by wordm2 | Sep 29, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
Timely circumstances and life-altering events made our adventure possible. What made it different from other extended explorations of our country was our use of technology.
In 1996, we incorporated use of the Internet, a family Web site, e-mail, and computer software in our journey. We like to point out that at the time Internet connections were scarce; Google did not exist. That utilization of the then-current technology not only enhanced our experiences, it also allowed our children to attend school in Northern Michigan while we traveled.
After an ongoing battle with our local school district’s academic standards, which we lost, we had enrolled our children at Northwest Academy for the 1996-97 school year. It was a charter school for grades 6-12 with an emphasis on science and technology located in a town neighboring ours. The school was beginning its first year of operation.
That summer after we finalized the decision to make the trip, we began to consider homeschooling options and to explore curriculums. We started searching the Internet and talking to people we knew who were home schooling their children.
An unlikely turn of events occurred when we attended an orientation meeting at Northwest Academy and explained to school staff that the Blondin children might not attend school there because of our planned adventure. An enthused discussion followed that included innovative ideas about the educational and technological possibilities our trip presented.
In the next couple of weeks, the discussion turned into action. It was agreed that our journey provided an opportunity that was mutually beneficial to the school and us. We would take the curriculums and textbooks for sixth and ninth grades so our children could do their traditional schoolwork along with their nontraditional learning experiences. We tailored subjects like science, social studies, and history to fit our location and activities.
As part of our unique relationship, the school loaned us a laptop computer and a digital camera to build a Web site for students and staff at school to access and use as a learning tool and so students anywhere could tune in, share, and learn through our experiences and interact with the family.
Our adventure had transformed into a project that later would be highlighted at a U.S. Department of Education’s sponsored educational conference called “Families, Technology and Education” where the Blondin family was invited as featured speakers.
Mark Blondin, www.talesup.com
by wordm2 | Sep 29, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
Big Dreams
Who has never dreamed of an extended journey with family, friends, or someone they love? Stepping out of the routine, taking off for a month or two, or nine, exploring a state or a country, hiking a major trail, canoeing or sailing a waterway — these kinds of dreams must occur to most people at some time in their lives. But layers of “can’ts” and “why nots” prevent us from making them come true.
Sometimes, when the desire is great and the circumstances are right, reality comes out of such a dream. That’s how it was for us, the Blondin family. The cast included Mark and Betsy (42) and married 18 years, Donald, our 14-year-old, Kelly and Stacy, 12-year-old twins, and of course Buddy, the golden retriever (1 year old).
On September 30, 1996, armed with a laptop computer, digital camera, and our desktop computer installed in a 34-foot motor home, we left home in Boyne City, Michigan, for our trip around the United States.
Months of thought, preparation, anticipation and doubt had funneled into this moment. It was literally a crossroads in our lives.
by wordm2 | Sep 29, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
The commitment to make our adventurous dream come true turned out to be easy compared to what followed when we started our search for the perfect motorhome in late spring 1996.
Choosing the right transportation with no previous knowledge of recreational vehicles was difficult and time-consuming. Touring the country with five people, going to school on the road, and incorporating a desktop computer in our traveling home became defining guidelines for our search. Finding the right vehicle was unexpectedly complex.
We focused on a Class A motorhome early on, not only for the room but also for the convenience of being able to move about easily while on the road. From there the interior configuration was especially important for sleeping arrangements, some sense of privacy, and work requirements.
While many times less is more, in this case the minimum required length increased from 28 to 34 feet by unanimous agreement after we spent a few minutes in a couple of shorter coaches. We were getting closer to defining our needs.
After acquiring the necessary knowledge and narrowing down our needs, finding the right coach on our limited budget became the challenge. In addition, since both adults in our family are mechanically challenged, we also had to find a used vehicle in excellent condition.
We looked for weeks, shopping at RV lots, watching newspaper ads, searching the Internet, reading trade magazines, and talking to RV owners. Our hard work was rewarded when we finally found a well-cared-for, almost pristine 1989 34-foot Coachmen motorhome with only 11,000 miles of previous wear and tear. We slapped down $26K (well, actually we took out a loan) and there was no turning back.
by wordm2 | Sep 29, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
The story of our epic adventure in 1996-97 is best introduced by this entry written almost 14 years ago. It was about 5 months into our journey; we had traveled over 15,000 miles and become seasoned travelers. Enjoy…
After a week in the great city of San Francisco, we left on March 23 for Yosemite National Park. It was a typically beautiful sunny day in California as we made our way through the mountains toward the park. The driving was difficult but scenic as we entered Stanislaus National Forest. Closer to the park along Highway 120, one sheer mountain road near Buck Meadows climbed in an endless series of switchbacks with outstanding vistas.
This excursion inland away from our planned route along the coast from San Diego to Seattle had been debated. As we drew closer to Yosemite and embraced the beautiful views, our doubts were erased.
A short time later, we began the white-knuckled, heart-pumping descent several thousand feet into Yosemite Valley along a smooth but tightly turned road. As we approached the valley floor with about a mile to go, smoke unexpectedly began to fill the motorhome. Panic struck as we realized the brakes had overheated. The pedal was at or near the floor with little or no brakeage.
Slowing down 34 feet of motorhome and towed minivan became increasingly difficult as downshifting became the main tool. Plunging ever closer to the valley floor, the Merced River lay directly ahead of us. With visions of our motorhome bobbing in the current, somehow wildly pumping the brakes slowed us down enough to gently roll though the stop sign at the T, where we came to a blessed halt a few feet short of the Merced.
Two rangers witnessed our stop sign infraction, and not knowing about our brake failure, came over to talk to us. Taking deep breaths and waiting for the heart attack as we listened to their lecture about coming to a complete stop, it was all a hazy blur.
We inched off the road and waited for the brakes to cool and pulses to return to normal. About an hour later, we pulled into a campground.
Yosemite was just opening after the severe flooding a couple of months earlier in January 1997. The devastation was everywhere and the hard work to get two campgrounds open to the public obvious. While reading the National Park literature, we noticed for the first time a 32-foot limit for campers. Just what we wanted to discover. The campsites looked very tight and the roads narrow.
Some of the many National Parks we visited were seemingly over-regulated and by-the-book. The rangers seemed a tad hardened to tourists and their questions. Quite frankly, they sometimes seemed like bureaucrats rather than rangers. Rangers at the larger parks with huge visitor counts tended to fall into the trap of enforcing the rules rather than fulfilling their roles as facilitators and educators.
So with trepidation and our earlier near disaster clear in our minds, we sought a ranger and asked, “Can we get this rig into one of these campsites?” He looked at our almost 50 feet of vehicle that seemed to infringe on more than its share of valley space and said with a chuckle, “You don’t know until you try.” We laughed at the insightful, unexpected and refreshing response and will never forget the simple phrase or how important it would come to be.
