Our Unexpected Visit to NYC

Hello again friends. So,this post is going to be a little different. The links to previous journal entries are below if you are visiting for first time. I’ll be talking about our visit to New York State this time. But also I will share a little about some of the challenges we’ve faced so far. “Rving” as it’s called is a lovely hobby, but there’s certainly a learning curve and it comes with its setbacks. I also talk a little about one of the most important parts of our trip: Family dynamics. Ok let’s talk about the NY tale first.

We had our heart set on not visiting the city. Dave has an aversion to crowded cities, a phobia he shares with some other family members. So you can imagined the frustration when upon arrival to the skirts of NYC we were routed out of the highway due to height restrictions. We got to get a forced taste of big city while we toured the district of Brooklyn hauling our camper. It was a short one hour tour, which felt much longer..due to, you guess it, traffic. Thank goodness we were able to get out of the maze swiftly and head to our destination: Long Beach, on Long Island, NY.

The campground facilities we stayed at “Nickersonbeach” were very nice, super clean, well staffed and with plenty of amenities. The staff was also surprisingly friendly. A highly recommend again. We spent two nights there. It was nice to experience a day of solace and relaxation by the beach. We mostly hang out at the camper. We went out just a little bit to stroll the town and enjoy a meal out. If you ever go, check out "Greek Cove". They have the tastiest, biggest, best priced gyro platters we've seen. I guess one o fthe highlights of visiting NY is the abundance of food choices available. There were all sort of interesting ethnic eateries on every corner. It would be very fascinating to learn about how immigration was a catalyst for the make up of this area. I really appreciate diversity. I find it heartwarming.

After going back to our fort, we also let the kids enjoy the playgrounds and check out the beach. The water was too cold for swimming but we enjoyed walking by the ocean and playing with the waves as they broke at shore..one almost got us soaked! It was so funny.

It was nesting season for local endangered birds, so it was also a treat to look at the birds protecting their territory and nesting on the sand. Some of them were quite aggressive. We even got to see a few baby birds. 

We hit the road early the next morning and took off on our way to Boston. The expected driving time was about 6 hours..everything was going hunky dory till we got to a fork on the road where were routed out of the highway again, this time because of road construction. The GPS went bunkers, and this time we were forced into the concrete jungle of the Bronx..and not the nicer, but the rougher part of it with the aggravation of rush hour. Seeing a huge truck pulling a 37’ camper through those small congested streets was a sight to behold by all the bystanders and local people gazing at us in disbelief. I had to get out a few times to make sure we didn’t hit anything while Dave’s pressure went up as he worried that we wouldn’t be able to get out of there neither in one piece nor without a fine or a crash. I am happy to report that although it took almost five hours to be cleared from that ordeal, we didn’t even hit a trash can! We are so grateful for God’s protection! Now, do not ever forget for those aspiring Rv’ers, do not ever get off on the parkways of New York State! 

Ok, now let me briefly talk about one of the favorite aspects of this Summer to remember. Rving is a unique fun experience for families that not only lend itself to built life lasting memories, but also allows you to build up your family through overcoming stressing situations. For example, when facing the snafu described above, we were forced to be together in very close quarters for a long time. Honestly quite often, not the best facets of our personalities come out when facing stressors, yet, facing similar situations allow us to learn effective ways to handle it and the practice is good for us. I think road trips in general facilitate this opportunity to strengthen relationships within the family. Of course is not the only way. However, I am happy that the Lord is giving us this opportunity to focus on getting to know, enjoy and support one another better by the enforced togetherness Rving provides. I am very grateful to see some glimpses of growth in the lifetime bond that we are trying to instil in our kids. The current pull of media and society on our kids to get disengaged from family ties and lonely dissapear into screens is heavy and one that we also battle ourselves. We are by no means yet the family we want to be. However we are grateful for this Summer to remember that we worked on building our family up! May the Lord prosper our endeavours..and yours too! Family is God's idea. Doesn't he have the best ideas?

Next stop, is Boston! Stay tune! Click here if you want to check our previous Summer trip posts. SC, VA, D.C.

Washington D.C: A Living Classroom

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by. Here are the links to our previous Summer trip posts if this is your first time here: South Carolina & Virginia. Even as we faced a few hiccups on our way to the Northeast, we are piling up so many good memories than even the inconvenient gets categorized as an adventure once is conquered! More on that later, but for now let us highlight our stay at D.C, one of our favorite stops for sure!

For those tracking the places we lodged in for future reference, we stayed at Cherry Hill Campground. This has been the kid’s favorite campground so far. The place is huge! We highly recommend it. Very well maintained, staffed and family/kid friendly. There were local and out of state visitors coming just to spend time there, without even leaving the park! There were pools, mini-golf, daily events, tractor rides, etc. We enjoyed meeting & socializing with fellow campers during our walks and visits to the playground.

Once settled and ready to explore the city, we went first to visit the Museum of the Bible. This has been my absolute favorite stop so far. What a fantastic place to get inspired and to realize the impact the Bible has had in humanity. I loved the way the exhibits are organized. They have so many different perspectives to look, learn and appreciate the Bible from. Whether historically, from different disciplines, or diverse walks of lives, everybody could find a place to resonate and appreciate the instrumental role of the Bible. Even the non-Christian would enjoy visiting this museum. It really sheds insight and understanding on how the Bible has shaped the history of mankind.

For example, Michaela’s favorite exhibit was Gutenberg's printing press, it turns out the very first printed document was the Bible. This invention revolutionized humanity at the time, because it made information and knowledge more readily available to everybody, not to just the nobility. The printing and difusing of the Bible across socio-economical classes was an unprecedented driver for the increase of literacy and education. Garrick really enjoyed the exhibit about how the Bible has impacted United States and world’s history, even in ways that are almost unnoticed to the modern eye. For example, there were booths about the development of music throughout history, and it was very neat to see the influence of the Bible, providing rich ideas for composers and song writers throughout millennia. There are jingles that are unconsciously sung by people today that are rooted in scripture.

 

David-Elliot enjoyed their show about creation and God’s choosing of His people. It was a fascinating show on the origin of humanity in parallel with God’s redemption plan for humanity. So good. Evelyn, of course, loved the kid’s section. She got to catch a few fish from Noah’s ark. Ha! Dave enjoyed the exhibits of testimonies from common people. It was very refreshing to find places to resonate with the tangible ways God’s word has transformed lives, communities and empires. I enjoyed learning about the way God has protected the Bible through history. The story of how we obtained the Biblical cannon, and the role of Biblical translation was also fascinating! We totally recommend to visit this museum, check it out!

After filling our minds to our heart’s content here, we went for a stroll near the museum scouting for food. Most everything was closed because it was Sunday and later in the day. However, we found a dining joint were we ran into an old friend of mine from my nursing club when I first became a mom. What an unlikely, yet heartwarming encounter! It was like a nice ribbon to put on the gift of our day.

The second day of our stay we went to visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History. It was fantastic. Quite often people take multiple days to explore the richness of this place. We devoted just half of our day. We didn’t get to walk it all, but we covered a good portion of it. I’ll highlight the favorites again.

Garrick enjoyed the Spangled Banner exhibit. Seeing the original flag there and learning about its story was really neat. They featured the real flag in there! The one that saw the cannons blasting in the air! Quite an amazing sight. He also enjoyed all the ways American culture was described throughout the exhibits. He really grew in appreciation of the richness of it. David Elliot enjoyed an exhibit called “American on the Go”, which featured the story of transportation in America. We all enjoyed following the evolution of the engine and the the means of transportation in the States. From steam engines to rockets, we learned how this part of American history has been so influential in the creation of cities, industries and new ways of life.

Michaela’s favorite was the food exhibit. She loved to see the portrayed diversity..of course it made us so hungry! Dave’s favorite exhibit was “the Story of Democracy.” It highlighted the development of this type of government, the development of human rights, the conception and practice of voting and elections, along with all the issues our founding fathers had to struggle with at the inception of this new-to-the-world idea. All the world knew back then was monarchy, so democracy was quite revolutionary in terms of the establishment of a new country fully founded on the concept of being governed “By the people” and “for the people”. It was interesting to see the deep Christian roots of this new ideology and the main concern back then about the sustainability of such government by people that didn’t adhere to the Christian tenants. Democracy they thought, was only viable for a highly moral and religious people. Otherwise the deeply rooted human desire for money and power would bring it down as it has done to countless empires in the past.They also had an area devoted to the role of immigration in the story of America. It was special to share with my kids how some of the stories portrayed there resonated with my own story as an immigrant myself.

We also got to visit the National Mall on that day. The miles long walk around the monuments was great. However I have to confess that it was challenging to haul a toddler after a museum visit. I have to give much credit to Evelyn though. I think she walked double if not triple the mileage we did on that day. I would not be surprised if she grows up to be a marathoner! So proud of my girl!

The last day of our stay we mostly relaxed and enjoyed the campground. I took the morning to visit my dear friend from youth group Maralee. It was super heartwarming to reconnect with her after over a decade and see the fantastic adventure she’s up to these days. She started a one of a kind Non-for-profit called “Comunidad”, which empowers vulnerable communities in the D.C area. It was pretty neat to tour the facilities and see goals accomplished and get to know some of the staff and even some of the community residents. I was incredibly inspired and encouraged by seeing her faithfulness and vision bearing so much fruit. I also got to ride the City metro on my own..for the very first time in my life! (Dave stayed home with the kiddos letting them enjoy the park). It was quite daunting for this navigationally challenged Colombian-Floridian, but I did it! The little blessings people!

We wrapped up our visit and headed Northeast for our next adventure. Oh, well, and an adventure it was. So grateful we survived..because if you are in Christ you will never get lost, no matter what! That’s why I am here telling the story. Stay tuned!

Summer to Remember - Welcome to Virginia!

First week down friends! Here's our 2nd round of highlights, now from the land of VA! This time we stayed at Anvil Campground. We truly enjoyed this site. It’s well maintained, with wonderful amenities and close to the area we wanted to explore.

After setting up the camper we went to our first destination:  Colonial Williamsburg”. This is a preserved reenactment  town themed after the American Revolution era. It turns out that this place was the former capital of the state. We enjoyed every minute of it, even as we walked miles perusing the town. So much to see, smell, touch and learn!!

Picture going back 250 years in history. There were re-enactors everywhere, ready to tell us about their lifestyles & trades back in the day. Some of our favorites were having Garrick picked to be part of the justice league in a local mock trial. We were especially made aware of how people were so immersed in the political affairs of their localities. We were inspired to do the same. We can’t wait for Garrick to go to his second round of Teenpact!...I digress.

We also got to talk to “young George Washington and his wife”. So amusing! These re-enactors really get into character! Did you know that George Washington had obscure beginnings? He actually got ushered into the public arena by marrying up! Who would’ve thought? Well, God’s sovereignty works in so many ways! We also learned that his military experience in the French-Indian war of 1700’s was quite an agony for him. He battled dysentery among other ailments for almost 9 months and almost died. No wonder his character grew so strong! Let us not forget that there is not such thing as a wasted battle. (James 1:2-4). It turns out this war was much bigger than we knew. It was virtually the first Global war in history. Every single country and empire was at war at the time. It was interesting to hear him pointing to the same old fight for money and power as the real combustible behind it all.

And did you know that back then non-Anglican preachers were not allowed to preach with an open Bible? It was considered a threat to the English crown. They were able to proselytize and teach, but with strict restrictions. It does ring a bell, doesn’t it? Those who do not know history are bound to repeat it goes the old saying. Ok, enough of that. The kids also enjoyed playing old fashion games, were inspired by a play about about the roots of the emancipation, visited with the print master, the apothecary shop owner, and the blacksmith shop among others. Such a lovely visit.

The next day, while I stayed home working on homework for the next school year, Dave took the kids to “the Berkeley Plantation". This was a mansion built back in the 1600’s. What a fantastic day exploring its beautiful gardens and historical richness! 

This mansion was the original settlement of the community who hosted the true first “Thanksgiving” celebration before the Pilgrims’ arrival. Isn’t that interesting? You can read more about it here. The mansion has hosted over a dozen American presidents since its construction, even contemporary ones like George W. Bush.

Our kids also got to experience a pretty neat first time over there: Seeing the golden ripe wheat fields around it. They got to glean from them. Dave said he reminisced Jesus doing that with the disciples and got 2 big mouthfuls himself! Well, what can I say..a men’s heart is close to his belly, by God’s design! What a beautiful picture of discipleship right? I am truly enjoying seeing my husband operating on his God’s given gift. He’s such an amazing tour guide! He loves visiting interesting places and co-learning and teaching along with a group of people. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons he remembers Space Camp so fondly. I am so grateful we get to enjoy him in our very own party! Just let’s wait to see him in action when we get to D.C. That’s the next step people! It’s going to be great! We’ll come back to let you know.

Thanks for reading friends! Here’s the link to our first update if you didn’t get to read it. Or here to the next one: D.C. Peace in Christ!