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.

Not Back to School: September 2007

Well as predicted, mother ocean called us back to visit and I couldn’t think of a better place than the Outer Banks in North Carolina. There are some awesome learning opportunities here. Our studies this year include Aerospace Engineering, and what better place than the state that was “First in Flight”? Our trip included an afternoon flying kites on the very grounds where Orville and Wilbur Wright launched man into the space-age at Kitty Hawk, well really it is Kill Devil Hills, near Jockey's Ridge State Park, but who’s nitpicking on what we remember from our history? Before we left we studied the plane and the kites that were used at the Wright Brothers Aerospace Museum in Dayton, Ohio, but there's nothing like actually going to the place where flight began!

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is an interesting step back into maritime history as are all the lighthouses in the area. The Whalehead Club has an interesting. It has been restored and is a fun place to visit, as well as the village that surrounds it. It isn’t as bustling as Roanoke or Williamsburg, as it tells a different story. It is a place where you can launch a kayak, have a picnic, catch a Blue Crab. Also The Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, located in Corolla between the historic Whalehead Club and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse had some awesome daily, free programs. There was a class on crabbing, kayaking on the Currituck sound and other items of interest to homeschoolers of all ages.

Hatteras Lighthouse Bodie Island Lighthouse The Cape Hatteras National Seashore is an awesome example of maritime life long ago. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is just one aspect you;ll find in this area. Cape Hatteras National Seashore preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island, stretching over 70 miles. Included within this section of barrier islands along N.C. Route 12, but outside the National Seashore boundaries, are Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and several privatecommunities. The Outer Banks area was once dubbed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" for its treacherous currents, shoals, and storms and Cape Hatteras has a wealth of history relating to shipwrecks, lighthouses, and the US Lifesaving Service. We went in search of the wreck of the Altoona, a fun outing, but kind of a snipe hunt...next time we'll go better prepared with exact locations and a better map. The Outer Banks folklore is fun to read about and the idea that we were standing on the same beach as Blackbeard was pretty neat seeing how we fancy ourselves as pirates when we go Windjammering....

Currituck Sound Paddlin' Alligator River Paddlin' There are many kayaking opportunities at the Outer Banks. We paddled on the Currituck Sound, near the The Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education and saw mainly marshy terrain. The Alligator River refuge, about an hour inland offered soem pretty interesting paddling as well, thought there was not an alligator to be found! We were treated to three brown bears munching on something in the middle off a grassy field. I think if we ever go back to the Outer Banks , we'll paddle around the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. It seemed like an interesting place.

Another bit of local lore I was determined to discover this trip to the Outer Banks was the Wild Horses of Corolla. Locally they are known as Banker Horses and are they something to see running out of the dunes. You need 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to the place where the horses live these days, but it is worth that effort. So all in all, our celebration of "not" back to school was good. The kid got to try out some Aerospace basics learning to fly a stunt kite at Kitty Hawk and he started reading "Walden" by Henry David Thoureau. He says it's a great book about checkin' out. I agree.