Wrap Up - Jo & Oma!

Iowa CornNot sure what the bones are, but this looks like a camel or horse. Ashfall National Park in Ashfall, NE. Many cool mammal fossils

from around 10-20,000 years ago. Dora Explorers….
Being junior paleontologists at Ashfallafter watching the pros do it. One of many Nebraska geocaches;
this in O’Neill, NE, the largest Irish town in NE.

Sinbad the Columbian Mammoth~

this was another geocache inside
Mammoth Museum in Hot Spring, SD.
Can you say ‘gianormous’?

Stopped to see buffalo (American bison) before heading
into the Wind Caves in South Dakota.
Don’t remember the name of the national park…We all had our photos taken next to the pillar with the state
of our birth: OR, MA, IN, NC…
This is the plaza walkway to view Mt. Rushmore.Nanny and the girls… I bet you can guess where….

Old Faithful in stinky Yellowstone, WY. Kids got a kick out of this.

I was more entertained with the smelly, steaming, bubbling mud pots.
Below is the photo of one of the walkways….Our US Geocaching map after our travels.Visited 16 states (32% of USA)

The Wrap up – Cole & Mom

Andrew, Trish, Cole and I made the trip to Plymouth to visit Plimoth Plantation (and yes, this is how you spell it), the Mayflower II and of course the Rock itself. We had other plans woven into the day but as the day wore on this was enough for all of us.

Plimoth PlantationIt’s almost like they are brothers or some thing!

Should I repeat the brother thing? They both were wanting to do and did the same thing often. Funny. Cole really did take after Andrew, wanting to do and be just like him.

Some of the homes from the settlers during the 17th century.They had actors in and around the home staying in character the whole time. We could ask them questions and listen as they told stories of their lives. It was very interesting and fun.

Mayflower II
Hmmm. I didn’t snap a photo of the whole ship. Note to self for another trip.I have decided that I would have wanted to be a sailor during this time. At least then I would have been on deck while sailing all those months to the new world.Here Andrew and Cole checked out some of the beds below deck. They estimated about 125 people on this one lower deck for the trip. There were only about 20 people below while we were touring the ship and it was too crowded for me! I just don’t know how those people did it. Very impressive for sure!

The RockCole and Mom’s shadows on Plymouth Rock.
(it is only this big people…really)

We grabbed yet another geocach in Plymouth. A treasure of trinkets and trash was placed on the very end of this breaker, hung from a cable, inside a lock box, inside a tupperware and inside a zip lock baggie. It was still completely soaked and because of this the squirt gun inside was loaded and ready for any victim standing near. Funny.

It was a beautiful view from the end of this breaker!

New York


We didn’t make it out to see
Miss Liberty herself so Trish
gave Cole a buck to get a
photo with this statue at
Battery Park. We will save
the statue trip when Oma and
Jo can be with us.

The Sphere

“For three decades, this sculpture stood in the plaza of the World Trade Center. Entitled “The Sphere,” it was conceived by artist Fritz Koenig as a symbol of world peace. It was damaged during the tragic events of September 11, 2001, but endures as an icon of hope and the indestructible spirit of this country. The Sphere was placed here on March 11, 2002 as a temporary memorial to all who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.
This eternal flame was ignited on September 11, 2002 in honor of all those who were lost. Their spirit and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Central Park

Hot dogs and cotton candy for lunch while walking around in Central Park. What could be better.

Cole, Kathryn, Trish, Paul, Carol and Mom
(Andrew and Mandy could not make this trip)

Oh, and kudos to Paul’s NY driving! Yes, we drove into NY and at one point Trish could almost lean out her window and kiss (literally) another vehicle. Wow!

Cole running up and down the piano at FAO Schwarz toy store.Remember the movie BIG, with Tom Hanks?

Last couple photos of our trip.

Mandy had her senior portraits done while we were there so Trish and I joined her for the photo shoot. It was a wonderful afternoon with quite a few different posses and backgrounds. Mandy, you are just one beautiful young woman! Truly.

And here we are!
!LOVE TO YOU!
Cole and I had a GREAT time. Thank You!!!

Oma & Jo's Trip 01

Thought I would post some photos and captions of Jo and Oma traveling with Nanny, Grandpa (Jill's Mom and Dad) and Jo's cousins Maggie and Lanna.

Lunch in a cool spot!

Multnoma Falls

Our wild animals from Oregon and Washington!

Nate digging through his first cache!

I thought this was neat as well. Oma set up a map on our geocaching site showing the states we have visited.
The red colors are states we have found a cache in.

Jo & Oma on the boat.

Part of the 4th of July parade..... went out to retrieve candy and I got cheers from the Lannan clan!

Great Gma and a Sparky

Group hug

Jo's candy stash along with a fire hat and a frisbee.

To make Momma jealous!



Jo as dinosaur

Protecting their eggs

On the way out of the musuem,
guess who HAD to have cotton candy?
(that would be a Oma must have)

I will post more photos when the come in.
They were on their way to Michigan next and having a great time!

More Trip Stuff

Boston

The lot of us made a trip to Boston for a walk about, and it turned out that it was going to be a very wet one. We managed to get in a couple sights but the rain was coming down so hard that we all were just getting too soaked to really enjoy much more than what we did.Here Cole is standing in front of Paul Revere’s Tomb and Memorial. Cole said that he remembers the name from school but does not quite remember why. I asked him to stand for a photo because one day he will appreciate the picture.

Here we are, don’t we look happy?
Paul, Mandy, Cole, Beryl, Julie and Trish.

After a killer seafood meal we headed to Paul’s condo for the night. Peg, Beryl and Julie had to fly home in the morning and the airport was a closer drive from here.Do we look a little tired? We were…but we managed another game of cards soon after this photo was taken! Anyone want to play?

Geocaching
Carter Park MassachusettsThe next morning Mandy, Cole and I did a small walk about to see if we could find some caches around the condo. We found one of two and more importantly it was a very nice walk in the morning air.

We did more treasure hunting on the way home from Boston stopping here and their to see what we could find.This cache was hidden well in a stump, it was cut out in the bottom with a removable side so it just looked like a stump sitting on the ground. Mandy and Paul are hooked on geocaching now. Love to pass along new things to suck up your time that everyone has so much of these days!

Margaretville

The Mohegan Sun casino is HUGE standing above the trees and rolling hills. We headed there for dinner at Margaretville and to walk around looking at all the lights and stores. Oh, Trish and I dropped some money into a slot or two and walked away with only sore fingers.

Cole and I at dinner.

We were actually sitting in a fishing-boat table. It was a very fun restaurant with lots to look at, listen too and do. Oh, and he food was good as well.Everyone must have balloon hats!

This shot if for Gma Marie!

We asked him to stand scared in front of the witch for a photo but then he said, “wait, one more”. This shot was his idea and I think it’s a little Harry Potter bold.

WAND in hand! You don’t scare me!!!

College Man
Trish and I spent the day at Central Connecticut State University with Andrew. A welcome day for the freshmen and information for both parents and freshmen. I was sure glad I was able to share this day with Andrew. I think he was a little unsure heading into that morning but was non-stop excited chatter on the way home. CCSU did a great job in getting the new students pumped up for their first year.

Andrews’s goal is computer game design. He will have to transfer to another college at some point because this college does not offer this type of program but he will be able to get a year or two of great schooling in and still be close to home. I am so very excited for him!

Our Trip Through Cole's View

This is me sleeping on the plane. My mom snuck the camera and then snuck the picture and then put it back.

This is my root beer, it looks like a beer but it’s root beer. And it’s my first dinner in Boston.

This is Andrew graduating. He is the one on the left.

This is Andrew and Mom and I took a picture of that.

This is dinner in Boston and I took a picture of the boat. It might look small but it’s big.

This is Andrew and I on a rock and my mom took a picture of that before we went out to find the cache.

This is when we found the cache, they sawed a stump and then they sawed the top of it and then they put a fence and then put the cache in there. Then they put the half of the log on there and that was it. It was cool because it was in a stump.

That’s it.