This trip is different from last year.  I mean, it’s the same family and same RV, but entirely different kind of trip.  Last year we spent a good part of the time on the road, seeing the sights from America’s highways.  In other words, there was A LOT of driving.  Coincidentally, there was also a lot of screaming from our precious son who did not appreciate sitting in a car seat for that amount of time.  So in the interest of keeping our family together and not leaving Roark somewhere in Tennessee, we decided to make this trip more about the locations rather than the road, which is nice because we get to hang our hats (or park our rig) in a spot for more than one night at a time.

 We spent the first several nights in Natural Springs, Virginia.  I know I’ve already told you about all there is to do when it’s raining, but when the weather’s cooperative, the fun really begins. 

 The first thing on our to-do list was the Virginia Safari Park.  And as much as I would like to tell you that this stop was completely for the kids that would only be a half truth.  I really planned this with myself in mind and thought the kids wouldn’t mind tagging along. 

 The only thing I knew about safari parks before last Wednesday was what I had learned from watching clips on America’s Funniest Home Videos.  I always thought it looked like a good time and something I needed to experience someday.  I was not disappointed.

 When we first arrived, we visited their walk-thru area which was kind of like a small zoo.  I was really impressed with the amount of animals that were just in this part including tigers, giraffes, and monkeys.  The animal habitats were so nice, but yet you could actually see the animals.  I’ve always defended the Birmingham Zoo, but maybe everyone is right.  Maybe it really is kind of crummy.

 On a side note, I will now start referring to Roarkie’s hair color as “straw colored blonde.”  As he was standing next to one of the pens watching goats eat some hay, a camel came up and tried to eat his hair.  Ken was rolling the camera, but dropped it in response to my yelling that a camel was eating Roark’s head.  I feel pretty sure that we could have made an appearance on AFV ourselves had the camera still been rolling.

 Anyway, the highlight of the walk-thru area was the kangaroo walk-about.  The sign on the fence literally said, “Please step over sleeping kangaroos.”  We actually got to pet a kangaroo that was lying in the middle of the trail.  Some of them were a bit skittish, but I would probably run too if I were a kangaroo and saw two little kids running up to me with their hands out.

 After we had seen everything in the walk-thru area, it was time to begin the real fun.  We loaded back into the car. (No, we didn’t try this in the motor home.)  Ken drove while Edie sat in the passenger seat, and I sat behind her in the back with Roarkie.   We had four buckets of feed. 

 We didn’t even get through the gate before a pack of llamas were at our car windows.  In fact, several were standing in front of the car, making it impossible to drive.  We eventually inched our way through the gate, and I had my bucket out the window ready for action.  Within the first couple of minutes, we had llamas sticking their heads in the car, trying to get the buckets.  Ken and I were laughing hysterically.  Edie was screaming as she crouched down in the floorboard, and Roarkie was telling them to get “OUT!”

 I must admit, the ostriches freaked me out.  They pecked at my bucket with force and then threw their heads back to swallow the mouthful of feed in one gulp.   Something about it was unsettling.  I guess because I had a birds eye view (pun intended), and I quickly decided that I was going to stay away from them.  

 The camels were definitely the most aggressive which is probably why they were behind a fence.  We were about to pass them by without feeding them until I decided to give it a try.  The sign on the fence said, “Careful.  We steal buckets.”  I now have a bruise on my arm the size of a half dollar that can attest to the sign’s truthfulness. 

 That camel nearly pulled my arm out of socket trying to wrestle that bucket out of my hand.  I finally relinquished it when my arm got penned in the window that was only half-way down.  The whole spectacle was only about seven seconds and ended with me howling in the back seat, holding my arm.  I’m sad to say, I let the camel beat me, but he had an advantage.  He was willing to resort to physical pain, and I wasn’t.

 So from there, we wound around through more pastures and fields, feeding different types of elk and deer.  Edie eventually worked up the nerve to hang out the window and hold her bucket out.  I nicknamed her the “Feed Nazi” because she would let a deer get a bite of food, and then quickly shoo him away while saying, “That’s enough for you!” 

 Since Ken’s window didn’t roll down, he played tricks on the animals by placing buckets of food on the dashboard.  The animals would hang across the windshield and drool as we all laughed.   (Don’t worry, Dad.  We’ll wash the car before we bring it back to you.)

 By the end of our safari adventure, we had four empty buckets, one wound, and some great memories.   Later that night, Ken and I watched the video footage and were still laughing at the spectacle of it all. 

 The next day, we toured the Natural Bridge of Natural Bridge, Virginia, and in a nut shell, it’s just another tourist trap.  It was cool to see where George Washington had carved his initials in the side of the rock while he was surveying in his pre-military days, but honestly, we didn’t even know that was what it was until we went through the second-rate wax museum (admission included with our ticket).  Natural Bridge wasn’t really worth the stop, but it was forgotten because the Safari Park was so much fun.

I’m worn out from pushing a stroller all day.  I spent the afternoon wrangling kids in a gift shop, and I paid way too much for a mediocre lunch.  It can only mean one thing: the McKibben’s are on vacation!

 I have now learned from experience that every vacation we take in the future we will be departing on a Saturday.  My original plan was to leave on Tuesday, but as soon as Ken got off work on Friday, he put his vacation shorts on, dug his flip flops out of the closet, and said, “Let’s go!”  I spent the next day and a half slinging clothes into laundry baskets and shuttling stuff between our house and the motor home.  I didn’t stop for 18 hours straight, but I turned three days of packing into one.  We finally pulled out of the driveway on Sunday afternoon, and it was a good thing because after all that packing, I really needed a vacation.

 Our first destination was to Natural Bridge, Virginia, or to be more precise, Jellystone Park in Natural Bridge, Virginia.  The internet made it look like a kid’s paradise and the best campground in the world, but from what I can tell, it’s basically a normal campground with a slash pad, inflatable bouncing pad, and Yogi Bear’s picture plastered on anything that will stand still.

 However, as far as Edie’s concerned, it is, in fact, the best campground in the world.  She is especially a fan of the times Yogi Bear himself has come by our campsite for a hug.  Two days ago, she’d never even heard of him, but I guess she thinks he must be pretty famous since she’s been seeing his picture everywhere lately.

 There is a fair amount to do in this little area provided you have good weather.  I can say for a fact that there is absolutely NOTHING to do here if you don’t.  In hindsight, I might not have busted my butt to get us out of the house early if I had known that we would just be spending the extra day cooped up in the RV due to rain.

 It started raining first thing in the morning while we were saying the pledge of allegiance with Yogi Bear.  We immediately began searching the internet for something to do indoors since all of our planned activities needed sunshine and quickly realized that we were grasping at straws.  Our first day of vacation consisted of lunch at Burger King, and a stop by Radio Shack and the Dollar Store. 

 By evening the rain had not let up.  So onto the next plan:  the movies.  However, even that seemed somewhat impossible.  According to Fandango, the nearest movie theater was over an hour away.  I kept searching and coming up with nothing.  I could feel the RV walls moving in on me.  Edie was whiney.  Roark was getting into everything, and I was quickly losing it.  I told Ken, “I don’t care what we do, but we’ve got to get out of this RV!”

 So Ken set down in front of the computer and began to work his magic.  Five minutes later, he was telling everyone to get their shoes on.  He had found a little theater showing the Beesus and Ramona movie about fifteen minutes away, and it was starting in ten minutes. 

 I can’t imagine a more perfect movie theater for our purpose.  First, when I was buying our tickets, the young girl behind the counter told me that Tuesday was “Family Night,” so right there I could feel our luck changing.  Second, we were the only people there, and I mean, in the ENTIRE theater.  As in, we were the only people that patronized the establishment that whole evening.  This was great because Roark could run the aisles once he was bored with the movie and no one would care.  They actually waited until we took our seats to begin the show.

 Now to really appreciate this scene, you have to remember what we do for a living.  Ken has worked in some of the finest movie theaters in the country, and we are proud to boast that some of them are even our clients.  So when a third of the movie was being projected onto the curtains and there wasn’t even a sub in the speakers, we just looked at each other and laughed.  We drove nine hours to watch Ramona Quimby in a two bit theater.  The scene was priceless. 

 It was really a cute movie.  I had secretly wanted to see it since Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite children’s authors.  So it worked out because I didn’t really see Ken allowing me to add it to our Netflix queue.  There were even several funny parts where we all laughed out loud.  But the best moment was when the train went by outside and was so loud I thought the stained ceiling tiles were going to fall down on our heads. 

 We all had popcorn for dinner and bladder-busting-sized cokes, and during the credits, the kids and I danced in the aisles just because we could.   Once again, Daddy saved the day, and whenever I think of that movie, I will always remember that night in Virginia where we got to enjoy our own private showing.

After driving almost 1,000 miles and listening to Roark fuss for about 750 of them, we finally arrived at one of the biggest waterfalls on earth.  That’s right, Niagara Falls.  We actually stayed in northern New York because we didn’t want to drive the motorhome over the border.  Oh I’m sure real RVer’s do it all the time, but for this trip, that was not on the agenda.  After all, putting on a Maid of the Mist poncho in that wind was enough of a feat for one day without inviting customs in to tour our motel on wheels.

In rained most of the morning, so we were RV bound for a good part of the day, but eventually the sun came out.  And so did we.  Since we towed a car, we were able to drive into Canada in the afternoon and spent the evening in one of the biggest tourist traps known to man.  To read more about our day at the falls, go here.  To watch a video of our day…well, you know what to do.  Enjoy!

I’m not fooling myself.  There are a handful of people that periodically come to this blog, maybe even read some of the entries from time to time, but I know what you are really looking to find.  You put up with my ramblings about my kiddos, maybe even enjoy the pictures a little bit, but what you’re really hoping to see is that Ken has posted a new video.

The truth doesn’t hurt my feelings.  I love the videos too, and I have enjoyed watching him over the past several months as he has been editing away on our vacation footage.  If you have been a guest in our house during this time, I’ve probably even forced you to watch them.  And if you haven’t, well, now it’s your turn.

For those of you who are new to the blog, or like my sweet husband, just can’t remember what you ate for breakfast, here’s a little reminder:

Last summer we borrowed my parents’ motor-home, loaded up the kids, and spent two weeks on a road trip across this beautiful country.  We started in our great state of Alabama and headed north through Tennessee until we hit our first stop:  Elizabethtown, KY, to see the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.

From Abe’s house, we moved on through Kentucky, and finally pulled into the lovely town of Floyds Knobs, Indiana where we visited with some old friends for the night.  For my travel log and more info on our first stop, click here.

As for the vacation videos, to watch the video in it’s entirety is somewhat of a time commitment, so we have decide to post segments of the video every Monday over the next several weeks.  Here is the first installment.  Enjoy!

Last night was a BIG night in our house.  It finally happened. After a year and a half, Ken finally finished the Italy video! I know if he were writing this he would apologize for the quality of it because it was shot with our old camera, but to most people like you and me, we wouldn’t have a clue as to what he was talking about.

If you follow this blog at all, I’m sure you are aware of the cross-country adventure looming over the remaining weeks of the McKibbens’ summer. Because part of our journey will take us into Canada (otherwise known as America, Jr.) we are required by federal law to get passports for Roark and Edie.

While I understand the need for identification for the kids, it’s funny to think that at age five, Roark will be toting a passport with his six-month Charlie Brown photo.

As difficult as it can be to get a regular passport, the process is considerably more involved for children. Among other things, both parents are required to apply in person, so this past Saturday morning the whole family loaded up in the mommy-van and headed to the post office in hopes of making the two hour window in which they accept applications.

We made it to the service counter with ten minutes to spare, and then the waiting began. After five rounds of I-spy and  all the black & white tile hop-scotch she could stand, Edie got bored, and we headed outside to climb trees, leaving Leigh and Roark to deal with the postal workers.

Half an hour later, Leigh emerged to inform me that Roark had blown out his diaper and that the lady inside needed me to sign something to wrap things up. I signed the paperwork, and all that was left was to pay the bill.

Now, it’s not that I mind paying taxes, but what came next was pretty unbelievable. Each passport required a $75 passport fee and a $25 execution fee. On top of that, a $60 fee was required to “expedite” the application process plus additional shipping fees. All in all the total was just shy of $400! I found myself wondering where the heck my tax money is going if it’s not paying for this type of government service.

The worst part of it all was when the postal worker explained that because we paid the expedite fees, we would only have to wait two weeks for our passports. I couldn’t help but think that FedEx or Wal-Mart could deliver something like this in a day or two for less than half the un-expedited cost. Where else can you get this kind of service?

On the ride home, I had that sick feeling you get when you’ve been ripped off, and then a disturbing thought hit me…  These same people want to run healthcare?

I wonder how much it will cost to expedite the procedure of surgically removing these politicians heads from their rearends? I’d happily pay $400 for that!

I am so far behind on my posting that there are still topics from our Stone Mountain getaway that I haven’t written about, including our enchanted evening spent at the Medieval Times dinner show.   This was not on our original agenda of things to do, but when it began pouring down rain we had to improvise.

Medieval Times was Ken’s brilliant idea, and I mean that in the most unsarcastic way possible.  It was a little pricey, but he was able to find a coupon code on the internet which made it more affordable.  When it comes to finding coupon codes, Ken’s skills can’t be beat.  It’s like years of “hunting & gathering” instincts have laid dormant…until a coupon code needs to be found.  Then watch out!

He really hit it out of the park with this one.  It was a dream come true for Edie.  Eating supper with a real live princess, watching knights joust on real horses, and getting to eat with your fingers!  She didn’t really understand the plot, but instead watched my reactions for her cue to cheer and boo.   I really got into this part because she just ate it up.   We clapped and waved for the Red Knight (as per our instructions) and really let the Blue Knight know we were NOT a fan.

Ken happened to sit next to a fellow camera geek.  So he spent a lot of the evening comparing pictures with his new friend and talking about focal lengths and bouncing light.  Here are some of his pics from our enchanted evening:

If you want more info on the Medieval Times dinner show, I have posted the link below.  If you have young kids, I really recommend it!

http://www.medievaltimes.com/

Lately I have had the vacation bug eating away at me.  I want to go SOMEWHERE!  Anywhere!  I don’t care, just take me away! This probably has something to do with the baby tying us down for the past six months or maybe because a year has passed since our trip to Italy.  Whatever the reason, I find myself spending a lot of time on Trip Advisor these days, trying to find ideal vacation spots for our little family.

So Friday night during supper, I announce, “I’m ready to go somewhere.”  This was my way of getting the ball rolling on our next vacation…to start discussing possible places and time frames.

“Ok, let’s go…how long will it take us to get packed?”

“You mean, tonight?! As in right now?”

“Sure, why not?” he says nonchalantly as he starts taking the dinner plates to the kitchen… like we have just decided to watch a movie or something.

Not wanting to rationalize my way out of a mini-vacation, I hop to it.  I pack while he researches places on the internet.  I book the hotel while he loads the car.  Two hours later we are pulling out of the driveway.  Our destination: Stone Mountain, Georgia.  Not that I consider this to be a vacation exactly, but it’s somewhere other than my house, so I’m in.

We ended up having a great weekend.  Stone Mountain is a perfect little weekend getaway if you are in the Birmingham area.  I had no idea it has so much for children.  We opted for the “Adventure Pass” which was well worth the price…train rides, sky tram, 4-D movie theater, an obstacle course, and crazy three-story barn filled with jungle gyms and balls flying through the air.  As you can imagine, Edie thought she was in heaven.  Truth is, I kind of did too.  

It felt so good just to get away even for a short time.  I’m not saying that my vacation bug has been squished, but we did at least wound it a little…maybe pulled its wings off or something.   I mean, I did sit in front of my computer all day today at work and not once did I type ”www.travelocity.com,” so that’s a good sign.   Hopefully, it will tide me over a couple of more months until we can really go somewhere.

For about a month now, I have been hyping Edie up on how lucky she is. You see, my mother and I have been planning a “girls only” beach trip for the past month now, and along the way, I have been asking Edie questions like, “Are we going to build sandcastles?” or “Are we going to collect sea shells?” She is so excited about going she is beside herself.

Well, the day is finally here, and we are leaving in about an hour. I refrained from mentioning it to her all yesterday. I didn’t want a repeat of the day we went to the lake, and she was up WAY before the sun, asking if we could go now.

I won’t be posting during the week because I am not even taking my computer. I am not sure if we even would have internet access, but when you go with all girls, you’re not really suppose to bring your laptop with you anyway.

Hope everyone has a great week!