The middle of August, and this homeschool mother’s thoughts are turned toward – vacations? Yes, it’s true. For many years we’ve vacationed the first two weeks of September.
Lest you think we’ve completely lost our minds, we usually begin school the middle of August. After two weeks I find that I know what needs to be tweaked in our schedule and curriculum choices. Those two weeks have been a nice time to “try” out our plan. Then I have two weeks of vacation to mull over, and discuss with my husband, what changes need to be made, how to make them, and opportunities to get his valuable input. It’s nice to know that when the school year begins mid-August, we all know it’s only for two weeks – then its vacation time! Somehow that always makes starting easier for all of us.
We’ve found September to be an ideal time of year to travel. Labor Day weekend is usually busy, so we plan those as travel days or days to stop and spend with friends on the way to our destination. After Labor Day everyone goes home, and we are left to enjoy what we’ve planned, minus the crowds. Many National Parks are almost empty. We were once the only campers at the campground at the Black Hills. Imagine, no lines in the bathrooms or showers, quiet evenings around the campfire, and freedom to roam wherever we want. Not to mention the end-of-season sales!
We enjoy the solitude of the less busy time of year. In addition, it’s usually a bit cooler, which always makes travel with a family a bit easier.
So while most people we know are back at school we’ve been traveling down the road, enjoying the “Space Trilogy” by C. S. Lewis in audio book format. We spent several days in Louisville, KY with friends before heading to Washington DC. Then we were off to Gettysburg for 2 days. My husband is an avid Civil war buff so we found a story told to us by a ranger to be amusing. A tour bus saw a vehicle with a hand written sign in the window that said, “Help us!” He reported it and a ranger was sent out to investigate. Two teenage girls were in the vehicle and their Dad was stopping to read every monument – knowing that there are thousands of monuments in Gettysburg you can understand their problem. Towards the end of our second day our daughters decided to follow their example. When Dan returned to the van after reading yet another monument he found a similar sign in our window.
From there we spent 2 days on the New Jersey coast with ideal weather for enjoying long walks on the beach. Then we took a quick tour through Lancaster Pennsylvania on our way to Niagara Falls, and drove through Canada to our stop north of Detroit before heading home. We drove through 13 states and part of Canada to total almost 4,000 miles – and we’re still talking to each other.
Now we’re settled in at home with our first week of actual “school” under our belts, and we’ve made lots of new memories to add to our photo album – if only I can find time to scrapbook.
Finding Joy in the Journey,
Phyllis
Phyllis Sather
Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness at:
http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com
© 2007 Phyllis Sather
Contact me at: Phyllis@Phyllis-Sather.com
