Katrina Gutleben

I just got back from an eight day vacation with my family. It was glorious!

A little background. My husnamd and I have been married 5.5 years. We've
been cmping together exactly twice. Once at a huge Family Reunion where we
were very much the babies. Ok, we were married and had a nearly one year
old but aside from driving ourselves there in a car bought for me by my
daddy we had little to no responsibility for the camping. We didn't plan
the food or the campground or any thing.

The second time was just last year when we went for a weekend at a friends
cabin. Again, besides driving ourselves there (well following our friends
the whole way) we didn't do mych. they purchased the food, they made all
the plans we were just along for the ride.

So this vacation was really a first for us. W planned the whole thing
ourselves, from where we'd go to how long we would stay, what we would eat,
who would clean up. All of it. This IS a big deal for us, as taking
responsibility for ourselves is a rather new experiecne for us. And we were
on our own. Just us and the kids.

We started off in Portland Or, visiting with my brother and his family. We
were dismayed to learn that the more expensive a hotel the less free stuff
you get! LOL My sis in law has a friend who works at a Marriot and was
able to get us a friends and family discount for the weekend. the hotel was
originally $114 a night (ok, that's a LOT to me, maybe not to some) and we
were able to get it for $54 a night. The room was adequate but nothing
special, not even a microwave of anything! Maybe I'm spoiled but here at
home where I live we could have had a night in one of our best hotels for
$114 a night complete with in room Jacuzzi, mini fridge, microwave, the
works! And this hotel didn't even have a complimentary 'continental
breakfast'. They had a breakfast buffet that was $8.95 a person(my four
year old too!) so we went to McD's instead. :)

OK enough about the bad time we had in the Hotel. We went to the Portland
Zoo and didn't really get rained out!! Yeah!! The kids were pretty
disenchanted with the whole zoo experience. Maybe they're just too young at
2 and 4 to really get it. Perhaps zoos are just really silly places when
you think about it. Most of the animals weren't out and we were there with
my brother and his family who live where the zoo is and were 'jaded' (as my
brother said). I think the only one who really liked the zoo was me.
Because heck, I like things like that. By the time we left Portland we
were all GLAD to be leaving Portland.

We were headed to the beach next. Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast for
those who know the place. It was great we camped in the woods and it was a
brief 3 minute (ok, maybe 10 minute with kids and crap) walk to the sandy
beach. It was windy and chilly but wonderful! It was so neat to watch my
kids in their 'natural habitat' outside all the time. :) My son at two is
a natual explorer. I don't think there would be anything better to him than
the last week. So much to see! I have so many pictures of him in the
adorable little 2yo discovery squat. You know the one, the crouched down
sitting on heels staring intently at something in the dirt. Everything
fascinated him! At the beach or at the campsite he was never bored. Even
when DH and I were both reading our books he was happy as a clam
entertaining himself endlessly.

DD at 4 is not as easily entertained. She's the most social one of the 4 of
us. I knew this long ago but now it almost defies description (well to me
anyway). Each time we would go to the beach she would immidiatly jump into
the middle of the closest group of kids and soon be by to introduce me to
her new 'best friend'. While my 2yo wandered all over the beach 'alone' my
4yo was easily found by searching out the largest group of kids and looking
in the center of it. She has a particular adoration of biys in the 11-14
age range ;) ?!?! All the kids were very nice. When we went to the beach
one evening and there were no children she managesd to charm her way into a
group of teens who let her bury them in the sand. And when the weather
drove us away from the bach and back to the campsite she made friends with
the lady camping 'next door'. She would go hang out at this woman's fire
(Susan, who makes soap and ended up giving us some for my birthday which was
thursday). When she packed up and went home on Thursday morning Kathrynn
waited about 15 minutes before introducing herself to the 'grandparents' on
the other side of us. :)

It was really neat to see her interacting with so many people of so many
ages. And my family is worried about 'socialization' - HA!

I so want to move to the coast! My husband drags his feet (as always about
everything!) but I tried to explain to him that my soul needs to live close
to the ocean, the woods, the green, and the blue! And glorious humidity!
Where I live in eastern WA all is brown, tan, grey, and DRY! *SIGH*

So that was my summer vacation. And we made it the whole way, on our own,
we're home now, happy, proud, and tired! :)

Katie

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BADOLBILZ

Katrina Gutleben wrote:

>I just got back from an eight day vacation with my family. It was glorious!
>
>

Katrina, you're vacation sounds like it was wonderful. We just finished
up a semi-vacation last week. My parents rented a cottage on the lake in
our town for the week. I don't think I would recommend a vacation so
close to your own home because it involved a lot of running home to do
the laundry and water the plants, etc. On the other hand, it was good
because if we needed new clothes or food or whatever, it was less than
ten minutes to home.

The absolute best part of the whole thing was the ducks. Aislinn, 7, and
Elysia, 5, sat out on the dock as still as statues for hours getting a
mother duck and her 8 babies to trust them. After the second day, even
Soleille the 2 yr old was sitting with them. That mother duck finally
let her family within 1 foot of the girls and let them play in the water
on the edge of the lake while she preened her feathers. It was awesome!
And the girls and I got to listen to her talk to her babies and see how
they would listen to her. We talked about how she was teaching them how
to live and stay alive on the lake. We also saw a male and female loon
but further out (the lake is called Loon Lake).

All in all it was really fun and a lot cooler on the edge of the lake
than at home. The first few days of the week reached 96 degrees.

Next vacation: Myrtle Beach and Columbia, South Carolina, August,
2003!!!! Heidi

>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/29/2003 9:11:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ynxn96@... writes:

> Next vacation: Myrtle Beach and Columbia, South Carolina, August,
> 2003!!!! Heidi

For the 2003 Live & Learn UNshcooling Conference? <g>

~Kelly

Kelly Lovejoy, Coordinator
Schools Out Support
mailto:coordinator@...
803-776-4849
Fax: 803-776-7006
http://www.schoolsoutsupport.org/2003conference.html


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/29/03 5:52:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
katguts@... writes:

> So that was my summer vacation. And we made it the whole way, on our own,
> we're home now, happy, proud, and tired! :)
>
> Katie
>
>

Katie,
sounds like a wonderful vacation. Glad you shared it. I too love the ocean,
although I am on the other coast I grew up by the ocean. I live near the
mountains now and do miss the ocean even though I have plenty of green around.
Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/29/03 9:10:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ynxn96@... writes:

> Next vacation: Myrtle Beach and Columbia, South Carolina, August,
> 2003!!!! Heidi
>
>

I new there was someone out there going to Myrtle before the conference,
thought it was on the other list though. We are staying in a condo just south of
Myrtle Beach the week before the conference.
Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

BADOLBILZ

Us too! I think our condo is about 3-4 miles south of Myrtle Beach.
Maybe we can get together. We want to go to the Ripley's Aquarium,
Brookgreen Gardens, and the science center at Myrtle Beach. I don't
know the name of the place, but it's supposed to be really "hands-on."
The Columbia Zoo looks good, too, if we have time. Heidi

genant2@... wrote:

>In a message dated 6/29/03 9:10:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>ynxn96@... writes:
>
>
>
>>Next vacation: Myrtle Beach and Columbia, South Carolina, August,
>>2003!!!! Heidi
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>I new there was someone out there going to Myrtle before the conference,
>thought it was on the other list though. We are staying in a condo just south of
>Myrtle Beach the week before the conference.
>Pam G.
>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

BADOLBILZ

Sorry, Kelly. I meant to add that about the conference! Of course
that's why we're coming to SC. Mrytle Beach will be fun, be we really
only coming because of the conference :). Heidi

kbcdlovejo@... wrote:

>In a message dated 6/29/2003 9:11:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>ynxn96@... writes:
>
>
>
>>Next vacation: Myrtle Beach and Columbia, South Carolina, August,
>>2003!!!! Heidi
>>
>>
>
>For the 2003 Live & Learn UNshcooling Conference? <g>
>
>~Kelly
>
>Kelly Lovejoy, Coordinator
>Schools Out Support
>mailto:coordinator@...
>803-776-4849
>Fax: 803-776-7006
>http://www.schoolsoutsupport.org/2003conference.html
>
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/29/03 10:07:47 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ynxn96@... writes:

> We want to go to the Ripley's Aquarium,
> Brookgreen Gardens, and the science center at Myrtle Beach.

My boys love the Aquarium. Have read about the gardens but haven't been
there and haven't been to the science center either. We would love to get
together. Just pick a day, place and time. And remember nothing for us before
10:00. We are late risers. LOL. We are staying at Atalaya Towers in Garden City.
Anyone else ???
Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

nellebelle

>>>>>I tried to explain to him that my soul needs to live close
to the ocean, the woods, the green, and the blue! And glorious humidity!
Where I live in eastern WA all is brown, tan, grey, and DRY>>>>>

Have you forgotten that we live along the mighty Columbia, where the Yakima and Snake rivers empty into it? There is plenty of water in this dessert!

I know what you mean, though. I LOVE the ocean too. Rivers are nice, but the ocean is spectacular.

The thing is that I spent nearly 30 years on the wet side, where it *is* woods, green, and blue. I'm enjoying dry for a change!

Mary Ellen

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

nellebelle

>>>We went to the Portland
Zoo and didn't really get rained out!! Yeah!! The kids were pretty
disenchanted with the whole zoo experience. Maybe they're just too young at
2 and 4 to really get it. Perhaps zoos are just really silly places when
you think about it. Most of the animals weren't out and we were there with
my brother and his family who live where the zoo is and were 'jaded' (as my
brother said). I think the only one who really liked the zoo was me.
Because heck, I like things like that>>>>

For a while we lived near enough to the Pt. Defiance zoo to buy the annual pass. It really changes the experience. We felt free to go and visit just one or two animals per trip, rather than feeling that we must see everything in our one (expensive) day at the zoo. Our visits spring through fall were the best - few crowds and the animals were usually more active. When it gets to hot they like to hide in shady places and sleep.

We visited the San Diego zoo two years ago. Happened to hit it during October when kids are free. It was cool to see the exotic animals that we'd only seen on tv or books. Up close, giraffes are REALLY tall and each zebra really does have a unique stripe pattern. Is that black on white or white on black?

Mary Ellen

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

BADOLBILZ

Don't worry, we're late risers, too. We're staying at the Presidential
Villas at Plantation Resort. I'm not sure how close that is to where
you'll be. The resort has a huge playground, so we could get together
there, too. Heidi

genant2@... wrote:

>In a message dated 6/29/03 10:07:47 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>ynxn96@... writes:
>
>
>
>>We want to go to the Ripley's Aquarium,
>>Brookgreen Gardens, and the science center at Myrtle Beach.
>>
>>
>
>My boys love the Aquarium. Have read about the gardens but haven't been
>there and haven't been to the science center either. We would love to get
>together. Just pick a day, place and time. And remember nothing for us before
>10:00. We are late risers. LOL. We are staying at Atalaya Towers in Garden City.
>Anyone else ???
>Pam G.
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Nancy Wooton

on 6/29/03 8:02 AM, nellebelle at nellebelle@... wrote:

> Is that black on white or white on black?

A zebra's skin is black, with black and white hairs. Gray horses have black
skin, too, and there are no true white horses -- they're all called grays.
(I don't know if an albino is the exception.)

Nancy, Your Answer Man

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/29/2003 4:52:59 AM Central Daylight Time,
katguts@... writes:

> So much to see! I have so many pictures of him in the
> adorable little 2yo discovery squat. You know the one, the crouched down
> sitting on heels staring intently at something in the dirt.

Around here, we call that "dinked down". As in, "Mommy, I dinked down and
saw a butterfly!" It was coined by Will's best friend Grady, when they were
about 3. Usually performed in cowboy boots and shorts, more difficult if they're
somebody ELSE'S cowboy boots and they go above your knees.

Tuck


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/29/2003 9:00:19 AM Central Daylight Time,
genant2@... writes:

> We are staying in a condo just south of
> Myrtle Beach the week before the conference.
>

We're going after, somewhere down by the coast. But we want to camp on the
beach. Does anyone know if you can do such a thing in SC?

I know you can camp on the beach in Florida, and I've always wanted to try
it. So this will be the first chance for me to do it in the foreseeable future
and I'm going for it.

Tuck


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/29/03 4:20:34 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
ikonstitcher@... writes:

> A zebra's skin is black, with black and white hairs. Gray horses have
> black
> skin, too, and there are no true white horses -- they're all called grays.
> (I don't know if an albino is the exception.)
>
> Nancy, Your Answer Man
>
>

Thanx Nancy!!!

I was wondering if an albino would then be considered pink skinned?

Rhonda - who lacks horse sense


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 6/30/2003 8:33:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Tuckervill@... writes:


> We're going after, somewhere down by the coast. But we want to camp on the
>
> beach. Does anyone know if you can do such a thing in SC?
>
> I know you can camp on the beach in Florida, and I've always wanted to try
> it. So this will be the first chance for me to do it in the foreseeable
> future
> and I'm going for it.
>

Tuck,

Try http://southcarolina.state-park.org/

The beach parks are pretty obvious. Muytle Beach and Hunting Island are two I
know. There may be other fine beach campsites.

~Kelly


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