First Leg--Hoboken, Annapolis, and Williamsburg

January 9-17, 2003
                                                                                                                                      
     This is one loaded van; I know, it needs a wash. This wonderful sign mysteriously appeared at the end of our driveway the morning we left. Whoever did it, thanks; it meant a lot.
                


    Mary had the brilliant idea to take the RV to Virginia in the fall so we wouldn't be leaving Maine in a January snowstorm in a 40' bus (with a guy driving who hadn't been behind the wheel in eight years). So we left Brunswick in Mary's fully packed Honda van headed for (I'm not making this up), Hoboken New Jersey, home of son Duncan King and future daughter-in-law, Emily Dancyger.

                                                                            



Why live in Hoboken? How about this view, for starters?
                                           


    On this stop, we realized that whatever we did in the way of home schooling (actually, in this case, it should be called "road schooling"), there would be plenty of Education along the way. On our first day in the city, we took the PATH train under the Hudson and walked from 33rd and Sixth Avenue to the Intrepid Museum on the Hudson at 46th. After exploring the WW II aircraft carrier and the Growler, one of the first cold-war nuclear missile subs (which made the RV look spacious inside), we made our way back toward Times Square for a couple of hours in Macy's, the World's Largest Store (it said so on the sign).


                                                        
            Here's the Intrepid, with Molly at the controls of one of the jets and Ben and Dad on-deck.                           



    The next couple of days in New York included the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Ben liked the armor, Molly the Tiffany windows), lots of WALKING (the kids learned one of the basic facts about New York--there are always lots of cabs around when you don't need them, but if you're tired and it starts to rain, they all disappear or flip on the "Not In Service" sign), dinner with friends in the Village (that's Greenwich, not Wiscassett), poking around the lower East Side, bridal shopping, a wonderful performance of the Pirates of Penzance (Ben pointed out that Gilbert and Sullivan were the Capitol Steps of a hundred years ago), walking to Times Square for several hours of arcading (OK, so it's not all Education) at the ESPN Zone, all sandwiched around pieces of the various NFL playoff games (what happened to the Jets?).

                                                            
ESPN Zone; looks like Dad could use some time on the bike (it's just a loose sweater). Molly in Times Square (notice the cabs; we didn't need one).



    On Monday, we headed south on the New Jersey Turnpike to visit friends from Brunswick, James and Meg Smith, who live right in the middle of the Naval Academy grounds. James is a Captain in the Navy who teaches at Annapolis (Meg is a Commander in the Reserves) and we knew them when he was in charge of one of the new ships built at Bath Iron Works in Maine. More Education--a tour of the Academy, including a terrific film on what it's like to be a midshipman, the most incredible ship model collection, the spectacular Chapel, and several visits to the campus store.

    From Annapolis, across the Bay Bridge and down the Delmarva  peninsula("Why is it called Delmarva," Dad, the Teacher, asked--they figured it out), we made it to Williamsburg and the waiting RV. Lo and behold, it started right up, despite sitting for two months, and we moved to a site, hooked up (Ben's in charge), and we were in business. The next couple of days were spent unpacking, working on systems (these things are complicated--water, heat, satellite, generator, and everything else electronic you can imagine), and just getting settled. We visited Jamestown, where the kids wanted to know why the Pilgrims got all the credit when Jamestown actually was settled 14 years earlier. "Better PR" was Dad's answer.

    And then, after months of planning and anticipating (including the fall trip), we woke up in--you guessed it--a freak Virginia snow storm. So, we've visited with family (Angus' mom and sister and brother-in-law), started Home Schooling (Ben got a 98 on his math test), listened to music (we have satellite radio--it's cool), and now, we wait.

    Next stop, Kittyhawk, North Carolina where we're visiting our friends Drew and Lisa Wright and their sons, who are, naturally, the Wright Brothers.