Visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the Easy Way.

When we decided to take our road trip this Summer, the kids added seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to the list. So as I was planning this stop, I do what I always do and read a ton of comments through www.tripadvisor.com . What I discovered was that the best way to see these sites was to take a ferry from the New Jersey side at Liberty State Park. https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/liberty.html Those hours of research certainly paid off and it was a much more seamless experience than if we would have went from the NYC side.






We booked a ferry tour through the Statue Cruises website https://www.statuecruises.com/#/ and it included both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island at a 3:00 time slot. Since it was Summer and ridiculously hot, we felt that later in the day would be best to beat some of the heat at least. Upon arriving at the park, it was clean and spread out with easily accessible parking and a killer view of the skyline. Their was even a view of Lady Liberty in the distance and the best part was ..no crowds! 

The ferry itself had plenty of room whether you wanted to sit or stand and great views no matter where you were on the boat. The 1st stop was Ellis Island and once we were dropped off we noticed that the other side of the dock was the ferry from NY which happened to be jam packed with people as well as a significant line to board the next ferry to the Statue of Liberty which was right around the corner. After we de boarded, we roamed the shady, oak tree lined grounds of Ellis Island and then eventually inside to marvel at the history of the site where millions of immigrants, including our own ancestors had come to seeking a better life. There was much to see and learn about inside and the kids had many interactive displays they enjoyed.

After exploring Ellis Island and moving on to our next ferry stop at the statue, we boarded a short 5 minute ride and was dropped off at a much more crowded area. We were surprised at how many people were packed into the area surrounding Lady Liberty but we walked up and got some pics before heading back. At this point the heat had caught up to us and we noticed the lines to get back were growing exponentially. There were two lines designated for NY and for NJ. The line to get back to NY was like a Disney line times ten. Where as the line to NJ was maybe a 1/4 of that. People were complaining how ridiculous the NY side was and I was glad that I had chosen to go from NJ. We were only waiting maybe 10 minutes before we boarded back to Liberty State Park whereas the NY side was wrapped so far down the sidewalk, we couldn't even tell where it ended.

So even though it was a dead heat Summer day , we were able to do everything we wanted to do and see in a relatively easy manner. I did feel bad for the people who were stuck in line for hours so I felt compelled to blog about it. These type of trips can make all the difference in the world with great planning. So if you are ever traveling to see these infamous sights, now ya know... Jersey is the winner for a easy breezy Summer time tour.

Beavertail State Park in Rhode Island is a Natural Playground.

My 7 year old was adamant about visiting Rhode Island because he was fascinated by it's tiny size. So when we decided to make a stop while driving through, I just happened to come across Beavertail State park https://www.visitrhodeisland.com/listing/beavertail-state-park/5/ and we were so glad we did!






As soon as we drove up and sun was shining and the seagulls were flying, I knew the kids were going to love it. What I didn't know was that this state park was a collection of rocky nooks and cranny's directly on the water making for some kind of natural playground of sorts. Around every corner was a new discovery of formations that made for excellent hide and seek as well as picture perfect backdrops. Our kids 6 and 7 were smitten with this place. They wanted to to keep exploring even after hours of walking up and down and through a variety of limestone and watering holes. They seemed to be right at home and even laid down for a bit on the incline of over hangs to catch some rays.





We walked around for hours (even lost track of time) and the best part was yet to be uncovered. We came across a cut out in the rock where the ocean water filled up and made for a natural swimming pool. Apparently we weren't the only ones who discovered this, because their was several people jumping in from the top of the overhang. We saw people bringing beach chairs and just posting up to take in the sun. A beach of sorts except instead of sand just miles of smooth rock to post up on. With the sailboats out at sea and the lighthouse up above, it was a one of a kind beach experience that us Floridians had certainly never experienced before.

Have you ever heard of The Bay of Fundy?!

Reading a book can sometimes lead to an unexpected and wonderful discovery. That is exactly what happened one day in homeschool as we opened up our National Geographic book entitled "5,000 Facts About Everything". In the book we were intrigued on the subject of "tides". I had never heard of The Hopewell Rocks located in The Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick Canada. We read that this seemingly remote location was home to the highest tides in the world! Raising over 50 feet in high tide and the ability to walk the ocean floor at low tide was something I had never read about before let alone seen. We had to add this to our travel bucket list, and that's just what we did.

Traveling from Florida, it took us several days and many other stops to get all the way up there but as we crossed the border, we are excited at the prospect of making that far. Now I have to tell you that this area is very remote and driving at night became a challenge as an eerie and over powering mist rolled in. We literally could not see 3 feet in front of us so we had no idea the topography of the roads. I had booked a "cottage" at http://captainslookoutcottages.com/index.html  and we arrived at nighttime so we had no idea of how beautiful the surrounding area was until the next morning. The cottages were quaint and cute and the grounds were hilly with flowers and scattered with raspberries and sea views. It was beautiful. Having said that, the mosquitos at dusk were something out of a science fiction novel so it was either move inside or take a short ride to Cape Enrage https://www.capeenrage.ca/en/ and sit out under the stars with the ocean breeze and be mosquito free! 

We made our trek up to Hopewell Rocks http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/ which was not more than 20 minutes drive from our cottage and honestly the prettiest drive we had ever driven. You can see the tide pools along the shore with horse farms and bright purple flowers throughout the road banks. Little school houses that looked as if they had been there for centuries and houses on hills overlooking the bay. As we got to Hopewell, you could see the tide schedule posted clearly so as to know when you could walk safely out to the ocean floor. There was a restuarant and several hiking trails leading up to the grand finale and man it did not disappoint! Giant rock formations that are nicknamed "Flower Pot" rocks towered over us as you roamed the ocean floor in amazement that within just hours would be 50 feet underwater! It was hard to wrap my head around. Walking around is essentially mud, so proper water shoes is a must (especially with kids). We explored for hours out there and then had a little picnic lunch on the grassy spots back up the trail. It was Summer so it was crowded but if you walked further out from where the stairs went down, the crowds thinned. What could possibly top this...well there's more.

The next day we headed out to Fundy National Park https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nb/fundy  which was about 15 minutes south and through a little town named Alma. When I say little, I mean it. There is not even a grocery store so if you travel up there, make sure to stop and stock up on food otherwise you have a choice of about 6 different restaurants and although they were all very good, were pricey. I had looked up the park for hiking trails so I had a general idea of which ones were suitable for kids. We choose Dickson Falls (easy terrain, beautiful creek and waterfall) and it was easy to find because it was the 1st left into the park past the lookout spot into the bay. The other one however was not so easy to find and was actually several km away past Chignecto campground. This one was very popular though and the parking lot was in overflow so we had to wait until people left before we could get in. Laverty Falls was the name and swimming under a incredible waterfall was the reward. I made the mistake of not wearing suits under our clothes so we had to improvise when we got to the bottom and let the kids swim in their undies. There was a good amount of people there but everyone was in their own little area and the falls were incredible! Our kids 6 and 7 were so pumped up to swim after that long hike and we were proud they did it with no complaints. The whole park was a true nature lover's paradise and even watching the boat's in the harbor resting on mud at low tide was a sight to be seen ...at least once in a lifetime.

New Website!

Following the advice from my fellow bloggers, I have moved over to my own website : Anywherewithyou4.com       Stay tuned for our upcoming trip August 2nd!

Packing Educational Materials to turn a "Road Trip" into "Road School"

One of the things I love about homeschooling is the flexibility to learn what we want, when we want, and how we want. Most of which is facilitated through engaging activities. So what better way to reinforce all of that education than by real world experiences. Reading about something can broaden your imagination but visiting the actual place you are reading about is like having that experience hop off the page and into your very own story!

  When we started planning this journey from Florida to Canada, I was really interested to hear what my 6 and 7 year old wanted to experience. Everything from the highest tides in the world in the Bay of Fundy, to the Museum of Natural History, to Woodstock, to visiting the Amish way of life. Each stop on our expedition was going to be not only memorable, but also educational. Thus the term,  "Road School". So how am I going to ensure that instead of playing Minecraft or watching Pokemonon on our Ipad for hours on end while in the car, we were actually going to be applying our visits in a scholastic way? Binders, books, and interactive tidbits that I mostly found on https://www.pinterest.com/. Not to mention our favorite National Geographic books, sticker books, and car bingo. You can find a ton of stuff at the dollar store and dollar section at Target. I use Teachers Pay Teachers for many of my printable activities as well. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com I even found Madlibs on Amazon which the kids have been recently introduced to and are now obsessed with! So I have pieced all of this together to make sure that hours in the car doesn't turn into hours of mindless video games..or driving mom and dad crazy. Every state we pass through they will get to open up in our "Explore the States" book and read all of the details. Such as the sights, the state flower, state bird, when it became a state, and it's given nickname. We have 14 states to get through so 14 pages of reading at least and a ton of word searches, cross word puzzles, and coloring books. Good thing the kiddos don't get car sick! Also, when they are on their Ipad, the app called "Stack the States" is an awesome and very applicable way to kill time while learning. Other than that, I wrote out some boredom buster questions in a "would you rather" style so I'll hold on to those for just the right moments. I think that just about covers it and hopefully we will have learned a ton more on the road through tangible experiences and memories that will last a lifetime!

Tennessee Adventure 2018

Adventure Series Iceland

The Great American Solar Eclipse 2017

Florida to Canada and Everything in Between

The actual planning of a 14 state plus Canada road trip can be extremely time consuming in regards to mapping. Since we are traveling in a our Nissan Pathfinder from Florida to New Brunswick and back, we wanted to make sure we weren't in the car for stretches longer than 7 hrs. I think for sanity's sake with two kids, anything beyond that would be meltdown central for not just them, but mom and dad also. So I had to tailor our stops based upon areas of interest as well as distance. Using Mapquest was a tab that was essential to this whole expedition.

  So our 1st stop was right in line with that 7 hr mark which put us in Myrtle Beach, SC. Having reminisced of my childhood family reunion and the memories of the boardwalk, I knew this would be a family favorite and perfect 1st stop. We booked a condo on https://www.vrbo.com/ which is one of my "go to" sites for vacation housing. Since Myrtle Beach is mostly beach activities and carnival rides, this stop will the most laid back of all our stops with no hiking or exploring, simply chillen. But for our next stop we will have a much more enriching experience in our nation's capital just another 7 hours to our north.

  The kids were very excited at the prospect of seeing some of the many sights in Washington D.C. and luckily since the museums are open till 7 in the Summer we will arrive in time to see the Natural Museum of History. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/  Having watched "A Night At The Museum", they were thrilled at the chance to see if the museum actually comes to life! There is also the entire National Mall strip which is home to many monuments including the Lincoln Memorial, MLK memorial, Washington Monument, and the War memorial, just to name a few. The nice part about seeing theses sites is that they are all located within close proximity. We well see how many we are able to fit into our trip in just one night stop over. https://www.nps.gov/nama/index.htm   I was also able to book a great hotel deal on https://www.groupon.com/ which saved me $50 off of the usual rate. Lots to see in just one night but we got our "must" do list and anything else will just be a bonus. The next day will be just a short 3 hours up to see Lady Liberty.

  So I took into consideration that it will be August and visiting NYC would be best saved for a cooler time especially with kids. However, we wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and tour Ellis Island. We had studied Ellis Island in homeschool and my son was very intrigued that the register had his great grandfather's name in it so it was a must see on our list. Instead of going into the city, I was able to find a shortcut through Liberty State Park in NJ which will take us via ferry boat over to Eliis Island and the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g46531-d548855-r29626422-Liberty_State_Park-Jersey_City_New_Jersey.html This is such a better option when traveling with small kids than battling NYC traffic, heat, and parking. We will hopefully catch the skyline at sunset since we booked a late afternoon tour. Tickets to go up in the crown were actually sold out (apparently they sell out very fast in Summer). Onward up we go to visit the smallest state in the country, Rhode Island.

Fascinated by it's diminutive size, my son was adamant about checking out Rhode Island and eating a lobster roll before we ventured through to the infamous Plymouth Rock. Learning about the Mayflower, wampanoags, and the story of Thanksgiving is Plimouth Plantation. https://www.plimoth.org/  It is basically a reenactment of colonial life with educational information and even a recreated ship of the Mayflower! Not to mention that while we are learning, we will most definitely be partaking in New England seafood. I booked a quaint bed and breakfast type motel right on the harbor where we could watch the sunset before we head out for a day of hiking in Acadia National Park in Maine https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm

  Ill be honest, I have heard and seen many beautiful pictures of Acadia and was excited to be able to spend the day there but I was nervous about hiking with my 6 and 7 year old. Specifically my 6 yr old who isn't as much of a trooper when it comes to hiking. So I did what anyone does these days with the assist of https://www.pinterest.com/ and searched the best hikes for kids in Acadia. I compiled everything I found and put together what I hope will be a seamless exploration. Some of which include the famous Thunder Hole, Bubble Rock, and Jordan Pond to name a few. I found this site to be very helpful as well https://fifiandhop.com/2016/09/16/acadia-national-park-with-kids/. Next on the list is a border crossing into New Brunswick, Canada to view the highest tides in the world!

  Since the kid are under 18, we do not need to have passports for them, birth certificates will suffice to cross via vehicle. Booking a place here was tricky at first since it is very remote and not alot of options of convenience. By happen stance,  I found these adorable little cabins located directly on the bay with hiking nearby and close to The HopeWell Rocks.http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca  The reviews for these cabins were excellent and we are hoping for an amazing view of the milky way at night! http://captainslookoutcottages.com/index.html During our 3 nights and 4 days we will be learning about the tides, exploring sea caves, walking the ocean floor at low tide, and hiking Fundy National Park.https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nb/fundy . The prospect of being immersed in this beautiful landscape for 4 days is certainly a highlight of the trip. After this many days it will be hard to leave as we make our way back down into the U.S. again.

  Hitting that 7 hr mark, brings us back to Portland, Maine. Here I found another Groupon for lodging and we are interested in checking out one of the oldest lighthouses as well as Fort Williams State Park.https://portlandheadlight.com/what-to-do/the-lighthouse More importantly, for the kids however was checking out a hand rolled donut shop called the Holy Donut https://theholydonut.com/. From here we head west to an iconic stomping ground that holds dear to our hearts in peace, unity, and music. That's right my little flower children are going to Woodstock!

  Having read the "Who Was" book series of Woodstock as well as my son's namesake being Jimmy Hendrix, we were not missing the opportunity to stand where half a million people gathered in 1969 at the most infamous music festival of all time. Since Bethel Woods museum is an all out Woodstock display, this stop is going to be "far out". https://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/the-museum/about-the-museum-at-bethel-woods. What is even better than a Woodstock museum, how bout a Woodstock themed hotel? I just happened to find the Hotel Dylan which I booked us in a music themed room appropriately named "The Jimi". https://thehoteldylan.com/ which comes equipped with in room record players. a fire pit overlooking the catskill mountains, and of course the iconic hippie VW bus. Im sure we will feel right at home in this place. Next stop is only a short 3 hours south to see what its like to truly live off the land.

  Obviously we have established that we are a little bit hippie so what would be more interesting than a tour of Amish country in the rolling hills of Lancaster, Pa. https://www.amishvillage.com/. To truly live the simple life is a something that has been long lost in today's modernized society. The kids are reminded in our Geography lessons of just lucky we are to have the luxuries we often take for granted. So this stop will be a homage to that testament. Continuing south through more of the captivating hillside, we will next take in the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley in Luray, Virginia.

  Luray, is popular tourist destination know for the famous Luray Caverns, The Shenandoah Valley, and sprawling wineries. https://www.visitshenandoah.org/poi/luray-caverns/ . It was no problem to find a VRBO vacation rental and there's actually so much to see, I hope we get to everything in the 3 days we will be there. For mom and dad, a visit to the winery is a must and luckily we found a family friendly winery in the foothills of the valley. http://caveridge.com/. Caving, hiking, wine-ing, dining, ATVing, and more. This is our final destination before we trek back to Florida. So now that everything is booked, mapped, and planned, it's time to make sure we have all the road trip essentials for a smooth and educational journey.

Planning a 5,260 mile road trip... with two kids...in a Nissan Pathfinder

  So my husband happened to have a 3 week paid vacation that we needed to use it or lose it come August. Tropical island you say? Sitting on a sandy shore sipping frozen drinks did cross our mind, but living in Florida is a just a year collection of sandy shores and scorcher level heat. So we opted for a more adventurous route. A 5,260 mile round trip trek from Florida all the way north to New Brunswick, Canada. In a Nissan Pathfinder. I know, I know what you're thinking.. this doesn't sound like a vacation at all, especially with a 6 and 7 year old. But 1st let me digress.

  This will be time 5 that we have loaded up in a vehicle with the kids and journeyed several states away so we knew that they were what we consider "road warriors". And to be honest, I think checking off numerous places on a vacation is much more special than 3 weeks of sitting stagnant somewhere. I guess that's just the explorer in me. So once we decided to road trip it, we then needed to figure out where, how, who, what, and when.

  Initially, the hubs and I dreamt to go west, but since it would be August and we only had 3 weeks, we wouldn't want to hike the Grand Canyon in 120 degrees nor could we see everything we would want to in a 3 week span. (We will save that trip for Spring time) So we collectively decided to journey to The Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada. What's so great about that you may wonder? Well, lemme learn ya something.. The Bay of Fundy is home to the highest tides in the World! Having learned about this natural phenomenon in our home school lessons, the kids and I were amazed at how you could walk out on the ocean floor at low tide and then revel as the tide would rise during high tide to upward of 50 feet! http://bayoffundytourism.com/worlds-highest-tides/  There is something so fascinating about being able to literally walk on the ocean floor at low tide. Not to mention the star gazing is outta this world (pun intended). There is also Fundy National Park https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nb/fundy which is rich in wildlife, waterfalls, and some of the most beautiful forests. So once we decided we must check this one off the ole bucket list, I had to then piece the rest together. And thus the giant jigsaw puzzle of road trippin started to take a shape!