Holiday Greetings
Wendy Swart
Note, the following note is also in the attached newsletter, but is below for those that want the raw text version, not the nicely formatted newsletter version with all of the pictures...
Holiday greetings from the Swart/Grossman travelers to you and yours! You might be wondering after 14,000 miles in the Big Pig where have we ended up for the holidays. Or maybe not, but we are going to tell you anyway.
Tucked under the LED fake Christmas Trees in Aisle 38 of the Wal*Mart in Bismark, North Dakota? In an RV trailer park in eastern Oregon looking forward to the heated shower room and Laundromat? In a pristine national park headed out for a snow shoe hike to observe the Roosevelt elk?
You will be happy to know that the RV fits perfectly in front of Wendy’s brother Garret and sister in law Lalitha’s house in lovely Palo Alto and we are wallowing once again in the warm embrace of family, eating delicious food and playing intense games of Risk.
Upcoming 2010 adventures include:
LA for New Years, Joshua Tree (how could we not?)
Scottsdale, AZ to visit Mama Jo (Wendy’s mom who has moved there after 34 years in San Diego). And then…
Hawaii for the last adventure before we head back to
Boston for March so the kids can finish up the school year in a “normal” school, find an apartment and the start of the … OMG… job hunt!
Below is a little ditty summarizing a mere taste of what we have been up to since hitting the road in August.
As always – look to the website for too much information www.familyadventureyear.com (blogs, photos, daily updates of our location). And please, we want to hear your news as well. It really isn’t all about us! We get pretty regular wifi access so please, drop us a note.
Here is to a 2010 filled with collecting of stories and adventures, being in the moment, appreciating what you have, well behaved and healthy children, gentle aging and of course the old standard…World Peace.
Love, Wendy, Evan, Josh & Simon
The 12 days of Family Adventure
On the first day of Christmas, adventurers are we
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the second day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the third day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the fourth day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the fifth day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the sixth day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Six National Parks6,
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the seventh day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Seven miles per gallon7,
Six National Parks6,
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the eighth day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Eight USB cords8,
Seven miles per gallon7,
Six National Parks6,
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the ninth day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Nine homeless months9,
Eight USB cords8,
Seven miles per gallon7,
Six National Parks6,
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the tenth day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Ten Ramen Cases10,
Nine homeless months9,
Eight USB cords8,
Seven miles per gallon7,
Six National Parks6,
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the eleventh day of Christmas, adventurers are we
Eleven public libraries11,
Ten Ramen Cases10,
Nine homeless months9,
Eight USB cords8,
Seven miles per gallon7,
Six National Parks6,
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
On the twelfth day of Christmas, adventurers are we:
Twelve Junior Rangers12,
Eleven public libraries11,
Ten Ramen Cases10,
Nine homeless months9,
Eight USB cords8,
Seven miles per gallon7,
Six National Parks6,
Five Wal-Mart nights5,
Four polar bears4,
Three water parks3,
Two daring boys2,
In a small Winnebago R.V.1
1 Actually it’s 30’ long, but 250 square feet of living space for a family of 4 is pretty small. More details about the RV from Evan’s July blog;
2 When they’re not bickering or teasing each other Josh and Simon are wonderful traveling companions;
3 See our October blog about the joys of waterparks. Of course three was the easiest one to choose from – Three Oil Changes, three games of mini-golf, three laptops on board, three pairs of skis – lots of things come in threes.
4 While riding on a Tundra buggy in Churchill, MB we saw four polar bears. We saw a fifth the next day. For more details see: Evan’s blog about the polar bears, Wendy’s blog, and Josh’s blog. Our polar bear photo album;
5 Wal-Mart, which also accounts for 5% of our spending over the past 4 months, encourages RV-ers to overnight in their parking lots, a practice known as “boondocking” (for staying out in the “boondocks” without the normal Electricity, water, sewer, Cable-TV and Telephone hookups offered by a fancy RV park.. Here’s a link to Wendy’s blog about the bad things that happen when you spend the night in a Wal-Mart;
6 Not to mention an additional seven National Historic Sites or Monuments also managed by the US Park Service. We’ve visited: Rocky Mountain NP, Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP, Badlands NP, Crater Lake NP, Olympic NP, Lewis & Clark NHP, Lincoln House NHS, Devils Tower NM, Jewel Cave NM, Mt. Rushmore NM, Minute Man Missile NM, Craters of the Moon NM;
7 The RV’s insatiable thirst and 55-gallon tank have consumed 30% of our funds during the trip. More details on Josh’s financial blogs;
8 All of our iPods, cell phones, geo taggers, cameras, etc. are powered or connected by various-sized USB cords which seem never to be around when you most need them;
9 We left London in June and are not planning to have a fixed-base until this March. Read Wendy’s Blog about being, in the words of the Census Dept., Affluent Homeless.
10 CFO Josh now waxes eloquently on both the financial and taste benefits of $.15/packet Ramen soup. Favorite flavors are Oriental and Chicken;
11 As Wendy noted in a November blog, we have taken advantage of several public libraries for holding home-schooling classes (also known as RV elementary).
12 All the National Parks, National Monuments and National Historic sites have Junior Ranger programs that our family has enjoyed completing. Earning a Junior Ranger badge requires learning more about the location and taking a pledge to preserve that park / historic site/ monument. There’s a link on our home page to the Junior Ranger page of our web site with lots of details on the programs completed.