We kept going straight and ended up in a grocery store parking lot. That was easy enough to get out of and we waited a moment for the GPS to give us an alternative route. We ended up in that neighbor again, albeit on a different street, a very narrow passage with endless cars lining both sides. I remember passing the freeway at one point, going right under it, and wondering why the GPS was sending us a different way. It was a Saturday and there were lots of people outside enjoying the weather. There were also lots of junk cars, tattoo parlors, liquor stores, and other unsavory things that made us start to feel a bit nervous. At one point, men got out of two cars right in front of us, blocking traffic. They each went to houses on different sides of the street. We had no choice but to stop and wait. I heard a woman yell outside, “Leon, move your (BLEEP!) car!”

Leon was nice and went back to his car, whistling for his friend, who also went back to his own car. They moved out of our way.

We kept driving and the GPS wasn’t leading us toward any highway or freeway that we could see on the screen. At one point, I think I remember Richard calling the GPS the same name the shouting lady had used with Leon.

People were standing outside and staring at us, obviously wondering what this huge RV was doing in their very crowded neighborhood. We breathed a sigh of relief when the GPS not only led us to a two-lane road, but a police car also pulled in front of us. A few seconds later, he turned and we were once again feeling quite a bit alone and vulnerable. The neighborhood got even more imposing and, I’ll admit it, I was scared.

A few blocks later, I saw a man dressed like the Statue of Liberty. I whipped out my camera and took his picture. When he saw my camera, he made a rather rude gesture to me with his fingers. I was more discreet with my camera after that and I triple checked that the RV door was locked.

I’ve pixelated the fingers…

All our worry was for naught, though. We somehow ended up on the expressway and on our way toward the George Washington Bridge.

George Washington Bridge

I worked for a few hours while Richard drove. We were going to see the boys’ Godfathers, Doug and Raul, and Max and Mason were so excited we had a hard time keeping them still and entertained. We arrived at the campground and the boys were happy to see grass and a playground.

Doug and Raul came to pick us up about an hour later and, much to our delight, had chosen Mystic Pizza II for dinner. It was DELICIOUS!!!

Mason’s Dessert at Mystic Pizza II

The next day, a Sunday, Raul and Richard took Max to the YMCA to go swimming and Doug and I stayed in the RV with Mason, talking shop. I LOVE to talk shop with Doug, who’s a New York Times bestselling author. He has amazing creative ideas for book marketing and he is SUCH a talented writer. I just finished his book, Neverland. I couldn’t put it down! Doug has an incredibly entertaining blog. You can subscribe HERE.

That night, we went to HUGE diner, Equinox, and had a really fun meal. After dinner, we returned to the RV and the boys enjoying spending more time with Doug and Raul. We’d planned to stay an extra day but Doug caught a cold/flu bug so we started for home the next morning, knowing we’d be back in May anyway. Mason was noticeably upset and Max cried.

On Monday morning, we packed up the RV for the last time on our “No More Snow!” trip and started the long drive back to Bangor. I’m sure God was laughing when Ali called to let us know it was 36 degrees in Bangor…and snowing. Forty-eight hours after we got home, it snowed again. Honestly, after the snow we had the first three days of the trip, and the 15 inches we had when we got to Virginia, and the additional four inches we got on the beach in South Carolina, we weren’t surprised.

On the way home, we did what we always do, reminisced about the best parts of the trip while also making a list of all the stuff we broke in the RV…so we’d have that when we took it to the shop. We made it home in plenty of time for Easter, which was our goal, and on Easter Sunday in Bangor, Maine it was almost 80 degrees! It was the warmest Easter, by far, we’d ever experienced in Maine and it was absolutely perfect!

One funny thing happened on this trip that I forgot to mention in earlier posts. After we left home, I realized we hadn’t brought along the bathroom scale. It’s very important to weigh yourself daily when you are eating out so much because you might get home and realize you’ve gained far more weight than you knew. So, early on in the trip, we bought a new, very cheap bathroom scale for the RV.

We’d only been gone for a few days when we bought it so I was stunned when I stepped on it the first time in our little RV potty room and discovered I’d gained seven pounds. SEVEN POUNDS!!!! Why did my jeans still fit?! Richard said he’d gained weight, too (more than me), and so had Max (though less than we had). Hmm… Not good! A few days later, Max was in the potty room in the morning and I asked him to hand me the scale. I put it on the floor near the bathroom sink and was thrilled to discover I’d lost those seven pounds….in one day! Of course, I instantly knew what had happened. The RV was not quite level at that campground. In the potty room, the scale had been facing uphill. When I put it on the floor by the sink, it was facing downhill. I had a good laugh with Richard about it and, let me tell you, we was facing downhill for the rest of that trip!

I hope you’ve enjoyed coming along for the ride on our “2010 No More Snow!” trip.

Join us again in just two weeks when we head to Wisconsin!

I’ve posted many,  many more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

Braised Shoulder of Lamb; Heirloom Beans, Black Olives and Parsnips at Gramercy Tavern

Lightly Smoked Artic Char; Savoy Cabbage, Sunchokes and Mussels at Gramercy Tavern

Need I say more? There are more pictures from our delicious meal HERE. The boys were stunned when the discovered the towels in the bathroom were REAL towels! After use, they get tossed in a basket under the sink. We have nothing like that in Bangor, Maine!

After lunch, we took a looooooong walk through the city to the Empire State Building. Max had been waiting weeks for this and he was not disappointed! We must have been there on a slow day, during the slow season, because we didn’t have to wait in any lines. The weather was, once again, perfect and the view was breathtaking. Max took lots of videos of the visit, even taping himself as the narrator. Of course, we had to stop by the gift shop so Max could buy a tiny statue of the building. Mason was also excited about visiting the “Pirate State Building.”

We took another marathon trek through the city after that, walking to the Apple Store and the toy store, FAO Schwarz. Richard and Scott went to the Apple store while I took the boys into the toy store. When we walked in, I realized Mason was holding Big Bird, a gift Scott had given him the day before. I quickly tucked him under a jacket on top of the stroller so nobody would think we stole him. Sure enough, we saw identical Big Birds in the store!

We were limited on how much we could carry (I mean, on how much we could hang on the stroller) so I told the boys they could only choose small items. Max chose some Star Wars action figures. He wanted specific characters and light sabers but the characters he wanted didn’t have light sabers so he had to buy Jedi’s that did have light sabers….and he must have spent 20 minutes standing there, trying to make up his mind. That was okay. There were plenty of other things to look at, like this life-size statue of Chewy made out of Legos.

Mason was surrounded by every toy imaginable, and many he didn’t even know existed…but he still wanted another Thomas the Train character (sigh). Richard and Scott caught up with us and, before we left, we bought some interesting candy for the loved ones back home. As we left, I was thinking about Big Bird, hidden in the jackets hanging on the stroller, wondering if some alarm would go off as we walked out. So, I turned to Scott and said, “You wanna push Mason?” Heh…

I’d whispered the Big Bird quandary to the guys at the register so he knew what he was up against when he bravely agreed to push Mason through the double doors. We all pretended not to heave a sigh of relief when no alarms sounded and no men in dark blue jackets gave chase.

We walked a bit more and then caught a cab to the hotel. We dropped off our goodies and then took a stroll to a small Italian restaurant for dinner. A famous author was eating there alone. I didn’t even notice him but Scott did. Apparently he eats out in that area a lot. I won’t mention his name to respect his privacy but I thought it was funny that we were sitting right next to a celebrity and I didn’t even notice. I was too busy trying to get tiny Mason to eat something (anything!) nutritious for dinner. In case you don’t know, Mason is the pickiest eater on earth. The restaurant didn’t have anything he was interested in. They were good sports, making him some homemade macaroni and cheese but he wouldn’t touch that, either. He was very happy with the bread basket, however, and I think he may have eaten five pieces.

After dinner, we stopped by a tiny grocery store and bought Mason some milk and cereal so he would at least get some vitamins that evening. We already had juice in the hotel room.

On Thursday morning, Scott arrived with chocolate cookies, much to the delight of the boys. We told them they had to save them for after dinner because we were heading to an organic restaurant, Josie’s, for lunch. The food was delicious!

Lemon Ribbon Ice Cream Pie – graham cracker crust with layers of lemon curd and vanilla bean ice cream topped with meringue at Josie’s in NYC

Organic Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie Plate served with organic milk for dunking at Josie’s in NYC

After lunch, we took a taxi to the Intrepid, an aircraft carrier that’s been turned into a museum. Max had been studying flight and air travel for a few weeks and this was an exciting field trip for him. He even got to see a real Blue Angel airplane! While we were there, Scott, Max and I rode a 4D ride.

The movie part was a roller coaster. Max really enjoyed that! After we left, it was rush hour and finding a cab proved to be quite a challenge. I’d wanted to go to Soho that day and we were far, far away from that part of town. So, we walked and we walked and we walked some more. We found ourselves outside of Macys – the one you see in the Thanksgiving Day parade. On that block, during rush hour, I saw more people than I’ve ever seen on any city block in my life. It was amazing and the energy from all those people was invigorating! I felt quite exhilarated and I usually don’t like crowds. Max’s homeschooling got even more well-rounded a bit later when he was one man sleeping on the sidewalk and another man getting arrested. I could tell we’d somehow moved from one part of town to another but Max wasn’t afraid or nervous. He was far more interested in taking pictures of graffiti.

Beauty is in the eye of…

Shortly thereafter, we finally found an empty cab, and headed for Soho.

In Soho, we did some window shopping. There seemed to be lots of designer stores but I really don’t like shopping for clothes. However, the window displays in the clothing stores were amazing.

I mainly wanted to find some goodies for the loved ones back home. We did find one store, The Evolution Store, which looked interesting. And, boy oh boy, was it! Downstairs, they had fossils and stuffed critters galore. Frank, who loves geology and has a large collection, would have been in heaven! I chose a beautiful freshwater pearl for him and a 4 million year old chunk of amber with insects in it. Earlier in the week, Richard said there was a human body exhibit, BODIES: THE EXHIBITION, in New York. We decided Max was too young to be looking at real, dead human bodies. Seeing a wrapped dummy is one thing. Seeing a real body or bones…well, that would be too much for him. Why am I telling you this? Well, because we went upstairs in The Evolution Store and there was an entire glass case of human skeletons, from an adult, to children, and right on down to a fetus, with the skull still noticeably unfused. I wasn’t happy seeing that because adults have the opportunity to donate their bodies to “science” if they want. The children and babies who previously inhabited those skeletons obviously did not. Max was a bit upset but I think I was far more so. We went downstairs and left.

I wasn’t going to let that ruin our evening, and wanted to get Max’s mind off it, too. So, I quickly changed the subject to, “What does everybody want for dinner?!” We found a small French restaurant, Felix Bar & Restaurant, with all the doors open. So, even if you sat inside, it was like sitting outside. It was very loud and the evening air was cool and perfect. The people all seemed to be on a collective high from the Spring weather and there was much merriment and laughter. The atmosphere was great!

On Friday, we got up early and Richard went out for Starbucks. Mason drank a good bit of his Frappuccino, and was jumping all over the place so we decided to take a walk before meeting Scott for lunch. I was looking for a new backpack purse because mine had a broken zipper. I’ve been carrying the same purse for about a decade, and I was looking for one that looked just like mine, and around the same size, and I hadn’t been having any luck. I finally found one store that had more purses than I’d ever seen. I found four backpack purses that would have worked quite nicely. Problem was, they ranged from $365 to $425. Call me cheap but I’m not going to spend more than $20 or so for a small black backpack! I gave up and we went to meet Scott for lunch. The restaurant where we’d planned to eat was small, and didn’t have any tables large enough to accommodate us, so we walked around the corner to an Italian restaurant we’d seen, the Arte Cafe. We ate a very nice lunch, outside, in the still-gorgeous Spring weather.

After lunch, we took a cab to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Max had been waiting for this homeschooling field trip for weeks! We looked at the medieval outfits first, chainmail, suits of armor, etc. Max had recently studied medieval times and was really enjoying seeing real armor and other protective clothing that people wore back then. He also thought the real swords and other weapons, laden with gems, were pretty cool.

He was having a great time! Mason, on the other hand, was bored out of his mind. He likes museums but he wanted to see some trains…and he kept asking about trains, over and over again. I figured out a way to placate him. I told him, “They have lots of paintings here, Mason. Let’s hunt for a train painting!”

That seemed to work. Now, admittedly, I was sure we would NOT find a train painting but hunting for one would keep Mason busy until we got to the gift shop, at which time he would most certainly forget all about trains. But, we didn’t plan on visiting the gift shop until the end of the day.

This is NOT a train painting.

As we were leaving the medieval display and moving to another, Mason was once again saying, “Where’s the train painting? I wanna find the train painting.”

I said, “Keep looking, honey.”

At that moment, a nosy man with a kid in tow leaned down to Mason, sticking his nose into OUR business, and said, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, young man, but there are no paintings of trains in this museum.”

You should have seen Mason’s face. It was like the man told him there was no such thing as fairies. Mason went from frown to public meltdown. I wanted to have a meltdown, too. I mean, the guy had a kid. He must have known I was trying to divert Mason’s attention for a few hours. I wanted to throttle that man!!! Mason was very cranky the rest of the day…until the gift shop, of course, and it was all that nosy, inconsiderate stranger’s fault!

Anyway, Max got to see mummies (wrapped or in tombs, of course, not the actual bodies) and Roman sculptures. He really seemed to enjoy those. And, of course, the paintings. Sooooo many paintings! Max loved drawing and painting and he was as impressed as we were with the beautiful artwork. I could have walked those rooms for days, gazing in awe at the beauty…but Mason would have none of that!

I kept hoping Mason would get tired and take a nap in his stroller. That didn’t happen. We finally made it to the gift shop, which is actually the museum bookstore, and Mason seemed more happy that it was time to go than he was about buying something. Just before we left, a toddler wandered into the gift shop alone. I realized instantly that she appeared to be lost. I also knew, from instinct, that you don’t pick up a lost child. You try to talk to them and keep them safe while you summon help but you don’t touch them for two reason. One: the child may panic. Two: if the parent arrives, you may be accused of attempted kidnapping. Another woman was standing by me and she did the same thing. We both stood on both sides of her, asking her what her name was, where her mommy was, etc. She continued to ignore us. I summoned one of the cashiers, who quickly came over as well. The little girl looked up at me again, but still didn’t say a word. Then, she reached into a display of magnets, grabbed one, and darted out of the store. I burst out laughing and said, “Shoplifter!!” The other women laughed, too.

I was about to follow her but saw the little girl run right into a woman, obviously her mother, who made her come back into the store and put the magnet back on the display. I said, “I’m sure glad you’re here! We all thought she was lost.”

The woman ignored me, didn’t even look at me, but started speaking to her daughter instead…in French. That certainly explained why neither one would respond to us!

We finally left, to Mason’s delight, and went walking to find a place for dinner. We ended up at a Turkish restaurant, A La Turka, and we had SO MUCH FUN! It was long and loud and awesome! We ate and ate and ate some more, all new, interesting dishes we’d never tried before, like lamb flat bread pizza, cigar fingers (made with lamb, not tobacco), swordfish, steak and lamb kabobs and much more. And dessert! Oh, the dessert! We had the sweetest custard we’d ever tasted and cheese baked in coconut and swimming in honey. My mouth is watering just remembering that awesome night.

There was a table next to ours, separated by a glass partition. Mason was flirting with the woman on the other side of the glass. He even leaned over and kissed the glass when we left. His first crush! We obviously need to talk to him about sticking to his own age group…

On Saturday, we had to pack our bags. It was our last day in New York City and we’d only be there until early afternoon. We were all very sad. We left our bags with the Maître d’ and walked to lunch with Scott. We had brunch at Isabella’s. My meal was great but the
dessert was the most beautiful one we’d seen during our trip.

Dark Chocolate Bag filled with which fresh raspberry mousse, and topped with a variety of fresh berries and whipped cream at Isabella’s in New York City

After lunch, we had some time to visit before our hired car arrived. By hired car, I mean a black car that isn’t a limo. The hotel had helped us find a company that agreed to drive us to New Jersey because the ferry we’d taken in didn’t run that route on Saturdays. The day before, Scott had brought the boys some wind-up chicks. We sat on a bench while the boys wound up one of the chicks and made it hop on the sidewalk as people walked by. It was pretty funny watching all sets of eyeballs watching that small toy as they strolled along. Some people snickered while others smiled but Max and Mason were giggling up a storm!

We finally had to walk back to our hotel and arrived just as the car did. We all shared hugs and Max got very sad and sniffly. Max and Mason both watched Scott walking away through the car’s rear window.

During our drive to New Jersey, we were entertained by the driver’s logical explanation of plural marriage. No kidding! He was a very nice guy, with one wife only (so far) and children. He’d grown up in another state and he was also explaining the difference between the size of “homes” in New York City versus his home state. After staying in the tiniest hotel room ever, we knew exactly what he was talking about. He also talked to us more about his religion but he wasn’t pushy at all. He was very kind and quite entertaining!

When we got back to the Liberty Harbor RV Park, we decided to pack up the RV and drive to Connecticut right then instead of waiting until the next day. It was a beautiful day for a drive, once again sunny and in the 70′s, and the excitement about seeing their Godfathers, Doug and Raul, made Max and Mason start hopping all over the RV. Little did we know, we’d end up in the ghetto…

I’ve posted many,  many more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

Liberty Harbor RV Park isn’t anything like a campground. It’s a line of large parking spaces – an RV parking lot, all in a row. You can see the Statue of Liberty from select places there and you can hear the “clang, clang” of the sailboat rigging…but that’s about it as far as aesthetic appeal is concerned. Oh, and the subway/train passes by frequently, too, though I did manage to tune that out at bedtime.  The parking area is just cement and gravel so we didn’t even bother putting Mason’s gates outside.  The boys played inside that night. However, if you want to park your RV and take a trek into the city, this the place to do it. We drove to the Brownstone Diner & Pancake Factory in Jersey City, NJ for dinner. It has been featured on the Food Network on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives but we didn’t know that at the time.

The portions were HUGE and delicious! For example, we ordered “dollar pancakes” for Mason (age 3). They brought out an enormous platter of regular-sized pancakes! There were so many that we got them to go and put them in the freezer in the RV. Mason ate them for the next week and a half.

The smothered fries were oh-so-good, swimming in bacon and cheese and a delicious sauce. Even Max (age 8), who hesitates to try new things, couldn’t get enough of them.

I got a California omelet and it was the biggest omelet I’ve ever had. We got so full that we ended up getting our dessert to go. They had an endless assortment of pies and cakes to choose from, as well as ice cream sundaes. We were delightfully stuffed when we rolled ourselves out of there that night. The service was amazing!

It was the dinner rush but you’d never know it from the way our waiter hovered.

After dinner, I accidentally tipped a bag of leftovers, causing a spill, and he ran to the kitchen for another to-go box and bag for me. The manager was extremely polite and gave us huge smiles as well. We’ll definitely be back.

The next morning, after some initial confusion about where to buy ferry tickets (the ticket office closes during the day), we were on board and heading for the city. It was a beautiful, clear day and the boys only needed light jackets. We had a distant but clear view of the Statue of Liberty from the water.

The ferry ride was short and we were the only passengers on board, much to the delight of Max and Mason.

After the ferry, we hailed a cab and headed for the hotel. We checked in right on schedule and called Scott to tell him we’d arrived. The boys were SO excited about spending a few days with their buddy!

The hotel room was small, and I mean TINY. When we unfolded the small sofa at night, we could only get to the bathroom by walking sideways at the end of it. It made our RV look like a castle in comparison. But, it was very clean, nicely decorated, and pretty quiet, too! We would definitely stay there again.

Scott only lived a few blocks from our hotel so he arrived in no time. And, he brought gifts – Sesame Street characters! The boys were thrilled! Mason ended up taking Big Bird with him everywhere we went that week.

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. It was around 70 degrees and sunny. We took a walk through Central Park. At one point, the boys took a swing break and Scott took a pull-up break. I was impressed. I couldn’t even do one of those!

The sun started to set so we headed to dinner. Scott has made reservations at Calle Ocho, a Cuban restaurant. Our stomachs were all stretched out from the night before so we had no trouble putting away another huge meal. Here are just some of the goodies we had that night.

Ceviche Sampler at Calle Ocho NYC – March, 2010

Gallitos – Platter of Traditional Costa Rican Soft Tacos with Grilled Beef, Salsa Verde Shrimp & Chipotle Chicken (serves two) at Calle Ocho – March, 2010

Vaca Frita al Caballo – Cuban Skirt Steak, Latin Fried Rice, Tomato Escabeche, Avocado at Calle Ocho NYC – March, 2010

We give Calle Ocho five stars! Mason tried his hardest to stay awake but he conked out before dessert. Luckily, we were sitting in a booth so he was quite comfy.

On Tuesday, we walked about five miles and had many more adventures! More on our whirlwind tour of NYC next week.

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

When we were in South Carolina, we visited a horrible Mexican Food restaurant. It was, by far, the worst Mexican food I’ve ever had in my life. I tasted the things on my plate, was disgusted, and left hungry. Neither Richard nor the boys were happy, either. When my sister suggested Mexican food in her town, and promised it was excellent, we reluctantly agreed to get back up on that horse again. She was right. It was delicious and we had a wonderful time. The best part was when our nephew kept my sister busy by repeatedly trying to throw his plate on the floor. Heh…

On Saturday, we did something we absolutely DREAD. We took all the boys to…Chuck E. Cheese. The pizza is okay but the noise, oh my gosh, THE INCESSANT NOISE! I can only take it for an hour or two before I need to curl up under the table in a fetal position and go to my “happy place.” Of course, the boys loved it, and can’t wait to go back again someday. I am SO glad there isn’t one anywhere near Bangor, Maine! Max enjoyed the video games while Mason’s favorite parts were the Barney ride and the cotton candy, which he wolfed down like a hamburger. I had to tell him it was NOT going to fill him up. He didn’t care. I posted a video of Mason eating cotton candy like a starving man HERE.

My sister enjoyed the cotton candy, too!

That night, back at my sister’s house, we had a rip-roaring, boisterous game of Scrabble!

Sunday was our last day there so we took one last trip to The Melting Pot. Between the Melting Pot in Virginia and the one in Myrtle Beach, I think we ate there five times over the past two months. We have our own fondue sets (two of them) at our house but it seems much more fun when somebody else is fixing everything for you. That night, we played Scrabble again and it was even more competitive than the night before. No, I didn’t win either night! >:(

On Monday, we would head north again, this time to New Jersey.

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

After he and Andi both finished their schoolwork for the day, they rode all the way around the block together. Max didn’t fall at all. When he rode back into our spot here…he ran into the back of our car. Don’t worry. He didn’t even get a scratch and neither did the car. After we realized there were no injuries, we all had quite a belly laugh about that.

On Tuesday, Max did his schoolwork while we did business stuff and then Richard took the boys to the park. In the afternoon, the boys played outside while Richard drove to the store and bought goodies for a cookout. Andi, Frank and Randy all stayed for dinner. It was a lot of fun and we sure will miss them.

Wednesday was the day Max was dreading. He started to get teary-eyed whenever he thought about leaving Andi. We woke up early and got all packed up. I’m pretty sure I will never get all the sand out of this RV! It is EVERYWHERE! Andi and her dad spent about an hour with us before it was time to pull out. Max said a tearful goodbye and we took pictures. We pulled away and Max and Andi were waving to each other. Max was very, very sad for the rest of the day and that evening. He called Andi after we got to our next destination. That cheered him up a bit, but not much.

It rained most of the day, which fit Max’s mood. Our next stop was a hotel in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. We parked the RV, checked in, and went to our room. It had quite a 70s feel to it with all the light greens and geometric patterns. I’m pretty sure Carol Brady herself decorated it!

We dumped our bags, and found a fantastic North Carolina barbeque place for lunch. If you’ve never had North Carolina barbeque, you have sadly neglected your taste buds and your soul. It is AWESOME! After stuffing ourselves with pulled pork, we visited the Wright Brother’s Museum for one of Max’s field trips. Luckily, the rain had stopped for awhile.

It was very interesting for all of us…except Mason. He was far more interested in the huge empty field outside, where he made a friend. His friend didn’t speak any English and Mason doesn’t speak Spanish (except for a few phrases he’s picked up from Dora the Explorer) but they got along so well! They laughed and ran and laughed some more! You see, you don’t have to speak somebody’s language to be their buddy! When we left, Mason cried and said, “Oh no! My friend!!”

I posted a short video of Mason with his friend HERE. Toward the end, you can see how easily a 3-year-old can get distracted by a passing truck. Ha ha.

That evening, we drove along the coast, looking at endless rows of homes for rent. Of course, it’s not the busy season so most of them are vacant and look very cold, dark and lonely. It was chilly and still misty with intermittent rain so trying to imagine thousands of people in flip flops and bathing suits, trudging to the beach, was a bit difficult. We had dinner at a local place that was just a hair better than awful. We shoulda gone back to the barbeque place!!

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

Wednesday is Richard’s busiest day of the week so we usually stay in that day. Boring but necessary. The next day, Max borrowed my camera to take some pictures of several Canada Geese that appear to be wintering at the campground.

The zoom knob had been sticking a bit but would turn if you were gentle with it. Max wasn’t so gentle and…it broke. That was the third Canon SD600 that I’ve lost.

The first and second ones I bought were over $200. The third was a bit less. I was thrilled to find one on ebay, refurbished, of course, for $90 with free shipping! The camera is a really good one, and popular, too. Since I know all the bells and whistles for it, I don’t have to read another boring manual if I just keep buying the same camera. The seller on ebay said he could get it to me before we left South Carolina. Hallelujah! I’m not sure how I’d get by the rest of the trip without a camera!

On Friday, we visited the oldest restaurant in Myrtle Beach. It’s a German one and the entire place has all kinds of stuff stuck to the walls. My view during dinner was a large poster of Princess Diana. I ordered escargot as an appetizer and tried to get Max to eat his first snail. He said he’d do it for ten bucks and I eventually agreed. He put it in his mouth and said, “Mmmm!” But, we could tell he was faking it. He then chewed and chewed (they are kinda chewy), swallowed (without gagging) and held out his hand with a smile, waiting for the cash. Heh…

For dinner, we had sausage, sauerkraut, the works! It was AWESOME!

The next day, Richard took Max and Mason to the park while I worked. Max made two new friends that day – Andi, who is almost 12, and Randy, who is 12. I was surprised by the age difference but all the kids got along great for the entire rest of our stay at that campground! That night, we went to a seafood restaurant that overlooked a waterway. Max took this picture with my phone.

Sunday was a BIG DAY! We moved Max’s training wheels up an inch and he finally believed what we’d been telling him for a few days. He wasn’t really using the training wheels. They weren’t even touching the ground when he rode. However, he still said he wanted to wait “just one more day” to take them off completely. We spent the afternoon at the beach with Andi and Randy. Andi’s dad, Frank, met us out there, too. The kids made a HUGE sand turtle, flew kites, and jumped over the small waves. It was quite chilly but they didn’t seem to mind getting a bit wet. As the sun started to set, our lips started turning blue so we made the kids come inside. We invited Randy, Andi and Frank over for dinner and we ordered pizza. Andi is also homeschooled so she and Max have lots in common. Randy is in regular school and lives at the campground. Some campgrounds have year-round residents so that isn’t at all unusual. He was a very well-mannered and soft-spoken boy and we liked him a lot, too.

We were a bit sad that night because we knew that was our last Sunday in Myrtle Beach.

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

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I got caught up on laundry and, after a jaunt out for sandwiches for lunch, we took the boys to the beach in the afternoon. The weather on every Sunday of our trip here has been absolutely perfect.

Shaded Reflections

A Perfect Day!

We came home later, washed off the sand, and headed to our favorite restaurant here. We had the same waiter as the previous weekend. He’s on leave from the military, mending a severely broken ankle (lots of pins and screws) and he’s very friendly. Dinner was incredible and we had a great time!

On Monday, I got a bit of work done. Zach decided he wanted to spend his last full day here shopping. Max had been excited about Zach coming because, unlike Ali, “Zach likes to do fun stuff, not shopping!” So, Max was pretty surprised to learn we were going shopping, not go-kart riding or laser-tagging. Ha ha. He had fun anyway because the ducks converged on us again when we arrived. There was no shortage of friendly seagulls, either!

Who’s Making Fun of Whom?

Mason Likes Metallic Chicks

I found a neat shop with inexpensive beach clothes, and was able to buy some goodies for the girls back home. I also found two cool tops for myself, made from recycled materials. Zach bought some goodies for his girlfriend. The shops were in an outdoor area and the weather was just a bit nippy, but sunny and gorgeous. It was a perfect day! Max and Mason took a ride on the dinosaurs.

Zach chose the restaurant again that night so we had brick oven pizza at an Italian restaurant. The pizza was outstanding and I later contemplated just putting the bathroom scale under the sink until we get home. I mean, WHAT is the POINT of dieting on a trip when you are surrounded by local restaurants serving delectable treats, right?!

On Tuesday, we woke up early to head to breakfast and the airport. We were very sad to see Zach go but we’ll see him again very, very soon! Zach said it was the best vacation ever!!

Tuesday was also the day we decided to delay our return to Maine by a week. Why? Because of the weather. Last week, two more storms were moving across the country and it was below freezing and snowing just a couple hours north of here. If we left too early, we’d need to have the RV re-winterized before we left, to prevent the pipes from freezing.  So, Richard has changed all our reservations for the rest of the trip, and backed everything up by one week. It might be foolish to think one week can make a difference when they’re having the coldest winter in 40 years down here, but we can hope and pray!

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

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We “cleaned house” that afternoon and picked Zach up late that night at the airport. Max and Mason love to go to the airport! Zach’s plane arrived a few minutes before we did and he met us outside. Mason was sooooo disappointed that he didn’t get to go inside the airport. He started crying but Zach was able to calm him down and make him smile.

We slept in a bit the next morning, and then got some work done while Max did his schoolwork. Zach was “on vacation” so he got to pick all our activities and restaurants during his stay here.

So, after “work” on Friday, we all jumped in the car. Zach had scoured a couple of tourist pamphlets and books, but wanted to see what was nearby. We first stopped for a fantastic lunch at an Italian restaurant. Mason wasn’t behaving very well. He kept wanting to sit behind me and “hold the reins” (my ponytail)…and he kept saying, “Giddyup, Mommy!”

There was a “red hat” group sitting next to us. That was a treat. We left there, and next went to Barnes and Noble. We ALL love bookstores, of course, and we treated ourselves to Starbucks afterwards. We drove around some more, showing Zach was was nearby. He wanted to eat at the Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. That was the third time we’d eaten there in three weeks and we’d keep going if it wasn’t so darned expensive! For dessert, we went to Marble Slab (yum!!).

On Saturday, we worked a bit. Zach wanted to go to our favorite pizza place here for lunch. They have large TVs all over the place and they were running a show about people doing tricks on their bikes. Max is just learning how to ride on two wheels and he really enjoyed that.

After lunch, we worked off some of those pizza calories with a very competitive round of putt putt. I admit it. Zach won (even after landing in this water hazard!).

Richard and I tied for second. Max did really well, and got his first hole-in-one ever. And, we didn’t keep track of Mason’s score because, well, you can see why HERE.

For dinner, Zach wanted to visit a Japanese steakhouse. We don’t think the food was better than the first one we’d visited but the “show” by the chef was more entertaining. We walked around a bit after dinner. It was chilly…but downright toasty compared to Maine. We were definitely looking forward to a sunny Sunday on the beach and we were not to be disappointed! More on that later. Have to get ready for (yes, another!) dinner out. Whoo hoo!

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

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Anyway, Max entertained himself that night by turning into a robot.

On Wednesday, we headed to the aquarium for the day. Max was signed up to attend their homeschooling class and I was going to let the fish and sharks entertain Mason for the day. The aquarium was, by far, the nicest one we’ve ever visited. Mason liked the big slide the best!

After Max attended the class, he was able to roam around, too, and he enjoyed the big shark display the best. We let him take pictures.

Mason got frightened in the tunnel that meandered through the shark area so he asked us to hold him, saying, “I keep my eyes kwosed!”

My favorite part was the display of sea dragons. I’d never seen one before and they are exquisite!

Max got up the nerve to pet a horseshoe crab after the lady told him he could avoid their wiggling legs by holding one upside down. That didn’t stop the crab from using its tail, however, and Max got a bit nervous at that point.

The day at the aquarium was one of the highlights of our trip so far! I’ve posted more pictures of it HERE.

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Mason Watching the Onion Volcano

The food was pretty good except I had to remind him twice not to put sesame seeds in any of my dishes (because of my diverticulosis). He did so I couldn’t eat my veggies or my fried rice. I went there mainly for the seafood, and had only planned to eat a few bites of rice anyway, so I gave my sesame-seed-laden dishes to Richard. The grilled shrimp was amazing! Max tried it, and then kept asking me for more (he’d ordered steak). He’s previously only eaten fried shrimp so we were pleased he was being adventurous. In fact, he’s tried a lot of new things on this trip and he’s liked most of them!

On Sunday, we took the day off. After a quick trip to the health food store, Max rode his bike most of the afternoon. We then went to the beach for a couple of hours.

C-c-cold Water!

Max’s “Kingdom”

We took the kites along but there was almost no wind. The water was very similar in color to the sky and the waves were very small. It was quiet and beautiful and several horses walked by (with their riders, of course), while we were there. It was a perfect day!!!

Life is Good! Hey, somebody’s gotta sit here, right? Why not us? (Horses are in the background.)

Max dug “a hole for Mason’s butt”…so we called it his “butt hole.”

That evening, Max rode his bike some more while I cooked my high-protein, sweet pancakes for the boys, along with a side of cinnamon apples.

WIRELESSTRIPS HIGH-PROTEIN (SWEET!) PANCAKES
(for kids like Mason who won’t eat meat!)

2 c. flour
2 T. baking powder
2 T. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. powdered sugar or sugar (we get the raw, organic sugar)
4 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl, and wet ingredients in another bowl. Then, mix all together in the large bowl. Add more milk or flour, if necessary, to get the batter to the right consistency.

I melt butter in the pan instead of oil (for more protein) but both work just fine. Heat your non-stick pan (or griddle) to medium or medium-high. (I like a higher heat because I’m busy and I like to cook them faster. Just be sure to keep an eye on them!). Test one pancake first, just to make sure the batter is thick enough. Cook until light brown, flip, and cook on other side until light brown and cooked through.

Mason (age three) likes the dollar-sized pancakes. I put the leftovers in a Ziploc bag, throw it in the freezer, and heat them up in the microwave for him (about 45 seconds) whenever he wants one. He’ll eat them for any meal and they make great grab-and-go snacks since he doesn’t eat them with syrup. Max (age eight) will only eat his with real “Maine Maple syrup.” Yeah, he’s spoiled.

For our dinner, I heated up some butternut squash soup, and made grilled cheese sandwiches with light wheat bread and pepperjack cheese.

Monday dawned with a heavy sky, and thunder in the distance. My mom sent me a text early, saying they might get “up to six inches of snow” tomorrow. I texted back, asking her if she’d called Al Gore yet. See, Mom lives in Texas, just about an hour and a half north of Houston.

They’ve already gotten snow and sleet this year, which is very, very unusual. I can count on less than one hand the number of times we had snow there when I was growing up. Now, they might get an actual, bonafide snowstorm? Wow!!! I think global warming is something cooked up by corporations and governments to further their own revenues…and I’m not just using one snowstorm as the basis for my beliefs. Oh, just got a picture from Mom. Here it is:

Anyway, I just hope all that snow falls out of those clouds before that front reaches us here in South Carolina!

I’ve posted even more pictures HERE.

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