Columbus, Ohio

It's been an absolutely crazy busy couple of days since we left Buffalo Wednesday morning, pretty much on schedule. We were fixing and tweaking and packing things right up through Tuesday afternoon, when we finally called it quits and decided that if we didn't have it, we would do without it. I took some pictures of the inside of the King before we left:

We also had some friends and neighbors stop by for a visit and to see us off. We have great neighbors!!

Our first days drive went pretty well. The boys were great and we got to Columbus, Ohio in one piece. It was great to see some of my cousins and their kids and my Aunt and Uncle. We had a wonderful visit and packed a lot of fun into a couple of days. We spent a whole day at COSI, an awesome science museum in downtown Columbus. Once inside, we shoved all 4 cousins into the hurricane simulator:

They loved it. Then it was back outside where they had to work together to use a giant lever to lift a car. They did a pretty good job:

We saw lots of other exhibits too, but one of their favorites was the space exhibit, where they each got to land a lunar exploration vehicle in the simulator.

I really enjoyed the Water exhibit, which had this giant statue of Poseidon and lots of neat things you do, like float plastic balls in the fountain and watch sound waves move through the water in these neat bronze bowls:

Friday we spent the day at the ColumbusZoo and Aquarium. We had a great day and saw lots of interesting animals, some that were even native to the zoo...

But, it was hot. Really, really hot. Like 103 degrees hot. And the older kids and cousins wanted to go through

 “justonemoreexhibitcanweseethegorillasinthecongoplease!!”

 But the little dude was just done, so the husband headed for the front gate with him for ice cream while I went trekking through the Congo with the tweens and teens. Just as we were finishing up the husband shoots me a text that says there's a huge thunderstorm about 30 minutes away and could we please move it because we need to get going. Sure enough, huge storm, tree limbs down, power outages, perhaps you heard about on the news. Luckily, we had left the King back at my Aunt and Uncles house, and weathered much of it in their Subaru on Route 315. We had left a couple of windows open, and the cushions were a little wet. Luckily there was no other damage and everything was dried out by the next morning. My Aunt and Uncle never lost power, but my cousin was still without late this morning when we left. Hope it's back on by now.

So today we headed further west, stopping at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to see the NationalMuseum of the US Air Force. It was very interesting and had lots of planes to look at.

It was also a great way to break up the drive. We're all hooked up at our first official campground of the trip, just west of Indianapolis and will be heading for St. Louis in the morning. Please hope for clear roads and sunny skies!!

We did some other stuff too

We did lots of other things while we were in Maine. We spent a few days just hanging out at the camp ground, swimming in the ocean, collecting shells and sea glass and flying kites on the beach. The weather was beautiful and the water was pretty warm. The boys loved watching the tide go in and out, and Penobscot Bay at high tide provided just enough wave action to keep the boys happy. I have to admit here, having never been to Maine, that I was kind of expecting the tan sandy beaches of my childhood spring vacations in Florida with my grandparents, and this beach was nothing like that. It was very rocky and the waves were much calmer in the bay than out on the open ocean, but it was beautiful none the less. Many of the rocks were flat and perfect for skipping and the shells were a beautiful blue color. There was always a breeze and at low tide it was a beautiful place to take a walk , fly a kite, or look for sea creatures.

We also visited the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine. This museum reminded me a lot of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. It had lots of small buildings depicting life in a coastal shipping village. Their collection of antique wooden boats kept the husband drooling and I really enjoyed the artwork on display by local artists. They also had lots of neat activities for the kids! The boys had fun playing on the huge model square-rigger mast, learning how to set the sails and climb to the top:

Some of us dressed up as fishermen:

And we happened upon the touch tank just as the keeper was arriving to clean it:

The boys LOVED the touch tank!

Finally, we enjoyed lots of delicious, fresh seafood! The Maine coast is dotted with establishments called “Lobster Pounds.” Every small coastal town seems to have one right on the water. Basically, the boats pull up in the morning, unload, and the fresh goodies are placed in large tanks with circulating sea water. You can buy your live clams, crabs, mussels or lobsters and take them home or have them cooked right in front of you. Not really a restaurant, as they don't serve alcohol or any side dishes, they do have picnic table and seating areas inside and out by the water and you may bring your own side dishes and drinks to enjoy there. We stopped at Young's Lobster Pound

and purchased a pound of fresh mussels (for $1.99/pound, unheard of inland where we live!) Back at the campground, I sauteed them in some butter, garlic and white wine and we had them with a plate of pasta. Can you say delicious!!

We went back a few nights later and decided to picnic! We ordered some lobster and clams and possibly the most delicious bowl of crab chowder I have ever eaten!

Everything was yummy!! While the teen was not a fan of the lobster, the other 2 boys loved it. We hope to go back someday...soon!