The end of Thornwood Thunder Swim Team for 2011

Last night was the final meet of the season. A hot humid night, with lots of excited swimmers.
Shaina and Hunter competed in 3 events each (the night was all team relays).
Somewhere between 300 and 400 swimmers competed.
Shaina managed a 7th place in the 100 Freestyle Medley.
Hunter received his first 1st place ribbon in the 100 Breaststoke Medley.
I also competed in the parent 100 Freestyle Medley! I don't think I have done a competitive dive since I was 15! So I imagine I looked pretty awful diving in. The swim part was fine... I think we came in 3rd.
There are still some pretty serious swimmers out there!

We had our end of season banquet on Tuesday night at the pool. Lots a pizza, chips, biscuits (cookies) and lollies (candy). Dave and I snuck in some rum to add to our Coke's... Apparently we weren't the only ones! A fun night had by all, and looking forward to next season 2012!

RV Trip Over :(

We are back!
Up early again and on the road by 8am.
Arrived back in Chicago just after lunch. Unpacked and cleaned the RV in rediculous temperatures! I almost melted!
Made it to the swim meet on time. The kids swam in between events and everyone else watching just sweated!

Day 11, RV Trip

Another early start today. The kids and I now look like a Nascar Pit Crew when we are setting up and packing up... In less than 15 minutes we are road ready!
We headed for Toledo, Ohio today. Another hot drive. We stopped for a quick lunch break, then off again.
We arrived around 2:30pm after a 7 hour drive. Set up the RV and headed to the pool!
Tomorrow is just a short 5 hour drive... We need to make it back in time for a swim comp (meet).

Day 10, RV Trip

The Drive Home!
We hit the road fairly early today, around 8:15am. It was going to be a toasty one. As you know we had no airconditioning on the big drive east, so that needed to be fixed. A friend from camp (a mechanic) had a look at the engine and concluded that the pump was still functioning, the problem must be low freon. I decided to tackle the problem myself. After making numerous calls to auto repair centres with no one able to fit me in. I decided "screw it" I'll fix it myself! Off to Napa Auto Parts to buy tubing and a can of freon. I opened the bonnet (hood) in the carpark (parking lot) hooked up the hose and ta-da! I have cold air!
So the drive today was more pleasant than it otherwise would have been.
We are spending the night in Bath, NY. Heading out early tomorrow for Toledo, Ohio.

Day 9, RV Trip

We are spending 2 nights in Randolph Center, so today was just a day for the last of the sightseeing before the big drive back west.
Today started with a 15 minute drive up the road, on the "smallest dirt road in the world"... I found myself having to backup AGAIN because a petrol (gas) truck was coming the other way... All went well. Just a mile down the road was Fat Toad Goat Farm... And yummy goat cheese.... Yes we bought some!
Also in the area was Neighbourly Dairy Farm. We caught them on a cheese making day. It was very interesting, and yes we bought more cheese!
After the cheese extravaganza, we hit the road again for a half hour drive to Quechee Gorge.
The pictures say it all...

Day 8, RV Trip

We said our goodbyes to everyone from camp. Fed the pigs and chickens for the last time and headed off again.
Today we went to the famous Ben and Jerry's Ice-cream Factory. Did a tour that ended with a tasting of their current flavour. Yum! We wandered around the property and saw the graveyard of flavours gone by and no longer. Kids did some arts and crafts, then it was time to move on.
Up next, we visited Bragg Maple Syrup Farm. Watched a short video, learned that you can only get maple syrup sap from the Sugar Maple Tree for only 6 weeks of the year from late February through to early March. We had a tasting and of course bought some syrup!
After another full day of sightseeing we headed to our next campground in nearby Randolph Center. I did some much needed laundry and the kids swam in the campground lake (dam!).

Day 7, RV Trip

There was about a dozen of us that made the trip back to camp, some as far away as Washington State and Florida. Some still live in nearby towns and Rich still lives on the same road, a mile from camp... We all camped at his place.
One of his neighbours was away for the weekend so the kids had the opportunity to feed their chickens, pigs and sheep.
We all had farm fresh eggs for breakfast!
We spent the morning walking around the old camp, it hasn't been used in 3 years, the Girl Scouts are looking to sell it. It was pretty run down and some of the cabins had been burned to the ground! For the most part it still looked the same. I showed the kids where I used to stay... It was called the Lodge. Calvin Coolidge used it as his summer home during his presidency. It still looks the same. We all swam in the lake where I used to teach and life guard.
After lunch we drove to Caspian Lake, had some ice-cream. The kids swam again! After cooling off, we headed on a hike around part of the lake.
That night we had a campfire, cooked like the early settlers, sat under a clear sky with a full moon and told stories.

Day 6, RV Trip

It has been a few days since my last update. We have been out in the wilderness away from civilization and mobile (cell) phone service!

Day 6: We left Lake George around 11am for the short drive (4 hrs) to Hardwick, VT. This is where it all started for me way back in 1994 as a camp counselor (swim teacher) at the Wapanaki Girl Scout Camp!

It was an easy drive, so we decided to take a diversion an hour south and visit the Lincoln Family Home called Hildene, located in Manchester, Vermont.
It was home to Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to adulthood.
It is a very beautiful home and is now owned by the non-profit organization, Friends of Hildene. There are no living descendants of the Lincoln family.
After some sightseeing we hit the road for a 3 hour drive to camp.

Day 5, RV Trip

On our trip to Walmart yesterday we purchased a toaster for $6, what a bargain! So today we had a sleep in and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast, something to sustain us on our day of bike riding.
We got our bikes ready, put air in the tires and headed on a 3 mile (5k) ride to the quaint town of Lake George. Once in town we went on a ride on a paddle steamer called the Minnie-Ha-Ha, built in 1815.
We went on an hour ride, saw the million dollar homes on the lake front and saw where the book The Last of the Mohicans was based.
After that we toured Fort William Henry, learned about the battles between the French, English and of course the Indians!
Then it was time to have lunch. We ate at The Best View Cafe, which it was! But could have also been named The Most Pathetic Food in Town! Oh well!
Hunter was desperate to play a round of minnie golf that we rode by on the way into town. So we did. We discovered that it was GREAT! It was called Golf Around the World and Golf Around the USA. I soon discovered that it has been rated in the top 10 minnie golf courses in the country and featured on the travel channel.
It became time to head back to camp. Most of the ride to town was down hill, so guess what! The ride back was up hill.
Made it back in a timely manor, pretty tired. Had dinner and were all in bed by 9:15.
Tomorrow we head to Hardwick, VT.

Day 4, RV Trip

An early rise today, hit the road at around 8:30am and headed for the USA border. By some miracle we passed through immigration in under 10 minutes and headed on our way to Lake George, NY. It was an easy 7 hour drive that included a gas stop and a lunch stop.
We arrived at Lake George RV Park at around 3pm. Before checking in we headed down to the local Walmart to stock up on a few supplies and witness the usual scary Walmart shoppers! Always a treat to see who has crawled out from under their rock!
The RV park is the Ritz Carlton of the rv world. Words can really not explain. It has 5 swimming pools, 2 movie theaters, game rooms, tennis courts, baseball fields and miles of bike tacks.
We are spending 2 nights here. Tomorrow we will bike ride to the lake!

Day 3, RV Trip

Niagara Falls! Amazing!
The previous night I had a knock around 6pm on my RV door. A man in a shirt and tie offering tickets for an all day Niagara Tour. "On Sale" I was rather sceptical, originally priced at $140 per adult, children under 12 Free! He was offering $80, but if I agreed straight away I would pay only $60, so I figured why not...
Next morning we were to meet the tour bus at 9am. 9:10 rolled around and I figured I'd been ripped off... But at 9:15 our chariot arrived! We headed down to Niagara Falls to ride "The Maid of the Mist". We had a great and long day. 9am-6pm. Well worth the $60 for the 3 of us!
We walked around the town of Niagara, toured Mt. Carmel Monastery, tasted wine at Joseph Winery, had lunch in the beautiful town of Niagara On The Lake, toured Fort George and visited a chocolate factory. Not bad for $60!
Tomorrow we head to Lake George, New York.

Day 2, RV Trip

An easy short drive today and not as toasty either.
The dash board airconditioner is still not working. I did ring (call) someone, they think it might be the compressor. Big bucks and not my RV to spend it on.
So a warm drive for the rest of the trip. We're not looking forward to the west drive back to Illinois, facing into the sun!
We arrived in Ontario, Canada around 2pm, so we missed most of the heat for the drive.
The Canadiens let the kids and I into Canada hassle free. Let's just hope the USA Immigration on the return in is as easy. From passed experiences I doubt it.
Above are some pics of the RV and I snuck in a shot of the fancy one parked next to us.
Big day tomorrow.... The Falls!

Day 1, RV Trip!

To quote Donkey from Shrek..."I'm Melting" would be an understatement!
We intended to hit the road this morning at 9am, but a "check engine" light gave us a slight delay.
After a quick phone call to the owner we decided to head on our way and throw caution to the wind! And wind we had! As the temperature rose so did the need to turn the airconditioner. BUT WAIT...you guessed it! It didn't work. We drove 6 hours in 96'F heat (35'C). So yes, we were melting! With the windows open!
Attached are some pictures of the kids cooling off in the lake (dam!). And the RV in it's first night in Streetsboro, Ohio.

2 days to go before Road Trip

I took the day off work today. We have a million things to do before we leave. Last minute things to buy to pack and some loose ends to tie up.
This photo is of Hunter at Swim Team practice that we do 4 mornings a week. We have a competition against local councils (villages) every Thursday. It's very exciting and the kids are really enjoying it.
Shaina will be picked up from her camp tomorrow, no doubt very tired!
We are all ready for our trip, so check this blog daily.

Shaina's First Sleepover Summer Camp

Shaina and Olivia getting settled in their cabin. Day one of four!

4th July 2011

A very relaxing day at the pool. Great weather, to be followed up tonight with some cocktails and backyard fireworks!

My Mobile Summer!

Finally after hours of cursing, I have managed to get this mobile phone to cooperate!
Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying summer!