Okie Noodling - Kid Rolls Eyes

Well we thought we would go to Grenada to meet friends, but that didn't happen. Between taking the SAT and ACT and the Kid's job, hitting the road has been a no-go. Months ago we gave up on cable and satellite TV and got the HD converter box. We have a total of 14 channels, mostly PBS stuff. This small amusement lets us "travel". Sometimes we'll encounter Rick Steves, sometimes Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow traveling in Spain but the other night was the prize of all prizes Okie Noodling.

I was fascinated, The Kid went to bed.

If Only We Were Books - What a Story We Could Tell

A book registered on BookCrossing is ready for adventure.

I like to read travel magazines, every now and then I find a really good bit of advice. Did you know that Cipro is becoming resistant to T.D. in Southeast Asia and that Zithromax (or a Z-Pac) is a better choice for the duffel to that destination?

Stuck at home because of a slumping stock market and crazy schedules, it seems easier to read about traveling these days. I am in the middle of reading An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude by Ann Vanderhoof recommended by some friends who like to travel the way The Kid and I do. Until recently I've never really thought about the books I leave behind for others to read. Friends who are going to Grenada at the end of January are intentionally taking books that are suitable for the Grenada Library in St. Georges. The library there was devastated by hurricane(s). They are also donating all kinds of goodies to local schools. We asked American Airlines to drop the charge for extra baggage, so book schlepping wouldn't be totally painful, but they couldn't. Times are tough for everyone I suppose.

Aside from intrepid travelers who leave books behind, there is one group - I think is still around and doing good in bringing books to the Caribbean is Boaters for Books.

But back to thinking about the books one leaves behind, it seems there was an entrepreneur a few years back who thought about this too. He started a fun website called BookCrossing where you assign a number to a book and give it away. From the BookCrossing FAQ:

I'm looking at your site here, and I can't believe what I'm reading. Do you actually want me to give away my books?
Ummm, yes. Trust us on this one. Registering your books with BookCrossing.com, then giving them to a friend, a charity, or otherwise releasing them "into the wild" and following their progress and travels, is infinitely more fulfilling than the small satisfaction you'll get by looking at your books in your bookcase every day.
As Austin Powers would say, "It's karma, baybee!"

When you give the book away, it's "released". In releasing a book, you make an entry (journal the book) at BookCrossing indicating that it's been released. When someone "captures" or finds a book with a BookCrossing label and number, they add an entry at BookCrossing. The bookcrosser who released the book - in this case that's you - receives an email telling them it has been found and from then on, everyone in the chain who held/read the book will receive an email every time somebody journals the book. Each person will also be able to see the book's journey you just look at it on your bookshelf at the website. (Please note email address and journals are sent in the form of a PM (personal message) directly from the BookCrossing site.)

Seems like a lot of fun and an interesting journey - if you're a book.

The Caine Mutiny and Other Snowbird Pursuits - The Venice Beach Mooch

Florida 2008

Carl Hiassen is one of my favorite authors. He writes about all kinds of characters that can only be found in Florida and one of our favorite studies in Florida is people. The Kid and I love to watch people and the pier at Venice Beach seemed like just the place to do that.

It was 96 degrees, really hot for winter in Florida and the pier was a refreshing break from the heat of the sand. Generally the pier is crowded with tourists, but this day the fishermen were out enforce, including the Pelicans and Snowy Egrets. I am always amazed at the way critters manage to score a meal.

Travelin' With The Kid in 2008

With the state of the American stock market and the economy in general, it's very difficult to think about actually planning a real trip this year, but it can be done. Recently friends of ours did a traditional Windjammer trip, not on a tallship, but out of backpacks and on local ferrys and mailboats! These folks aren't teenagers either!

Grenadine Ferrys & Mailboats

It's possible to to travel and see all kinds of wonderful sites, even with the current strength of the American dollar! So here's to hitting the road in 2008!

Cheers!

Vehicle Theme: Bungee Cords to Keep Orifices Closed

Well Happy New Year.

This year has been an interesting one for The Kid & I. Huge events in our travels, though most of the huge events occurred at home. Yes our travelin' feet got to hit the trail a couple of times in 2007, but it was the things at home that really shaped our year.

In June my brothers house burned to the ground, a frightening thing, to have everything in the your world consumed totally by fire. It makes you wonder what really matters. Wedding, pictures, baby pictures, that knick-knack from Aunt Flossie. My brother being the incredibly brave individual he is and no stranger to tragic events in his life has shown me incredible character and an important lesson, you don't need all the crap you think you do to live a happy life. He has lived the last 6 months in a rental while they rebuild his home with mainly the "stuff" they had the night of the fire and few things friends and family have loaned to them. His shopping list for the new house was rather Spartan and I am in awe at how this has changed how he and his family live.

In August, just before our school year began our beloved guinea pig Daphne went to the great grape bowl in the sky. She was known to many on the web as Daphne the Science Guinea Pig. Daphne answered Math and Science questions from other other homeschoolers and even had her own FAQ page. But to us she was our special pet. In August we learned a lot about Guinea pig physiology. Daphne passed on from heart failure and we learned that guinea pig heart patients get put on the same medicines that human heart patients are on. We learned that they do have intensive care for heart patients that small and how wonderful those veterinarians are and how much they know about these very small patients.

In September, feeling the need to have yet another little furry critter around we got another guinea pig. Named that one Elvis as it was the only name we thought fit. Elvis was a wild-man. He loved being held and was crazy for just about any fresh leafy green you could give him. He could hear when we walked in the front door and chirped for us to come pick him up. As bad luck would have it we were not allowed to have Elvis long. As he was a very young guinea pig, apparently his immune system was not developed enough and he died from an unknown infection about six weeks after we brought him home.

Daphne

Elvis

Oliver

Two weeks ago we got Oliver. We have high hopes for Oliver as he is an older guinea pig and is very healthy. When he went to the vet, she told us he seemed very healthy and weighs 1.9 pounds. A healthy boy and a good eater.

Back at the end of October, to the day, The Kid turned 15 1/2 and in Ohio that means eligible for a temporary driver license, and god-help-me, got one. As I wrote in my last entry, that has been fun. Only 45 more hours of driving experience and class time to go.

In late fall we learned that one of our favorite things to do was coming to an end. The end of an era - Windjammer - the company that has provided tall ship adventures for years was having financial troubles and had stranded ships and crew in various ports around the Caribbean. I tried to set up links to the message boards where this unfolding event is being discussed, but those boards are gone or not working today. Its a good thing this wasn't on our to-do list for this winter!

Also this summer my neighbor moved away leaving her house to her son. An interesting hermit-like bloke who keeps to himself yet continues to add to the fine collection of vehicles in the driveway. This collection has been a constant source of interesting observations and inspiration for The Kid to utter some very funny things that sometimes end up as titles for blog entries. The obvious is so uninteresting.

So Happy New Year to you! All the best for the New Year!

Me & The Kid

You May Know Everything Some Day But Today Is Not The Day

In Ohio, in order for a teen to receive a "probationary" driver license they must take 8 hours of driving instruction in a classroom and then have 50 hours driving experience (10 at night) that a parent or other licensed driver will attest to in a signed affidavit. There are other requirements too, but as a homeschooler, these are the biggies.

Traveling in a car with a new driver is, well, interesting.

It has been suggested that beginner drivers start in a large parking lot and the biggest parking lot I could think of was the one near the raging Ohio river where we sometimes launch our kayaks. Needless to say that first day when The Kid was going to start driving. he was not amused when I appeared as the driving coach wearing a ski helmet and a snorkel. I wonder if the driver's ed instructors at the schools get to have as much fun.

It is amazing how the transformation from child to teen enables them to feel that they now know it all - until they sit in your car for the first time.

Windjammer Ships and Pirate Adventures: Anguilla

Day 7: Anguilla February 23, 2007 The Best Beach in the World & The Diver Kid I’ve been so busy reviewing books for our upcoming school year, I forgot to conclude the story of our trip on the S.V. Polynesia. Anguilla has the best beach I have ever seen. There is one stop light on this island and lots of goats. There’s also an Ace Hardware, in the middle of nowhere - no where near the stop light.

Anguilla is a place I’d like to explore more.

Shoal beach is an incredible stretch of land that I hope not too many people ever find. It is the real Caribbean. Desolate to the point that you can still find a patch of pink sand all your own, but populated just enough that you can get a decent cheeseburger if you really wanted one.

We rode on one of the local school buses to get to Shoal Beach, that’s the thing about Windjammer, you really do get to feel like your part of the island culture. We spent several hours strolling the beach, but as luck would have it, we had to find our own way back to the ship as we were leaving the beach earlier than the rest of our shipmates. The Kid was going to try scuba for the first time. The taxi ride back from the beach was an interesting one. We shared the cab with one of the other three beginner scuba students and boy did we have a ball with the cab driver. He was very proud of his island, he said he would take us the best way back to the ship -- and he did. Apparently, Brittany Spears did one of her rehabs on this island and this was a big stop for the cab drivers to show non-locals. Our cab driver was no different. He also showed us many interesting places, that weren’t on paved roads and we eventually ended up in close proximity of the Polynesia.

The Kid had a rare opportunity presented to him earlier in the week. Windjammer had 3 dive masters on this ship, one was the resident dive master and the other two were new to Windjammer and were learning where all the great dive spots were from Tomas, the dive master on the Polynesia. There were three beginner divers. An interesting and rare ratio, so The Kid decided it was time. Floored the heck out of me because this is a kid who doesn’t like to swim, has had every swim lesson under the sun, but won’t swim. But I remembered this was also the kid who snorkeled with Nurse sharks at Hol Chan in Belize (that story for another day), so I signed the consent papers and let him have his adventure. The class was 4 hours, preceded with a safety video. It was an awesome opportunity in an amazing place. The Kid got to do a 20-40 foot dive in some of the clearest water in the Caribbean, an adventure he won’t soon forget. I wrote “He was all smiles when he got back from his dive” in my journal.

Anguilla is another place in the Caribbean that I would like to explore more. I think if I had to settle on a place today where I'd check-out in the Caribbean, Anguilla would be on my short list. Bequia is at the top, followed by Anguilla, then Mayreau. St. Vincent, Guadeloupe, Nevis, Statia, Dominica and several of the Grenadines are also places I’d explore further if I had the time and the sailboat. Our Windjammer adventure ended in St. Marten, where it began. It was a great trip and I would recommend a Windjammer adventure to anyone taking their homeschool on the road. We’ll do it again. And now it’s time to plan our Not-Back-To-School-Trip....we’re thinking the beach in September....

Windjammer Ships and Pirate Adventures: Statia - The Real Caribbean

Day 6: Statia (Saint Eustatius) - February 22, 2007
The Real Caribbean and Crab Number 3

The real Caribbean is one you won't ever see from a cruise ship. The Windjammer fleet is rare and so are the attitudes aboard. Shipmates are just as interested in the real Caribbean as we are and that's what I like about sailing like this. You are on a huge, beautiful antique sailing ship with other sailing nuts going places only sailors - and - pirates know about.

Saint Eustatius, or Statia, as the locals call it, was my favorite place on this trip. It is also what you would call the "real Caribbean".

	So What is the "real" Caribbean? Well, it's awesome people, black beaches, dormant volcanoes, history, hidden beaches all untouched by commercialism. No cruise ships..... The journal entry I wrote in my diary: "Statia is my favorite stop so far. It is what the Caribbean is really like for a traveler. The people are friendly. The buildings are old, historical and tidy. Black beaches and a dormant volcano. Blue beads once could be found on the beaches. The first country to acknowledge the new American flag after the [North] American revolution."
The blue beads of Statia were fun. Many of the locals had them, and the bartenders had the best ones, and the best tales. It was hot in Statia, remember it was February, and we snowbirds were very happy to be there. In the morning, I got to explore by myself, a rare treat. The Kid was interested in the book he was reading...I suppose that's what I get for raising a bookworm...sigh. But it gave me the opportunity to get to know the island on my own. There is a museum on Statia that is filled with very awesome artifacts and documents of the long and colorful history of this island. The day we were on the island, one of the local schools was having a bake sale...good, good, good - if you like coconut. It wasn't until afternoon, and it was well into the 100's that The Kid actually came ashore. Needless to say, I dragged him to the museum, past the bake sale [that was cleaning up to head to the beach] and The Kid got to see the famed blue beads [though later that day, the bartender had better ones than the museum!].
	Though as remote as Statia might seem, it was there I had camera malfunction. Call it bad planning, bad Karma, or an invitation to really discover this island. I have a Nikkon that is far more complicated than I ever imagined and it went "haywire" tha day on Statia. The batteries died. Amazing as it might seem, we found in a small local shop, much like what you might find in Mayberry, batteries and a photographer who knew just what I needed. He also told me how to find the film I needed as well. That was an interesting walk through the "suburbs" to a local superette, run by an old Chinese guy who was happy to see us and very helpful as well....
	The film was very important that day as that was the evening of the famous Windjammer Crab races [no crabs are harmed or treated badly!]. many of the crabs are celebrities on board. We won $16USD on crab #3. You'll just have to go on a Windjammer adventure to find out what that is all about! Next Stop: Anguilla

Windjammer Ships and Pirate Adventures: Nevis

Day 5: Nevis -- February 21, 2007

Imitation is the Best Form of Flattery

	As we saw in St. Barths, with the Mick Jagger imitator, a mirror image of something great is just that, or is it? Nevis, though in the French West Indies, is British, and looked to us anyway - a lot like Dominica. There was a rain forest, few people and the people were incredibly friendly - the ones we met anyway...Like Dominica, it teased us to explore further. It seemed to be a place where nature prevails and commercialism is prohibited. Twenty years ago in St. Maarten a guy named Rainbow gave me a pair of bracelets he made of beads from natural plants on the island. He told me that they would bring me luck. They have. It wasn’t until a medicine walk in Nevis this year that I discovered this is true and what the name of the beads are. The bracelet has brown beads and red beads, both of native plants, the red beads are called Jumbie beads and are used in a tea to calm colic, or just about anything else that ails you.After our morning Medicine walk, a three hour moderate hike up the dromant volcano on Nevis, we relaxed on the deck of the Polynesia all afternoon. Normally we travel with our Teva sandles, but were told that Chaco's were far superior. Well let me tell you, I'll take the Teva's anyday up the side of a volcano! Nevis is an Island I would return to. We didn’t get to spend enough time there and I really liked what I saw. There is a Four Seasons there that looked wonderful along with a few bars and restaurants. It is the kind of place to homeshool for a few weeks in the winter to be sure! The Travelin’ homeschooler and The Kid will return to this place for sure! Next Stop: Statia

Windjammer Ships and Pirate Adventures: St. Barts

Day 3: St. Bart's (Saint-Barthélemy)-- February 19-20, 2007 Carnival in St. Barts, Beach Au Natural & Mick Jagger Came to Town The thing about traveling with The Kid is that you just never know what is going to happen once you are on the road.

After we left St. Maarten, we headed to St. Barths. It’s always so awesome when a huge sailing ship raises sails and the SV Polynesia is no exception. It was a beautiful clear day, 80 degrees and perfect weather for sailing. I didn't for a minute think about our hometown where temperatures dipped to below freezing... St. Barths is a short sail from St. Maarten, so we accomplished this trip in no time. I have read St. Barts is a pretty nice place. Jimmy Buffet sings about “Old St. Barths”, but from our trip I can’t really tell what that might be all about. A squall came up out of nowhere and it was momentarily rainy when we arrived in St. Barths, but it was still hot so we headed ashore to Gustavia. Gustavia was a typical Caribbean town flanked by mountains, water and huge boats. We went into town with with sailing mates from our Mandalay trip Judy, Palmer, Nell, Claude, Shary & Chris. In town, we all had different ideas about what to do so we split up. That’s what I like about those guys, they’re fun and share the same adventurous spirit that The Kid and I have.

The two Windjammer trips we have enjoyed have had very different sites, sounds, people but both have required “island work” in at least one of the ports. In St. Barths we were tasked with the very stressful job of finding a French bottle of wine. Now, being that this was a French island, this task was easy. However our first task was to find Shell Beach as it was rumored that it was loaded with shells. The harbor in Gustavia "Ghost Ship" Off the Coast -St Bart's

We thought it would be fun to rent a scooter for the day, but found out that wasn’t going to be possible as it was Fat Tuesday. Again, as it was a French Island, this promised to be a fun time. A parade was scheduled and The Kid just loves a parade, so with this news and a map, we headed on foot to Shell Beach. St. Barths was hot and all The Kid wanted to do was swim. Good thing he wasn’t in the mood to read French this day, but I saw the sign that included the words “Beach Au Natural”, once we hit the beach, the look on the Kid’s face was classic, but the water was nice. The captain had allowed us to jump from the ship to swim the day before, but that idea didn’t sit very well with The Kid as heights are not his first choice for fun, so this really was the first time in 2 days that we were able to swim. The beach really was loaded with tons of shells and the water was very nice, despite the "bare-naked" French ladies. Shell Beach

After our swim at the beach, we did manage to find a great wine shop. The Kid isn’t a big fan of wine shops or of having to speak French to wine shop owners, so he waited outside. I managed to find a great red French wine and had a pretty good conversation with the owner, once we realized English was the better language for both of us. It turned out the owner was a Canadian who decided to check out in St. Barths. I have a list of good places to go the next time we are on this island courtesy of a wonderful retired Canadian.

As we headed back into town, it was clear that the Fat Tuesday parade was a bigger deal than we imagined. many of the streets in Gustavia were closed off and the crowds were really thick. We decided that even though it was raining, we were going to stay and see the parade. It was a big deal. Kids, Adults, floats, dancers, colors, beads and even Mick Jagger. Earlier in our trip, I spent a week with a friend at North Captiva. We spent many of those days laying on the beach watching small planes fly over, commenting that Mick Jagger has an island somewhere in that part of the world and that was most likely him in the small plane. Drove my friend nuts. As we discovered on that day in St. Barths, that island could be very near St. Barths....

Next Stop: Nevis

Windjammer Ships and Pirate Adventures: St. Maarten

Days 1-3: St. Maarten/St. Martin -- February 16-18, 2007

What can you say about a month out of the cold? We’re good at being snowbirds? How about we went sailing on a big boat, err, ship in the French West Indies?

I think everyone has a little bit of a pirate spirit in them and sailing on a Windjammer ship is a good way to bring that out! One thing Windjammer employees will tell you is that “this ain’t no foo foo ship”...I am guessing it’s a jab at those huge floating cities we see invade tiny Caribbean islands...I’ve never been on a cruiseship....but being barefoot for a week on a beautiful antique ship is such a thrill. It’s also a good way to homeschool. You get culture,geography, history and even math and Science.

Just to start our adventure off early, we flew to St. Maarten 3 days prior to getting on the SV Polynesia. The last time I was in St. Maarten was almost 20 years ago and boy have things changed. The airport is no longer an open air shack on an airstrip (even going to St. Maarten they verify that you have your sun tan lotion squirreled away in 3.5 ounce bottles now).

St. Maarten in it’s heyday, was quite the hot spot, but those spots are gone now taken by hurricanes and better ideas, though some places remain. We stayed out at Cupecoy beach which is known for sandstone beaches and they still are quite beautiful, despite the obvious increase in tourism. There always was a charm to most spots in St. Maarten, the restaurants and inns and Hotels. The beaches still are great, and some are still clothing optional -- as always in places other than the US. The experience of a 14 year old boy and that of a “geezer” on one of these kinds of beaches is remarkably different as I found out. Enough on that topic The Kid says...

We rented a car in St. Maarten because The Kid just didn’t understand why I thought it was one of the more beautiful places I had been. Our plan for that day was to drive around the island and have lunch at Captain Oliver’s, and that’s what we did. With a map that we should have saved as a collectors item, we started out. “How can we get lost on and island?” The Kid wanted to know. “I don’t want to drive by the cool stuff, so pay attention to the map.” My attempt to get a map reading lesson in for the day.

St. Maarten is an island that is ruled by two different nations. One side is French and the other side is Dutch. Both sides are distinctively different and this was also part of the study. Marigot, on the French side is as bustling as ever, but far more cosmopolitan than we were looking for. We drove through Marigot and headed for Anse Marcel, a little off the beaten path and more like the St. Martin I remembered. We also headed to Orient Beach, the one all the cruise ships go to for the “beach au natural”, as the Kid read Our French lesson for the day. The beach was crowded, so we headed for Oyster Pond and Captain Oliver’s. This place was as good as ever and is still right out of a Buffett song.

Front Street in Philipsburg is quite different from 20 years ago. I think there are more diamonds and emeralds on this Island than anywhere else. It was also on Front Street three days later that we met up with sailing mates from our Mandalay trip Judy, Palmer, Nell, Claude, Shary & Chris...

Next Stop: St. Barts

It's Good to Be Sunburnt and Greek

One of the really wonderful things about homeschooling and travel is that you get all that great socialization, especially if you are willing to participate in local cultural events.

We went to the Greek Festival in Sarasota, Florida over the weekend. More precisely it was called the Greek Glendi - A Greek Festival hosted by St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church. According to the program brochure we received, they were celebrating the music of Greece, which fits perfectly with our recent music studies.

There was a lot of music and dancing, with explanations of many of the dances.The St. Barbara Hellenic Dancers were in colorful costumes that showed authentic Greek history and culture. Every Greek costume is an interesting combination of garment and accessories that is characteristic of a group of people who live in a particular region of Greece. According to the narrator at the festival, there are songs for washing sowing, harvesting - there are love songs, lullabies and laments.

The Greek Orthodox Church evolved in the era of the Great Byzantine Empire, for those of you not up on the middle ages. Byzantine chanting is where a lot of the songs we heard came from. These songs were full of melody and harmony. The folk music of Greece claims a history that is long and checkered and worthy of every homeschoolers attention. Popular music commonly known as Bouzouki music possesses unique characteristics that existed in parts of Greece, yesterday and today. The emotions of the Greek people show through in the dances and and in the music we saw and heard. Greek architecture is a study in itself. Some say the Greeks invented architecture. Anybody who saw the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" understands that sort of enthusiasm for anything Greek. But most Greek Orthodox Churches I have seen so far in our travels are pretty interesting structures and this building in Sarasota is no different. A beautiful dome amidst Palms and Banyon trees adorned with Spanish Moss. If you're interested, you can go inside these churches and see many beautiful icons, lots of candles and gold ornamentation. Though the music and the architecture are part of the "study" of local culture, at a Greek festival, in our book, the food is always the attraction. Greek pastries and food are the best "fast food" you can get in my opinion. There's nothing better than a Gyro and Baklava and a stroll through the other food and crafts booths. Church festivals always seem to guarantee that homemade touch and the little old Greek Florida ladies were out in force at this one for sure....though none of them had key lime pies on hand...
At the Greek Market
Greek Jewelry	Greek Shaws

Journeys in My Own Backyard: Teach Your Children Well

Me: “How would you like to go see the Rolling Stones movie at the OmniMax?”

The Kid: “ We see documentaries at the OmniMax. We learn stuff there. Why would I want to go see Mick Jagger 1,000 feet tall? Their logo came from somewhere.”

Me: “Sigh.” “How would you like to learn about how your mom spent, wait, misspent some of her youth?”

This was the deal sealer. The Kid was very interested in this idea.

It wasn’t Mick I wanted to see, anyway. I wanted to see Keith Richards 1,000 feet tall. I have always been a fan of Keith Richards.

Our local OmniMax has just been renovated and they were having special showings of The Rolling Stones, during their Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour, shot on location in Turin, Berlin and London. The show was pretty good and a great introduction to what a concert was like for mom when she was a teen. The performance included such classics as “Satisfaction,” “Ruby Tuesday” and “Start Me Up.” The showing was very loud and there was much eye-rolling from The Kid. His tolerance of “my music” was greatly enhanced when I told him to focus real intensely on Mr. Richards and think “Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest”, Boostrap-Bill. The light went on and the rest is history. We had common ground for the moment, though I have to admit, I borrowed the Kid’s iPod once and there were some Stones on it. I guess the Music History classes are sinking in.

And he thinks he wants to go to a Buffett concert....

I Voted Today

The place where I vote is a Catholic church situated on the Ohio River. I have never really understood how they got such great real estate, and it is beautiful, but there it is on the mighty Ohio river, up high, yet right on the banks, away from flooding. It is a beautiful building, and for a country that believes in separating church from state, quite a statement to The Kid who is currently studying the US constitution in depth.

Voting Tuesday in Southern Ohio was rainy, so we weren’’t assaulted by the usual mob of campaigners, who by the way I am sick and tired of.

As we approached the Gothic structure, The Kid reminded me of The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom co-authored by founding fathers, Jefferson and Madison, where “No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever...”. I often wonder why he can’t remember his multiplication tables. I told him it was actually the bingo hall that was our destination, so it really wasn’t a religious worship place. The Kid continued, he wanted to know why the rest of us had to vote on gambling and slot machines but this place was allowed to have bingo...sigh... the trials of mentoring this sort of human being.

The Kid is in general very Liberal in his politics -- who wasn’t when they didn’t have any money to call their own? The Kid takes great delight in harassing his Grandfather and anyone else who speaks of anything conservative. A friend recently shared this story:

Subject: A FATHER DAUGHTER TALK A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and was for distribution of all wealth. She felt deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican which she expressed openly. One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and more welfare programs. In the middle of her heartfelt diatribe based upon the lecture she had from her far left professors at her school, he stopped her and asked her point blank, how she was doing in school. She answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain. That she had to study all the time, never had time to go out and party like other people she knew. She did not even have time for a boyfriend and did not really have many college friends because of spending all her time studying. Furthermore, that she was taking a more difficult curriculum. Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Mary?" She replied, "Mary is barely getting by," she continued, "all she has is barely a 2.0 GPA" adding, "and all she takes are easy classes and she never studies." But to explain further she continued emotionally, "But Mary is so very popular on campus, college for her is a blast, she goes to all the parties all the time and very often does not even show up for classes because she is too hung over. " Her father then asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to your friend who only had a 2.0." He continued, "That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair equal distribution of GPA." The daughter visibly shocked by the father's suggestion angrily fired back, "That would not be fair! I worked really hard for mine, I did without and Mary has done little or nothing, she played while I worked real hard!" The father smile and said, "Welcome to the Republican Party."

The look on The Kid’s face was classic and the backpedalling was interesting.

But to get back to our adventure, in general I take The Kid with me when I vote so he can see what goes on and understand the process a little. This day, The Kid accompanied me because I was certain he would be able to figure out how to use the electronic voting machine even without reading the instructions. These kinds of things escape me and frustrate me to no end and that’s why we make such a great pair.

Later that day in TaeKwonDo, The Kid’s Master told me that she was so proud of him, she continued “it’s so cool to see kids excited about politics, he said he couldn’t wait until he was old enough to vote.”...If she only knew...

Who Knew Adams County Was so Beautiful?

It’s been a while since we’ve written. Our “school” year started and we have been wrapped up in many new courses of study. We always have time to think and plan new adventures of course. Once we have our study topics for the year the “field trips” get easier to think about. We’ve enjoyed the theater as part of our travels in our own back yard so far this“school year”. We saw the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park production of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”. It was an excellent production. We also saw “Spamalot” a “musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. Also a great production.

As usual as part of our Autumn studies, we go to the Ohio Renaissance Festival in Harveysburg, OH. There’s really not much in Harveysburg, OH, I suppose you could check out the Caesar Creek flea market if you really wanted to make a day of it, but we go for the Renaissance Festival. At the Renaissance Festival you can always catch a sword fight, but being the theater animals we are, our favorite is naturally the “Theater in the Ground” where one may just luck in and see a great production of Beowulf. The actors perform in a mudpit, yes, hard to imagine, but nonetheless, worth the trip to Harveysburg, OH.

As civilized as all the theater talks sounds, we just can’t help ourselves, we’d rather be paddling. As our luck would have it, we were fortunate enough ot get to Adams County, Ohio. Near the Ohio River yet far enough away from the city to be able to see thousands of stars at night. The kid and I got the opportunity to paddle Brush Creek in early fall and boy was it beautiful. An unspoiled creek that has the occasional cabin perched on the hills and home to that illusive Kingfisher I have been trying to photograph all summer. Brush Creek dumps into the Ohio, but instead of that treat, we paddled up river. The Kid stopped to fish and I explored with a camera. No fish but great pictures - though no pictures of the Kingfisher...maybe next year.

In our future we are planning a trip to Southern Europe and soon we are heading to the Caribbean for some sailing in the French West Indies. We are in the process of planning other trips as part of our homeschool so stay tuned! When you take your homeschool on the road, life is an adventure!

Happy Birthday to The Kid

We celebrate a birthday at our house for a week. Often the celebration includes some sort of trip or a series of outings, often a chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and always some laughs. This week is a birthday week for us.

So far our week has included our annual trip to Amish country for a checkers set. I have an agreement with the Kid that when he can beat his mom at checkers, he’ll be ready to leave home. That agreement can contain a lot of symbolism if you know the rules of checkers. People generally react to the idea of this simple pleasure that it is an easy way for The Kid to stay at home forever, or they’ll say “what if he never beats you”. (Those folks do not understand the true nature of a homeschooler or The Kid!) Our outings in this week of celebration in addition to Amish country include a trip to the Cincinnati Flower show , a golf outing to maybe beat Grandpa this year, a trip to Montgomery Inn for world famous ribs. There will also be Birthday cupcakes from Grandma, hamburgers on the grill and of course, a game of checkers.

Visit our archives to read about a year of our adventures!

Celtic Music, Bockwurst and a Pint of Guinness®

Quite often travel can involve not leaving your own backyard. You can tour the world in your mind through the study of music. Music study doesn’t need to involve the Symphony or Opera, it can involve World Music too. World Music is one of the best ways I know to travel when travel isn’t an option....

Recently I had 2 tickets to see a popular musical group that has been around for 40 years and always sells out when they come to our town. The Chieftains have had 19 grammy nominations and have won six grammys and have collaborated with Jackson Brown, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Sinead O’Connor, Emyylou Harris, Ricky Scaggs, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Earl Scruggs and others I am sure I have missed. Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains were nominated for the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Folk Album- Live From Dublin - A Tribute to Derek BellThe thing about this group is that they always surprise you and you don’t need to travel far to see them, especially if they come to your town.

Though The Chieftains still invite you to enjoy the finest Celtic music around, they also invite your mind to venture into listening to sounds and songs from other places in the world. In concert with The Chieftains was The Cottars, a group from Nova Scotia also incredible musicians and capable of some pretty interesting music.

The sounds you hear when you listen World Music inspire you to recall imagery from your own travels. If you are unable to conjour up the imagery yourself, enjoy the poetry of the stories that come with the music. This particular form of World Music has drawn many cultures and age groups together. The Vice Mayor of our town, Jim Tarbell, was on hand to make that observation and to present the key to the town to Paddy Maloney of The Chieftains.

And speaking of our Vice Mayor, as luck of the Irish would have it, I was able to tie the whole evening together for "The Kid". Earlier for dinner we went to Arnold's Bar & Grill, Cincinnati's oldest tavern, was owned by Jim Tarbell from 1976 to 1999. (Owner Ronda Androski bought Arnold’s from Jim Tarbell in 1999 [history].) So that appearance by the Vice Mayor was really perfect for me as I was able to string that Cincinnati history together with the culture of the food we ate.

At Arnold’s we ordered 2 Bockwurst Plates, a pint of Guinness® and a soda. Even though we were going to listen to Celtic Music, but being in a German town and having dinner at Arnold’s the oldest Bar and Grill in town, we naturally ecountered the Springtime tradition of a Bock Festival. Bock is a style of lager beer which originated in Germany. It is traditionally brewed in the fall, at the end of the growing season, when barley and hops are at their peak. It is "lagered" all winter and enjoyed in the spring at the beginning of the new brewing season. Bocks can be pale (helles) or dark (dunkles) and there are double (doppel) bocks which are extra strong. Even though I do appreciate a good Bock, I definately prefer Guinness®, it’s a better dark beer and just the ticket for the evening! Typically eaten with bockbeer is Bockwurst is a german kind of sausages. Bockwurst is one of the most favourite sausages eaten in Germany, but tonight we ate it with Guinness® and Soda in honor of the Celtic culture we were about to absorb.

Our study of Music and the culture of the world continues! We’re thinking about Southern Europe next!

The Travelin' Homeschooler Takes a Break

I have an acquaintance who scuba dives. To hear him describe the activity and characters that live beneath the sea is true poetry.

After our trip to the Everglades, we went to Captiva and then on to Key West, a grueling schedule as I am sure you can imagine. Once that leg of our journey was completed, I traveled to see my friend in Grand Cayman. Everyone should travel to the Cayman Islands!

You don’t go to Grand Cayman to see the architecture, the landscape or the tourist attractions. In fact, hurricane Ivan destroyed much of this beautiful Caribbean Island. Grand Cayman, just like much of the British West Indies in the Caribbean, has remarkably recovered from this natural disaster and the original beauty of the island is still apparant and is as vibrant as ever. There is new building going on all over the place, and many of the places that were damaged have been restored. It was difficult for me to imagine what Ivan did. There is a very moving book called “Paradise Interrupted“ by artist and photographer Courtney Platt that illustrates the devastating effects this hurricane had on Grand Cayman in September, 2004. A good book to choose for visual learning about Mother Nature's power.

You go to Grand Cayman to explore a world that most people forget exists on our planet. That world is the one that only Neptune himself and those crazy people who don scuba gear and jump out of boats into the dark and mysterious sea below know. I am not a diver, but the folks I spent 4 days with were as fanatical about diving as I am about travel. Yes, the Travelin' Homeschooler enjoyed 2 days reading on the beach while these crazy folks explored places called “Babylon”, “Snapper Hole” and “The Maze”. According to my host who has been diving for many years, the best place to go diving in the Caymans is in the East End out of a place called “Ocean Frontiers“ Situated in a pretty cool resort area called "Compass Point Dive Resort" . Compass Point is a place for divers, comfortable, beautiful, right on the beach, in view of the reef. Away from the busy Seven Mile Beach and the tourists there, Compass Point and the folks at Ocean Frontiers will take care of the travelers in our homeschooling community. This place is truly a place to learn; where, if you are brave - you can learn about reef life by diving, by snorkeling or by simply swimming off the beach at Compass Point. My friend took me snorkeling each day I was there and it was truly a memory I will have forever. The first day the reef revealed amazing residents. [You can check out photos of some of the colorful reef residents at the photo gallery at the Ocean Frontiers website.] The second day the reef residents were out entertaining the divers and I got to take in the beauty of the colors of the coral. There were so many colors that you wouldn't ever imagine existed under the water. It was the most beautiful natural wonder I have ever seen - so far!

Grand Cayman is also a place where there is some pretty good food if you are so inclined to indulge in local cuisine. Portofinos, a favorite of my host, offered pretty incredible Italian food and a decent wine list. The Lighthouse Restaurant at Breakers in Grand Cayman also offered a pretty amazing menu. They even had grappa on the menu! One place I wanted to visit and hope to go the next time is Vivine's Kitchen, a place for local cuisine, is located only 500 yards East of Ocean Frontiers at Compass Point.

For more dive information contact [Ocean Frontiers]. For information about staying on the beach near the reef contact[Compass Point Dive Resort].

Beef Jerky, Hells Bay and the River of Grass

"Everglades has no single feature, no prominent point of interest now or ever. It is a mosaic of many things seen, smelled, heard and endured."

Daniel Beard - first superintendent of Everglades National Park

You start out in a midwest snowstorm and end up in Florida packing nothing but beef jerky, cut-offs, sunscreen, red and yellow kayaks. Travel is great when you do it this way. Homeschooling on the road. Beef jerky at it’s finest, "Catcher in the Rye" for reading and the thoughts of a new adventure.

A drive on the single road through Everglades National Park does not reveal the beauty and magic you can find there. We spent 2 days kayaking in this amazing place and left feeling like we explored only a very small bit of this river of grass.

The Everglades offer some pretty good kayaking spots like “Hells Bay” , “Noble Hammock”, “Nine Mile Loop”, “Mud Lake Loop”, “Bear Lake Canal”, “West Lake”. All come with the caution: “Tides and winds can significantly affect your trip. Do Not overestimate your abilities”. They ought to add “Don’t worry about the alligators - they don’t bite.”

The Native Americans named this place “The River of Grass”. We chose three trails, Hells Bay was one of tightly woven mangroves, West Lake was rough and wavey and a lot of “Need for Speed” fun, but the Nine Mile Loop is where you understand why the original inhabitants named this place the “River of Grass”. The description for this trail reads: “A scenic trail through a shallow sawgrass marsh with scattered islands of mangroves. Watch for alligators, wading birds, and an occasional eagle. Trail marked with numbered white poles. Motors prohibited.” It’s 5.2 miles and takes roughtly 5 1/2 hours to paddle - leisurely. There are 116 trail markers to be exact and it is one of the neatest paddles we have done yet.

Florida Everglades Information