West Sand Lake, New York

We found home! Yeah! It’s in upstate New York! We are going to live in my Uncle Fred’s house, only about a mile from the farm!

Now I’m going to have to talk about this whole trip. It was a great idea, but I really don’t think I could’ve lasted any longer. My favorite place is probably Key West, because of the snorkeling, and then Frost Point, Canada. If anyone were to ask me what my favorite part in the RV is, I would probably answer using the bathroom at sixty miles an hour.

Uncle Eric and his family came down and dropped off some horses and then stayed for a couple of days. We will be in Frost Point, Canada in a couple of days and then wait for the people who are renting Uncle Fred’s house to move out. This is my last blog entry. School was demanding and I wouldn’t want to do another year of it. Bye.

NY, PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, WY, CO

July 15

We stopped at a Sam’s Club last night. This morning we unhooked the SUV and drove into Canada. We parked and walked over to take a look at the Niagara Falls! It was amazing! The river was rushing before it took a drop of 170 ft. I couldn’t believe that people actually went down that in barrels! We walked over to the museum and bought ourselves some tickets. We went into the exhibits that showed all of the people and barrels that went down the falls. We could actually crawl into the barrels to see what it was like.

Most survived, but a lot also died. I got to crawl into a barrel where a guy died. He made the falls, but then got stuck behind the water fall for over eighteen hours. He died, but his turtle survived. After that we walked around for awhile. Now I’m back on the road again. Please join me now in “The Besch Boy Sing-Along.”

“The Besch Boy Sing-Along”
On the road again,
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
My lifelong love is making music with my friends
And I just can’t wait to get back on the road again.
On the again,
Like a band of pixies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends
And it seems the world is goin’ my way, my way…
(Repeat)

Thank you for joining “The Besch Boy Sing-Along”


When Ben went to the hospital in Colorado, the Fourth of July happened! We invited over the Galvins and then walked around Golden a little. After the walk we went over to a little festival that was going on. Olivia and I bought some party string and covered everyone in the spongy substance. We ran around for a couple of hours until it got dark. We all sat silently and watched the amazing array of lights, sounds and colors. Afterwards we went to our RV and ate some cake with strawberries and at least a pound of whip cream…..a slice :)

A couple days later Ben was released from the hospital! He came home and we played tennis with him and went down a white water river.

The next day we went up a huge mountain called Look Out Mountain. At the top we went to the Buffalo Bill Museum. Why would a museum about Buffalo Bill be on the top of a mountain? Well, because he himself was buried there! We watched a movie, observed his belongings, and left. Next we went to “the” Coors Brewery. It taught us how they make their special beer, and when we were done we could drink all the sodas we wanted.

The next day we invited Olivia over to our RV. We went to the pool and played for about two hours until we got tired and went back to the RV. We played around there for about another hour until Mr. Galvin pulled up and picked up Olivia.

After that day we had dinner at the Galvins. We had a great walk with the dogs and they showed us the house we would live in if we got a job there. We went back and then had some great dinner and played before our departure. We said our good byes and then left.

Dad finally talked me into trying to bike up Look Out Mountain. We got on our bikes and started riding. I was on my lowest gears the whole time we went up. We went a good ways up and then turned around. We broke 35 miles an hour going down, until we took a short cut on a little biking trail to the bottom.

We were driving and driving after departing Colorado, until dad stopped and told us to get on our jeans. We walked down to the horse stables and paid for an hour ride. We got a tour guide and then went and had to walk at 0.001 miles an hour with our lifeless steeds. Afterwards we looked at some pigs, cows, steer, goats, alpacas, buffaloes, baby llamas, and a colt.

We then drove through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois to get to Nappanee, Indiana! We had dinner with Mrs. Marlene, Mr. Larry, Michael and Kerry. We played around, rode the ponies, ate pie and went to bed.

The next morning we went to the Corner Café. It was a restaurant that we went to almost every day for breakfast when we were here last, and had the nicest Amish waitress named Amanda. She remembered us perfectly and was just as nice as before.

We went to Mrs. Marlene’s that day. We helped Michel with his chores and then we got to drive and ride a pony. We went to a Mexican restaurant with Mr. Larry’s family and Mr. John’s family. We ate enchiladas and tacos and salads, and a lot of Mexican food. We took a horse and buggy ride back to Mr. Larry’s house. I bought another knife for my collection, and then we played until dark.

Now we are driving to the farm in New York. Bye!

Golden, Colorado

July 3
After about three weeks, we finally left the Air Force Academy. It was a great campground. We drove for a while and lastly arrived at a campground with a river in Golden, Colorado. But that night, Ben’s eye started hurting and the next day, POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF!
His eye was swollen! It was the third time this year. He went straight to the hospital and my mom stayed with Ben that night.

We went to the Galvin’s house again, but it was only Robby, Sam, Dad, and I. The Galvins walked around the neighborhood and finally met two boys who we got to play with. We ran through the woods together and saw a buck elk! Cameron, the older of the boys, showed us a tree stand where we got to sit. Then when Cameron, Robby and Shelby left, Olivia, Gabe (the younger of the two boys), and I got to explore the woods.

When Olivia left, Gabe and I stayed in the woods together a while longer, telling each other numerous gunfights we’ve been in, and he showed me where he hunted and which cliffs he would jump off of in the winter time. I have to admit, this would be a fun place to live. We went back and ate some wonderful spaghetti and salad, and great watermelon.

The next day Mom made us all clean up the RV. We emptied the bins down below, reloaded them, and then cleaned everything else. Bye

Air Force Academy, Colorado

After we attended the Chapel at the Air Force Academy, we went to Garden of the Gods. It was awesome! It was pure sand stone stacked upon each other like building blocks, and the result was towering, solid boulders. We climbed a couple of them, and then Dad yelled at us to get down. So instead we biked around The Garden.

Remember when I said that we said, “See you again” to the Baileys? Well, we weren’t lying. They drove over and we got our huge hiking bags packed up and then we left to the Stanley Reservoir. We hiked and hiked and finally we were at the Stanley Reservoir. We set up camp, I started a fire, and we went around playing tag and staying up late in the pitch black night. We stayed up very late and then when we went in our tents. I stayed up even later reading my Boy Scout book.

The next morning we were running away from Ben because Ben was being a jerk. We climbed up a steep boulder and when I was trying to find an escape route, I tripped and fell. It was very scary and could have killed me if I didn’t fall on a precarious ledge. It hurt me a lot and I could have broken my foot. I puked a couple of times and my eyes went funny (which in my scout book means I went into a small version of shock), and then Dad helped me down. My mom carried my pack, which made me feel really humiliated when we passed a lot of people. When we reached the bottom, my foot was swollen and I was hungry and tired. We went to Subway and then I went home and watched To Kill a Mocking Bird.


On June 26, 2009 we finished school! To celebrate, we brought Clayton and Spencer Bailey to the 3-meter high dive. It was awesome, but the fun wasn’t over yet! We then brought them bowling and ate dinner there. Then my dad dropped them off at their home.

After that exciting day, we went to another pool with tubes and noodles and torpedoes. We stayed there for hours and played with each other. Next we went trail riding on horseback. I had a quarter horse named China who was the youngest and most energetic. He was the best. The stables had fine horses, but they didn’t take the best, finest care of them. My dad’s horse, Clever, wore down her shoe until it actually fell off!

The next day we went to the Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge is a giant gorge in the earth that was over 1,000 ft. deep. Its deep, chilling gorge made me uncertain. But we went over it in a tram and went to the petting zoo, saw a rare white, not albino, bison, some rams, and elk.

But the fun was yet to begin! We waited in line about an hour. Then they strapped Ben, Sam and me into harnesses, clicked us onto a bungee cord, raised us about 190 ft., and then flung us over the now-1200 ft. gorge!. My ears popped, the wind was whooshing through my hair, and we went back and forth until we didn’t have enough momentum to keep going.

The next day we went to the Galvin’s new home. It is in the Rockies and is big enough for the Besch Family! We stayed there for a while and visited, and then went to the stables where their three horses were. We then walked around a lake, with Sam flirting with Shelby along the way. We also went canoeing, and we went twice as far as we were supposed to. We then went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, said good bye, and then left.

This morning we went over to the archery range and I found out, thanks to Mr. Doug, that I am a lefty for archery. This is because I am left eye dominant. Then we bought a compound bow from a nice boy named Chase.

Air Force Academy, Colorado

After the Bowen’s house we drove over to the Bailey’s new house! It was fantastic! It was enormous! We played at their park for hours until we got hungry and had some wonderful lasagna made by Mrs. Bailey. We then watched the Dark Night, the new batman movie, and then had the sleepover. We told jokes and played together until we were too tired to lift our arm. The next day we played at the park some more. We then went home to meet my mom and dad, said our goodbyes and see you agains, and left. The next day we woke up, got in our fancy clothes, and went to the Air Force Academy Chapel. It was a beautiful chapel and the sermon was great also.


On Father’s Day, we went to Pike’s Peak. It is a 14,010 ft. mountain, and you can drive to the top. It is extraordinarily pleasurable. We saw lots of wildlife. I saw a female mule deer and a raven and hawks and lots of other nature. People even skied at the top of the peak!

Leavenworth, KS and Colorado Springs, CO

June 9
We drove a while and finally arrived at a campground in Leavenworth, Kansas. We felt a little unsafe there because there was a huge jail. There were lots of bums scattered around the campground, and since there is a jail, there are prisoner’s families there. We locked everything up and went to the house of my best friend in Texas, Olivia Galvin. Mr. and Mrs. Galvin were truly kind and hospitable, and Olivia has a 14 year-old sister named Shelby. We had a wonderful meal of ham, corn, beans and lemonade. We played with them for a long time outside and I loved the REC room. We had a sleepover and stayed up playing games like Guitar Hero and Mario Brawl.
The next day we were all walking to the park together and I almost stepped on a little bird. It didn’t look injured, but it seemed to me that he jumped out of his nest a little too soon. We caught and fed him and soon he wasn’t scared of us at all. We were going to the museum, so we put him in their garden and told him to stay and then walked around town. We saw the Missouri River and went to the Ft. Leavenworth Museum. We saw mountain Howitzers that they pack on three mules, the fire cart, the police cart, weapons back then and a whole bunch more. We walked back, Olivia telling us about Suicide Hill and how great sledding there is in the winter, and we came back and our little bird was sitting just about where it was before! We played a little longer together and then said goodbye. I didn’t want to leave, but I had to.

We drove a long way, through lots of wheat fields, and finally arrived in Colorado!! We then drove through lots of farmland and saw lots of ranches (which I would be overjoyed to live at) and arrived at the Air Force Academy RV camp. We did some school and called it a night. The next couple of days we did school at the library, and then we got a visit from the Baileys, our great friends that we had back in Alaska. We played cops and robbers in the woods for a couple of hours, then, just like in the movies, crossed a huge log that just happened to be right across the river. We walked to a little sign on the other side of the river saying “Treasure Island, STAY AWAY!” Naturally, as Besches, we of course didn’t stay away and instead explored the place until we got hungry and went home for sausages. We went to a park afterwards and had to share it with some real crud that cussed every other sentence. We said goodbye and see you again to the Bailey’s, and went to sleep.

It turned out that another one of our Alaskan friends was preaching at a church nearby. We packed up and soon were on the road, driving to the church. About an hour later we were at the church listening to Mr. Gene Raiford preaching about how we change so much. It was great and at the end we were downstairs chatting with Mr. Gene and his wife, Ms. Ronda. I met a man who could rock on the guitar, and he taught me some basics on the guitar like a G, E, E minor, C, F, D, A, and A minor. It was really great and I’m probably going to start practicing on and off.

After that we got back into the car and started driving to a ranch for the day. My dad worked with Mr. Roger about 17 years ago. He has a very kind wife named Ms. Sue and we went to work building a garden in their back yard. First we took some BIG logs and put them into Mr. Roger’s Bobcat and brought them to the will-be-garden. We took them and put them so it would make a rectangle shape. Then we put down a screen on the bottom to keep the prairie dogs out and stapled it to the logs. Mr. Roger then, (with Sam driving it) brought fertile soil to the garden and we started shoveling it in there. We then leveled it and planted strawberry plants!



We then got to drive his four wheeler, his bobcat, and one of his two horses named Dusty! We had an awesome dinner where all he did was take the pot of shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes, and literally dumped it on the table. It was a remarkable dinner because you couldn’t not make a mess! It was great!

We went back to our cozy little home for the night. The next day we went to visit more friends! These were Alaskan friends. We lived right next door from them for one year in Alaska. Colonel Bowen was nice and funny and Ms. Kristin was very hospitable. Little 8-year-old Carmen was practically Sam’s best friend in Alaska. They had a retired Grey hound named Polly. We took her for a run in their back yard and it was the fastest dog I ever saw! We played with Carmen and had more dinner! I swear, we could easily live off of our friends’ dinners. Bye!

Iowa and Liberty, Missouri

June 2, 2009

We drove a long while in our coach, and finally stopped at an ice rink in a huge mall in Iowa! We skated there and ate while my dad got the RV in a campground. We spent the night at that campground and the next morning went on a jog. It was a great campground with wifi and awesome landscaping. Afterwards we packed up and drove to the Conge’s house.

The Conges are really nice people who I played with when I was a baby. The parents, Mr. Mike and Mrs. Susan, were very hospitable and let us have three sleep over’s in a row with their children, Mac, who I used to play with at a very early age, and Christine, who was Robby’s friend when young. We played outside and went jogging with their yellow lab, Duke and liked to play on their trampoline.

Nappanee, Indiana and Chicago, IL

May 27
The sleep over with Joe was awesome! We stayed up till midnight playing games we snuck into the tent. We read a little, and then finally went to bed. The next day was a hard one. We had to say good bye to the Wahls. We took a big picture, played a little together, and then left.

We went to another RV repair shop and had some repairing on that. We took a bike ride and went to the library to do some school. When we were done, we went to the local skateboard park and played there for a while. When we were done, we got in the RV and went to another RV repair shop. That’s where we got most of our repairing done. We played outside and then went back to Newmar in Indiana. I don’t know what we did there, but we got some kind of maintenance done there.

After that, we went back to the navy base north of Chicago where we have been before with the bowling alley, library, and hill. We got some arrows there, and now I’m great with a bow. I’m also not half bad with a throwing knife.

It turns out that our good friends, Alex and Sophie, Mr. Matt and Mrs. Julia (back in Disney World) are here! We went to Chicago and visited them two times! The first was when we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.! It was Mr. Matt’s birthday, and our waiter made him dance on a chair when they sang happy birthday. The next time we got to walk around the city, go on a boat tour, and have an amazing bike ride through the town and into a Zoo! We stayed at the Navy base and did school, went to a Memorial Day ceremony, did more school, watched a movie, did more school, and went bowling. It is a lot of fun here at the Navy Base. Bye!

Nappanee, Indiana

May 16
We went on to Mrs. Marlene and Mr. Larry’s house for dinner on Monday night. They have two very nice children named Keri, age 10, and Michael, age 14. They also have a dog named Sparky, very energetic, a pony named Beauty, a pony named Princess, and a horse that I don’t know the name of. We had great pasta salad, noodles, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes with gravy. For dessert we had pecan pie, rhubarb pie, and my favorite, peanut butter pie! I swear, she could make a living off of selling her food! Then we played with Michael and Kerry, and I got to drive a miniature buggy pulled by Princess! We then said goodbyes and thank you’s and left.

The next day we came home from a full school day at the library and saw a dad and a son unhitching the car to the RV next to us. Robby went over to them and introduced himself to the about twelve-year-old. It turns out that they were doing the same exact thing we are. Mr. Wahl and Mrs. Wahl have two boys and one girl. The twelve-year-old is named Joe and is the best with a BB gun. The second is named Anna in fourth grade and she is a crack shot with the bow and arrow. And the little 7-year old is named Sam and is great with my pistol. (If you are getting bored of this site, the Wahl’s have a blog too. There are two sites. The main one is called http://web.me.com/wahlsacrossamerica/ . The second is called http://moaablogs.org/wahlfamily/ .) They own a more expensive All Star RV than ours. They even have DVD players connected to their beds! We played fireworks, did homeschooling together, and all kinds of things.

Later we went to Amish Acres and had delicious ham and mashed potatoes, and mouth watering chicken and great roast beef. Then I had more peanut butter pie! Afterwards we watched a play about a boyfriend and girlfriend from New York going to a little Amish country town because the man, named Mr. King, has some land that he wants to sell. Down in the Amish country, a lady named Katie, is getting married to a person she doesn’t want to get married to. It is a funny, funny play and teaches you about the Amish life. Right now I am in the library, daydreaming about how we will set up the tents and have a sleep over this night! See Ya’!

Chicago

May 9
There was a good three hour drive we went on, and then found a navy base where we stayed. My dad went to a wind convention. While he was there, we got to do school! Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh! We did have fun breaks though. There were hills we could play on and when we finished we could go to the library, which had wifi, and the bowling alley! So the days weren’t very boring.
One day we went to a Harry Potter Exhibit in Chicago. It was very cool. There were the actual suits that people in the movies wore, and the actual wands they used! They had the sorting hat and all the beasts in Harry Potter. They even had moving pictures! Then we went to another great museum with all kinds of things like electric cars and dancing robots. They talked a lot about conserving energy from cars to cow crap.
After that we went to the wind convention and met up with Dad. We got to see more alternative energy ideas. Funny thing is, when we just moved from Alaska a wind company moved up there. There were booths about wind sensors, booths about wind mill transportation, there were some booths about new ideas like plopping a windmill on a truck and sending it down the highway. It was great, especially the trinkets! There was candy, stress balls, even boomerangs! It was great.

After that, my dad met up with some guys and mom and the rest of us got to go to a park. There was a huge fountain; we got to have ice-cream too. After that exciting day, we are now going back to Newmar! We will visit the very nice shop keeper who gave me a pocket watch. Mrs. Sara is coming too. Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

Springfield, IL, Nappanee, Indiana, and St. Louis, MO

May 2, 2009
We arrived at Springfield, IL and it’s just like any old huge city that adds a great chunk of pollution to our world. We drove through till we got to the quieter part of town. We then went to President Abraham Lincoln’s Museum. It was great. It told everything I needed to know about Lincoln. Lincoln was born in Kentucky. Then they moved Indiana. But he really spent most of his time in Springfield, IL. Whoo! Springfield! It told about their four sons and how everyone died but Robert, there oldest. I even got to go to Lincoln’s Tomb! I could see his skeleton! Just kidding. It was very cool.

We were going back to the RV, and I’ll tell you, I was pretty shocked that there was no Simpson’s museum. After that we drove to Indiana and went to Newmar’s RV place to get repaired. We had to wake up at 5:30 every day for three days.

The first night we went around town and met my mom’s friend, Sheryl. She has a husband named Ron. They were very nice and I could ride my rip stick there. They brought us to a pizza parlor and ate super good pizza.

The second day, we went to a museum about different people like Amish, Mennonites, and Hetterites. After that we went to the best ice cream shop ever. They made waffle cones as big as your fistJ We talked to the worker, named Mrs. Colleen. She has a husband named Mr. Ron and they have a dairy farm. They planted alfalfa, wheat, soybeans, hay and corn. We got to drive a tractor, feed a cow, and let the calf suck on our fingers. It was great!

The third day we met an Amish lady named Mrs. Sara. She invited us over to her house and we got to play with her two dogs, four cats, three horses, a calf, and thirty-nine chickens. We got to go in a buggy ride to the horse shoe shop and watched Boots, their horse, get his shoes replaced. We also went to an Amish store and there was the nicest worker I’ve ever known. She gave me a pocket watch and I bought a shocker pen. We went back to Mrs. Sara’s home and met and played with their four kids. Now I am here blogging while everyone is having fun outside. Bye!

April 28, 2009 - St. Louis, MO
My dad’s friend’s name is Mr. John. He and his wife, Mrs. Robin, are very, very nice and also have four daughters named Kelly, at age 9, Nicole, at age 11, Catherine, at age 13, and Mary at age 14. They were all very nice and fun to play with. On Friday we did school until everyone came back. Then for the next two days we didn’t do school! It was so cool! On Saturday we took a trip to one of Mary’s soccer games. After that we all got in the car and went to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. We went to a museum about Louis and Clark and went to a movie about building the arch. Next we got into a little 5-man elevator and went to the very top! The view was the best ever and I could even feel the Arch rock back and forth!

We were very hungry when we got back on the ground. So we went to a very fancy Italian restaurant. It was very good and I had lots of leftovers. Next we went to the coolest museum in the world. It is called the City Museum. But the thing is, it is not a museum at all! It is made from junk they found and they then turned it into the awesomest playground I have ever seen! There are tunnels and the biggest pencil in the world and seven story slides! We then went home and had a good night’s sleep. The next day was pretty much a stay-at-home day. Everyone had fun the whole day. Now we are driving to Springfield, Illinois.

Huntsville AL, Nashville TN, Ft. Campbell, KY

Space camp was amazing. We only got to do a day tour though. The first thing we did was we went to the Space Shot. It goes from zero to 264 feet in the blink of an eye! Next we wandered around the museum for an hour or two, and then we went to the Gravitron. The Gravitron is a ride where you stand in front of a board and it starts spinning so fast you flip upside down and you wouldn’t fall! We walked around a little more, ate lunch, and left.


The next day we arrived at one of my dad’s Alaskan friend’s named Mr. Scott Campbell, who just happened to be in Huntsville, visiting his wife, Mrs. Faye Campbell. They brought us to their summer cottage, (which is the coolest ever) and started out by jumping into a 60 ft. deep lake. It was very warm and we could be in there for hours without getting cold, so we had a fun time. We then ate lunch, jumped off the neighbor’s 20 ft drop into the lake, and then went on a very long boat ride. We stopped at a marina and got to feed crackers to some fish the size of my arm.

After that we went back and everyone got off the boat except my dad, mom and me. We drove out into the lake, and I slipped into the water with a slalom ski on. I got up, and it felt so good to slalom ski again! When I finished, we packed up, said goodbyes, and left.



We drove up and met Mr. Armstrong. We met him in our SUV while he drove up in a convertible Mustang! I got to sit shotgun in it even! It was awesome! We drove down to a swampy lake to have dinner together. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have two very nice kids named Trevor and Robert. We caught lots of little minnows and tried to use them as bait, though we didn’t get anything. We roamed around the area for a while, then raced the cars through lots of mud and left.
The next day we pulled up to more friends, the Gargulinski’s. They are very nice people who had the coolest house ever. They are right in front of a forest. Their sons, Tony and Chris have the coolest airsoft guns. My favorite was his C02 semiautomatic pistol. I shot my 22, and then went in and played halo with everyone else.
That night we went to a bar for my birthday. It is called The Wild Horse Saloon. I learned this really strange “cowboy” dance, and played darts and pool.

We walked around Nashville a little, then went home and ate cake and I got a rip stick, which is like a skateboard! That night was the last night Tucker would be with us. The next day I played outside with Tucker, Ben and Sam. It was very fun, but soon dad pulled up in the SUV and we had to say goodbye to Tuck.

We pulled up into a campground called Fort Campbell, KY and did three days of school. But it sure wasn’t as boring as it sounds. I, in fact got my own Co2 semiautomatic pistol. I also got to shoot a 20 gage at a skeet range.

Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama

April 15, 2009

After Dry Tortugas we drove and drove and drove. We finally came to Mr. Pascal’s and Mrs. Judy’s house. They were the nice people who I met at South Beach. We swam in their pool, used their wifi, and played with their children, Luc and Lea. We stayed there for one day, then, even when we didn’t want to, we left the house, and then Miami. We drove a little west, and then hit the Everglades. We went on a wind boat tour, which was very cool. We saw alligators, painted turtles and egrets. It was very cool, and I got to hold an alligator named Larry!

After that we went into Brandon to go house- hunting. We looked and looked, and I got to tell you, Florida is not my state. It is too warm and crowded. That evening we stopped at Mrs. Ann and Mr. Jim’s house. They have a pool with a water slide, and that sure kept me busy for a while. Then we ate dinner, watched a movie and had some wonderful Key Lime Pie. The next day we went to an ice rink in Brandon. It wasn’t bad, but I still like Alaska more.

We stopped at the Yogi Bear Campground in Northern Florida. It had a pool, a movie theater, and a water slide 60 ft. high! We stayed there for a while, celebrating Easter Sunday, going to an outside church, then going to the airport to get my cousin Tucker!

We drove a long way, and then finally saw Tucker again! It was awesome! He came back with us and we stopped at another campground for two days. We went to Look Out Mountain.

That is another place where people fought for freedom in the Civil War. We got to hike up it, and broke some rules and went off the trail. I even climbed in a cave and crawled through a tiny cavern, through the mountain, and reappeared on the other side. After that we went and got some dinner at a restaurant in Chattanooga, and went home. Now we are in Huntsville Alabama, and tomorrow we are going to Space Camp! Bye!

Dry Tortugas and Key West

Guess what I’ve been doing? That’s right, school! But we did have fun going rollerblading around town. Then my dad found something on the internet called the Dry Tortugas. The Dry Tortugas is a deserted island 70 miles away from America. So we went there, on a catamaran called the Yankee Freedom ll. It was a long journey, but I managed. We eventually came to an island where we docked. This wasn’t any other island either. This was abandoned by Americans after they built Fort Jefferson, a huge fort where they imprisoned Dr. Mudd, a doctor who cured the person’s ankle when he assassinated Lincoln. But the yellow fever got out and eventually everyone either died or left. So we walked around, and even got a souvenir, a Magic Kingdom hat that washed up on shore touching a dead pelican and next to a dead Sea Urchin.

We got our tent set up and then headed for the wind and wave with our snorkel gear. I saw a Barracuda, Stoplight Parrotfish, Spotted Blowfish, Blue Striped Grunt, a Yellowtail Snapper, School Masters, conchs, coral, sea cucumbers, lobsters and more. It was so cool!

Then we explored the fort. You could go up three floors in the walls and we could even go to Dr. Mudd’s fort! The next day I went straight for the water. There were some pilings that you weren’t supposed to swim in, so of course I was drawn to swimming there. I got on my fins and snorkel, and then went out to dive. At the bottom of the pilings there are hundreds of Sailor’s Choice. I even spotted a Queen Angelfish. I also saw a school of Silver Side minnows, and eating them were a bunch of Sergeant Majors. I hit some Fire Coral pretty bad and now I know why it is named that way.

After that some friends told us about the best snorkeling spot. We went out there and on our way we saw a puffer fish and a variety of other sea animals. When we got to the coral reef we could see lots of things from cleaning fish the size of my thumb to barracudas the size of Sam. We went back, and on the way there, I saw a Scrawled Filefish. It was vertical to blend in with its environment better, and it did.

When we got to the beach, we weren’t done. We’ve been looking over a fishing pier for a while and almost every time we saw a Jew Fish bigger than dad. Also it was off limits for snorkeling, so naturally, I was drawn to it. We got in, a little edgy because the Jew fish could be anywhere, then turned around and a dozen feet away was the giant Jew Fish! Now the scariest two things about a Jew Fish are that it stares right into your eyes, and its mouth is wider than my leg and taller than my arm. When it came at us its mouth was wide open, and I’ve heard stories about one swallowing a scuba diver to his shoulders. So I didn’t chicken out too much, but I also didn’t take any chances. I stayed a dozen feet or so away from it.

After that the boat came, we went around the island for our last time, then left. Now I’m back in Sigsbee (Key West). By the way this is my birthday month! Yeah! I’ll tell you what I do next later. See ‘ya!

Key West, Florida

We found a nice RV area called Sigsbee. It is very cheap, nice and we are right on the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve done a lot in the 8 days we stayed here. For instance, once dad rented a boat and drove ten miles out to Sand Key. I got my snorkel and my fins on and hopped in. The water was great, but it was really deep. I swam in toward the lighthouse a little more and then everything came up. I saw the coral, the fish, the schools, everything. There were Squirrel Fish, French Angelfish, and Barracudas too. It was beautiful.

Another time we went on a bike ride to a state park. It was sweet snorkeling off the beach because there was a whole school of minnows. After that we got to ride down a bike path and see what I would call silly. It was “art” as mom called it. There were huts made out of salt, and boat rudders sticking out of the ground. If you ask me though, the washed-up coral on the beach was cooler to look at. Then we watched the sun set and went home.

The next day we went to the southernmost point in the United States. We took some pictures there, and then went to Mel Fisher’s Museum. Mel Fisher is a guy who found a sunken Spanish ship with 300 mil dollars inside of it. It talked about how he hung in there and kept looking even when no one could find it.

Then we went to Mallory Square. There were all kinds of different street performers….ones with 15 foot unicycles, ones juggling 5 lit torches, and my favorite, there was one who juggled a machete, hand grenade, and a running chainsaw! Then he lay down on a real bed of nails! Just yesterday we went to a roller-blading rink and played street hockey. Later!

Key Largo, Florida

March 18
We got to the Keys and immediately got our snorkels out. Then we rented fins and started at the beach. Even there we saw parrot fish and we even saw a barracuda. I didn’t know it was a barracuda, so I chased it all over the shallow beach water. After that we went home and did some school, then went over to a boat so we could snorkel at a reef. It took a good half-hour to get there, but it was worth it. When you were above the water it was beautiful and bright, bright blue. But when you jumped in, it was something else.



The first thing I saw was a conch shell, and even though you weren’t supposed to, dad picked up a conch shell and flipped it over. It was white and hard, and rough on the outside, but on the inside it was orange and pink and very beautiful. We saw all different kind of schools on Grecian Reef. There I could see barracudas the size of me, and parrot fish as colorful as a rainbow. I saw lots of dark green brain coral and now I know why they call it that. We saw a stingray and some people even saw an eel. It took another half hour to get back and now we are going to the next Key. Later!

March 16
We stayed at the campground for a while, and then went to another one called C.B. Smith near Miami. It was a great park also. We got electricity, water, and we could dump all the crap we made. We also went golfing a lot.

One day we went down to South Beach and boy you should see the girls there!! Anyway, we met some of my uncle’s friends named Mrs. Judy and Mr. Pascal. They have two great kids named Luc and Lea (Like star wars!) Luc was 7 and Lea was 4. They were really nice and were fun to hang out with at the beach. After they left, we took a walk through the city and every third car was a mustang, or a porch, or mercedes! It was amazing!

After that night we went to another very hospitable person’s house, named Col. Tio. He was my dad’s boss back in his military days. He has a beautiful house with a swimming pool and cold Jacuzzi. Col. Tio also has a very nice wife named Mrs. Sol. Then their grand kids came and we got to play with them too! We had a great dinner and I loved the plantains.

After that we went to Mrs. Judy’s and Mr. Pascal’s house. They too had a beautiful house with a swimming pool, and they gave us lunch and some snorkeling gear for the Keys. Now we are driving to the Keys. See ya’LJ

Long Point County Park, FL

March 6
We are still at this little campground, but we moved to a different spot. We are right on the water, and across a river is a deserted island. So we blew up our kayak and rowed on over there with our camping gear. We made our selves dinner, slept in the tent, then had breakfast and returned to the RV. The next day we did school and school and school. Sometimes we go to the beach for our break, but school is getting annoying. Bye!!!!!

Sebastian Inlet, Florida

March 1
Now we are at this nice little campground, doing school and playing at the beach. I got up on a surf board a couple of times, and now we’re going out to buy a board. We went to and island called Boy Scout Island yesterday and now we’re thinking about sneaking out there and camping for the night in our tent. We do a fair amount of school, but boy is Calvert demanding! We take breaks though, and oh yeah, if any of you need a good book, William W. Johnstone is your man. Read any of his series, The Last Gunfighter, The Last Mountain Man, or Ashes. They are all great books. See you around.

Feb 26
The next couple of days we just did school, the ocean and the pool. After that though we went to a great little beach house and we all shared it together with Nana and Poppa. We all had our own bed, and we were even closer to the beach than last time! We did school, the ocean and talked with Nana and Poppa. But the most fun thing we did was go to Kennedy Space Center.

Kennedy Space Center is an actual space center still going! We got to see movies. We read information about the place. You could see the takeoff spots, different jobs there and you can even do a simulator! It is awesome!
A couple of days later Nana and Poppa went home, and then dad left for a doctor’s appointment. We went back in the RV today, and Mom is picking up Dad at the airport. Well, bye.

Feb 19
The first day we got to Cocoa Beach we went in the SUV for the day to find where my dad’s parents will stay. It took the whole day, but we found a very nice beach house for Nana and Poppa. So after that we went to a cute little campground where we stayed. It was very nice, and we had lots of things to do. There was a nature pond, fishing, lots of ant hills to crash, and we even saw 2 wild dolphins! But we did do a lot of school. After 3 days we came and parked our rig in the parking lot in front of the beach house. We did school there while dad went to the airport to find Nana and Poppa. When they came we said hello and went down to the beach together. My brothers and I went boogie boarding while Nana, Poppa, Mom, and Dad talked. Then we went down to the pool and played with our two new friends, Jake and Alex from Maine. Now we are eating dinner in the beach house. See you later!

Orlando, Florida

Feb 16
Two days ago we just hung out at our hotel with Alex, Sophia, Ms. Julia, and Mr. Matt. We had fun swimming, searching for chocolate, paddle boating, golfing, and playing tennis. That night we got some sweet magic presents and we will put them on our blog when we get good at them. It was really nice for them to get our hotel tickets and for coming. They sure made the park days a lot more fun. They left at 4:00 A.M. yesterday morning to go back to California.

That day wasn’t too sunny, and it was our last day at the park, so we went to Blizzard Beach. You might be thinking, “I wouldn’t go there on a cloudy day.” But that’s exactly why we went there. There were no lines at all! We did every single ride in less than an hour! It was great, but now we’re cruising down the highway to Cocoa Beach. We will also meet our Nana and Poppa in three days. I’ll tell you about it later, bye!

Feb 14
Yesterday we went to the Magic Kingdom and now we went to every single park! We did a lot of rides, but my favorite is still Space Mountain. If you forgot, you can read my last blog about the Magic Kingdom. We also went to the laugh floor, the haunted mansion, and Splash Mountain. We didn’t go to it’s a small world, strangely enough. We pretty much did everything we did last time. But soon Alex and Sophie are going to leave and right now we’re just hanging out for the day at our hotel. Later!

Yesterday we were going to Animal Kingdom, but Ben made a fight and lost, and then Mom said “Let’s do some school!” I didn’t like the idea that Sophie and Alex got to go there with their parents alone. School passed quickly though. And when they got back, we went to see Parker and Jackson! (They are my Alaskan friends.) Parker is age 8 and Jackson is age 6. They are both very fun to play with. Their parents, Mr. Hoselton and Mrs. Hoselton are very nice and Mr. Hoselton knows guitar. He writes his own music and sings it by himself. We stayed there till 10:30, and then went home and fell asleep. Today we are going to Magic Kingdom with Alex and Sophie. See you next time!

Blizzard Beach was my favorite place yet. The first thing we did was run to Summit Plummet. Summit Plummet is an almost straight-down drop and you go over 50 miles per hour! You go so fast, you can’t even see your own feet! After that we did the lazy river, and then did all kinds of other cool rides.

Alex is really nice and likes to do outside things. Sophie is almost exactly like Alex, except Alex likes video games a little more. Lucky for him, because we went to Disney Quest last night! He loved it. His and my favorite game is virtual boxing. Anyway, today is another park day. See you later!


Feb 12
Epcot was so cool. The first thing we did was go to innoventions. If I didn’t tell you before, innoventions is awesome because you could play with toys of the future! There is a game there where you get filmed running, jumping and doing your victory dance! It then transfers your data to an arcade game and you are inside a video game. Then we did a lot of things like mission space, space ship earth, Soarin’, and best of all, test track! You get in these vehicles and get to go at least 50 miles per hour! Then we went to world showcase! It was a radical day mostly because Sophie and Alex were with us. Today we are going to BLIZARD BEACH! Now my mom wants me to talk about this hotel, so I guess I have to. It has a very nice pool, great beds (compared to the RV.) and Sophie and Alex are right next to us ! it is perfect! I can’t wait to tell you about BLIZARD BEACH next time! See ya’!

2\10\09
Turns out we never got to Sea World. It was too expensive, so instead we went…...sky diving at SkyVenture! That was really fun. We went into a big wind tunnel and watched some people go sky diving. It was awesome watching them sky dive. I couldn’t wait till it was my turn! We met our teacher, named Angel, who taught us everything we needed to know. Then we got on our gear, which included a helmet, a suit, and a pair of goggles, and went sky diving! It was totally sweet!

After that we went to a radio station. Mr Mike, my dad’s friend, has a wife, Mrs. Cyndi. She works at the radio station and said she would give us a tour. So we went there next and got a good tour about how a radio station works.

After that we went to a hotel pool. We could see the Magic Kingdom straight ahead so we could see the fireworks when they went off that night. It also had an awesome pool. We also met some of my mom’s friends named Anne and Jim.

Next we went to Epcot. We did a couple of rides like Mission Space and Soarin’ but we mostly did the world showcase. My favorite place in the world show case is China. We watched these astonishing acrobats and saw an amazing movie about China.

The next day we went to a hotel that Julia, my Mom’s best friend in college paid for. We moved the RV to a parking lot, went to the pool for a couple of hours, then moved everything to our “so called room” which took a couple of hours. Then few ound out that this was the wrong room! It was very annoying. But that night we saw Alex and Sophie, Mrs. Julia and Mr. Matt.

Yesterday we went to Holly wood Studios. It was so cool. We went to all the rides like the rock and roller coaster, the great movie ride, star tours, and toy story mania. We also watched things like Fantasmic, Indiana Jones, and my favorite: Lights, Motors, Action! We got to watch all kinds of stunts like catching on fire and falling 2 stories. It was so cool! Today we are going to Epcot with everyone! Bye!

We're finally at Disney!

2\6\09
After the magic kingdom we did more school. But the next day we met Sam’s best friend from Alaska! his name is Chance and Sam was thrilled to see him. The next day we went to animal kingdom. It was very fun we saw lots of wild animals on Safari, saw tough to be a bug, and Everest Expedition.
It was awesome, and it had a story to it. You’re going through the Himalayas on a train to get to Everest. No big deal, right? But then rumors break out about the yeti. We climb up a hill and… …wow! There is a broken track! Then all of a sudden, we start going backwards! We are going full speed backwards. When we stop we see a shadow of him destroying the track and then full speed forward! By the time it comes to a stop you are panting hard and it feels like you are sweating also.
That day, Sam went to a sleepover and we went to Disney Quest! Disney Quest is 5 floors of free arcade games! It was awesome! My favorite ride was an arcade game where you go around the world in a jeep and capture animals. The next couple of days we did school because my neck popped! It hurt so badly if I moved my foot my neck will hurt! But today we’re going to Sea World. Bye!

Florida State Parks and MacDill Air Force Base

2\1\09
The first campground I went to was okay. All we did there was school. We went to a beach there, but it was like 40 degrees and super windy. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I felt that I needed to go farther south!
After that we went to Henderson State Park. We did some school, went to the beach, did some school and went to a place called the Nature Trail. That was okay also. We went swimming at another beach, put on our sandy, wet clothes, and biked back for the night.
Saint Andrews was great. Sure we had a lot of school time, but we also got a lot of beach time. The waves there were great. They were HUGE! We played there all the time. We bought two boogie boards and a skim board and then had a bundle of fun.
The next spot was Manatee springs. It was a spring where wild manatees come. We got to swim in there while the manatees weren’t there. We saw one manatee, but it was very vague and we could barely see it.
Then we drove down to the Homosassas Park. It was called a park, but it was really a zoo. We saw some domesticated manatees at a good view and got to see some wild ones also. After that we checked out all the other animals and then befriended some of the locals. They told us that if we got to the river from behind we could probably get swim with the manatees. So we got our boat, our swimsuits and I got my snorkel gear and we swam with some wild manatees! I even rode one!
After that we hopped down so we were north of Tampa and stayed at a cute little campground with a ultra-warm swimming pool. Guess what I did there? That’s right MORE SCHOOL!!!!!!! But we did have some fun swimming in the 80 degree swimming pool and meeting my aunt’s dad.
Then we bounced on over to MacDill air force base. There we dry camped, finished our tests, and visited dad’s friend, col. Paul. He had a beautiful house, a swimming pool and an awesome cat the size of a sheep dog! We also visited another of my dad’s friend who used to work at Texas with my dad. He had a nice house and 4 sweet puppys.
We arrived at Disney World yester day and spent the whole day at it doing every single ride at the magic kingdom. I’m so excited! I’m finally at the Disney World! My favorite ride yet in Disney World was the Space mountain. It’s all dark and you just go screaming trogh it, the only thing you can hear is screams! Later!

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia

1-20-09

The next day we started heading out. It didn’t take long for my dad to spot out another museum. It was about special ops and sky diving. We watched a movie about them both and then went on a simulator. I’ve got to admit, it wasn’t that bad. Anyway we had a long drive ahead of us.
We drove to South Carolina. We got there and said hi to Mr. Miles and Mrs. Laura. We stayed there for a couple of days and got a tour of where Mr. Miles worked. He works as a professional chef teaching college students how to cook.
We went into town one day and stopped at a friend’s who used to live in Alaska named Nick. We also played with his little brother, Adam. We had fun playing risk with Nick and tag with Adam.
Then we went and drove near Atlanta, Georgia. My Dad has another college buddy over there. When we arrived it was dark, but I still saw some people standing outside. Dad rolled down his window and he looked like he was happy, so I assumed it was the Turko family he was telling us about. My Dad and Mr. Turko went in while and Robby and I gave their two kids, Chris and Robbie a tour of our coach. (Robbie and Robby started confusing us, so our Robby is Robby1 and theirs is Robbie2). Their daughter was on her very first skiing trip.

They were very nice kids and we went into their house so they could give us a tour. Then we went to play in there rec. room and played some more until Dad said it is time to sleep. We stayed up till at least 1:00 A.M.. The next day we got up, ate breakfast, and went to Chris’s basketball game. He was very good and a lot better than me. Same with Robbie, because we went to his game next. After that we went to a big monument called Stone Mountain. It was only 500 ft. high, but it was still fun. The next day my mom said that we were to leave today, but after a while, she said we could stay another night since Dad was working on a project there. The next day we could only play a little with Robbie2 and Chris. Then Mom told me it was time to leave. We drove out and headed south for 6 hours and finally we are in Florida! Bye!

Jan 15
We drove for a couple hours, then stopped at a campground and hit the sheets. The next day we did some school and when we were about to have lunch a friend my dad invited named Mr. Dennis came over. We gave him a tour and guess what, he invited us to dinner! We thanked him, he left, and we did more school.

When we got to his house we were introduced to his son at age 14 named Adam. He was really nice and told us about what he likes to do in high school and what he wants to do as an adult. Mr. Dennis also has a daughter named Hope at age 9. She was nice too and very good on the piano. The two of them got along very well. We then had some delicious spaghetti Mr. Dennis’s wife made. We played a little longer and then we left. It felt good as I lied down and went to sleep.

Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia

Jan 12
For a while we postponed school. We went to all kinds of fun places. The first place we went to was the Moran’s house. There were two kids who are friends Robby and I used to play with. One was in eighth grade named Charlie. He was really nice and told us all about Disney World. I can’t wait ‘till I get there! The next boy’s name was Josh and he was about a year younger than me. He was very nice and showed us all kinds of cool games on the computer. We had a great time and had some awesome pizza that night, and when we got home we were as tired as ever.
The next day we had breakfast, got in the car, and prepared for a long drive. We were going to Washington DC! After a long drive we made it to “the” Lincoln Memorial! We saw him sitting down, like always, and then checked out “the” Washington Memorial! I could see the Reflecting Pond out the window at 555 ft and 3 in! I couldn’t believe it!
Next we went to the Air and Space Museum. We saw the real Wright brothers’ plane and the real first plane that broke the sound of speed and learned about all kinds of navy jets and other things. After that we packed up and retired for the night. The next day we went to the birth of America, in other words, Jamestowne, Virginia. We learned about how the British landed in America looking for gold, silver, tobacco and a pass to either China or India. I also learned about John Smith, Pocahontas, and the famous J.R. skeleton. It was really great, but the day wasn’t over yet!
After that we went to check out another museum called Williamsburg. We first went to the court room. I asked some questions and it turns out that the court house was run pretty much the same as today, except for the punishments. (Hint: outside there were two stalks, one for your hands and one for your feet).
The fun’s not over yet! We went to Mr. Doug and Ms. Michelle’s house. They have two really nice daughters and had a wonderful pork dinner with gravy and potatoes. We then drove to North Carolina and met some friends who we played with at the air and space museum near Dulles. We had a lot of fun with Ian, the oldest, Bemmy, the second oldest, Rexy, the second youngest, and T.T., the youngest. I also enjoyed talking to the parents, Mrs. Juliet and Mr. John. We also played with their friends Mark and Laura. I also joked around with Mr. Fred and Mrs. Janette. But now we even have to say goodbye to them as we set off once again. I’m not sure what awaits us next, but I’ll eventually find out and tell you later, bye!

Ft. Meade, Maryland

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Sorry I’ve been so late. It’s just that Mom has been piling me up with SCHOOL. We got to squeeze in some fun things though. Let’s see. We went back to River Birch Court with Shane and Kira. We went to a couple fun museums, and we’ve got incredible Christmas presents. (We’ve also got wifi here for my new present.)
Let’s talk about Christmas. We arrived at our cousins’ house on Christmas Eve, went to a church ceremony and did all kinds of dart gun fights. The next day we woke up early and sat by the Christmas tree for hours, digging out our presents from under the Christmas tree. I found six (two from Santa, two from relatives and two from all the Besch children). When the parents came I had to wait youngest to oldest and I felt like I was about to have a panic attack! When it was my turn I tore up the 2 presents Santa brought me. When I finished one, I found that I got the thing I wanted. I tore open the other one and I got something I didn’t even ask for. I got an ipod touch and the other was a case for it. Robby got a laptop, Ben got a scooter and Sam got a toy loader. I got a book light, a dart gun from relatives, and a remote control boat. My cousins got a Mario cart for wii.
We next went to a roller blading rink and got breakfast at midnight for New Year’s Eve! We went to a decoding museum and saw a copy of the Rosetta Stone. Soon after that we went to an air and space museum. Did you know that the Blackbird (the fastest plane in the world) grows 4 in. while flying? Amazing isn’t it? We watched a movie there called fighter pilot with our cousins and dad’s college friend.
Now we go on runs and as I said earlier, do LOTS of SCHOOL! See you later!