All Across America....well the East at least!

Independence Hall -sorry I forgot to turn it....

Signing the Constitution


Mt Vernon

Changing of the Guards

Maid of the Mist with O'Reilly and Closes

Well we were able to do a wonderful family bus tour. We left our Atlanta home and flew to Buffalo, New York to meet our family friends the O'Reillys, Kenny, Diana, and Jesse. We stayed in a hotel on the Canadian side and had a beautiful view of both the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. It was a wonderful time of touring the sights and catching up with some great friends from the Central Coast. We Journeyed Behind the Falls, sailed on Maid of the Mist, hiked right up UNDER Bridal Veil Falls at Cave of the Winds and got the snot spooked out of us at Fear Factory. The weather was great and the laughs were endless. It was sad to say goodbye again to such great friends.

We then flew to Washington, DC and were able to do an extra tour day. Back in January we requested a tour of the White House with our Representative and with much paper work we were allowed in to see such a magnificent home. It was an honor to see the rooms, walls, halls, pictures and furniture of the home of our Presidents. The only President not to reside in the White House was George Washington. Obama was not home.

Next we joined our tour with Trafalgar. We were the only family on the tour and our boys were the youngest passengers. But despite the age gap, we all got along very well and the boys interacted extremely well. The oldest lady was 90 years old, Elizabeth, and she was traveling alone. She was amazing. Ron, a football assistant from Anaheim befriended the boys. He was alot like my brother Michael, funny, great stories, and awesome with the boys. Henry, an 80 year old guitar player challenged Joel's faith by quizzing him on his knowledge of the Bible. Joel told him he was going to Amsterdam and Henry wanted to make sure he was prepared. Our tour guide was Judie, or we like to call her Aunt Helen. She was a spry, fit, active, energetic gal who kept us all on task and handled every obstacle with grace.

Our tour started in DC with a tour of the major monuments. The WW II, Vietnam wall, Korean, Washington, Lincoln were amazing. We went to Arlington Cemetery and saw the changing of the guards. That is an honorable and painful job. 365 days a year, 24 hours a day those soldiers honor the fallen. We toured the Library of Congress, saw the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in the National Archives, visited the only Leonardo Da Vinci painting in the states at the National Art Gallery and toured the Holocaust Museum. So much history and so much to learn. I pray we never make the same mistakes and we always use our history to guide our future.

We then went south and visited Mt Vernon. George Washington had a beautiful place on the Potomac River. We also got to see Jamestown and the first colony, Williamsburg, Richmond and Harper's Ferry the site of John Brown's raid. History seems to make more sense when you see it in real life.

We climbed the Blue Ridge Mountains and went to Monticello. Thomas Jefferson also had a fancy dwelling. He was very ingenious and loved to make and use his inventions. It was Josiah's favorite place to see because of all the unique and ingenious gadgets he had for telling time, charting weather, cooling, heating, and designing his home. From there we explored the Shenandoah Mountains. It was a gorgeous drive. Most of us saw some bear and of course deer. Josiah found a bug in his water glass at dinner. We were in the woods so it wasn't that bad.

We drove through Amish country in Lancaster, Penn. It was odd seeing people living so sterile and free from modern conveniences. Isaac was impressed with their propane lanterns and air compressed ceiling fans and sewing machine. Simple is not always easy but it can be done. We even met a young gal who was watching her four young boys ride their bikes and sell their homemade cookies and root beer in front of their daddy's wood working shop.

We finished up in Philadelphia and saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Betsy Ross' home. So much great history and heritage.

We were all so grateful that we could do this adventure, and because of our close proximity to all this history, Gary made it possible. What a blessing. We will pray for America with a bit more fervency. Appreciating our God's providence in our heritage is the best life lesson of all.