Not Back to School: Camping With Eating Machines

The thing about going camping with two teenage boys is that you begin to realize that there is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Tea Lake campground at Algonquin Provincial park is a quiet place to get away for that last week of summer, just before you don't go back to school. It was there I spent 5 nights with The Kid and his cousin.

It's a 12 hour drive from Cincinnati to Algonquin, and for once I was grateful for iPods. Not being into the sort of tunage that teenage boys are, I didn't drive them crazy with Jimmy Buffett, and they didn't drive me crazy with the likes of White Stripes.

The funny thing about teens is that they can find stuff to do no matter where they are. My nephew was absolutely sure he was going to catch a fish while we were there and to honor that hope, I brought along three sticks of butter that we were going to use to fry them up over an open fire. Needless to say, the fish eluded us all week.

The first time we went to Algonquin, The Kid bailed on a camping trip that involved paddling. We of course had to take our cousin to show him the wonders of camping from a kayak at the ranger station. It seems kayakers are required to take toilette "kits", not the kind you're thinking about, along on the boats. They were both glad we had vault toilets in the campground. It's the simple things in life.

WARNING: One cooler and three crates of food is not enough for two teenage boys who have played hard all day. Why do boys eat so much?

With that idea I'll leave you with an eating machine food hit.


Campground Nachos
In the following order place these ingredients on a large square of foil:

1. A mix of Mild Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack
2. Sliced Black Olives
3. Canned Salsa
4. Corn Chips, Tostitos work best
5. Another large square of foil
   

then

1. Crimp foil edges together to form a foil package.
2. Place foil package on the open fire, provided you got the fire started in the first place.
3. Wait until you hear sizzling.
4. When you hear sizzling, remove from fire.
5. Flip foil package over on large platter so the cheese is now on the top.
6. Peel back foil.
7. Feed eating machines.
8. Start next batch.
   

On The Steps to the Launch Pad

Well. I have finally recovered from that rite-of-passage all teenage males go through. Driving the family car, alone. Right now The Kid is at the car dealer, on an errand for mom. The driver seat in the car has to be adjusted one way for me, another way for The Kid. Unfortunately, when that adjusting mechanism broke, it was in The Kid's setting, so off he had to go to the car dealer to have it fixed. It was hard for me to drive the car with my head sticking out through the sunroof. Actually, The Kid has been an excellent driver and on his own in the driver seat for a couple of months now. Between his volunteer work and now his part time job, he uses the car as much as I do, though we've managed to work out a decent schedule of sharing a single car. The steps to the launch pad. It's been fun getting The Kid ready to launch as an adult. He took a part time summer job because he wanted to help pay for that young-male-insurance-heart-attack-sized premium that comes with the rite of passage. In the fall he'll be driving to two classes at the local community college, another step to the launch pad....what's next?

Student Driver: Feel Sorry for Me

There was a time when I would look at a slow moving vehicle on the highway, the one with the "Student Driver" sign taped to the back window and feel irritated, today, I have a different sentiment. That sign should say "Student Driver: Feel Sorry for Me".

The legislators of Ohio must have been really sadistic bunch when they signed into law the condition that new drivers must be accompanied by a licensed driver for at least 50 hours. 50 hours is a lot of hours, especially if you're a single mom. In general I think our lawmakers think about families as ones that include two married adults, thus 25 hours isn't too bad if mom and dad do some of the passenger seat time.

The Kid is basically a good driver, obeys the speed limit to the letter, holds the wheel at 10 o-clock and 2 o-clock, leaves the car seat raised just high enough that I bang my head when I have to get in and drive. We decided that cell phones and radio were too much of a distraction, so neither are on when we drive, and boy, 50 hours is a lot of hours.

The funny think about a 16 year old is that if they think they can get away with something, they will. The Kid was afraid of a moving violation thanks to his driver's ed class at AAA. So after that announcement, it was just too easy for The Kid to let mom drive him everywhere, 5 days a week, so the 50 hours weren't getting done - at all.

Just as I thought I was going to lose my mind with all the driving I was having to do, I realized I needed to get The Kid in the driver seat for 50 hours, and thus the term "Mom's taxi" became a reality. After that revelation, each time The Kid got into the car for a ride to one of his "things", the following conversation would take place.

"Do you have ten dollars?"

"For what?"

"The ride you are about to take."

"I'm tired."

"So. Do you have ten dollars?"

I haven't made one dollar yet and The Kid is a few hours short of the 50 hours he needs to satisfy the requirements for the State of Ohio.....

© 2005-2008. Amy Cortez. All Rights Reserved.

Travels in Your Own Backyard, Happy Birthday to the Kid

We've had a lot of life lately, sometimes life gets in the way of writing. But I can't forget my annual post to the Kid on his birthday. Usually we plan a big trip and we might still do that, but the Travelin' Homeschooler has had an illness that has effected our ability to fly. You never really recognize how important your sense of hearing is until you lose it to a strep infection that perforates the eardum, but enough of our gore.

Late Winter in the Midwest has been rough, but now we're getting ready to hit the road and it's looking like a good travel season is upon us, starting with a milestone Birthday.

The Kid's 16th Birthday, how could I make it memorable? Sometimes ideas just drop into your lap simply by reading a small local paper.

"Aviation show: helicopter rides".

What an awesome memory.

Especially since earlier in the year The Kid gutted a radio control helicopter to build a lighter than air vehicle (LTAV) for an aerospace course through MIT Open Courseware.

Generally we celebrate a Birthday for a week and thata's what we did, starting with the helicopter ride and ending with a cookout and cake.

The Kid is still working on getting his driver's license, the AAA guy is taking him driving soon.

The poor man. I wonder if he'll appreciate the ski helmet and snorkle I plan to hand to him.

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.

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.

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...

Not Back to School

Every homeschooling family celebrates a “Not Back to School Day”, at least that is what I like to believe. Our day to celebrate was Mondaythis week. The plan was to go to our local coffee house to catch up onthe latest news with the coffee-house-posse, to go to Staples to not-buy back to school supplies, to go to Morgan’s Livery one last time to kayak our favorite river and then to Eat at Joe’s (Joe’s Crab Shack) on the river for dinner.

You always see a flurry of noteworthy news regarding the idea of students returning to school:

Parents Clueless on Drugs Surveys show teens, folks out of synch, out of touch... BY PEGGY O'FARRELL | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER A comparison of two recent surveys shows parents apparently don't have a clue about their teenagers' use of drugs and alcohol....[Read on] Goal is Grads, Not Dropouts Schools put emphasis on getting to finish line BY DENISE SMITH AMOS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER Glen Este High School in West Clermont missed its graduation goal last year by four-tenths of a percentage point, the equivalent of one student dropping out, says Superintendent Gary Brooks...[Read on] No Cheating, Kids Pledge BY SARAH HARDEE | ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR When Villa Madonna Academy senior Sean Spille turns in his schoolwork, you can be sure it's his own - he even put it in writing. Spille is one of the high school's 180 students who signed a new honor code this year that calls for honesty and academic integrity....[Read on]

Just once I’d like to see for example, the Literature reading lists that returning students are required to read, the lists of texts being used and perhaps a syllabi or two of some of the more enlightening classes offered in our schools. This might make me wonder what we are missing by “not-going-back-to-school”.

On our "Not Back to School Day", Staple’s is always a fun stop. As we walked the crowded rows, we saw parents and kids pouring over lists of items required for learning at school. The bulging baskets made me wonder if I had missed something in our planning. There really isn’t much “stuff” a homeschool needs, though I have to admit to replacing our 7 year old laptop this year. Published in Today’s local paper:

How much we spend (selected items) Clothing and accessories - $230 Shoes - $98 School supplies - $86 Electronics (lower grades) - $114 Average total spending (lower grades) - $527 Source: Bigresearch What I spent Clothing and accessories - $0 Shoes - $0 School supplies - $61.60 Electronics (lower grades) -- $19.98 Average total spending (lower grades) - $81.58 Source: My Staples Receipt

Though, if I really wanted to start totalling my dollars that go toward education, including the property taxes I pay to fund what our local public school system does, we’d be in the thousands...though I am not going there today. (I generally have that number ready for when they start the cries for more taxes to pay for the schools in November.) We did have a glorious day on the Little Miami River. The leaves on the trees were that green, showing a golden glow that Autum is just around the corner. All the turtles we saw in the early spring were back lazing in the sun on the logs. Several large fish jumped for us and the ducks and herons were all there to celebrate our "Not Back to School" day on the river. Sunburnt, and tired, we finished our day at "Joe's Crab Shack". It was a good "Not Back to School" day.

Traveling the Road of Life: Happy Mothers Day!

Many of my girlfriends have daughters and tell me that it is my job to teach The Kid how to be a good husband...

I guess that could a subject in Life Skills, "Husbanding 101". Being a single mom, my opinions on what a good husband is may be very different, though I do pay close attention to this development in The Kid!

Part of our Mother’s Day Tradition is that The Kid makes mom a pot of coffee, brings in the paper and we have a special “mom outing”. The Kid thought bringing in the paper sounded more like the job of our faithful dog than a teenage son, so this year it was breakfast. I still got to be the mentor to this event. Egg in the Nest , sausage and coffee. There are skills that need to be taught in breaking an egg into a slice of thick French Bread, it is tricky business....

Recently, I went with a new friend to a Jerry Garcia Art show and I thought The Kid might enjoy it as well so I suggested it as our outing. He had remembered that I had gone, so he asked if there was any place else. I suggested the Marvels of Maiolica at the Cincinnati Taft Museum. It’s an Italian Renaissance Ceramics collection, from the Corcoran Gallery. That was not a huge hit, though we’ll still go. The kid thought a day of Italian Pottery and Hippie Art was the perfect thing for mom!

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

Alligators That Eat Boney Teenagers

“Let’s go kayaking in the Everglades.”
“ The alligators will eat us. “

“When I wanted to camp at Yellowstone you told me that the bears would get us. When I wanted to go kayaking in Canada you told me that the wolves would get us. As you can see we are still here, one of us very skinny, the other one of us a healthy middle ager. Besides, alligators wouldn’t mess with you, there’s not enough meat on your bones.”

“Sigh.”

I think our trip to the Everglades will happen. We have been talking about going back to Cabbage key with our kayaks, the Everglades are just a bit further South -why not?

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy - The Whole Story

We often take our schooling on the road. Last February we went to Cabbage Key, Florida to study Botany and Conservation. We're thinking about a return engagement, this time we'l take the kayaks.

My journal from that week...
I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy
Cabbage Key, Florida - February 2005

Does This Kayak Make Me Look Fat?

Ask your 13 year old that question sometime. When you camp you tend to eat bad food, really bad food. Even in Canada. The fact that people are speaking French all around you doesn’t change that either. It is very difficult to make any kind of sauce over a camp fire - at least this chef hasn’t learned that trick yet. So after days of sausages and granola, one tends to worry about the waistline. We have a guinea pig that gets fat eating lettuce and timothy hay, so I thought the concern over sausage and goodies from HENRIETTA'S PINE BAKERY (Dwight, ON) was legitimate.

Back in August at this very web log I recorded our top 10 paddler tips from our trip to Canada. Since then I've lost those pounds that I worried about. They probably weren't there in the first place but as a person who used to run 5 miles and butterfly the aquatic part of triathlons, I know better than to load up on junk. It was also one of the last times I fretted over such nonsense.

Last night we went to listen to Mikhail Gorbachev speak at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It was a weighty talk, while we’re on that topic. He described how disappointed he was in globalization and described that the world today needs a little perestroika. I agree. Some of us try to introduce the concept of new thinking for the new world to our kids. As homeschoolers, we’ve already demonstrated the concept of thinking outside the box - or new thinking for the new world - by not accepting mediocre schooling for our kids. But that’s as political as I’ll get here. There are other ways to introduce new thinking. How about taking your kid kayaking just when the leaves are changing colors in a place so rugged it’s just you and God and Elmer Fudd?

We went to Grayson Lake in Northeastern Kentucky two weekends ago. We wanted to go one last cool place before we put the kayaks away for the winter and this was the place we chose. Little did we know it was hunting season. Posted at the very spot we wanted to launch our boats was a sign that said “WARNING: Stay away from Clifty Creek South shore, across from the boat launch area between September 1 and October 1. Dove hunting in progress.” As it was October 8, we launched our boats and I introduced Daffy Duck’s Hunter song, you know the one: “hunters to the left of me, hunters to the right of me, bang, bang, bang.” Made for an interesting paddle for my student. I suppose I could have told him about the movie "Deliverance" and hummed that tune instead, but I was trying to think outside the box.

We sometimes “car-camp” because it adds variety to our travel. Lately we have been camping a lot because we like taking the kayaks with us. The kayaks permit us to explore places you would never otherwise see in some of these places. In some campgrounds we are just amazed at what we see. The campground at Grayson Lake was very interesting needless to say, especially as it was hunting season. Now I always thought hunters were the hearty types, but that shows how inside the box I was thinking. Hunters these days camp in luxury yachts, or “Hilton on Wheels” as my student describes it. Our entire camping experience is set up in under 10 minutes, including the tent and the campfire. And as we sat cooking our hot-dogs over an open fire, we watched these rugged hunters unfurl their awnings and put up their confederate flags, haul out the Barco loungers and set up the satellite dishes for the two day weekend. While all the activity was progressing, we were entertained by a simple example of homeschooler-out-of-the-box thinking. A small boy stopped by our campsite while he was waiting for his parents to set up their camp site. We offered him a hot-dog and between bites in the best Kentucky accent I have ever heard, he asked us if our RV was broken down. My student asked him why he thought that and he replied that “ain’t no one he ever knew that slept in a tent that little” My student replied “Kind of hard to stow an RV in a kayak”.


The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil. It is not for you to choose what he shall know, what he shall do. It is chosen and foreordained and he only holds the key to his own secret.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Visit our website at: www.brightkidsathome.com
Visit our GEEK GEAR SHOP at: Daphne's Emporium

Journeys in My Own Backyard: The Maiden Voyage Was Flawless....

I had always hoped I would write that about a great sailboat that I had comsissioned. Haven’t gotten that far in the master plan yet. Have one going to college in a few years, so that plan is in a holding pattern for now. No this maiden voyage was of the antique tub I restored. I refinished it, I hooked up the plumbing, I hung the shower curtain surround. All the maiden voyage needed was a screwdriver. It seemed I neglected to screw down the faucet handles as the hot was running more than cold.

Journeys in My Own Backyard: Dowackers that Play Giant Cds and Ed the Scorpion

Staying on course to travel this summer has been tough. My student and I would much rather play than get this house together. We’ve been spending our time going through boxes in the basement, mainly to stay out of the midwest humidity, but also so we have a place to stow our kayaks. There aren’t many boxes left to survey, but there were 2 two that were fun. They were simply labeled “33LPs - Good Stuff”.

It was the first time my student ever saw an “album”. Man were there some classics: The Who, Stones, Aerosmith, Heart, Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Cat Stevens, Marshall Tucker, Almann Brothers. I had some classic Jazz and Blues too and always the Jimmy Buffett albums, only on these covers Jimmy was skinnier and had more hair. My student wanted to know what the device was called that we played “albums” on. “Oh!” I said.
“The dowacker that plays those giant CDs is called a turntable.”
“That’s dumb. Ebay mom” he said and moved on to another box with dead bugs in it and asked if I remembered Ed the scorpion.

Now Ed was an interesting creature, may he rest in peace. Ed was the brown scorpion that stowed away in our duffle from when we stayed in the High country in Guatemala ,
in the Atitlian region. Scorpions are hardy little beasts. After 2 weeks of the total darkness of the duffle, Ed screamed “sanctuary” from the bottom of the empty bag on my bedroom floor. There I was with a scorpion in my luggage and my then seven year old wide-eyed watching to see what I’d do. Instinct dictated that I swat the tar out of the scorpion with my shoe and scoop him up in the dust-bin, but the terror in my student’s eyes demanded that I take another approach. I scooped the animal up in a jar and called the Zoo. We named the scorpion Ed and drove him to the Zoo where for several years my student believed he lived with the other insects in the insect house. Needless to say, I think Ed ended up at the end of one of the pins in the display cases in the insect house. Poor thing.

Maybe one of these days I will put my albums up for sale at Ebay, but for now these boxes are stowed next to the one box labeled "chuck this in the hole with me when I die".

Once, Daphne the Science Guinea Pig Wanted a Tattoo

I sat down this morning to plan our trip to Canada. We just got back from a trip in North East Ohio. We went to COSI and then to Ohio Amish country. It was our “end of 7th grade” trip. My student got to pick a place and I got to pick a place. My student chose Science and industry, I chose peace, quiet and a Morris Chair.

We have been traveling to Amish country for years for serenity. Many people who travel in this area come away remembering the Amish people for their quilts and buggies, backward life style and strange dress. I don’t. In fact, I have never seen it that way. As a matter of fact, I think the Amish have the right idea. A simple life. In my opinion, they live much like the Native Americans did/do, taking only what they need from the land. I admire both groups, as I sit here at my computer.

Canada. How does one plan a trip through Eastern Canada? Last year at this time we started our journey across country. We were moving from Utah to Ohio and decided to make journey out of this chore. We had Daphne the Science Guinea Pig with us. We took her camping at Yellowstone National Park where it snowed two of the three nights we camped. That is an interesting tale, Daphne writes about it her FAQ page at our website. You can find her description of her Scientific break through under the topic of "hand warmers".

We also took Daphne to some historic hotels in Wyoming and South Dakota. We stayed at Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel ” in Cody, Wyoming and at the Historic Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City South Dakota. At the Alex Johnson, Daphne rode to our room in style on the old time brass luggage carrier, atop our duffel the duffles of several bikers. When we pulled up in front of this hotel there were about 50 classic motorcycles parked in front, many of them Harleys, some were Indians. It seems there was a very large group of bikers staying for the night as well. A great group of wandering souls. Now you are probably imagining bikers and Guinea Pigs and thinking that this is a good place to stay away from. Well, let me tell you, those bikers were some of the most interesing people I’ve ever met and Daphne the Science Guinea pig was the most interesting creature they had ever met. It was a memorable expirience, one I should have photographed but didn’t. Daphne came away with a bandana and a desire for a red and green tattoo.

Maybe I’ll plan our trip to Canada like I planned the trek across country....

Journeys in My Own Back Yard: Ferocious Wolves and Pizza Eating Yogis

Recently we moved into the city. We have a park nearby. This morning t 6 AM, I decided to start power walking again. I headed up the hill - straight up the hill. At the top of the hill where the path through the woods to the park begins, I saw a wild animal. Well, I saw his (or her) hindquarters and a fluffy tail resembling that of a wolf.

I froze. I waited. I turned off my Jimmy Cliff CD and hoped this creature would disappear. I braved the path slowly remembering the Dimple Dell Canyon in Utah I used to walk where they warned of lions, tigers and bears - oh my (no really, it was coyotes, wolves and mountain lions). I completed this wild city path without another sighting of the ferocious wolf. Once I was actually in the park, I passed a person peacefully practicing yoga. I figured a wolf of all creatures would respect a yogi. I sighted another power walker and asked them if they had ever encountered a wolf in the park. She said there were no wolves and that she was glad I saw the local fox.

When I returned home from my walk, my garden was populated with a lizard, a snake and a hummingbird. A good day was beginning for sure.

When my student got up, for what I hoped was one of our last days of school work, I told him about the wolf-fox. He laughed. He wanted to know where the path came out because we tried to find it the other night from the park-side. When we went for coffee and croissants, I drove to the park to show him. The yogi was the only other person in the park I observed, still peaceful as the time of day. I showed my student where the path came out. As we left the park a Dominos pizza delivery truck was entering the park. My student said “20 bucks says the yogi ordered a pizza.” “It’s like you and your Twinkies ”. We giggled.

Sleeping on a rock under a hankie, continued

So here we are in the wee hours, Daphne the Science Guinea Pig is chewing on her timothy hay and one of my neighbors is either drunk or really upset with his dog because he’s been outside for the last 20 minutes calling somebody’s name.

May is great sleeping weather, you don’t need the furnace and you don’t need the air conditioner either because you can sleep with the windows open. This time of year is also great for camping, that’s why we went last weekend. We beat the Memorial Day crowds and the muggy humidity that the midwest is sometimes known for.

We camped at Daniel Boone National forest in the Zilpo Campground. I can honestly recommend campsite H17, H18, H19 as the choice spots. On the lake, private and just far enough away from the bathrooms. At night you can hear the muskies jumping in the lake, the raccoons looking for goodies and my student crunching on crackers - all accompanied by darkness.

The one thing I can say about camping is that in the woods with all of the creatures I can possibly imagine, I’m always dog-tired, and I typically manage to find the one unlevel spot for my Kelty mummy bag. Every time I camp I tell myself I should have gone for the LL Bean Burrito Bag because the mummy bag isn’t very good for mommies. For whatever reason this sleeping bag manages to transform me into a real stiff mummy by morning. Maybe I should have paid attention to the name. However this time, I decided it was time for my student to enjoy the privilege of an “adult” sleeping bag and I would take the one that unzips completely leaving me plenty of room to toss, turn and easily grab crackers away from crunchers in the dark.

Just as I got settled in under the unzipped hankie and the crackers stowed, my student asked me to recall the time we slept at Alta in the snow. I was just getting started on envisioning tucking myself in at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, then I traveled in my mind to the The Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island Florida and then on to Le Meridien Etoile in Paris and the New Otani in Tokyo and I was being asked to revisit this camping trip to 10 below zero weather. Sigh. I decided it would be more fun to remember the Hotel Atitlan, Guatemala and the brown scorpion we accidentally brought back from the lake country in Guatemala. We named the scorpion Ed and donated him to the local zoo but that’s a story for another day.

Also as part of our “little getaway” we took a kayak lesson with the Cave Run Bicycle and Outdoor Center . April was a great instructor and managed to get us seriously thinking about a bigger kayak adventure. As I have written before after we get our new house settled, we intend to go to Niagara Falls, though no kayaking will be involved. I read that you can stay at a lighthouse on Prince Edward Island , Canada so that is on our list to do.

The kayak instruction went beautifully and we now feel we can at least intelligently try out a variety of water craft for our future adventures. My student ended up taking the lesson, mainly because tiddlywinks are difficult to find in Kentucky, but also, kayaking it seems, is a sequential activity. Our instructor went through the concepts step by step, instead of tiddlywinks, my student went "tilt, tilt, tilt" on the dock. It seemed the visual instruction in his head and the steps presented weren't quite lining up and he was eventually forced to join us on the water to actually learn the strokes and moves. I knew I'd love this sport!

With this entry we have joined a group of other intrepid travelers over at travelblog.org . We're dual blogging now!

Log Book: Cabbage Key, Florida USA

Cabbage Key, Florida - February 2005 I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Poison Ivy

DAY 1 & 2
The whole point of Cabbage Key was to study Botany and do nothing. That’s what we did for seven days. Cabbage Key is directly across from marker 60 on the Florida Intercoastal Waterway. That’s due west form Pine Island, Florida, USA. . Sanibel and Captiva islands are 8 miles to the south. The high point of this morning so far was watching Chip the dockmaster at Cabbage Key replace the Channel Mark signs stolen away by hurricane Charley. This high point however was soon replaced by our sighting a lone dolphin scoot by the dock.

We debated if reading "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway is considered doing nothing. But we decided reading was an activity, especially when it’s Hemingway, so we went back to watching the dolphins and the Osprey. My student was learning that it was very difficult to do nothing.

Our “school days” on Cabbage key begin on our dock reading. Along with studying Botany, we’re finishing "A Farewell to Arms" and “Sophie’s World” by Jostein Gaarder. When you travel to an Island that you can only get to by boat you choose your school materials carefully. We thought Botany, Philosophy and Hemingway made an interesting accompaniment to learning the art of doing nothing.


DAY 3
At Cabbage Key we leased the Tarpon Research station. The original buildings on Cabbage Key were built in 1929, by Alan Rinehart and Grace Houghton Rinehart as their winter estate. The Rineharts financed the research lab in 1940. It’s a rustic place and a good place to study Botany. Even though it was clear the effect of hurricane Charley remained, the island was managing to recover. Our study of Botany involves photographing and identifying 40 vascular and 5 non-vascular plants. Cabbage Key is a great place to do just that. So was a neighboring island Cayo Costa.

DAY 4
Cayo Costa is a Florida State park where you can find and abundance of wild life and plant life. We saw osprey, sharks and sea urchins. We also photographed many different plant species. Cayo Costa is another island you can only access by boat but it is well worth the effort. There are secret lagoons, miles of unspoiled beach and acres of wild Florida. This place allows you to imagine what Native Floridians lived like. You can camp at Cayo Costa and there are primitive cabins you can rent, but we chose to stay at cabbage Key.

DAY 5
There are some very good nature trails at Cabbage Key, there is also something very good at the restaurant here. Magically, between the hours of 11 & 2 PM hoards of boats bringing people for lunch ascend on this island. We ate dinner up at the main building but then there is no parade for dinner, so one of these days we’ll meander over there at lunch, but today we’re content watching the boats come and in enjoying our studies on the dock.

They say Jimmy Buffett wrote his song “Cheeseburger in Paradise” at Cabbage Key. There’s a nice photo of him in the bar here. In fact the the bar and the entire main building walls are lines with dollar bills stapled and taped up. There are thousands of them and Mr. Buffet's is framed along with his photo. Today is the day we’re going to go for Cheeseburgers. In fact, that’s the big plan for today, but we’ll see. It is cloudy today, so we don’t expect the parade of boats. At dawn there was a parade of birds at our boatdock however. It might indicate the front they predicted is really going to arrive. Each day I watch the osprey dive for fish at around 4 PM. Today is the first day they’ve been at it this early.

Taking the learning on the road is one of the great things about homeschooing. It can be done rather inexpensively if you choose do it that way, or you can spend a royal fortune; fun, but not really necessary. There isn‘t a tuition paid anywhere that can bring your student what they can learn traveling. We generally travel to a place for a specific reason. In the case of Cabbage Key we wanted to study plants. We took the books: Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification by Thomas J. Elpel, Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida by Richard P. Wunderlin, Bruce Hansen, Bruce F. Hansen, Florida Wild Flowers and Roadside Plants by Ritchie C. Bell, Bryan J. Taylor and several rolls of film to photograph plant life so we could assemble a presentation of our study and identify the plants later at home. We always come away from a place with more experience and knowledge than we expect. For example, on this trip my student learned how to navigate a small water craft through oyster beds and mangrove keys.

My student also learned how to “almost catch” a fish as big as himself - or so it looked. Fishing is a big deal here. Many people have large fishing poles on their boats and we can see boats sitting for hours in shallow water fishing. I always imagine what it is like for the fish. It would be like if my cup of coffee here was the bait and when I drank it I would be ripped out of this chair from the face of existence as I know it. Wow.

DAY 6
Today I am going to have another cheeseburger. The main activity yesterday was to find out what the attraction was at the main building at lunchtime, and now I know, it was the burgers. Boy were they good. The other big thing scheduled for today is to talk to the captain who will be taking us back to the mainland. The big decision is to go on Saturday morning or on Sunday morning. The front they predicted arrived, there’s no rain but there are tremendous winds. The temperature dropped from the high 70’s to the mid 50’s, so it’s difficult to do nothing on the dock today. Even a hike on the island’s trails would be difficult because the sand is blowing. We met a man yesterday on the dock that was going camping at Cayo Costa. I thought about him this morning as I made my coffee in semi warmth. He didn’t have a sleeping bag, so I imagine he was pretty chilly. Today is also the first day I had trouble getting my student to do his reading. I suppose everyone who chooses to home school hits difficult days. I think back to the days when I was in a classroom and remember how I longed to be anywhere else but in that classroom and I look at my student being stubborn about reading this morning in this beautiful place. I wonder how many other homeschooling moms play with the idea of sending their students to a school just so they understand how the many of their peers are being educated.