All Posts

<p>This morning while Kati and I broke camp, G3 took his book down to the lake, he sat on a huge rock, and he read. He is really enjoying The Martian. I love when we are in the car and he reads aloud excerpts that make him laugh or ones he finds interesting. Yesterday he [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Last night, we got back to the campsite and Kati lit a campfire. It will be our last one for awhile since we are heading up to Montana where campfires are banned due the heat and lack of rain. There are enough wildfires raging out west. We certainly don’t need more. But we will miss [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Traffic in Yellowstone is terrible. The National Parks do need to do something to limit the volume of cars entering the parks. We sat in traffic for over an hour this morning entering the park and then driving the first 14 miles. The parking lots and turn out spots are also overflowing. Trying to find [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Driving through Idaho en route to Grand Teton National Park we stopped for bagels for breakfast. HUGE mistake. They were the absolute worst bagels I’ve ever had — chewy, dry, and salty. No one does bagels like NYC and the surrounding areas. We entered Grand Teton from the south via Jackson Hole. It was a [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The campsite we were staying in was awful. I am learning to dislike people in RVs. The ones we have encountered on our road trips are some of the loudest, rudest, most selfish people. RV culture is definitely different than tent culture. The RVs run their loud generators all night not caring about ruining the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Last night was awful. After making far to many stops end route to Yellowstone we were leaving Cody when an accident shut down the road. I had wanted to be at the campground no later than 7:30 in hopes of finding a campsite. But at six o’clock we were sitting in traffic that had come [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Yesterday, following Devil’s Tower, we drove north, dipping into Montana so that I could torture Kati with a battlefield visit. When we arrived at the campground the wind was insane. We set the tarp down and the wind whipped it so fiercely that both Kati and G3 had to stand on it while I set [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Rain crept in last night while we were eating. When we stepped out of Pizza Hut it was drizzling. By the time we returned to the campsite lightning lit up the prairie. And the wind was so fierce it seemed the tent might blow away with us in it. Wyoming is desolate. We drove to [&hellip;]</p>

<p>It has been blisteringly hot during the day — reaching well into the 90s — but at night it gets chilly dropping into the high 60s, making it perfect for a campfire. I think the fire is Kati’s favorite part of camping. We woke up early to get tickets to Jewel Cave but the earliest [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Late yesterday afternoon, I wanted to go hiking and G3 wanted to go swimming but Mother Nature denied both of us our desires. She sent is rain and so we ate an early dinner and called it a day. However, shortly after we returned to the campsite the rain stopped. G3 and I took a [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Yesterday, I commented that I felt like I was in hostile territory. Our trip into Custer last night proved it. G3 wanted to stop at a souvenir shop but not long after going in, he came out. The shirts inside and outside were offensive and demonstrated a hatred of women and the LGBT community, as [&hellip;]</p>

<p>After four days on the road, we finally changed our clothes. G3 was very happy. He is by far more civilized than I. This morning on our drive to the Black Hills, G3 started reading Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, his favorite author. He is still reading The Martian. Unlike me, who [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Today we continued our drive west and G3 started a new book, The Martian by Andy Weir. I’m so glad he enjoys reading enough that he can fill the long hours with it. Yesterday, he finished the six Warrior Cat book. I am one book behind him and he is very excited that Kati started [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I didn’t sleep much last night. I woke up thinking about Dad and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I didn’t sleep well last summer either while we were away. Maybe it’s because being on vacation reminds me of Dad and all the fun times we had when I was a kid. Even now — while [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Years ago, G3 decided he wanted to visit every president’s house. Therefore, on every trip we look for which presidents had a home where we are traveling. Last summer, we wanted to detour to Springfield to see Lincoln’s home, but it was closed due to COVID. This year, it was our first stop. Inside the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, The realtor is coming tomorrow so that Mom can sign the required paperwork. She is definitely going through with it. She is selling your house. The house you promised would always be here for me. Mom knows I’m not happy about it. We had a terrible fight this morning. She told me if [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, Sunday will be Father’s Day, our second one without you. Mom, G3, and I are in Mattituck this week. It appears that the Strawberry Festival — which had been canceled last year due to COVID — will take place this weekend. We drove passed it today and it made me very sad. You [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, Today was bittersweet. I haven’t stopped missing you since you died, but today, not having you here was particularly hard. In February of 2020, you couldn’t come to G3’s taekwondo tournament out in Pennsylvania. You and Mom were getting ready for your cruise through Patagonia and you didn’t want to go to a [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This morning, my son completed his final assignment, so he is officially finished with school for the year. He is more than ready for sixth grade.&nbsp; For his final essay, he needed to argue who is better with a bow and arrow: Katniss Everdeen or Hawkeye. There was never a doubt in my son’s opinion. [&hellip;]</p>