Appalachian Trail - Massachusetts

(By Steve) I was excited to learn that the the Appalachian Trail was only a few miles from where we planned to stay in Lee, Massachusetts.  After researching, I found a section of trail that was the length I wanted to hike that also crossed the road, for easy access.  I started on Rt 23 just east of the town of Great Barrington.      The local trail club had left free water that was labeled for thru-hikers.   I had only brought two water bottles because I thought there would be places to refill my bottles, just like my first hike.  In hindsight, I wished I had picked up one of those bottles, or listened to Linda's advice and brought more water with me!  I guess she is a pretty smart woman; she chose me, after all! ;).[She is also an excellent editor]

It was a peaceful morning for a hike. I started the trail at 8:30, heading North towards the hamlet of Tyringham 12.3 miles away.   The trail immediately went uphill.  Unlike my first experience with the trail, I pretty much had the whole thing to myself.   I thought that I might see more people on a Saturday, but I only saw one other hiker on the trail over the course of the whole day!  I did see a group camping at the one of the shelters that I checked out, however. The thru hiker I met was a 39 yr old who was hiking while between jobs.   He said he left Georgia in April and will complete the whole thing in 4.5 months.   He said he often hikes 25 miles a day.   I was very impressed!

Great to hit the trail again.

I loved the way the early morning sun shone through the trees.

The trail crossed the road a few times, but then headed deep into a state forest.   Unlike the first time, I didn't see hardly any wildlife besides one snake and plenty of birds.   There was one large hill that I climbed, but after I started heading downhill, it was clear that the downhill was much longer and steeper.   The entire stretch was clearly a negative elevation hike.   

Much of the trail was protected by boards

This lake clearly was much bigger at one point in time.

For lunch, I took a break along a small natural lake that ran along the trail.  I passed the time listening to sermons from my Texas church, in addition to educational podcasts relating to my career. After lunch, I started getting thirsty and finished all of my water with about 4 miles to go.   I had hoped to find water at campsites, but the only sources I found required a water filter, which I hadn't brought with me.    

I ate my lunch on this rock.

This is the only view that could be had from the top of the highest point.  

It was about 3PM when I reached the end in the pretty little village of Tyringham.   Linda and the kids were waiting for me at the playground.  I was so thirsty that I drank a whole Nalgene bottle of water straight away!   It was a great hike, even prettier than the section I hiked in Shenandoah National Park.     

The trail broke through the forest into open fields which was a nice change.  

The countryside here in the Berkshires of Massachusetts reminds me of when we visited Slovenia in Europe.

Just 1.1 miles to go.   The post and board are used for hikers to step over the barbed wire fence.  

Lee, Massachusetts

When we left Steve’s parents after our three-week stay, we headed to Lee, Massachusetts.  I can’t say that we were exactly  delighted with the $25 Tappan Zee bridge toll in New York, although I hear that some of the tolls there are double that!  We also learned that when a road signs says “No Commercial Vehicles,” it would be prudent for you and your big rv to avoid it. ;)  We were cruising along when I saw the sign for the next overpass, 8’8”, only slightly under our 13’5” height….hehe.  We exited and wound our way through what would have been delightful little streets had we been driving in a normal vehicle.  As it was, however, it was slightly harrowing to determine the correct roads to go on to avoid even more low clearances, as well as low power lines, trees hanging over the roads, etc.  I’m happy to say that we are rather seasoned at this point, and we escaped unscathed. J

Once we arrived in Lee, Massachusetts, we were able to stay at yet another condo for six days.  We were impressed with how beautiful this area of Massachusetts is, even if the gift shops and people seemed a bit stuffy!  While Steve continued to study night and day, the girls and I plowed through more math and history and enjoyed the amazing weather and played in the pool.  It's interesting how over the course of the last year, we've all gotten accustomed to swimming in water that we would have deemed freezing in Texas!  Genna used to only brave water that was warm, but now she happily plays & practices "swimming" in much cooler water!  

One of the days, Steve had us drop him off to hike a section of the Appalachian Trail, under the guise of listening to educational podcasts, of course!  He also conducted several phone interviews for various positions in various locations.  Thus the mystery continues as exactly where we will "land!"

Even Jake helped with the pizza making

VBS @ CCBC

On Friday evening, the kids performed 4 VBS songs for the parents.

Since we ended up staying at Steve’s parents longer than we originally planned for, when I saw signs for VBS at various local churches, it planted the idea that maybe we could send our kids.  They missed our own local church’s VBS this summer and last, so I asked if they’d like to go and got a resounding, “Yes!”  The one church that fit our requirements for scheduling was Christ Community Bible Church (CCBC) in Perkasie, Pa.  All three girls were able to attend, at no cost, whatsoever!  


Our girls had an absolute blast, they learned so much, and we were all wowed by the hospitality and generosity of this church!  Our girls learned the words and motions to all the worship songs and requested to listen to them (we were given a CD of the worship songs they learned), they were delighted with the crafts they got to do, and they talked about all the things they learned!  Wow—soooo glad they got a chance to experience CCBC .  They were truly a blessing to our family.  On Friday night at the family event, I was amazed at how many people walked up to our kids and called them by name!  We also attended church on the weekends we were here and again, felt totally welcomed by the membership, as well as the pastor.  In fact, the pastor used to be the pastor at the only English-speaking church in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and since Steve has been to Honduras for missions trips 3 different times, they had quite a bit in common!  After visiting churches over the last year, we have experienced friendly and not-so-friendly churches; this church was by far the most welcoming and friendly church we have ever attended!   

The kids also performed a few songs in the Sunday service.

Genna and her VBS leader

Putting on the Brakes

We left the Fulltime Families Rally and drove to Steve's parents' place.  It was a tight squeeze, but we fit nice & snug right next to their house!  And then...one by one, we all got sick, and Steve started studying all day every day for certification exams.  And so, here we are, still camped at Grandma & Grandpa's.  The kids are getting a chance to know their grandparents much better than before, and they're really enjoying their Uncle Jon.  We're definitely living life at a slower pace right now, trying to stay cool with no a/c when the temps climb into the 90s in the rig every afternoon around naptime.  So glad that it cools down nicely at night here!  Jake has acquired two more teeth and nearly alienated his grandmother in the process, since he wanted nothing to do with anyone while sick and cutting teeth.

Jake enjoys spending time with his Uncle Jon

Meanwhile, we're all enjoying Grandma's extensive library, since she sells books and videos on Amazon. :)  Definitely a nice perk!  And, I've had to do very little cooking for the last week!  Breaks all around!  Now, if we can all manage to ditch our coughs & snotty noses, our pink eye, and then figure out where God is leading us to go next, that will be really awesome!!

This was the closest we had to a pool when the temps soured into the 90's

Grandma Zavocki had a picnic for the 4th of July.

My Uncle Richard and his wife Faye

It was great to see my sister and meet her new husband.

This is Jackson, my sister's son. 

Jake likes to feed chips to Jon.

Pretending

Yep, my apologies to those who are actually gripped by this blog & wondering why the date on our last post was over a month ago now.  The truth is that I've been kind of pretending I don't have one!  Seriously, I haven't forgotten about it, but there's a lot going on in the Zavocki world that I just haven't been quite ready to process publicly with cyberworld.  Just wanted to give a shout out to let you know that there will be more material coming, but sharing a laptop has never been a strength in our household, so finding time when it's available and I'm ready to divulge what's going on in our world has always been a challenge, even from the beginning. :)  Nonetheless...more to come....

Fulltime Families Rally

Most of the rally participants, not sure who took this since I stole it from facebook.

After a year on the road, we finally made it to our first rally with other families who live just like we do.  We all stayed at another Thousand Trails park, Circle M in Lancaster, PA.  Since the weather was blazing hot, we spent time every day at the outdoor pool and/or the indoor water park.  Genna and Jake had a blast at the little kid area inside, in spite of the excessive chlorine.  Genna even rose to the occasion when they blew the whistle on her wearing her little floatie; she decided to wear her swimsuit with the buckle-on lifejacket and started swimming around the pool!  Totally awesome!  She has made huuuuge strides in the water this summer!  She used to be terrified of letting go of me, and now, she is starting to relax in the water and enjoy it.  I think she may even learn to swim! :)

The parade of homes--this is the Lundy's rig, of course.

Touring our rig

As for the rally itself, major accolades go to the Travaglinos and McCloskeys for all the hard work and planning that went into making it fun for all!  Games, movies, dancing, karaoke, late nights, and all around fun times!  If you can swing it, a rally would be a great start to a fulltime adventure.  It provides the community feel that we have missed since moving out of our house.  If we were to continue to full-time, we would definitely have to address that deficit.  Genna was delighted to reconnect with the little girls she'd met at our last couple stops that just happened to coincide with other fulltimers, and the big girls enjoyed meeting new girls their ages, as well!

Getting setup at the talent show

Josh Lundy as Taylor Swift

I don't think he understands that dressing like a girl does not grant you access to the ladies room :)

Rosalee thinking "What have I signed up for??"

Justin showing off his amazing juggling skills

It seemed a bit odd at times to be together with so many fulltimers at a time when we are already discussing our endgame.  Of course, many that I spoke to asked for my thoughts on the current state of things, with Steve having already begun his job search.  The truth is that I just do not know!  The approach that I've decided to take is to simply pray and trust God for the next step.  Just as there are things that I miss about "regular" life, I know that settling down will be an adjustment, too, and there are things that I'll miss about life on the road.  Soooo...God is the one who truly knows what is best for our family, so I'm choosing to trust that he will open the doors that need to be opened, and he will close those that need to be closed.  It was a huge leap of faith for us to embark on this adventure, and we continue to exercise our faith in trusting that he will provide the right job at the right place at the right time.  I'm not saying I have perfect peace about it all, but I'm working on it. :)

Baby food eating contest

Pretty girls all dressed up for the Thrift Shop Prom

The Graf family was lots of fun

Kyle and Lisa Henson

Alyssa and Rosalee

The 4 year-old girl gang

Jake intruding while Emma tells a gripping story

The Seeley's 

Allen Lundy showing off his dance moves

Shanan and Kalyn Marrs

Mom and daughter dance

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Jake felt compelled to stand on stage while other people were performing.

Gettysburg

Steve had such fond memories of visiting Gettysburg with his school when he was a kid that he was super pumped about taking the kids here.  Alas, it just wasn't the right place at the right time. ;)  He had downloaded maps and podcasts for touring the battlefield, so he could avoid paying the extra money to visit the main part of the Visitor Center (crazy that your annual pass doesn't cover it).  It was a good idea, but he somhow missed the most important battle. ;)  Oops.  It was also blazing hot, and there were people everywhere.  The podcasts Steve did have couldn't be heard over the sound of all the other visitors and the idling tour buses.  So instead of furthering my knowledge of history, I was able to help Genna stop whining by helping her pretend she was Rapunzel in a tower overlooking the battlefield. ;)  Oh well...you can't win them all, right?

This was where Picket's Charge happened, otherwise known as where the South lost the war.

Notice the two kiddos sharing the stroller

One thing we did do right was stay at a Thousand Trails park, Gettysburg Farm.  We had a nice shady spot with a great "yard" for the kids to play in.  Alyssa did a zillion cartwheels, and they all caught a bunch of lightning bugs in the evenings!  We arrived just in time to go to the petting zoo, so the kids got to feed goats and hold baby rabbits.  And...we happened upon a kids' pizza party at the rec center, which included a birthday party for one of the boys staying there, complete with cake and haagen-dazs ice cream!  Translation...I didn't have to make dinner!  Wahoo!!  This is definitely a great Thousand Trails park!

Spot where a major battle was fought

Hanging with Abe at the Visitor Center

The kids loved the petting zoo at the Gettysburg Farm campground

The Jakeman had a lot of fun playing this game, no quarters necessary.