The following post is written by Trevor. He’s like the Reporter who gets all the cool jobs! (Note: I put this post up after Trev had written it, but I’m still having trouble aligning the pictures. In the draft they look great. I’m sure I’ll have this sorted by the end of our trip!!! That’s one thing that is “driving me crazy!)

Round Top Ski Adventure… What a Blast!!

Headed off to a mountaintop where the locals go skiing in the winter. During the summer it has all sorts of fun and challenging outdoor activities. So we thought that we would give it a go!

It was warm and Hurricane Irene was due to hit in 12 hours. It was hit or miss as to whether it was going to rain or not. A guy at the door sold us a heap of tickets for next to nothing. He had won them on the radio and didn’t need them. We couldn’t believe out luck!

 

First the rope challenges. The kids climbed, balanced and tunnelled through all kinds of challenges. All getting told off for not wearing appropriate shoes (we had thongs!.. By the way, you don’t call them thongs here- a thong refers to your underwear).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next the flying fox. Helmets, harness and safety instructions then wheeeeeee! Kaitlin complained about the wedgy… couldn’t have been that bad as she jumped on for another shot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amber, Kit and I decided to try the tubes down the ski slope. In winter it is done on snow, but we did it on a plastic slide. We strapped our tubes together and blasted off. A lot of noise! Our stomaches climbed up through our mouths and back again. I vividly remember Amber’s face, as we hurtled down. Contorted with fear. She screamed all the way down, but with no sound! There was no way she was giving this ride a go again. Kit did though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jai and Flynn gave the Aquaball a shot. A huge clear ball on the top of a hill in which you climb inside of. It is filled with icy water and then let rip down the hill. Exhilaration!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we had a war on the electric boats. These boats have mini water cannons in which you shoot each other. The older kids all ganged up on Chayse and I as we ended up the wettest by far… and it was cold!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped for an enormous pizza and lots of sodas and then jumped onto the ski lift for a 15 minute ride to the top of the mountain. Breathtaking at the top, especially as there was a hurricane heading our way and you could see the storm all about and feel the blustering wind. Kit had to pee as his bladder was so full of soda (drank his and everyone else’s for lunch). The problem was that he pee’d into the wind and we all copped it! The rain chased us all the way back down and soaked us through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last of all we found the mini flying foxes. Kit, Chayse and Kaitlin ran about trying them all. Chayse would squeal at the top of his lungs on every ride, telling us that he wanted to get off… but on he got again!

 

Six hours of awesome fun!

Even though we haven’t said much about our hunt for a motorhome (or RV in the USA), rest assured it has all been happening behind the scenes.

So finally on Friday, we drove to Harrisburg to check out our new home for the next 4 and a half months.

And here it is!………………………………

The RV has two slideouts (the one featured is where the bunk beds are). The slideout on the other side is where the kitchen and dining room are. There is room to sleep 10 people. Quite a compact unit (called a Class C in the US. Class A RV’s are bigger, but don’t come with bunk beds.) We figured we have enough to think about whilst driving without it being the size of a truck!

This particular RV is a 2010 Four Winds Chateau. It is an ex rental, which is probably why we got it for such a great price. But for us, it’s perfect!

We’ve been shopping for bedding, bathroom accessories and kitchen utensils. Now that we’ve seen it, I’m sure there will be a few more bits’n’pieces to get (without the kids being with us!! Now THAT shopping trip “drove us crazy!!!”

The plan at this stage is to pick up our new home late Tuesday or Wednesday morning, fit it out with our stuff, then hit the road…….. with the first port of call being Niagara Falls.

This post was supposed to be written a few days ago when we were just chillin’…….

Travelling around the USA isn’t all about doing and seeing everything there is to do and see. Sometimes, it’s great just to sit back, relax, soak up the atmosphere and just chill.

Below are some photos with us doing just that.

 

 

There’s something about being on holidays…..every day is an adventure and going to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania was no different. In a nutshell, Hershey Park is known for it’s amazing rollercoaster rides and distinctive water attractions. The day we finally made it to the Park, we were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather and Alan had paid for premium parking which meant we bypassed the huge lines of traffic going in and saved ourselves about an hour lining up in a queue. Being a Monday, one could be forgiven for thinking there wouldn’t be many people……wrong! It was packed.

To make this manageable for us, Trev took the older kids with him to experience the wild rollercoaster rides, whilst I experienced the “heart stopping” and absolutely “thrilling” kiddies rides.

Jai was the bravest of the kids and challenged himself to going on a Level 4 ride with Trev (Level 5 is highest).

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of us “challenged” ourselves by going on Level 1 or 2 rides!! So wonderful having young kids as an excuse to stay as grounded as possible! Between rides and the water attractions, there was plenty to keep us entertained.

 

Not to be outdone, Trev braved the hour and a half wait to ride on a Level 5 Hurricane rollercoaster. Did anyone offer to go with him? No way! (Alan, Lynda and Scarlett had left by this time). So 54 video false starts later….. (Kaitlin was trying to film Trev on the ride, but we couldn’t see him enter the ride until the carriage comes hurtling down a vertical drop), we finally witnessed Trev on his 2 minute ride……………worth the hour and a half wait? You bet! We finished the day with a tram ride above the sights, which looked spectacular at night.

 

 

And there ended a perfect day.

 

 

 

 

The following account of Paintballing Adventures is written by Trev (who can relay this from first hand experience). Hope you enjoy…….

We were pumped! Our outfit… Major Uncle Alan- Expert Sniper, Corporal Flynn- little Ninja, Corporal Jai- Front Line Man, Corporal Kaitlin- Protector, and me Corporal Trev- the Sucker!

We arrived and were faced off with our opponents, four ultra mean looking thugs, gnashing their teeth and drooling from camouflage painted faces. They wanted blood and we were determined not to give it to them.

Our Ref led us to our first battle sight. A wooden fort in a forest, in which we were to defend.

Paintballs sting! It was time to go. Our Protector wasn’t too keen. Took a bit of convincing to keep her on board. Luckily she stayed, as she was certainly needed.

All was going really well with one of their guys down. Then Sucker took a hit followed by Protector. Suddenly Ninja shot Front Line Man fair square in his back! Friendly fire… Front Line Man was down and out and not too happy with his comrade. The battle continued and our guys ran out of amo. First battle goes to the thugs!

The battles continued with lots of sweat and tears. We nursed our welts and showed off our shirts covered in green paint splotches. We won some and lost more! Sniper was our most valued comrade, taking out many from his post.

The last fight was on a battle field with an old ruined plane and war boats in amongst scrub. This time we split teams with two thugs becoming comrades to Ninja and Front Line Man. My company consisted of Protector and two of the teeth nashing drooling thugs, now comrades.

The battle was heated and quickly we lost Protector to enemy fire. One by one my comrades fell leaving me alone against four. They had me pinned in a bunker. Managed to drop one guy and I had Ninja trapped in a hole. Every time he lifted his head I’d hammer him. I was running low on amo and choosing my shots carefully. All of a sudden Front Line Man came in out of the scrub from behind and landed two balls right in my back. Game over!