extended break during school and headed over to the local pumpkin patch. The kids picked out some good carving pumpkins and a couple small ones and had a great time checking out the other activities the farmContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 7”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 6

Shopping and school today. Since the approval of the COVID-19 Vaccine for kids 5-11 seems imminent, we’ve decided to keep having US based adventures until we can get the kids their two jabs. That keeps us in the country at least through the end of November The thing about November in the Midwest is thatContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 6”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 4

Just because we’re traveling the world doesn’t mean we get to ignore good dental health. That means today’s adventure was teeth cleaning for everyone. Tiffany’s Dad was able to get 5 cleaning appointments at a dentist in Georgetown so these Adventurers headed out before the sun was fully up to get there on time. LotsContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 4”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 3

A quiet day today. We (ad)ventured out to nearby Hillsboro for lunch with Mamoh and Tara at the Japanese Steakhouse. It not only had a tasty hibachi, it gave the California kids a chance to get some sushi for only the second time in 10 weeks. They gobbled it down before we remembered to getContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 3”

Leesburg, Ohio; Day 2

The Adventurers are staying at Tiffany’s mother’s (aka Mamoh’s) house in Leesburg for the weekend. The house sits on a working farm in Southern Ohio. Originally purchased by her grandparents in 1913 with over 100+ acres, Mamoh spent her childhood and the last 25 years here. She has many wonderful stories about growing up inContinue reading “Leesburg, Ohio; Day 2”

Georgetown, Ohio; Day 3

A quiet Georgetown day. The kids played with Suaram’s birthday gifts, Brian and Tiffany took care of some administrative tasks. We were back to school in the afternoon and started a new class book. This time it’s Armstrong Sperry’s Call It Courage. Although there was some complaining from a couple of students about the selection,Continue reading “Georgetown, Ohio; Day 3”

Georgetown, Ohio; Day 2

Today was Suaram’s birthday! The 5 Adventurers celebrated her all day with a birthday banner, a birthday shirt and a big family dinner with all her Ohio Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents. It was so fantastic that everyone traveled an hour on a school/work night for her special evening. Brian made her favorite garlic shrimpContinue reading “Georgetown, Ohio; Day 2”

Lemont, Illinois; Day 2

Sunday at Lori’s house gave the Adventurers plenty of opportunities to play board games and to relax.  The day began for the kids in pajamas/nightgowns playing the Game of Life and ended with Monopoly. Between these games were Candyland, Connect4, Battleship, Qbitz and Operation.  The kids were in heaven. Despite the time spent on theseContinue reading “Lemont, Illinois; Day 2”

Lemont, Illinois; Day 1

Today the 5 Adventurers drove Jeremy Picklepants south about 100 miles to Lemont, IL. It is a charming town in the greater Chicago area and the home of one of Brian’s good friends from college and her daughter. They have a gorgeous house originally built in the 1880’s and so many board games tjat theContinue reading “Lemont, Illinois; Day 1”

West Allis/Milwaukee, WI; Day 1

Today was a quiet day for the Adventurers recovering from a 14 hours of travel and a late night yesterday. We slept in at the airport hotel in Milwaukee and then walked 10 minutes to Denny’s for a familiar Grand Slam breakfast. Even though our ten weeks in Central America flew by, we’re still adjustingContinue reading “West Allis/Milwaukee, WI; Day 1”

West Allis, Wisconsin; Day 3

We left Wisconsin today for an overnight stop in Atlanta before going to Central America on Friday. We arrived at the airport in time to try on the latest in Cheesehead fashion. Thank you Aunt Kathy & Uncle Henry! We loved our time with you in August and cannot wait to share our stories whenContinue reading “West Allis, Wisconsin; Day 3”

West Allis, Wisonsin; Day 2

We had two noteworthy adventures today on our last full day before departing Wisconsin. We visited Old World Wisconsin which has reproduced or restored 60 buildings from the period between 1840 and 1910. They have guided tours led by knowledgeable historians who convey the experience of living in Wisconsin in the 19th century. The kidsContinue reading “West Allis, Wisonsin; Day 2”

West Allis, Wisconsin

Today started with wonderful French Toast and Sausage courtesy of Aunt Kathy and Uncle Henry. The rest of the day was quiet on the adventure front. It tried to rain but only managed a light shower and some sprinkles at various times during the day. Brian helped set up a new printer, we started gettingContinue reading “West Allis, Wisconsin”

Edina, Minnesota

Although today was primarily a driving day, we were able to meet with Tiffany’s cousin Matt for a breakfast in Edina, Minnesota. We met his fiancée Stephanie and caught up with their lives. They have had their 2020 wedding plans upended by you-know-what so it was interesting to hear about their deliberations for tying theContinue reading “Edina, Minnesota”

Blaine, Minnesota

Today we confirmed that when our family has fully un-packed and stays in one place for a while it takes Brian and Tiffany two hours to re-pack Jeremy Picklepants with all our belongings. That sounds like a lot, but it’s only 24 minutes per person so it’s not too bad. Or at least that’s whatContinue reading “Blaine, Minnesota”

Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 7

Our last full day Madden’s for 2021 was full of banana taxi, pool time and cramming in some final in person conversations with family we don’t see often enough. It was a continued mixture of old traditions and new activities. Tonight all the Adventurers and cousin Alan played several rounds of the online game AmongContinue reading “Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 7”

Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 6

Friday was bonus adventures for our crew in Baxter, Minnesota. We learned a few things about ourselves that were noteworthy. Tiffany learned that there IS a limit for the number of times the teenage cousins would ride in the go-karts. (The answer is three). Suaram learned how many consecutive backflips can be performed before dizzinessContinue reading “Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 6”

Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 5

Our day began with a small family celebration for our youngest member who celebrated his eighth trip around the sun today. Per tradition he first opened a birthday shirt (Minecraft-themed, glows in the dark, high marks from the sibs). Tiffany had an early adventure to finally visit the dentist. It turns out the Bit-O-Honey fromContinue reading “Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 5”

Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 4

It was a bit of a typical wash, rinse, repeat day for our 5 Adventurers at Madden’s Resort. The threat of afternoon showers wasn’t realized and we all had outdoor adventures today. Suaram spent about 2 hours on the inflatables in the lake. She has perfected the jump off the side of the slide inflatableContinue reading “Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 4”

Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 3

After dropping the kids off with their cousins for another hour or two of banana taxi rides, Tiffany and Brian headed to Baxter, Minnesota for another vaccination adventure. Once again, we were met with yet ANOTHER pharmacist who is kind, thoughtful and helpful to us in our quest of vaccinations for overseas travel. Some ofContinue reading “Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 3”

Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 2

When Tiffany describes Madden’s, her best frame of reference is the resort from the film Dirty Dancing. It has activities you can join to learn or hone skill (axe throwing this year along with the traditional tennis and a guided bike ride). A big dining room where everyone eats meals (the food is good butContinue reading “Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 2”

Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 1

We arrived this afternoon at Madden’s Resort in Gull Lake, Minnesota for a seven night stay. Brian’s family have been coming to this charming lakeside resort since the 80’s. More recently, his mom (Busha) and step-father (Mike) have convinced their kids to come back to Madden’s every other year for a reunion of siblings andContinue reading “Gull Lake, Minnesota; Day 1”

Driving Day to Fargo, North Dakota

Today was a driving day with our “new” minivan demonstrating that cross-country travel doesn’t necessarily demand white knuckles on the steering wheel and perspiration on the forehead. We have come close to finalizing a name for the new car but will unveil that on another day (lobbying between the Adventurers continues). Most of the dayContinue reading “Driving Day to Fargo, North Dakota”

Wall & Badlands, South Dakota

Today was a bit unusual. After a stop-and-start in Rapid City, including a 3 hour detour to the Toyota dealership (see Car Adventure Update #3 for more) our 5 Adventurers hit the road. First, we went to Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota.  This is the original tourist “trap”. They have been serving free iceContinue reading “Wall & Badlands, South Dakota”

Driving Day to Rapid City, South Dakota

Our 5 Adventurers experienced a very similar South Dakotan weather day as yesterday. The morning began in the tent at the Mt. Rushmore camp site quite chilly. Mom and Dad had more complaints about chilly feet than the kiddos who claimed themselves as snug as bugs in their sleeping bags. Once the sun came outContinue reading “Driving Day to Rapid City, South Dakota”

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Today was back to the National Park agenda. Specifically the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. This morning was camp stove pancakes and tie-dying shirts as souvenirs (another KOA activity). There had been a short but furious rainstorm while we were twisting rubber bands and choosing dye colors but the sky looked clear enough to proceed soContinue reading “Mount Rushmore, South Dakota”

Palmer Gulch, South Dakota

Neither Brian or Tiffany went camping that much as kids and most vacations involved staying with family/friends or some sort of motel. We also never really spent time in an RV. So we were a bit unaware of the camping resorts that pepper the country offering a fun spot for family reunions or just aContinue reading “Palmer Gulch, South Dakota”

Devil’s Tower, Wyoming

Today was Day 2 of a drive to the Black Hills area of South Dakota.  We have now reached 4,709 miles on our travels from San Clemente, California. Wyoming has a marvelous diversity of land.  One of the more unique places that we have visited thus far was Devil’s Tower.  This feature rises up overContinue reading “Devil’s Tower, Wyoming”

Driving to Buffalo, Wyoming

Today was the first of two driving days for the family. We expect to find ourselves in a campground outside of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota before nightfall on the 19th. Ole Wheezy has attracted several one-finger salutes from Montanans and Wyomingites during the day’s journey. Brian thinks that Wheezy’s limited top speed is theContinue reading “Driving to Buffalo, Wyoming”

West Yellowstone, Montana; Day 4

We checked out of our high-cost/ low-amenity motel in West Yellowstone and drove straight to Mammoth Hot Springs in the northern part of the Park. Yellowstone was established in 1872 as the first national park. There was no precedent for the idea of reserving land to remain wild so the first park superintendents had seriousContinue reading “West Yellowstone, Montana; Day 4”

West Yellowstone, Montana; Day 3

Our aspirations for the day took us into Yellowstone National Park to visit several key spots. Our first stop was at the Norris Geyser Basin which produces some of the oldest and hottest springs in the Park. Steamboat Geyser shoots spray up to 300 feet into the air and had a significant eruption just 8Continue reading “West Yellowstone, Montana; Day 3”

Jackson, Wyoming

The Adventurers began the day early and left West Yellowstone for Jackson, Wyoming. We had been forewarned that Jackson was going to be super busy during this high season so we were glad to get there mid-morning. The family walked around a bit, had a snack, and shopped. The kids discovered a park at theContinue reading “Jackson, Wyoming”

West Yellowstone, Montana; Day 2

Our first day in Yellowstone started out comfortably cool, sunny and…crowded and it pretty much stayed that way. It’s not a big surprise there are crowds, it’s the busiest time of the year at Yellowstone and outdoor vacations are especially popular in our almost post-COVID world. Plus the park is amazing! Once we settled inContinue reading “West Yellowstone, Montana; Day 2”

West Yellowstone, Montana

Today, we have embarked on the Yellowstone leg of the journey.  We are going to spend four nights in and around this majestic area. Our first order of business was to swap Ole Wheezy with some wheels that could take us up and down the mountains in Northwest Wyoming. The kids were somewhat chagrined toContinue reading “West Yellowstone, Montana”

Bozeman, Montana

We made our way over the Continental Divide this morning and found ourselves in Bozeman, Montana for lunch and a visit to a wonderful museum. The Museum of the Rockies is a terrific place for anyone that has an interest in dinosaurs. Montana is a primary location for dinosaur fossil hunting and paleontology. The MORContinue reading “Bozeman, Montana”

Butte, Montana; Day 5

Today was our last full day in Butte and we resolved to do some of our favorite things. The kids played at Stodden Park once again and then spent some time in the pool practicing their underwater handstands and somersaults. Tiffany finished the puzzle with one missing piece and oddly a duplicate one as well.Continue reading “Butte, Montana; Day 5”

Butte, Montana; Day 2

The intrepid travellers remained in Butte for their adventures today. We plan to stay here until Monday the 12th before moving on to Billings, Montana. There is a very pleasant spot in Butte named Stodden Park where the kids played on large mining-themed playground equipment. It’s an homage to the copper mining that made thisContinue reading “Butte, Montana; Day 2”