by wordm2 | Oct 21, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
Betsy’s “goodbye” to Boyne as published in The Citizen, September 1996
Fall colors
Acorns scattered on the ground and cool, misty Northern Michigan air welcomed me to fall one recent morning while I hiked at Avalanche Preserve.
I knew that soon squirrels and other creatures would be hurrying to store food for winter, and people would be preparing for the season in their traditional ways. Not me – I would be doing something else.
Instead of packing summer clothes away and locating jackets, boots and snow equipment, I would be stowing clothes and supplies for work and school in a motor home.
The process of preparing for a long journey has begun, and our family will soon start a long trip around the United States, learning, working and getting acquainted with our country as we travel.
We will keep in touch. A growing list of addresses, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses will go with us. A web page will be built so students and friends can contact us or follow our journey.
There are many people and things I will think about and miss during the months we are gone. I’m beginning to realize just how much we will all miss our friends, and I already miss writing for The Citizen.
Over the last 10 months, people of Boyne City, Boyne Falls and East Jordan have opened windows to their lives for me so I could write about them, and I have loved it.
I thank all of you who have patiently shared your time and information with me. I have worked with scores of kind, dedicated people in our cities, schools and communities.
My co-workers at the Citizen have no idea how much they have helped me learn about myself and my writing or how they have constantly reminded me that a sense of humor is not only valuable, but necessary.
Our friends at FMB Northwestern Bank and all over Boyne have helped make starting the trip easier. Margie Smith baked us cookies, and thanks to Dawn Peterson at Studio One, we will travel with clean, healthy hair. Trudy Hausler supplied an angel of the highway to protect us along our way.
These and many others are the kinds of people and deeds we will miss.
We appreciate the words of advice, support and encouragement so many of you have given. This trip is a major life decision, and it is as frightening as it is exciting.
A wise friend told me he sometimes thinks traveling is an escape from reality. I agree it can be. On the other hand, traveling can be about discovering or creating new realities. And, of course, there’s no escaping what lies around the next bend when you reach it.
While I make preparations for the next few months on the road, and wonder whether there are more nuts in my head than there are acorns in the woods, I keep thinking about the word “goodbye.”
I didn’t want to use it because I think it’s so final, but during the time I was trying to find an alternative word, I received a card from a friend. It said, “Goodbye is a shortened version of God be with you.”
So, I want to say thank you, I wish you peace, and goodbye.
by wordm2 | Oct 12, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
October 10, 1996, 7:12 p.m.
We are staying in the parking lot of an Ames store. It is a lot like K-Mart. The name of the town is Wells River and it is located in northern Vermont on the banks of the Connecticut River. We have traveled from Bennington across Hwy 9 to Brattleboro and then on Hwy 91 north. The mountains are spectacular. It has been a cool, rainy day and the mist and fog have sporadically filled the mountains with a picture book look.
The motorhome has taken the mountains well. It has struggled a few times on some of the longer and steeper grades. The ride from Bennington to Brattleboro along a smooth two-lane road was gorgeous. We stopped about midway to play along a mountain stream that paralleled the road. Numerous rocks, large and small, filled the river; the temptation was too great so the kids found the necessary rocks to cross the river.
It was about 60 feet wide. Buddy had a ball. He tried climbing the rocks and really seemed to enjoy walking in the river. Kelly fell in the water about three-quarters of the way across, and soon after Stacy slipped and fell off a rock. Stacy had a small but nasty puncture wound on her shin. It was fairly deep and it hurt. We got back into the RV much wetter and continued on. Near White River Jct we stopped at a very pretty rest area that gave the kids an opportunity to rock climb. It was about 6:00 and we decided it was too early to stop for the night, so we continued to this spot in Wells River.
We are having continued differences of opinion about where to sleep. Betsy is worried about the legality of parking in rest areas and is uncomfortable parking in some of the places we stop. She hears every noise and does not sleep well (which is not unusual for her). She worries… I sleep like a baby and feel we need to conserve our money and sleep where we don’t have to pay. It seems we are able to go about three days with water and waste, maybe four depending on use. Tomorrow we will get a campsite and regroup and recharge.
Beautiful New England
We are headed to Bangor Maine/Bar Harbor and Arcadia National Park. Tomorrow we will head north along Hwy 2 north of White Mountain National Forest. White Mountain is the tallest peak in New Hampshire at 6288 feet. And from there we’ll head into Maine.
We have traveled about 1300 miles. We are growing more comfortable with our new home. The generator is a problem we will need to address — it won’t run longer than 45 minutes. The car worked well in Bennington and was very useful. I will feel better when we start down the coast and reach warmer weather. It should be spectacular.
We got propane today and it cost $1.70 a gallon. The tank is filled and it seems to last a long time.
We will go to bed early without power and get an early start. The rain is still pouring down…
Mark Blondin, www.talesup.com
by wordm2 | Oct 6, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
BLONDINS’ ASSIGNMENT AMERICA
Geographical list of educational places and activities
Our Journey begins on September 30, 1996, Boyne City and October 4, leaving Flint, Michigan . . .
Cleveland, OH (10/5-10/7)
Places: Great Lakes Science Center
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Botanical Gardens
Physical activities: walking, football in the park
Niagara Falls, NY (10/8)
Places: The falls
Physical activities: short hikes
To Syracuse, Bennington, VT, and Woodsville, NH (10/8-10/10)
Places: Battle of Bennington Monument (American Revolution)
Bennington Library
Physical activities: rock hopping in river
Woodsville to Acadia, ME (10/10-10/11)
Acadia National Park, Desert Island, ME (10/10-10/13)
Places: The coast – tide pools
Bar Harbor
College of the Atlantic campus
Cadillac Mountain
Champlain Mountain
Physical activities: hiking, walking
To Freeport and Portland, ME (10/13-10/14)
Places: L.L. Bean Headquarters
Portland, ME (10/14-10/16)
Places: University of Maine College Library
Portland Head Light
Two Lights State Park
Fresh lobster dinner
Portland Museum of Art
Physical activities: walking, hiking, rock jumping, swimming at middle school
Gloucester, MA (10/16-10/19)
Places: Whale Watching
Schooner Adventure
Paper House
Cape Ann
Activities: swimming at YMCA, walking
To Salem, Lexington and Concord (10/19)
Lexington and Concord (10/19-10/21)
Places: Lexington Green and the Buckman Tavern
Minuteman National Historical Park and the Old North Bridge
Walden Pond
Minuteman Tech High School
Activities: walking
Boston (10/20 and 10/22-10/23)
Places: Quincy Market
European Restaurant for pizza
First subway ride into Boston
John F. Kennedy Library
Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market
Freedom Trail and historical sites – Paul Revere’s house and statue, Old North Church, Old Granary and Copp’s Hill burying grounds, Charlestown and Bunker Hill Monument
Cambridge and Harvard University
Activities: walking, walking, walking
Cape Cod, Plymouth from Scusset Beach State Forest, Sagamore, MA (10/23-10/26)
Places: Plimoth Plantation
Plymouth Rock
Cape Cod shoreline, Marconi Beach, Provincetown
Activities: walking, hiking, exploring shoreline
To Fairfield, CT, and Maplewood, NJ (10/26-10/28)
Mark Blondin, www.talesup.com
by wordm2 | Sep 29, 2010 | Blondins' Assignment America
October 4, 1996, was the official day our adventure began. Last-minute preparations were put in place. Excitement ran rampant and spirits soared.
We removed a captain’s chair and replaced it with a cabinet that would house our desktop computer and purchased a car dolly to haul our van. The last two pieces were finally in place.
We enjoyed farewells and well wishes with family and friends while anticipating what lay before us.
Although the day had finally arrived, a smooth launch was not to be. We drove about five miles before the engine of our RV stopped and we came to a standstill on the side of the road. It was a heart-stopping moment, and you could feel the excitement drain from the coach.
The initial diagnosis was that we were out of gas because the fuel gauge read low. After several trips for cans of fuel from a nearby station, the engine failed to respond and the problem escalated. A couple of hours had passed and since we wanted and needed to get going, a mechanic was called and he fixed a clogged fuel filter.
Relieved, eager, and $50 poorer, we continued the short distance to the expressway for a full gas tank. But our first-day ordeals were not over yet. At the pump, we discovered a flat dolly tire caused by a bent rim. We had left around 2 p.m. and it was now around 7, so open repair shops were limited. We took the van off the dolly and towed it behind the van to a station 10 miles in the wrong direction. Luckily, though, the tire repair was quick.
As we prepared to load the van back onto the dolly behind the motorhome, you guessed it… the van would not start. We finally got the starter to click in but as we tried to jockey the van into position on the dolly, it was too much out of alignment. So we needed to back off to line it up properly and, of course, caught the bumper on the dolly and pulled the left side completely off. With mechanical assistance from the now disbelieving attendant, we reattached the bumper. But the starter was very stubborn this time, and we needed to short it out to get the van started and back on the dolly.
We managed to work through the despair and while dazed and dismayed, we struck out around 11 pm for Cleveland. Looking back, this was a bold move. We could have legitimately just turned around and started the next day. It was very late when we pulled into the noisy rest area outside of Cleveland that provided the safest immediate area to camp, sleep and recharge our physical and emotional energies. In retrospect we made the right decision.
Cleveland would provide a boost to our morale and the perfect first stop on our adventure.
Mark Blondin, www.talesup.com
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.
