Dutch Wonderland

Well, this is the last stop on our 2012 Expedition! It has been an incredible trip, we have all seen a lot, learned a lot and driven a lot! 10,000 miles!!!!  Well, one of us "drove" a lot.

Some of you may wonder how the trip worked out for special needs, well, it actually went smoother than expected. Kiley tolerated a good amount of walking, but we usually had the option of the stroller. When the terrain prohibited that, there were always Daddy's shoulders to ride on.

We were able to stock up on Kiley's special foods, although there were a couple I was searching for all over the country! Kiley has done exceptionally well on the trip but unfortunately we are seeing a new stage of Prader-Willi Syndrome rear it's ugly head. It's hard to describe, but there seems to be more of an intense interest in food and hunger strikes more often than it did before we left. This is typical for her age, but maybe with school she won't be so preoccupied with food.

Brody is doing great and I think he made some good progress this summer. His communication has greatly improved and some of his habits have lessened. He is excited for the visit to Dutch Wonderland and can't wait to get home to play with his train set and see his friends.

The trip has been beneficial for everyone and it was nice to just take a break from life and the 6 therapy visits , 1 tutor, and miscellaneous doctors appointments each week. Believe it or not, we actually spent the same amount of money on our trip as we would have staying home! Maybe even less, due to Sabra being locked in the tin can so far from stores :). Although, I think we made up for that in California, shhhhh.

Newport

What would summer be without a stop in Rhode Island?  One of our most favorite spots in the world is in the tiniest little State in the Union.  Sabra had to get her fill of Lobstah and fried clams.  We spent time visiting with Grammy and Pa Quinn, relaxing and going out in Pa's beautiful wooden boat. 

Ida Lewis Yacht Club

 Next stop...Dutch Wonderland, PA.

Cousin Visit

After leaving Niagara Falls we repatriated to the US and stopped in Buffalo, NY, home of Sabra's cousin Aimee, and Ray Mack.  The kids loved visiting here and who wouldn't?!  Ray was quite the sport and toted the kids around the pool on their lounges, living like the Kardashians.  Ray cooked us a wonderful meal; from Cabana Boy to Grill Master, he is quite the host.  As the first guests of the year we were treated to closing ceremonies of the Olympics on a luxurious Mack sofa.  Our RV settled in nicely in the driveway :)

After threatening to stay a  week, we decided it best not to overstay our welcome and forged onward across New England to a little known campground in October Mountain State Forest called Lee Campground (Massachusetts).  This state park was really pretty and quiet, it had only about 4 other campers.  Lovely setting and a nice spot to kick around the soccer ball.

Next stop...Newport, RI.  ahhhhhhhhh

Michigan

Since we were in driving mode we just stuck with it and headed for Niagra Falls, Canada. We drove on and stayed one night in Michigan then through Canada on to Niagara Falls. Took a few quick pics at Lake Superior, stayed one night in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and headed straight to Jellystone RV Park in Niagara Falls, Canada. Don't recommend it! Expensive and not kept up. But we stayed two nights to take a break, visited the falls and had lunch. Low key day, it was rainy and cool so not the best weather. We had just had the past 2 days of rain, so our weather luck had officially run out!

The falls are very cool and the Canadian side is very pretty! We can do more some other time with better weather and more mobile kids.

Waiting for our shuttle...




Prader-Willi kids are good at doing this with their eyes!

Wild West

It was a work vacation for Kiley!

Cody, WY

Cody is such a cool Western town we jumped at the chance to drive back through. This time we stopped to head in a photo gallery, had some lunch and of course, did more shopping. I hope no one expects hokey gifts when we get home, nope, didn't get any! We only go to sporting goods stores and buy clothing and gear. :)

Welcome to Montana...makes a girl think twice about using the rest area, yikes!

And more driving...

The map is filling up!

Onto North Dakota

We came upon a town that is literally in the midst of a boom, oil that is (and natural gas). It is rather obvious though, that this little town has been completely overrun by the oil companies. There is a constant flow of huge tractor trailers on the roads and work camps with trailer housing set up everywhere. You can tell almost everyone works for these companies by the work trucks they drive and they seem to go from drilling site to drilling site. The only paved roads are the highways and NO gas stations are even paved yet, they are all new and there are a lot of them to support all these trucks. These companies just came in and took over, in what looks like, overnight, with no thought to the organization of the community and how the town will support and grow around this; very sad. It was really incredible to see. We thought about staying to help the town rectify the situation, think they would mind?

 

Minnesota
We actually weren't able to put the Minnesota sticker on our map on the way out since we drove straight thru, well, much to Kiley 's dismay it happened again and we still have no Minnesota sticker! Oh well, maybe some other day. Kiley is incredible though, she knows all her states and the shapes of them, we expect nothing less of her of course :)


Brody's tooth grew!

Swan Valley, Idaho

Little Hollywood, notice the straight hair? That's what happens with 7 percent humidity. Thank God the curls have come back!


Palisades Dam Recreation Area

After driving a really long time, we found a waterfront site on the Snake River, this river is rapid. It was cool to watch the fly fishing tours go floating by our site when we woke in the morning. We are just outside Wyoming now at Palisades Dam Recreation Area,
on the Snake River, Swan Valley, ID. Our camp host "Gee" sold us a $20 site for $10...interesting...our man Gee. He was a character. We pulled in and it was dark, but woke up to gorgeous river views, thanks Gee. No pics out of respect for his anonymity, just kidding!

Next day just so happened to be Jeff's birthday, so the kids made him cards and...that was it! We made our way to Jackson Hole, WY for some lunch then back on the road to head to Cody, WY to stay again at Buffalo Bill State Park. We really like this spot. Seriously, can you beat this campsite?

Brody looking for cool driftwood for me.

Happy Bithday, Jeff!