K-Seas

Out of Africa

It’s been really difficult to fully process my trip to Africa, and specifically Ethiopia.  How do you recount a journey that felt as though it were a dream?  In the span of 24 hours I was on 3 different continents and then swaddled in the cradle of mankind for 9 days.  Ethiopia is like another world – how does one explain the sounds, the smells, the sights and the feelings accurately?  Words fail.  Even the incredible pictures Erin took only tell so much.  Sure, one can see the beautiful faces of the children, but you cannot smell them or hear them or touch them.  And all of that was so central to this trip.

We had a debriefing on Friday night before our flight home.  We were asked to share our thoughts on the trip - things that surprised us, stuck with us or touched us.  For me, the biggest surprise was how incredible the kids were.  It’s not that I thought they wouldn’t be, but not to the magnitude that they actually were.  These children would come up to you without hesitation, with their hand extended (other hand on their elbow in a sign of respect) and greet you.  They looked you in the eye.  We visited at least two orphanages/care points each day – we probably saw/touched over 500 kids.  I know for certain some of these children have HIV/AIDS; some of them had been beaten; some of them raped -  both boys and girls.  Most orphaned.  All destitute.

These kids gave me so much more than I gave them.  Sometimes I feel like, “What did I really do for these kids?’’  I mean really.  Yes, we played with them for a few hours, we hugged and kissed them, we gave out candy/stickers/bubbles/balloons, etc., but in the grand scheme of things, what did I do?  I didn’t change their lives, yet they changed mine forever.  There’s a video out there that Erin sent me, and it’s called, “I need Africa more than Africa needs me.”  It’s the truth.

And then there were those particular children that we made personal connections with – the ones that the minute you walked through the gate, they grabbed your hand.  You were theirs and they were yours.  It was constant hugs and kisses, and they would play with my hair, tell me they loved me, or … call me mother.  Or when one of them would look up at me with their big, beautiful brown eyes and ask, "Tomorrow?" in broken English.  And I had to tell them, "No."  There wouldn't be a tomorrow with them.  It was these connections that hurt my heart.  I miss the children.

Africa is beautiful…it gets under your skin.  It’s hard to describe unless you’ve been there.  I would urge anyone and everyone to go.  I missed my family immensely, but I would go again in a second.  And I hope someday to go back.  The last line in the video I mentioned above sums it up completely:

 “Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hands….will never be as valuable as peace in my heart.”

 

Clock Ticking

Protecting





Collecting

 


Creating



Educating



Anticipating

"It Smells Like Poop in Here"

Day Four of our trip - Story Land!  This is a favorite place of mine to take the kids to.  The park is very clean, it's well landscaped, they have healthy food choices and the staff is great.  All the rides are kid and parent friendly as well.  Unfortunately I think the girls, at ages 11 and almost 9, are starting to "outgrow" the place.  They still like it, but Story Land's rides are pretty weak compared to the "big" rides at Universal/Disney/Canobie/Six Flags, etc..

However, having Beckett assures us that will be going to Story Land for at least the next 7 or 8 years (woo hoo!).

Polar Coaster - Kid Favorite

The last day of our trip we decided to just do a bunch of little things here and there on our way out of town.  We started with a little mini-golf (Joelle got three hole in ones!), and then some go-carting:

I think the kids really loved this (Shaun included)!  Getting back on the road, Mina noticed a sign that said, "Castle in the Clouds."  Shaun remembered snowmobiling with his dad there back in the day, so we decided to veer off course and check it out.  You take a scenic drive up a little mountain, then get onto a trolley to take you up to the actual castle a short distance further.  Once off the trolley, they shuffle you into a room for a quick intro on the specifics of the castle (who built it, construction details, etc..). 

As we were herded into the room, Will loudly exclaims, "IT SMELLS LIKE POOP IN HERE!"  Shaun and I heard some people chuckle.  Such a proud moment for us..

The views from the castle are amazing:

After we toured the castle, we headed over to Hart's Turkey Farm - Shaun's second most favorite place on Earth (the first is Lost River, although it could be a tie).  After filling our bellies with turkey (and some chicken fingers) we headed home at last! 

Good times!!

Zip Lines, Water parks and Slides...Oh My!

Day two of our trip took us to Wild Cat where the kids (Shaun included) rode the zip line.  Unfortunately Will couldn't go on it since the weight limit was 75 lbs and that kid won't be 75lbs until he's 18.  It's a bird, it's a plane.....no...it's Shaun soaring gracefully like an eagle high atop the mountains:
We then left and checked ourselves into our much nicer, less ghetto-ish condo in North Conway.  But only briefly...

We then took a drive over to Attitash where the kids went on the Alpine Slide (Joelle proclaimed this her favorite), some water slides and a bungy/jumpy thing.  I give you Exhibit A, B & C:
Heading up for Alpine Slide

All three kids jumping..

Day three took us to Lost River, Shaun's favorite place on Earth (besides Hart's Turkey Farm).  Lost River is actually a really cool place to go.  It's almost as if you are journeying to the center of the Earth. 

Some of these caves are extremely difficult to navigate.  Shaun actually went through most of them with the kids - with the help of vaseline and machismo.  However, he stopped at the Lemon Squeeze, which is similar to being reborn (and no, I'm not talking in a Christian sense).

Kids mining after the caves.  This is the biggest racket going - you basically get a bag of dirt with hidden "gems" and you get to rinse them off and "discover" them.  The kids absolutely love this money-maker.

After Lost River, we headed over to Clark's Trading Post, another fun family spot.  The kids and Shaun rode the train into "Wolf Man" territory.  However, the Wolf Man must be on the Atkin's Diet, because he sure is a whole lot skinnier than years past.  Oh, and he's wearing Keen sandals.  Part wolf, part fashionista.  I secretly think he's hot.

While at Clark's, the kids decided to get wet on the water blaster boats.  Some girl cut Mina and Will in line so they decided to blast her the whole ride (she's in the purple/teal bumper boat behind them).  It was good fun watching our kids gang up on another child.  I believe a small tear escaped my eye.  Then we learned from Joelle that the girl was only trying to get in line with her sister.  Whatever..she still deserved it.

After Clark's we headed back to our little bungalow in North Conway.  The kids swam in the pool that night, and we all got a good nights rest for our adventure to Story Land the next morning...

JUST A SMALL DETOUR (Day One)

Well, we are back from our trip. Notice I didn’t say vacation. A vacation doesn’t involve a 5-month old. The amount of baby stuff we needed to bring for four nights bordered on obscene – stroller, play pen, vibrating chair, Baby Bjorn, bottles, diapers, bottle brush, burp clothes, formula, etc…

 Just taking a day trip involved much planning on my part as to what items Beckett would need. And when you forget the formula at Story Land, well, that part will come on Day Four.

Let me go back a bit to our first day up there. As Shaun noted in the post below, things started off rough. We belong to RCI which is an exchange program if you own a timeshare. We never use our timeshare in Newport, RI due to our week falling when the kids are still in school (early June), so we generally always exchange into another resort. Most of the time the condos are a bit “dated” and, putting aside what other reviewers say, it’s still a crap shoot. This particular week was a Friday to Friday interval, but I called to let them know we would be checking in on Saturday instead. The very nice man who answered said he was glad I called since they had limited hours on the weekend. He gave me the unit number we would be in and told me a lock box would be on the door (and gave me the combination for that).

 After about 4,000 “Are we there yets”, we came to our destination.  It was a long, dirt road, and Shaun and I weren’t holding out too much hope on it being a nice place. We drove by a house in the woods that had the word, “Office” on it (which we knew was closed) and continued on a bit further to our stop. Our feelings on the place were correct – it was a tad “ghetto-ish.”. We pulled up to unit #4 which was missing a lock box. I got out of the car and peeked in the windows and saw people inside. Confused we drove along each unit thinking perhaps I was wrong (never happens!) on the number and did not see any other lock box.  The problem was the office was closed, we had zero cell phone coverage (base of Pinkham Notch) and it was a Saturday night in the height of tourist-ville.  To be honest, it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened, considering we weren’t happy with what the outside looked like. But, we had four kids, one of which was starting to morph into a monster (Beckett).   

 We ended up staying at the Christmas Farm Inn (a place I am familiar with as my company sold it to the current owners) in a cute little cottage at $400/night. Ouch. 

 Anyway, it all worked out. We complained to RCI the next morning, and they got us into a nice townhouse in North Conway (better location), and we should be able to recoup the money we spent at the Christmas Farm Inn. We also received a call from the ghetto condo – it seems the Magoons checked into our unit by accident!!

 

Ghetto condo...

Lovely indoor pool at ghetto condo

Just a little detour….

Vacation Day 1

I am typing this from my iphone so please forgive spelling and grammar. The vacation is off to an auspicious start. We arrived at our condo (timeshare) last night around 6. As soon as we pulled in we new we were in trouble. If there was a Ghetto in the White Mountains we found it. It was white trash city. We just weren't going to fit in at this place. After all I don't even own a wifebeater. We pulled up to our unit and there was already a family living there. There was supposed to be a lock box with the key waiting for us. I guess Kid Rock and his band beat us too it. The office was closed so we had no recourse. Not that we were going to do anything we weren't going to stay there anyway. ( although I did hear the nightime entertainment was a shotgun salute to the Allman Brothers)
The search began for our new home away from home. Not the easiest task for a family of 6 on a Saturday night. We finally settled on a one night stay at the Christmas Farm Inn. Nice and comfy right? Wrong! The accomodations were fine to everyone except the litlle fella (Beckett). Apparently he hated the place as he didn't sleep all night.
So we begin day 2. We have no plan but I can assure you that we will have fun!
On a side note Wendy had taken to calling me "Clark". As in "Clark W. Griswold".
The picture is the cottage I am typing this from.