A great first week

We did alot of driving in the 6 days it took us to get to PA. It was mostly delightful. K and Q are great travelers, and had no camplaints abvout the amount of time spent in the car, in fact they seemed to enjoy every mile. We saw plenty of interesting landscapes, and managed a few stops on the way. We loved the KOA cabins that we stayed in, and we all had fun staying with my mom's friend from elementary school in Kansas City. She lives in a 1915 farm house and still hauls her own water. We ate from her garden, and Keegan was facinated with her accumulation of stuff from many years past. Her mother came for a visit, who is now 85, and was my mother's girl scout leader. We really had a great time on the way!

Day 2

That's Quinn at the top of the rock wall-she felt very accomplished! Another day full of beautiful scenery and fun adventures. We stopped at a farm stand and bought organic peaches, yum! We drove through some of CO today ooing and awing the whole way. The river, mountains, wildlife and small towns were breathtaking. We were headed for Glenwood Springs, CO. We arrived and enjoyed our day at Glenwood Caverns. We rode some fun rides, and toured a cave.
While we were in the cave, I heard a family talking behind me. The parents were telling their daughter who was very interested in the cave that someday she might be able to study geology. You could learn geology when you get to college, her mother told her. Well, I think it is possible that you could learn geology in high school, her dad added optimistically. Mom and Dad argued the point for a few minutes about whether she would be able to learn this subject in highschool or college. Their conversation caught my attention. I am glad we will never have to wait for a system to schedule us to learn about things that interest us. I'm glad we have chosen a path that will allow our children to persue their interests when they are interests.

And we're off!

We drove in 4 states today-Nevada, Arizona, Utah and into Colorado. Utah was so beautiful, we all enjoyed the land formations and animals we saw along the way. We stopped in Green River for watermelons, and stopped for a breif visit to a dinosaur museum(we forgot about the time change!), and finally made it to the KOA after 11 hours on the road. We are having a great time.

Keegan Leads The Way

On our way home from North Carolina, we were reflecting on our vacation at the beach. Keegan let us know that the only thing he disliked was the plane ride. He hoped we would not be doing that again soon. Well, we did have plans to fly to PA in about one month's time. I told him, and he right away let us know how unpleasant that would be, and wondered why we couldn't just drive. I told him why we hadn't planned to drive-it would take us a week, cost so much money, so much energy, ect. He was not at all put off by the obstacles, and seemed to think it would be an adventure.
For quite awhile now, I have been trying to figure out how we could plan an extended road trip, but it never actualized-too many obstacles that I couldn't rationalize pushing through. But Keegan seemed determined, and the more I listened to him, the more possible it seemed. One thing led to another, and soon after we returned from NC, we had a 5 week trip planned around the US and Canada. My mother offered to join us, we made some reservations, and the trip is going to happen.
My mother flew in yesterday, we leave tomorrow. We are all so excited for this adventure. Jim is happy that my mother is going with us, and he has a very intense month of work planned. Everything fell into place.
I love the freedom of unschooling. We are able to take an idea, or just really a comment like Keegan's-I really don't want to fly-and turn it into an amazing journey. I have no idea what we are going to experience and learn on this trip, but I am open to whatever it is. We have alot of plans, and we don't have alot of plans, we have the comfort of knowing we have a place to sleep most nights(not all!), but we have also allowed some flexibility and time to explore when we are inspired.
My next blog will be from the road. I can't wait to get started!