A Journal of 17 days on the East Coast with kids

Day one!!

And away we go! The East Coast! DC - New York - Jamestown - Niagara FallsWe decided to fly instead of drive the airfare was cheaper. This was our family vacation. It seems we do a big vacation every other year. Last time we traveled as a family we went to Colorado Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Mount Rushmore and all the points in between from California. 13 days in a tent trailer and 4,000 miles.

We wanted another great vacation with lots of memories at a fair price. CHEAP! Booking the flights over 3 months in advance saved money. ($99 each way on Express Jet) With a little research I found a very cheap luxury car rental from Budget that was only $286 for the 17 days. (Be sure to ask for upgrades and discounts. Our family had a AAA discount and an upgrade.) You really have to ask for the upgrades. Even if you have competitors coupon they will probably honor it.

We stayed in KOA Kamping Kabins 7 of the 17 days averaging about $70 a nights, with 9 nights in hotels as we wander around. You say that’s only 16 nights? Your right read on and find out what happened.

Since we are kind of camping we needed to pack few things in our suitcase, like linens or sleeping bags. We are also brought a small Coleman stove that folds in half. My son's backpacking tea kettle and a small griddle.

This should be a Fun Adventure!

Day 1 - We drove 1-1/2 hours to Ontario, California and stayed at the Best Western near the airport. It's been refurbished and is very nice. We found out that if we stay one night here, we could park the car there free for the entire trip. In the morning there was breakfast at 6am but we needed to catch the free shuttle to the Airport at 5:30am. Oh Well!

We boarded Express Jet at 7:20 am. Three hours later, we landed at Kansas City for a 20-minute stop to change crew and take on passengers for the trip to Louisville, KY.

After arriving in Louisville, we headed off!! Our first stop was the Visitors Center, then a late lunch early dinner in Frankfort. We need to get to Washington DC by following night. We were right on track until we came across an Old Caboose. We just had to stop and look. A little further down the road was the Daniel Boone National Forest. It didn’t take long before we were off the highway and wandering around. Out came the road maps. “No Dad, left! Where does this go! I don’t KNOW!We giggled, laughed and even yelled at each other. It was so much fun.We made a loop off of I-64 to Hwy 801 then back on Hwy 510. We found a Holiday Inn at---------. It was about 9pm and the kids swam in the pool till 10pm

Day 3

We had planned the next day to be West Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River Valley. It didn’t happen. Well we changed the route. We headed north towards Washington DC, instead of the Shenandoah Valley.

4th of July - Day 4Today was the 4th of July. We decided to go to Annapolis. Arriving about noon, we walked the quaint little town. It was amazing to see all the large sailboats coming in the tiny harbor and turning around in an area that was no wider than 100 feet. We arrived in Annopolis at noon and left at 10pm. We walked around the little marina, the Naval Academy, took a 90 minute harbor cruise, ate lunch, walked 2 blocks up the street, waited for the parade, walked 2 blocks back to the marina, then tothe Naval Academy for FIREWORKS!

We had planned to do 4th of July fireworks in Washington DC, hank goodness we changed our minds. We had a little rain while waitng for the fireworks, but Washington DC had a tornado warning and evacuated the National Mall with hundreds of thousands of people into the subways and museums for a while. It was a great day but now it was dark and we had to find our way back to the Capital KOA where we were staying.

We took the Metro Train to the Smithsonian Station. For $25 a person we were able to see most of DC from the Tourmobile. It's a circle tour that allows off and on privileges. This took most of the day. The Tourmobile comes about every 15 minutes. Normally this is just fine but we got off at Arlington Cemetery stop to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, JFK's Grave and The Arlington House. It was about then that thunder hit and a downpour came. No Tourmobile in Sight!! WET, WET, WET!

Smithsonian/Mount Vernon

We planned on taking the Metro in, but we made a wrong turn and ended up at Union station in DC. We found a parking space near the station for $20 how lucky. Now we had to ride the subway to the Smithsonian Station.

We toured the Air and Space Museum (it also contained part of the National Treasures for another Museum). We planned on seeing the National Archives, but the line was way too long, so Kevin Declared his Independence and we move on.

Off to Mount Vernon Skyline Drive VA

We left Washington DC and headed to Front Royal. We bought an interpretive CD that covered the entire 100 mile drive,but we only did the first 30 miles. It took us about 3 hours. A quick stop for Ice Cream where Bailey caught a BIG BUG !!!

Then a stop at Chancellorville and off to the KOA in Williamsburg. The Williamsburg KOA was beautiful. Our cabin overlooked a hill and wooded area. We Arrived around 8pm the kids swam until 9 then a nourishing dinner at Sonics . Our final destination for the night was Walmart at 11pm for food, then to sleep.

So far the entire trip we have been busy, 7am to almost midnight every night and having a great time. We took it easy today. After a relaxing breakfast of pancakes at the cabin we were off to Jamestown. Tickets are sold everywhere for the educational/visitors center tours. We bought the Jamestown/Yorktown tour just like most people did. It was very nice, but it was a re-creation of the area and pricey. We never did visit Yorktown, oh well.

5 States & DC in one dayWhat can I say we just kept driving. Back through Washington DC, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York

Well, it was hot and humid again. So humid the sky was hazy. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Times Square, Rockefeller Center and so much more.Tonight; the Marriott. No camping cabin for us. Tomorrow we take the train in to see Hairspray at 2pm. It's at the Neil Simon Theater. TRIVIA - Over 7000 city buses travel to Manhattan everyday. While in DC at the Capitol KOA we met 2 families, one from Indiana and another from Kingman Arizona. Can you believe 7 days later, we have run into them just about every other day. We seem to all go different directions, but we always end up at the same place or on the same tour. The kids are all the same age too. What a small world!We intended to stay at the Newburgh NY KOA and we did for 1 night. If you are a self contained RV this is a great place for you. Very Pretty and great tours of NY. But unlike the other east coast KOA cabins we had been in, this one was not Air-conditioned. 80 at night, rain, 4 people in a one room cabin with 2 tiny windows an a door. HOT! Our side of the KOA had maybe 50-75 camping spaces, but only had a 3 or 4 stall woman's room and 5 generic showers. What a Wait in line!! They also boasted about the 2 dollar all you can eat breakfast at 7am before your tour leaves at 7:30. Well, at 7am we were all there. Finally, the employees show up "the coffe pot is broken". Okay, we will have Milk and orange juice, "we forgot to order it it should get here some time today". Okay I'll just have pancakes. "the griddle will take a half an hour to warm up, come back after 7:30". Everyone goes into the KOA store for cookies, Pop tarts and whatever they can find to drink. Very disappointing!When we return from the tour we pack up in less then 10 minutes and check into the Court Yard Marriott for 2 nights. It rained all night, but who cares. The bathroom was indoors and only a few feet away.New York City

After breakfast at the hotel we caught the train from Beacon to NY. We grabbed a bite to eat at TGI Fridays in Times Square. We were seated on the 4 th floor. During our lunch Kevin asked the waiter "so where's the kitchen?" "On the 3rd floor", he replied. So, do you have a dumb waiter or elevator for the food? "No we have to use the stairs". "The first week was really hard but now I just run up the stairs." What a work out!Then off to see Hairspray. Very good showNow the rain. We even had to buy 2 umbrellas from a street vendor. Over an inch of rain in less than 1 1/2 hours. We walked to Rockefeller Center and the all important Nintendo Store. This was a great place to hide out 'till the rain stopped.

A Great Day1 It's Expensive Here! We are wet again! More to Come!! "Ohio:The Buckeye State"

Well, every trip must have a day like today. We started in Niagara Falls. Drove to Buffalo for lunch. We have 3 days to get to Louisville . How relaxing we thought.We visited the canals in Lockport that was really amazing to see 150 year old technology still working today.Then to Jamestown, the home of Lucille Ball. Don't go there! It's nothing to see and that's being nice. We did find an interesting historical sign though. It said, On this site in 1970 the city redeveloped the neighborhood and displaced hundreds of Italian-Americans who had homes and businesses. The sign was in a parking lot of a drug store and across the street from a store called "Friendly's". Wow!Then we drove to Erie PA. Ate dinner, got lost, and could not find a place with a vacancy.Okay. We can either drive to Pittsburg or Cleveland. I voted for Pittsburg and lost. Off to Cleveland OH. Well, no rooms there. There are two concerts in town, no rooms for 4 people. Okay, Columbus isn't that far. We checked everything in between; no vacancy. Now, Columbus has a car rally. It was almost 1am. All the hotels, motels and even the parking lots were full. People and cars were everywhere. We saw people sitting and even sleeping in the parking lots of the Marriot and the Holiday Inn. We move on.About 3:30am we pull into a rest stop. We will catch a couple of winks then move on. About 5:30am we awake to a jam packed rest stop. Nearly every space was full. I guess they couldn't find a room either. We stopped for breakfast at the Waffle House in Cincinatti and drove to Louisville KY about 90 minutes away. Lunch, a little pool, TV, a nap, dinner at the King Fish on the waterfront (good food and service), a little more tv, then bed. We came to the conclusion: Ohio was closed. If anyone ever asks us what Ohio is like, all we can say is "it's dark".Tomorrow is another day Louisville, KY

After a good nights sleep were are still very tired. Bailey has shared her lovely cold with us. We are really stuffed up. We do a load of laundry, then off to the Louisville Slugger bat factory for a tour. Around the corner was a glass factory. Can you believe they put a glass factory next door to a bat factory? Most everyone walks through the glass factory holding a 2 foot souvenir bat. After a little walk downtown, we were done. A swim in the hotel pool and some room service. Good Night!The Flight Home

It was a very long day. At times it felt like the plane was going to drive home. First severe thunderstorms. We taxi on the runway for nearly an hour. Then a 17 year old started to cry. She had already missed one flight was put on ours now she missed her connecting flight due the delays. Needless to say the airline returned to the terminal so she could get off. Now we are way over 2 hours late and need to refuel. Other than that, the flight was great. Things changed and evolved as the days and weather changed. Not everything went as planned. But, the trip was fantastic. Now back to reality, time to mow the lawn.

We are already talking about Flying into Washington State then driving to Glacier National Park, or Flying into Rhode Island then doing Boston. The Portuguese Communities of Massachusetts and doing a little more New York.