Not just today but over the course of more than two weeks
Jun 26, 2023 21:20:31 GMT -7
via mobile
cowgirlup and sirderrin like this
Post by Ceorlmann on Jun 26, 2023 21:20:31 GMT -7
We've planned on going back to the northeast for months while on leave. General idea was we'd go once I had fulfilled PME that I needed to take (but ultimately I shouldn't have had to do at all, but Big Army doesn't recognize what I see as the Corps' equivalent to its BLC); especially since our command decided to have everyone put in leave dates that they desired vs giving a set two weeks for everyone to request. So far that has gone to plan. I finished BLC earlier in mid June and left for the northeast the following day. I made a point to go to sleep early so we could start around midnight. As I figured would happen -- gas stops notwithstanding -- we had roughly eight hours of relatively uninterrupted driving while everyone else slept.
We got to Connecticut in three nights. There was some business to take care of, but for the most part it has been a true vacation in the sense that things were done on the fly and with minimal prior planning. Because our youngest had never been here before and the other two didn't remember much I made sure to take them around to stuff I thought was worth seeing. They got to see my former "front yard extension" which is the 750-acre park right across the road from where I grew up. They got to visit other parks that I remember from childhood especially when I was still in daycare. I also took them on as many heritage quests as I could: local, state, national, and familial. We visited the former campground site known among locals as Connecticut's Valley Forge, and the Continentals who camped there during the winter of 1778-1779 were based loosely in the children's novel "My brother Sam is dead." Another day we visited Old Sturbridge Village which is basically a recreation of 1830s New England, and with buildings and houses from the era and location. Another day we went to the Cape Cod area to try to visit some beaches near where some relatives of mine lived, but I didn't foresee needing permission to park there so that was a bust. We made up for it by visiting the USS Constitution and its museum in Boston. That marked my second time visiting there, and I got to see more than what I did the last time I was there in 2016/17. Alas I wasn't able to swing by Lynn or other parts of Boston where I know certain ancestors went about their lives after the Revolutionary War and during the Victorian era.
Back in my hometown we visited the local Railway Museum as well as a couple of remnants of a fair that took place where the mall currently stands from decades ago. First a working carousel that's at the edge of the Mall's food court, and also a giant fiberglass statue of Uncle Sam which is at the very front of the Railway Museum.
Today I took the family to Tappan, NY. I had hoped to show my oldest Washington's headquarters, but it was closed today so we only got to walk around the outside of the DeWint house and other landmarks. Unlike the other time I was here we did stop in the tavern (known as the Old '76 House) where John Andre was jailed prior to his trial and execution. Built back in 1686 as a tavern it still serves that function today and is what I'd consider a happy medium between being an eatery as well as a museum. Much of the original structure is still there; including the wood floor. There are lots of relics from years past all over; some from the Revolutionary War and many after. Wasn't a cheap place to have a meal, but that was the only downside. The staff and some customers had quite the appreciation when I mentioned the familial connection to the area's history.
I also wasted no time in expanding the kids' knowledge on identifying plants they wouldn't have seen back in Oklahoma. They got to see and identify different maple trees, walnut trees, mulberry trees, and bushes of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries as well as patches of wild strawberries (they've gotten especially good at finding these before I do). I found a mulberry tree growing near a former elementary school of mine and had them pick mulberries to munch on to their heart's desire. I wanted to make sure they understood exactly where the berries they ate came from, and why I still find it an alien concept to buying berries of any kind in a store. I'll collect and press the leaves of trees found here for them to take back and show to fellow cub scouts and girl scouts; something I'm sure will help fulfill badges they don't have yet.
We got to Connecticut in three nights. There was some business to take care of, but for the most part it has been a true vacation in the sense that things were done on the fly and with minimal prior planning. Because our youngest had never been here before and the other two didn't remember much I made sure to take them around to stuff I thought was worth seeing. They got to see my former "front yard extension" which is the 750-acre park right across the road from where I grew up. They got to visit other parks that I remember from childhood especially when I was still in daycare. I also took them on as many heritage quests as I could: local, state, national, and familial. We visited the former campground site known among locals as Connecticut's Valley Forge, and the Continentals who camped there during the winter of 1778-1779 were based loosely in the children's novel "My brother Sam is dead." Another day we visited Old Sturbridge Village which is basically a recreation of 1830s New England, and with buildings and houses from the era and location. Another day we went to the Cape Cod area to try to visit some beaches near where some relatives of mine lived, but I didn't foresee needing permission to park there so that was a bust. We made up for it by visiting the USS Constitution and its museum in Boston. That marked my second time visiting there, and I got to see more than what I did the last time I was there in 2016/17. Alas I wasn't able to swing by Lynn or other parts of Boston where I know certain ancestors went about their lives after the Revolutionary War and during the Victorian era.
Back in my hometown we visited the local Railway Museum as well as a couple of remnants of a fair that took place where the mall currently stands from decades ago. First a working carousel that's at the edge of the Mall's food court, and also a giant fiberglass statue of Uncle Sam which is at the very front of the Railway Museum.
Today I took the family to Tappan, NY. I had hoped to show my oldest Washington's headquarters, but it was closed today so we only got to walk around the outside of the DeWint house and other landmarks. Unlike the other time I was here we did stop in the tavern (known as the Old '76 House) where John Andre was jailed prior to his trial and execution. Built back in 1686 as a tavern it still serves that function today and is what I'd consider a happy medium between being an eatery as well as a museum. Much of the original structure is still there; including the wood floor. There are lots of relics from years past all over; some from the Revolutionary War and many after. Wasn't a cheap place to have a meal, but that was the only downside. The staff and some customers had quite the appreciation when I mentioned the familial connection to the area's history.
I also wasted no time in expanding the kids' knowledge on identifying plants they wouldn't have seen back in Oklahoma. They got to see and identify different maple trees, walnut trees, mulberry trees, and bushes of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries as well as patches of wild strawberries (they've gotten especially good at finding these before I do). I found a mulberry tree growing near a former elementary school of mine and had them pick mulberries to munch on to their heart's desire. I wanted to make sure they understood exactly where the berries they ate came from, and why I still find it an alien concept to buying berries of any kind in a store. I'll collect and press the leaves of trees found here for them to take back and show to fellow cub scouts and girl scouts; something I'm sure will help fulfill badges they don't have yet.