Racing the Monster Mile!

Day 10 – June 5, 2014

Rehoboth Beach/Dover, DE/Philadelphia, PA

50 miles/50 minutes-92 miles/2 ½ hours

We slowly bid farewell to Rehoboth Beach this morning.  Oh, our visit was way too short.  On the way to breakfast, the kids and I strolled along the avenue, widow shopping.  By the time we were done eating, some of the shops had opened and we indulged, a little.  We also made a final visit to the bookstore, until I realized we were fast approaching the checkout hour.  It was a good thing, too, as the skies got very dark with a storm was moving in.

We drove north to Dover, to see the state capitol building.  The historic district of Dover is very quaint, and we easily found the state house.  After four road trips and thirty capitols, we stumbled upon our first real live state congress - and believe me, we made quite an impression.  They were in recess when we arrived, and offering up free ice-cream for everyone.  That’s all the kids needed to hear.  I assured them we’d get the ice cream, but suggested we check out the Senate Chamber before we went upstairs.  While we were looking, a lobbyist approached us (or course!) and started to explain some of Delaware’s significance in American History.  We learned all about Caesar Rodney - Google him. 

As Audrey and I desperately tried to extricate ourselves form the Caesar fan, Hunter ran in to announce that Camden had fallen on the stairs leading up to the Gallery.  I ran to Cammy (the state house is NOT big) and sure enough, he was being tended to by some Delaware state senators/representatives.  Yep - Road Warrior Momma of the year.  They sent me to the cafeteria for ice, while the older three indulged their sweet cravings.  We left soon after, with our tails between our legs.

Next stop was the Dover International Speedway.  We scored a private tour with Mr. George, who is even more of a race fanatic than Hunter!  He’s the track’s Historian (I didn’t even know there was such a thing).  He’s worked at the Monster Mile for 46 years!   George drove us around in the official pace car from Sunday’s race.  At one point, he even raced us around the track at 80-90 miles an hour – oh boy!  I was not prepared for that, but the kids were in heaven.  We did have a brother-sister incident, that left me momentarily embarrassed, but Mr. George took it all in stride.

Then we had a long and congested drive to Philly, followed by a mediocre dinner at the Miller Ale House and swimming in the pool.  We all passed out about 10a.m.  I’m dragging………..

We’ve been so busy and I’m terribly behind on all things writing/blogging/book review related. Slightly panicked, actually!  I’m going to throw this up, so I don’t get too far behind on the trip logs.  Please forgive any typos or grammatical errors.  I have 150 pages to read by Sunday – and miles to go, literally & figuratively, before I sleep.

The current state house.

The Senate.

The original capitol.

The Pace Car.

Miles the Monster.

Victory Lane

The view from pit row.

The press room.

Mr. George!

Family & Fun in Rehoboth Beach

Day 8 – June 4, 2014

Rehoboth Beach, DE

Another busy day!  We kicked it off with donuts and coffee (Dunkin Donuts) in the room and then we were off to meet Grand Ginny for go-carts and mini-golf.   We got to the park early, so I finally let Hunter and Aud ride the go-carts.  Fortunately they were the only people riding – because they were truly battling it out.  Lord help me - those two are so competitive.

Grand Ginny arrived soon after and we played 18 holes of miniature golf.  It got really hot while we were playing – high noon.  The heat produced an element of crankiness in some of the players, who ultimately needed to be ejected from the game.  By the 18^th hole, it was just Ginny and me – she won by two strokes.

Then it was beach time.  We lucked out with the weather, because they were predicting some rain.  It was gorgeous, but the water was cold.  The kids still had fun, even though no one ever truly went into the ocean.  They stood on the shore and watched the waves.  Ginny, Martha and I chatted while the kids buried themselves in the sand.  Then suddenly, Martha says, “Um…Allison, I believe Barrett has something going on.”  Sure enough, I look up and Bear is standing at the water’s edge with his bathing suit pulled down, ready to pee.  Tired calf muscles be damned – I was there in two seconds, pulling up his pants.  Hunter and Audrey were absolutely NO help, because they were laughing so hard.  In that moment, I could have killed them.  Of course, this made Barrett laugh, which made pulling up his pants difficult.  Yes, we left the beach.  Good Lord.

Momma regrouped and we had a fantastic dinner at the Henlopen City Oyster House – highly recommend it.  Then, before we knew it – it was time to say goodbye to Ginny and Martha.  Time just flies byL.  I took the kids to the pool for an hour and then Aud, Cam and I walked over to the bookstore.  I know, I know – but I love it there.

Mini-golf

Walking the Boardwalk

Day 7 – June 3, 2014
Washington DC/Annapolis, MD/Rehoboth Beach, DE
50 miles/50 minutes – 94 miles/2 hours
The Brighton Suites

Many years ago, Rich and I went to dinner in Annapolis with his Uncle Lance – and since it was at night I really didn’t get to see the city.  I had no idea what I was missing.  What a charming city! Restaurants, shopping, and history.

In addition to visiting to our country’s oldest State House that is still in use by the state government, we we also met an old friend, Mary, for lunch.  Mary was the head of the Infant & Toddler’s Program for Howard County Maryland, where we lived form 2003 -2005.  She’s the woman who guided us when we were oh so heartbroken and lost, after the autism diagnosis.  In addition to helping us with pre-school placement (and a crash course in IEPs), she also hooked us up with her son Sean, who would help us out with the boys on the weekends.

Mary retired last year and she looks fabulous!  She just returned from a trip to Hawaii, which included a cruise from Hawaii to Alaska!  Doesn’t that sound like the trip of a lifetime?  We caught up over lunch and then, sadly, we were off.

The kids and I got to Rehoboth around 3:30 p.m.  I love Rehoboth Beach, as do the kids.  My Aunt Ginny bought a house in the area years ago and we visit her each summer during our road trips. Rehoboth is a very cute beach town, with a boardwalk.  The kids love “walking the boards.”  It’s old school style, with candy shops and arcades and it  has people-watching galore – believe you me!
Ginny and Martha met us for a walk and then we took the kids to the boardwalk “Fun House,” where they rode bumper cars and other various amusement rides.  Then it was Nicola’s Pizza for dinner.

Oh yes, we also visited one of my favorite bookstores in the whole world – Browseabout Books on Rehoboth Avenue.  I love, love, love that store! In fact, I predict we will visit again tomorrow and the next day.  Yes, I do have a problem.

The last three days have been jam-packed and I’m truly exhausted.  When we got back to the hotel I had a glass of wine and played Sorry with Aud and Hunter.  Then I spent the rest of the evening watching Friends.  I totally got sucked in for three hours (and I have a book that I have to finish reading, for a review).  Oh, how I miss my Friends!   “We were on a break!”

The kids with Mary.

The Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.

Washington D.C.

Day 6 - June 2^nd, 2014

Monroeville, PA – Washington DC

229 miles – 3 ¾ hours

We left the Steel City by 8a.m. – eastbound and down for D.C.  We pulled into the National Zoo (after driving around in a panic for almost 30 minutes, looking for a place to park) by noon.  We rendezvoused with Uncle Lance at the Panda Exhibit.  Uncle Lance looks great and Audrey and Hunter were very excited to see him (Cammy didn’t remember him and Bear didn’t let on what he rememberedJ).  We spent two hours touring the zoo, which is beautiful.  It comes close to beating New Orleans (Audubon Zoo) as our favorite.  The kids were very well behaved and Uncle Lance was in for our next stop!

We drove over to Arlington to see all the Kennedy grave sites and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  By the time we got to Arlington, it was hot and the kids – Camden in particular – were tired.   I was a little nervous, because Uncle Lance is very into military and ceremonies, so I was hoping the kids would keep their acts together.  Unbeknownst to me to me at the time, Lance had bribed all the kids to be quiet.  Apparently he offered them quite a bit of coin, because they were very good.  After we saw the changing of the guard, we also witness a funeral procession, which was very moving.  The flag covered coffin was carried by a horse drawn carriage.  Wow.  There were hundreds of people there, and everyone just stopped.  All you could hear with the houses trotting.  Just, wow.

I hadn’t visited Arlington since Ted Kennedy died.  His grave is off to the side of JFK’s, like Robert Kennedy’s.  This was the first time that I saw Joe Junior’s grave at Arlington.   I truly didn’t remember that he was buried there.  Do you know if he was moved to Arlington in the last fifteen years?  I could have sworn he was buried in Massachusetts.

The kids and I checking into the hotel and we had a little bit of drama, involving the children, which I may or may not write about at a later date - but the last two days and the added tension of kid drama wiped me out.  I was all set to relax – but then I realized the room was not de-feathered as requested – and we ended up changing rooms.  Then I noticed the time and we had to scramble to meet Lance for dinner.

We had a delicious meal and took a walk afterwards – in a cool little retail area that had a Barnes and Noble.  Score!  We all chill out when we’re in a bookstore.  It was a nice way to end a crazy day!

A Day Full of Amusement

Day 5 - June 1, 2014

Pittsburgh, PA

We had a fantastic day!  Leading up to our trip, I kept telling the kids I had a surprise for them when we got to Pittsburgh.  My friend Patty works for the school system and she scored some discount tickets to Kennywood, an amusement park close to their house.  I never take the kids to parks like that.  Too expensive and I’m way outnumbered - but with discount tickets and Patty cheering me on, I decided to go for it.

I was expecting pure unbridled excitement when I told the kids.  Yeah, that didn’t happened.  They were disappointingly blasé about my announcement, so I approached the day as if it were a chore.  OMG, it was so much better than that.  We had a blast!  The park was very cool and not the least bit crowded.  The kids in this area are still in school and I’m guessing there may have been some other end-of-year activities occurring, because we never waited more than ten minutes for a ride and this park had some serious roller-coasters.

Upon arrival, I went to guest services to see what kind of accommodations I could get for Barrett.  They were wonderful and basically he got a “pass” – but there were nine of us, so it was going to be tricky (the pass was for four).  The first couple of rides, I didn’t bother with the pass, because the lines looked very reasonable and Bear did great.  Honestly, I’m still in shock at how calm he was – all day long.  He waited in line with his siblings and friends and just hung out as one of the gang.  I held him back from a couple of rides, thinking they would wig him out, but he did ride each and every roller coaster (two of which I wouldn't get on).  He was a rock star!

I scored a first, as well.  I haven’t been on a water ride since Bush Gardens, circa 1983.  The kids were all wearing swimsuits, but Patty and I were in street clothes.  She refused to go on the water rides – warning me that I may get soaked.  I’m trying very hard to loosen up and be a little more “fun” – so I went for it on the Raging Rapids.  Well, the three bathing suit clad girls lucked out, but not me.  I got drenched.  Although I had a spare t-shirt, I had to buy a pair of shorts in the gift shop – with “Kennywood” printed on the bottom!  I’ve sunk to a new low, all in my quest to be a cool mom on the road trip.  Just call me Brittney!

Patty was watching from the bridge - and captured my drenching.  I'm in the red visor.

Audrey miraculously got over her fear of rides.  That, or she didn’t want her Pittsburgh Pals to think she was a chicken, because she rode everything and didn’t cry once!  Hunter was his usual wild-man self and my little guy rode his first roller coaster - although he was not thrilled.  As we pulled in at the end of the ride, he couldn’t get his seat belt off fast enough – and I quote, “Get me out of here, I am never doing that again!”

We stayed at the park for almost SEVEN hours!  Can you believe that?  I can’t, not in my wildest dreams.  We had dinner at Red Robin and then home to bed.  Everyone – moms included – was exhausted!!!!

Hanging with The Brown Family in Pittsburgh

Day Four – May 31, 2014

Charleston, WV – Monroeville, PA

229 miles/ 3 ½ hours

The Brown House

We got up slowly today.  When we opened the hotel room curtains this morning, we were literally blinded by the sun rising over the mountains.  Wow.  Seriously, it was the brightest light I think I've ever seen.  I tried to take a picture of it, but it doesn't even come close to capturing the brilliance.

It woke everybody up.  We headed down to the hotel gym to get in a little workout.  Hunter has to log some miles for Cross Country.  After that, we did a grab and go breakfast, which we took back to the room.  I will spare you more of the boring morning logistics, but we were lazy and didn't leave Charleston until after 11.  I don’t know what has gotten into me this summer, but I’m trying not to rush.

Monroeville (suburb of Pittsburgh) is the home of my friend Patty and her family.  This is the third time we’ve invaded them on our road trip.  Our kids love each other.  Patty’s son is two years younger than Barrett and Hunter, and her twin girls are one year behind Audrey.  We spent the afternoon getting everyone reacquainted, while Patty and I caught up.  We had a nice cookout and the weather was perfect! 

I know it’s been a little zzzzzzz so far, but as I get ready to post this, we've completed day five – and it was awesome!  Good stuff coming:).