Day 16 - Sunday 7/29 last day :(

It was a little sad last night knowing it was our last night in “our home on wheels.” We are discussing whether or not this is how we would like to travel for the next several years with the kids. We had such a great time we are going to look at purchasing one. We will keep you posted on that and if our blog will continue across several more states!

Today we are still in Dutch Springs with the Boy Scouts and Andrew was supposed to do his other two dives but the weather did not cooperate. We will have to come back in August if he wants to be certified by our Jamaica trip in December.

We loaded up the RV, helped the troop load up their stuff and headed home. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in New Jersey…it is one of Alex’s favorite spots and we have passed about 50 of them on the trip. I believe this has made the trip complete for him.

We arrived home and now the true work had to start…the unloading! This is where Shari wishes she did not HAVE to bring all the stuff she did. This is also where we wonder why did we stop at SO many gift shops!!

It took us about an hour and half just to get everything out of the "house on wheels" and into the "the house on ground" and then another several hours to find a home for everything. Below is the photo of the boys and all the "crap!" I decided to use this as the after shot because I really couldn't believe what we had in there!!

Thank you for reading and commenting on our blog. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We traveled across 12 states and a small section of Canada together. It was great to know that you all were with us without having to be with us!!

Day 15 - Saturday 7/28

We are still in Dutch Springs and Andrew is very excited about his first open water scuba dive. We all went down to watch these Boy Scouts do their first dive (a couple boys are here to get their advanced certification). This is an old quarry that they have sunk a lot of structures in t0 make it a great controlled environment to learn how to scuba dive. The water is very clear for a “fresh water lake.” Andrew went down with the first group…they were down for 22 minutes. He had a great time. Steven and Christopher played around in the water and did some snorkeling. They were trying to see as many fish as they could find. Alex was bummed after spotting some rather large bass that there is no fishing here! The same group went down for their second dive and this time they stayed down for 25 minutes and were able to check out one of the structures which is a fire truck…some actually sat in the drivers seat!



After the second dive, they were done with diving for the day so we were off to The Adventure Park. It is over on the other side of the lake…and it is a roped off area that has inflatable slides, mountains to climb, an air pillow and trampolines. Everyone has to be wearing a life vest or wetsuit because the depth goes from 0 ft to 50 ft within 10 feet of the shore. We all went and had a great time swimming around, climbing structures and getting flung around on the air pillow and trampolines. Alex and Christopher did the air pillow and Christopher flew up so high in the air!! He loved it the first time but the second time not so much.












If you would like to view the video of Christopher's flight please click below http://www.youtube.com/v/fIC9s7tfWqo














Later in the afternoon we went over to the Sky Challenge, which is a 3 story structure that has a variety of high obstacles and ropes for the kids to navigate and explore. All three of the kids did it and loved it.






Alex was one of the cooks with the Troop so he was back at the site making dinner while the kids rode their bikes around and had fun playing with all the other scouts and siblings. Dinner was great, guitar playing was ever better and having familiar faces around again, was the best!!

After dinner the advanced divers went in for a night dive. While they were down, the other boys snorkeled and played around in the water.

After all of the playing, we rounded everyone up and got them to bed…we have another early day in the morning.

Day 14 - Friday 7/27

Our day started with thunderstorms. As we lay in our beds nice and dry, all I could think about was being in a tent and being all wet. I really feel bad for them! Alex is pretty certain he does not want to tent camp ever again. We went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this morning. The boys had a lot of fun finding players that they liked and reading stats. Our family is divided with Andrew now being a Seattle Seahawks fan and Alex, Steven and Christopher being Cowboy fans!! I enjoyed seeing how football has progressed. The pads that they used to wear are incredible. Justin – the Dolphin’s shot is for you!!


We are off to Dutch Springs, PA which is our final destination. We will be there for two nights. We have a six hour drive and are worried about making it there in time. We were told they lock the gates at 8:30 and our GPS says arrival at 8:45. At around 8:00 I called them and they said “no worries” so we proceeded. This destination is a Boy Scout trip so Andrew can do his open water dives for his scuba certification. There are probably 10 families here. Unfortunately they have the tent people on one side of the park and the RV’s on the other. So we are not with the whole group. We will be able to hang with them during the day but for tonight…we ate dinner, watched a movie with the kids and tried to have everyone asleep before midnight…Andrew’s first dive is at 8:30 am.

Day 13 - Thursday 7/26

So I must start this day by saying, we really wanted Alex’s brother Andrew and his partner Deryl to join us at this stop. It was not something they could put together...I believe the Tahoe was more important! They are really the reason that we are here. Other than Tommy Boy, we knew nothing about Sandusky, Ohio until they told us about Cedar Point and the roller coasters capital of the world. Since we only saw half of the park, we are discussing with them a long weekend trip here in October. It is only 4 inches on the map...kidding, I looked on mapquest and it is an eight hour drive...we can do it!!!

Our plan was to be here at the gates whe they opened at 10:00 but we arrived a little later than we wanted. Sleeping until 9:00 am really throws things off. This amusement park is out on a peninsula in Lake Eerie. So when you are on big rides you see water everywhere…it's way cool. Andrew scored big today (he is really our coaster kid) because we did this parent swap thing that allowed him to go with both Alex and me on all the coasters. There are 17 roller coasters and we made it to 5 of them. We went on the Corkscrew, Magnum, Mean Streak, Gemini, and Millennium. Some of the waits were up to 1 and half hours. The Millennium was absolutely the best! It had a 300 foot drop and top speed of 90 mph…it was AWESOME!! We really didn't feel like we made a dent in the park...I am not certain that you could ever finish this park in a day or maybe even in two. While Alex and Andrew where waiting in the big lines, I took Christopher and Steven on all of the smaller rides. I want you to look at what the bumper boat says in the photo with Christopher...I do not know why we are naturally drawn to these things!! Steven really wants to go on the "big ones" but is still too nervous...he did make it on Mean Streak which is a huge wooden roller coaster. To me those are worse because they are so bumpy, the new ones are so smooth. But he is not there yet. We stayed until 8:00 at the park and then decided to drive and stay over in Canton, Ohio. We were worried our day on Friday was going to be too long. We arrived at the KOA around 10:30, the boys watched a movie, Alex did some work and I did laundry. We had too much wet stuff that I was worried would get stinky…we all know our home on wheels doesn’t need anymore stinky smells!!

Just a side note on the photos...the one of Andrew and Steven hanging is NOT AT ALL how I feel at this point on the trip!!!

Day 12 - Wednesday 7/25

Today was a very low key day. We woke up and got out of “our least favorite” campsite…before breakfast!! We decided Denny’s would be a good call for today. Nothing wrong with a Grand Slam Breakfast!! After breakfast Alex went to Bass Pro...just because there’s one here! Just as an FYI, we stopped at this same Bass Pro on the way out…but whatever! We started out for Sandusky, Ohio and spotted a fireworks store, and you know it had some claim to fame…largest store in the world, or something like that and we, the Besterman’s, just have to stop!! The boys have seen so many fireworks stands and really wanted to “go in” and check it out. We walked out with a bag full. Not really sure when we can ever set them off without getting arrested but we’ll figure it out! Now we are really on our way to Ohio. Our drive is “only’ 3 hours today. We are in hog heaven. We arrived at the campsite around 4:00. The usual occurred…swimming, biking and getting settled. We had to run to the store…this is when a car would be really nice inside of drivin’ the family home around! Alex wanted to go to the farmers market…for more corn. (Hope – I am getting a little worried! I may have to google a few things!) We took the kids up to a go kart place on our way back because there was a need for speed. Let’s be honest, I am sure something attracted us…like fastest track in Ohio. There were three races with a few spin outs, just a little competition and I really couldn’t tell you who won…everyone has a different story. While cooking dinner Mr. Christopher came to us and asked for his training wheels to come off…he is ready to be a two wheeler rider! I have to tell you, he rode so much on this trip that he is now a successful bike rider. Yeah!!! He also still really wants the dirt bike!! We ended our evening with a campfire and smores.

Day 11 - Tuesday 7/24

The day started with some fishing…a few nibbles but no bites!! We are not having the best of luck lately with our fishing…hopefully that will change. After breakfast we hit the road and headed for the John Deere capital of the world, which is in Moline, Illinois. Christopher has been trying to pretend he is done with John Deere but he just couldn’t help but be excited when we arrived and he started climbing all over the tractors. We rode our bikes around Moline and had lunch. Hope - I do not know if you remember or not but I wanted to come here for Christopher two years ago when me and Loree took the road trip with the kids but it was too many inches away!! So happy I was able to make it here now!! We then had to get back on the road for our final destination of the day, which is Portage, Indiana. We stayed at a Jellystone Campground. It really was the strangest place. Almost all the sites were permanent residences. I felt like we rented a daily open spot in a mobile home park. (Not that there's anything wrong with that) Needless to say this was our least favorite spot of the trip. The campground did have a lake and a pool. So we went fishing and caught a bass or two. (Nothing to write home about though) The boys swam in the lake and tried to catch fish in buckets. We swam in the pool and took a site seeing golf cart trip around the grounds. That might have been when we became way too familiar as to what was around us!! We had dinner (Alex ate just corn again…he may addicted) and watched Where the Red Fern Grows…one of my favorites. We decided to have a campfire, even though the scenery was not the best because it may be our last one of the trip based on our upcoming schedule.

Day 10 - Monday 7/23

We needed to start the day today with some house keeping. For those of you who know Alex...for him to be on his hands and knees cleaning...you know it must of have been "sticky." After being in the RV all day yesterday the kids needed out…they are biking and swimming. I need to do tons of laundry and Alex needs to do some work.

Now that our duties are done, we are on our way to Omaha, to meet Hollye Hempel for lunch. She was my dad’s second wife…I spent most of my childhood with her. It was nice to have a quick catch up with her. We stopped by a market stand on the side of the road and bought some fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and Nebraska corn. (that we have seen so much of driving through for hundreds of miles!!) We also had to pick up Andrew’s wetsuit, which he needs for Saturday. We ordered it before we left and had it sent to her.

Back on the road…today we are overnighting in Oxford, Iowa. It is on the eastern part of Iowa. We arrived at 9:00 pm and Alex got dinner going and I took the kids to the pool. It is hard to believe that I think it is perfectly fine that we are eating dinner at 10:00 pm…all the miles on road must have done something to my brain!! Dinner tonight is burgers, corn and salad. I am telling you this because Alex passed on the burgers and ate 4 ears of corn for dinner…he was in love! I know we all think Jersey corn is good but that is because you have never had an ear from the corn capital of the world!! Alex has been changed for good!! I do not believe that he will ever call me a corn cobber again!!

Our night ended with a little campfire and falling asleep to National Treasure on the TV. Tomorrow we are headed to John Deere country!!

By the way….for those of you worried about our friend Max…the Gordy’s were fine on the way home…no air pollution!! When they arrived home Max jumped out when to the backyard and let loose. I guess dogs can be like some people and just not want to go when they are not at home!!

Below are some shots of what the boys do while we are truckin'!!