finally

So we are just getting home, just settling back into some sort of normalcy, when one of my children pulls out a map.

"I want to go to Texas next," she says. "Or maybe New York." She is completely, absolutely stone-faced, serious. She looks up at me expectantly, like I already have the hotels booked and the itinerary planned.

IS SHE KIDDING?

I haven't even emptied the cooler. I haven't even emptied the VAN! Our simsuits are still drying in the shower - no lie.

But I know how she is. And unfortunately, have to take complete credit/blame/whatever you want to call it - because I am exactly the same.

Tonight we took the time to color a US map. We colored all of the states that she has visited in bright colors, and colored the others gray. Typically sunny Punk took a gander at the map and said, "Whoa - look at that - I've been a lot of places for a 10 year-old."

Kooka agreed, but was then quick to point out all of the places she had yet to knock off the list. "Holy Cow!" Punk exclaimed, "You're supposed to see them all before you turn 18 - not see them all in one year!"

But this is typical Kooka - typical me, to look at her list, and only see the undone. She has such a hard time acknowledging her accomplishments - and is always looking to what she's left unfinished - much like myself.

She said that when she's done with the states - she's moving on to countries.

Hopefully she'll take me with her.

And hopefully she'll be paying.

great american roadtrip 2.0 - day 9

Finally - we are heading towards home.

We are exhausted, and still feel the itchy burn of chlorine embedded in our skin. Punk cannot believe that we can't see the Washington Monument anymore, and Kooka says she misses DC. I miss bubble tea and seeing history everywhere I go. Rico misses the adventure of having something new every night.

But Wisconsin Dells is fun. We HAD to stop at Wizard Quest - which as Kooka said, "Is so much fun - even for a businessman Rick."

Pictures later - but for now - rest.

the great american roadtrip 2.0 - day 8

Not much to report.

Today was another drive.

First we stopped at the Rainforest carwash to give Turk a bath. The tiki head outside beckoning to us was Punk's favorite part.

We cruised through Chicago - but not without stopping for deep dish pizza at Gino's East - where they not only encourage you to write on the walls, but they give you the supplies to do it.

Our stop for the night was Wisconsin Dells, where we splashed until 9 at the Mt. Olympus Indoor Waterpark.




The kids outside the Rainforest Carwash - near Lafayette, IN.

punk and kooka's visited states

visited 23 states (46%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

the great american road trip 2.0 - day 7

A long, long, long day in the car - but it all worked out.

We passed through West Virginia and Ohio, working through schoolwork, chapter books, games and MadLibs before we finished the day in Indianapolis, where we hit the motherload.

We stopped at Mug & Bun - a 1941 drive through diner, where Punk found the root beer to end all root beers. He proclaimed it "Epic," and said that when he is president, or a famous actor that he will only drink this root beer. Furthermore, he said he was going to buy some, age it in our basement, and pull it out on his wedding day, and tell his bride that "2010 was a very good year."

It was that good. No surprise since they make it on site. It was smokey and smooth, with an aftertaste of vanilla caramel - unlike anything any of us had ever had. We also had handmade onion rings, which Rico, Kooka and I agreed were the best we'd ever had.And finally, Kooka and I finished our hunt for the best mac&cheese in the USA. We found it right there at the Mug & Bun - deep fried mac&cheese wedges! AMAZING!

After dinner Rico took us all duckpin bowling - where he soundly kicked our collective behinds.

More swimming, more cable TV, and we are out for the night.

the great american roadtrip 2.0 - day 6

We're in the Appalachian Mountains, and have limited internet service, so I'll have to be brief.

* Quick stop at the Jefferson Monument (on the anniversary of his inauguration). We got to write with feather quills, play with Jefferson-era toys (many of which we have at our house), and smell lye soap.

* A tour through the Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing - where Punk got his picture taken with a million dollars, and we measured what each kid was worth in $100 bills.

* A slow drive through Gettysburg Battlefield, where all of us felt a bit uneasy at the thought of having to duel with someone at such close range.

* Dinner at Hoss's Steak and Sea.

* A swim and lots of cartoons before bed.

the great american road trip 2.0 - video

If this trip has accomplished nothing else, it has given me insight to how fundamentally different both of my children are.

One of them said this: "No - that is not Neil Armstrong's space suit. I would recognize it if I saw it." This is the same child who asked for a turn to work the cotton gin, and then took home raw cotton to practice cleaning it by hand. This one examined the blood splatters on Abraham Lincoln's pillow, and glared at the statue of John Wilkes Booth, as if giving him dirty looks would somehow help avenge the good guys. The same child, who when asked what they thought of the Vietnam Wall, said very quietly, "Do we have to talk about it? It makes me sad."

The other child, works something like this: "Hey, that is Amelia Erhart's plane!" (How do you know?) "Because I recognize it from Night at the Museum." The same child memorized the entire preamble to the constitution in under 10 minutes, and then said, "It's easy - just like memorizing lines." This is the child who could not even bear to look at the Vietnam Wall, let alone Lincoln's pillow. To this child - ignorance is bliss - truly.


I'll leave you to figure out who is who, but the videos below should give you a clue.

how punk retains his history facts

Driving past the White House:

Kooka: Wow - just think, the president is in there right now. Every single president lived right there - Abraham Lincoln lived there, George Washington lived there.

Me: Well, actually he didn't get to. It wasn't built yet.

Punk: And then there was that fire, so this one was built later. So not every president was in there. Most of them, but not all.

Kooka: Whoa - who was in it when it burned down?

Me: Hmmm - I can't recall.

Punk: It was that guy that was married to Little Debbie.

Me & Rick: Little Debbie?!?

Punk: Yeah.

Me: You mean Dolly Madison?

Punk: Yeah . . . that's the one, I knew it had something to do with snack cakes.

(he was right)

the great american road trip 2.0 - day 5

It's a freezy, drizzly, dreary day in DC - luckily we spent most of the day inside.

First stop was the American History Museum, where Kooka loved seeing Kermit the Frog, and Dorothy's real ruby slippers. Punk's favorite part was the C3PO costume from Return of the Jedi. I, on the other hand, could have spent hours looking at Abrham Lincoln's top hat, and the real Star Spangled Banner.

We had lunch at the Old Post Office Pavillion, and then rode over to the Air and Space Museum.

This was Rico's favorite stop, and he loved checking out the Wright Brother's first flying machine (pictured above). Kooka was enamored with Amelia Erhart's plane, and Punk spent his time gazing into the ultra-cramped cockpit of the first space shuttles. We also got to touch the moon - a real piece of moon rock. Punk offered to put his foot up on the display - so he could say that he walked on the moon, but I convinced him that touching is more than most people get to do anyway - and he kept his shoes on.

But everybody is a bit worn out. The weather is gloomy, and two of us have scratchy throats (Punk so much that he and I took turns riding in the wheelchair through the museum). Today was fun - but hopefully tomorrow will be better.

the great american road trip 2.0 - day 4.5

Last night's diner in Chinatown was fabulous! Even Punk, who is not a fan of Asian cuisine exclaimed "Wow, this is a lot better than I thought!" He loved the sesame chicken, steamed dumplings, and hot tea. Kooka liked fresh noodles and tea. Rico, Noah and I shared a coconut bubble tea for dessert, which we loved, but Kooka declared Rick's slurping of the tapioca beans through the straw, "disgusting."

Today we are off to my favorite museum of all - American History. Just for today we are going to try to steer clear of graveyards, homages to infamous murders, and monuments that remind of us of sad things. Just for today we are going to focus on all of the fun parts about being an American.

the great american road trip 2.0 - day 4

The National Mall was our first stop today - the Washington Monument to be exact. Punk was in tears at the prospect of riding an elevator to the top, but managed to peer out the windows and even take a few photos once we got there. Kooka thought the experience was "amazing" and kept looking back over her shoulder as we left, saying "Can you believe I was all the way up there?"

Next stop was the Lincoln Memorial. This was a highlight for both kids, since the monument was prominently featured in "Night at the Museum 2." Punk said it was the highlight of his day.

After making our way down the stairs, we spent a silent 10 minutes walking along the Vietnam Wall. I am the only one of us who had ever seen it before, henceforth, the only one who was really prepared. Rick had a hard time watching, Punk was uncharacteristically quiet, and Kooka kept reading and reading, finally coming to the conclusion that no matter how fast she read, she would never see them all. Finally, we decided to each pick one name and pray for that soldier's family, which brought a bit of closure to the visit.



We stopped for street vendor lunch - dirty water hot dogs (ketchup for Punk, mustard & onions for Kooka and I - and some sort of garbage disposal contraption for Rico. He did coerce me into taking a bite, but not two).



Since we'd hit the Spy Museum yesterday, it was Punk's turn to choose, and it came as no surprise that he picked the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. His time there varied between glassy eyed stares at giant squids, and protoceratops skulls - to frenzied running back and forth shouting. "You guys have GOT to see this!" He was even brave enough to hold some sort of third-world insect at the Orkin Insect Zoo. Rico held a Madagascar hissing cockroach. Kooka and I were content to watch, until he accidentally dropped the 4-inch insect at out feet. It began to shuffle towards us both, and we quickly found something else to look at.

Even though they had been prepared, both kids were disappointed at the size of the Hope Diamond. Punk thought the giant quartz was far more impressive, and Kooka loved looking at all of the crowns and royal jewelry.

On the way back, we stopped for a snack at Red Velvet Cupcakery. Kooka had the birthday cake special, Punk opted for the Vanilla Bean, and Rico and I shared key lime. Three of us agree that it was totally worth the $10 price (I'll let you figure out who the lone dissenter might be).

For now, we are back at the hotel. The kids are thrilled to be let loose in the pool, Rick is napping on a poolside chair, and I am here - watching it all, reveling in how very lucky we are.

Tonight we will cruise past the White House, eat dinner in Chinatown, and head to my favorite monument of all - the Jefferson Memorial - where again, I will probably watch it all and revel in how very lucky we are.

the great american road trip 2.0 - day 3

It's usually quite late by the time I get a chance to post here, but I'll do my best to keep you all up to speed. (forgive my absolutely disgusting photos - my uploader cord is broken, so all I can offer is cell phone pics - I'll fix them when we get home).

The day started out on a somber note. For all the times I have been to DC, I'd never really had a chance to explore Ford's Theater - so that was our first stop for the day. We saw the pistol that ended Lincoln's life, and we all marveled at the fact that just one steel pebble could inflict so much damage. As we made our way up to the balcony, both Punk and I were a little creeped out by the purposeful, audible ticking of a clock, counting President Lincoln's final moments. We peered into the president's booth and imagined what it must have been like to be in the theater that night (a little tough to do, as the theater crew was busy putting the finishing touches on the set for "Little Shop of Horrors" - but thankfully we have good imaginations).

I was pleasantly surprised by both kid's history knowledge. Rico looked over the balcony where John Wilkes Booth jumped, and said, "Whoa - that's a long way down - surprised the guy didn't break a leg." At which point both kids turned to him in unison and said, "He DID!" Then again - they always seem to have a better memory for disastrous events.


We then walked across the street to the Petersen House - where the President lay for nine hours before he finally died from his injuries. It was sad, and eerie - and although I'm glad I went, I have no desire to go back soon. Kooka seemed to get the same vibe, and followed me out very quietly. Punk on the other hand, was more disturbed walking back down the steps from the theater balcony. He kept saying, "It's just not fair - it's the one thing he never did in here. He walked up the steps, and he never got to walk back down."

After our sobering morning - we decided to chase some adventure at the National Spy Museum. Kooka was in HEAVEN. She has been talking about becoming a spy for the better part of two years - and this was a chance for the girl to test her skills. Both she and Punk had a great time memorizing their back story, uncloaking disguised spies, tunneling under the Berlin Wall, sinking enemy submarines, and crawling through the air ducts to spy on visitors. Thankfully, I didn't notice the "absolutely NO photos or videocameras allowed" until we were leaving. I have tons of pictures - and will post them when I get back.

A quick stop at the Navy memorial, and lunch at Manhattan Deli, and then it was off to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. It was a quick stop, and we all agreed that the contemporary exhibit in the Lincoln hallway was the best. It was there that we saw the US neon exhibit, which we all agreed was the coolest thing there.


At 4 pm there was a short detour back to the hotel - a nap for me, and a short swim for the kids and Rico. Then we were off to Virginia for a dinner date with Rick's good friends. We met at an adorable riverside cafe. (It was also haunted - which always helps when you are taking a 10 year old boy on a dinner date). Rick's friends were so sweet, and as both kids were thrilled to discover, not at all shy about mocking Rick at the dinner table.

Now it's late, and I am appalled at my writing - I usually put more time into this - but baby Yoda has me wiped out . . . . hopefully it's enough for you guys to keep up.