Our Wild West Adventure! IOWA

As a little kid I loved reading about the west!  The horses, the Indians, Prairies, Mountains, etc.  I just knew there were adventures to be had in the wild west!  Our family was so excited to embark on a journey from Chicago to California. The journey was long, but definitely worth it.  I took over a thousand pictures on our journey, and though I'm certain you WANT to see every one of them, I will restrain myself and just give you the highlights!


IOWA

 Shortly after we left Chicago, we were in Iowa.  We thought it was beautiful, farms all around, and a wonderful brilliant blue sky against the yellow corn fields.  And the occasional barn and silo.  I loved it.  But after a few hours of the same thing, I was less impressed.

We did however find the windmill farms VERY impressive.  There were thousands of windmills, that went on for as far as the eye could see.  It was a little foggy when I took this picture, so it's hard to convey in this picture, the awesome sight we saw!

 


Oh, and I can't forget to mention that Iowa has claims to the "Largest Truck Stop in the World!"  Complete with Chiropractor, Masseuse, store, playground and rides for the kids!  We didn't stop we resisted the urge when we saw the gas prices!

 

 All in all, we did enjoy our drive through Iowa.  After all, to a city-family, farmland is intriguing.  The wide openness of Iowa is far beyond our comprehension after spending our entire (city) lives hearing about the over-population of America!

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

My RV Kitchen

The kitchen was always the heart of my home.  It was where I spent most of time, cooking, baking, cleaning, doing crafts, hosting friends, having tea parties with the kids, and studying spelling words!

Then we moved into the RV... I still wanted to love my kitchen! It is, afterall in the very center of our RV, and the first thing you see when you come through the door.  Adjusting to an RV kitchen was difficult at first.  I did learn the hard way, that I can't make elaborate meals.  I also learned that the refrigerator latches shut for a reason, and to be VERY careful opening cabinets after/during driving. 

Over the last year, I've made some adjustments to our kitchen that has made life go a little smoother for us, hope you find some of these things helpful! Not all of these are orignal to me, Pintrest proved very helpful!

                                                                                                                                                                                             In an RV, cabinet and drawer space are VERY limited.  This utensil holder is perfect.  I made a small hole in the bottom, and put a screw in the countertop.  The Screw holds it in place, and I can quickly move it if I need to.  Nothing to put away for driving!

We did the same thing with our fruit basket, nothing to move when we drive.  Everything stays put.

Small mug hooks keep these measuring cups always at hand, no digging through the drawer!

An antique metal tray from the thrift store and  Bed, Bath & Beyond's magnetic tins and Voila - Super cute spice rack!!

Large mug hooks for our coffee mugs.  6 inches int between hooks will keep them from clanging together when driving.  They have never fallen - even when we (accidently) jumped a curb!

So in a place where wall space is virtually non-existent, who wants an ugly old calendar taking up precious space???  So I hung it inside our cabinet door.  Always at hand when I need it, but out of sight when I don't  :-)

I love a window in the kitchen, but for some reason people see nothing worng with looking in your RV windows!!!  Yet I hate to sacrifice light for privacy.  This is the perfect fix.  I cut frosted contact paper into this awesome shape, and WOW - PRIVACY and LIGHT! Stencil: http://7thhouseontheleft.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/7hl_windowstencil.pdf

Maine Adventure

Thus far, I have to say that Maine is absolutly my FAVORITE state!  Why?  Because I love lighthouses, and the Maine coast not only is full of lighthouses, but has a spectacular coast. 

PEMAQUID LIGHTHOUSE

This is the famous Pemaquid Lighthouse, its the lighthouse that is printed on the back of Maines' quarter.  Wonderful spot for a picnic lunch on the rocks.  It is a beautiful sight.  We were able to tour the inside of the Lighthouse, and visit a small museum that gives the history of the lighthouse.

It was too cold to dip our feet, but climbing the rocks and feeding the seagulls made for a memorable aternoon!



Portland Beach Lighthouse

This has to be my favorite lighthouse.  It's just beautiful. The kids didn't like this one as much because they couldn't walk down to the water or climb on the rocks.  This was definitely a "Mommy photographic field trip"!







Lots to do in Maine's wide open spaces!
We looked and looked for Moose, but to no avail.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed the woods!!

Maine has the most amazing rivers and lakes, and the sunsets were just breath-taking.  It's hard not to fall in love with the beauty of nature all around you in Maine!  There's alot to love!







My husband sampled the Maine-Lobsta'

He was NOT impressed, said it doesn't even compare to

Maryland Blue Crabs

 

Massachusetts Adventure

I love Masaschusettes!  We've visited Massachusetts more than any other state.  There is sooo much to see and do and learn, we haven't even scratched the tip of the iceburg!  We are looking forward to many more trips up north (except ,of course, that the roads and toll booths aren't exactly RV friendly).

One of the vey first places we visited was Plymouth Rock. So, I have to tell you that we were a little dissappointed in the rock...because that's all it is, is a little rock.  We were expecting a cliff, or mountain side, but his was a litle rock...

We read the history how in years past they used to drag the rocl through the streets to commerate the occassion and afer yers and yars of this tradition they decided this was not a good idea since the rock was wearing way.

Nonetheless, being there was incredible.  The quaint town is adorable and history is all around you!.  They kids were very impressed with the Mayflower replica!

                                                              

My favorite part of Massachusetts was Cape Cod.  The beaches were beautiful and no one was there!!!  We went in May, so the water was FREEZING, but that didn't deter my kids from having a good time.  We also stopped to see the Chatam Lighthouse. 

One of the things my daughter really wanted to see was the Boston Common.  After reading, "The Trumpet of the Swan" and "Make Way for Ducklings", she just had to see the swan boats. 

The Common was beautiful, and we loved seeing the swans.  The day proved extremely affordable, with only $2 for the boat ride, $5 for parking, and a free picnic lunch with a violin duet playing in the park!



New Bedford





Patriots Stadium







Higgins Armory Museum
Very cool, somewhat pricey museum