Driving and caching

We drove a lot today. It wasn't too far, maybe 250 miles, but it seemed like a lot of driving because we didn't take the freeway. We popped over to New Jersey to pick up just one cache in that state, then popped back over to Delaware. That cache cost us $3. It's free to cross the bridge to get in, but they make you pay if you want to leave.

We drove down the coastline of Delaware. It's a really skinny state. We saw some signs that said if the sirens were wailing, then you should turn on your radio. Huh? Then we came over a bridge and saw the reason why. There was a cache coming up, so we stopped to find it and let the kids play on the beach for a while. As soon as we pulled up, the sirens started wailing. At 11:30 am. Freaked us out, especially because we couldn't remember what station we were supposed to tune to. But they stopped before the required 3-5 minutes, so we just went on and found the cache, played on the beach, and enjoyed the sun. Have you figured out what the reason was yet? Here's the picture.



There are lots of other pictures in my camera, but they were all taken in the back seat by kids. Nuff said.

So we ended up in Chincoteague. Turns out pony penning day was Wednesday. They swam back today. I can't believe we missed it! I think the Beebe ranch is closed tomorrow, so we might not get to see Misty. But we will get to drive around the island and see the sights and play on the beach, which is really all it's about anyway.

Here's a picture not taken by a kid. It's the view out our hotel window, to the west, where a thunderstorm is coming over. It was a good storm.

Gettysburg

Rich and I were here a few years ago. I remember it being foggy and full of ghosts. Maybe I just imagined the fog because the image of the three days was very strong in my mind. Seems like fog is a good place for ghosts.

There was none of that today. Taking boys to a battlefield with cannon and caissons - I finally learned what they are - and big rocks to climb on takes all the mystery and sense of suspended history out of a place. We found most of the caches in the area, answered lots of questions from the kids about the war, and scrambled about on lots of rocks.

The kids ask really interesting questions like if the south had won, and states' rights were more prevalent, would Connor not have to sit in a car seat in Pennsylvania? Or maybe would he have to sit in one in Texas? We had fun thinking up alternate histories.

On to the pictures.

Connor gets his sniper action on.


Andrew climbs the rock.


This is our minivan, a Dodge Grand Caravan. It's ok. We are considering buying a minivan this summer, so it's nice to test drive something like this for an extended period of time.


The boys near Devil's Den. The devil in question was either a big snake or a tale parents used to scare their kids away from a hole under the rocks.


Here is the Devil's Den. We didn't go in.


Devil's Den from Little Round Top. The Texans and Alabamans came around here, ready to take the hill, when an engineer named Warren realized what a problem it would be for his side if the confederates took it. So he called for more troops than just the few signalmen that were on the hill and the rest is history. One of the earthcaches we found dealt with the geology of Little Round Top and the area. I like educational caches.


The New York monument. Those who built it really thought about the dimensions and how they related to the numbers.


The view from the top. I don't have a picture of the spiral staircase. It was fun. Like my tie-dye? It's a couple of weeks old. We saw lots of tie-dye at Gettysburg. I was surprised.


Andrew finds his way through an arch.


Andrew tries not to be seen. FAIL.


Connor tries not to be seen, but these mountain goats are the sons of a mountain goat. Mommy is faster than they are.


Here let's load it. Or swing on it.

The last trip of the summer

We're leaving this week on one final trip of the summer, ostensibly to JSM in DC, but I just gotta tack on some vacation.

The plan is to start in DC, drive north to Gettysburg, drive east to New Jersey, then south to Delaware and Virginia, then north again to Maryland and DC, caching all the way. This will clear out our east coast unfound states, except for Florida.

Then I'll be at JSM all week, soaking up the statmosphere!

After work is done, we've got a rental chalet in the mountains near Seneca Rocks, WV. More hiking and caching and relaxing, plus a hot tub and high speed internet!

I'll be tweeting from JSM and parts of the rest of the trip: @statgrrl on twitter.

Kid Economics

Interesting conversation in the truck this morning. My kids had earned some money this week, and I finally remembered to give it to them. They said they were going to spend it on snacks at the swimming pool vending machine, specifically M&Ms. A pack of M&Ms was "only" $1 from the machine.

I told them they could buy that many M&Ms from the grocery store for 20 cents. They said that they would rather pay more money for fewer M&Ms at the pool because chlorine costs a lot of money and they like going to the pool. Clever kids to realize they are getting more than M&Ms from that particular machine!

Now, should I make them pay their own way into the pool?

Peter Scholtes

http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2009/07/11/peter-scholtes/

Peter Scholtes has died. I did not know him, but I knew of him in statistical circles. What I didn't know is that I knew him in musical circles as well. He wrote "They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love." That's the song that taught me how to play barre chords.

The 4th of July

We had a fabulous 4th of July. The cubs were in the Wells Branch parade and sold ice cream at the booth. The Wells Branch MUD put on a pretty good day - lots of game booths, moon bounces, and a kiddie train.

Andrew gets ready to parade!


Connor gets his flag on.


Connor threw candy from the back of the towing truck.


Andrew was in a cub car.


Rich walked beside. I scored a ride in the towing truck.


Two tuckered boys enjoy ice cream and cupcakes.


The power selling team at the ice cream booth.


Riding the train!


Then we came home for a bit of a lie-down before heading out to see fireworks later that evening. We decided to take the bus from where I normally park my car and it turned out to be an ok decision. The bus ride down to Auditorium Shores was uneventful. On the way back, the bus was (naturally) packed and cute boys score seats faster than their moms do. Especially at 11pm.

I was an idiot and didn't wear socks with my patriotic shoes, and paid the penalty with a blister on each foot. This is after chastising the boys to wear sock and shoes. When will I learn?

It was a terrific show. I don't have good fireworks pictures, because our silly camera uses slow shutter when you turn off the flash. I don't like machines that try to out-smart me. Still, it gave some pretty interesting shots.