Ours is a homeschooling household, with a heavy slant toward unschooling. One thing that my 8 year-old son, Enzo, likes to do, is keep a list of places for future family vacations. He loves to travel and has always been very good about it, so long car rides don’t daunt him.
I asked him this morning to make a fresh list of his vacation choices. We haven’t discussed it recently, so I thought this would be a good way to work on spelling, writing, and memory recall. At this point in his life he’s pretty interested in history, so the crux of his list is composed of historical sites or national landmarks. I suspect that as he gets older, that might change, but for now, his list consists of the following:
Niagara Falls
The Lincoln Memorial
Philadelphia
Hawaii
Punta Cana
Whitefish Bay
The Beach House
Mount Rushmore
New York City
and
Egypt.
He has reasons for each location, for the most part. He holds a fascination with Abraham Lincoln, hence the Lincoln Memorial. He has read about the Liberty Bell and is adamant about seeing it. Mount Rushmore is another place that, for whatever reason, he feels the need to visit.
When he was younger, Enzo was obsessed with the Edmund Fitzgerald. We had to listen to the song by Gordon Lightfoot a hundred times in a row, we scoured the internet for information, my mom made him little t-shirts and sweatshirts with pictures of the ship, we recorded every television special we could find, he has books, DVDs, a beautiful framed drawing of The Fitz on his wall, and even a wooden model (which, he announced upon receiving, could not be a real replica, because it is black and the Edmund Fitzgerald was red). So naturally, Whitefish Bay is on his list.
The Beach House is a lovely place on Lake Erie in Geneva-on-the-Lake at which we stayed a few years ago. It is a B&B, but the beach house is separate and by itself on the property. We went in the fall and really loved it—beautiful lake view, in the middle of Ohio’s wine country, and Enzo’s favorite, a huge two-person Jacuzzi.
We did a unit last year on Egypt and he was really taken with the pyramids, so he added that to his list. I informed him that I won’t be taking him on that trip—he’ll have to wait until he’s old enough to plan that one himself!
Let’s see….I think that he saw some pictures of Hawaii and thought it was stunning, and Niagara Falls is on his list just because we’ve been talking about going for so long that he really has his heart set on it. Oh, and he wants to visit NYC, but only to see Spamalot. Muah!
Our family and friends are talking about visiting Jamaica this time next year, which he will love. His father and I went to Punta Cana last year on a couple’s trip, and while it was fun, traveling without Enzo is not something we intend to do much of in the future. I would really like to go back to Punta Cana at some point, and Enzo is very interested in going, so he is bucking the Jamaica idea in favor of PC. But he will just have to wait. Once he gets to Jamaica, he’ll be thrilled to be there. And unless he gets a J.O.B. within the next 6 months, he’s going wherever it is we pay to go.
Realistically, whether we make it to these places or not remains to be seen. But it’s definitely fun for him to keep the list and add new places to it as he discovers them!
Visiting Africa is far more excitement than I could handle. While I do indeed have the Cruise Director Gene, I completely lack the Adventure Gene. I am the kind of person who watches The Amazing Race, saying the entire time, “No. Way. In. Hell.”
But that does not mean that I’m not happy to pass along info to those who are more willing to roam with lions and elephants. I love the idea of it–there’s just not enough Xanax on the planet to get me through the process of planning it and getting there. 
Which is why I want to share the link for a company that handles Tanzania safaris: http://www.madoreasafaris.com/
It looks as if they plan a myriad of trips (cultural, beach, mountain climbing, and more) in addition to safaris in the East Africa region, so it might be a good place to start looking for info if you are thinking about such a trip.
If nothing else, it’s easy to admire the images on the site. What a gorgeous country!
My mom just sent me this site. I should have realized that Groundhog Day would be an exciting time in Punxsutawney, PA!
For those who are looking for a fun little trip next weekend, how better to bring in February than with Punxsutawney Phil?
Visit http://www.groundhog.org/info/ for more info.
Did you know that simply by looking at blue water, even if it’s just in a photo, you become smarter? Doing so engages both sides of your brain at the same time. This means that the right side (the source of creativity) and the left side (the analytical half of your noggin) actually work in sync. The result is optimal mental function! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could certainly use more optimal mental function in my life, which is why I think the imagery above is the perfect way to start my day each morning.
It also serves as a symbol for what is the catalyst for this blog. A totally cool new web site, Kango.com, is getting ready to launch and I am completely drawn to the unique nature of its purpose. Those who already know me are familiar with what I call my “cruise director gene.” I love to plan mini-vacations for my friends and family, and can often be found scouring the internet for the hippest martini bar in the city, or the quaintest B&B in the country. Kango.com will serve as a catch-all for people like myself and others who don’t want just a list of hotels and activities in a certain area—we want the specifics. I will be able to type in “hip martini bar, Cleveland,” and find suggestions, as opposed to having to spend hours trying to find a web site that lists Cleveland dining options, and then culling through those sites to locate those which might be of interest.
Gone are the days of trying to figure out which hotel in Philly will be kid-friendly, or whether or not we can find a B&B in Chicago that will allow us to bring our dog for our visit. A quick search on Kango will help us find such information within seconds. The site is currently focused in the California and Hawaii areas, but that will be changing rapidly.
Which will make MY life that much easier.
While this blog will focus mainly on travel, my hope is to incorporate many of the other aspects that make our life what it is here in our little corner of Ohio—family, friends, and pets included.
So please be sure to check back often, and feel free to leave comments giving feedback and/or suggestions.
“Talk” to you soon!