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!

Back in the USA

6 Dec - Another very, very long plane ride. I got to watch one movie, play on my dad’s computer a little, and then I was bored the rest of the way to the U.S. It was very boring, but I survived. When we walked out of the airport, we heard some cheering. When we got outside, we saw dozens of people holding up signs, cheering for the soldiers. I was a little embarrassed since I wasn’t a soldier, but I thought it was great that people would enjoy the night cheering for the soldiers coming back from Iraq instead of doing something else like work or video games. When I got home I set up the bedding and crashed for the night. The next day we got up at 6:00 because my body was used to Europe’s time zone. We got dressed, ate breakfast did some school, and by 1:00 we would take a day trip to our old house. I couldn’t wait!

France and Switzerland, Dec 1

The people who my mom used to work for in France were really nice. The father’s name is Pierre-Yves, the mother’s name is Marie-Luce, and they have four children (one boy and three daughters). I enjoyed hanging out with the boy. At age 13 he was tall enough to be 18! His name is Julien, and he knows a little English and is learning Spanish. Julien, Robby and I slept downstairs while everyone else slept upstairs. We stayed up awhile talking, and it was very interesting. The next day we got a tour from Pierre-Yves of where he works. He works at his winery. He told us how wine is made, where it is put in to ferment, and my parents even got to do a little wine tasting while we drank some of the juice right before it is fermented. We loved it and before we left we bought some wine and juice. The Perrachon Family was very, very hospitable to us and I’m glad we came and visited them.

Then we drove a while and came to a person’s house who is a great friend with both of my parents for a long time. Her name is Mrs. Lisa, and her husband’s name is Mr. Frits. They gave us our own apartment building with everything we need. Then we went to their house and had some magnificent pasta and then talked a while and got to know each other. After that we brushed our teeth and went to bed. The next day we got dressed, ate breakfast and went over to Mrs. Lisa’s and Mr. Frits’ house. They planned that we would go to another market before it closes. I got to go to the market in a Smart Car! Everyone else rode in the van. My Dad went shopping while I went and found a young swan that lost its mom. I hand fed it some chocolate and then when my Dad finished shopping we took a walk, ate some pizza, then went to a massive dam where you can go and bungee jump in the summer time. The very dam I’m talking about, actually, was where James Bond bungee jumped in the movie Golden Eye. We got back to the car, and this time I rode in the van and made it back to the house. When we got to the house, we watched a couple movies on their movie theater, ate some dinner, and then went to sleep. The next day I ate some breakfast and went and saw Mr. Frits’ Mercedes 500 SL, one of the fastest cars in the world! Now we are driving to the air port to go back to America. I don’t really want to leave, but at the same time I can’t wait till I get back to America! See ya later

Paris Nov 28

I got a great dinner of lasagna and then an almost perfect night of sleep at an, okay (worst one yet) hostel. The next day we took a walk to a metro system. When I got into the metro, we were packed so tight that if I lifted my legs off the ground it would take about 5 seconds for me to hit the ground. We got off at the Arch of Triumph. It was built by Napolean in the early 1800’s to commemorate his Armies. It has plaques for other wars too, like World War I and II. They added the flame to remember all the soldiers who died in World War I.

Next we got off at the Louvre Museum. I went inside and it was breath taking art. I saw Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and Mona Lisa. We also saw a lot of other miraculous art like Hercules fighting a dragon, Spartans wrestling and killing a deer, a lot of pictures and sculptures with people’s privates exposed. After that we went to the information booth to meet one of specifically, Robby, my parents’ and my friend, Yolanda.

When I was about two and Robby 3, Yolanda watched over us. So we spent the day with Yolanda and her friend David. I had a magnificent time with them and I can’t wait until I go to Spain with her for a whole two weeks. We had lunch together, saw Notre Dame Cathedral, an astounding cathedral with over one hundred sculptures carved in one doorway. There were three doorways. How could anyone make that?! We also went to THE Eiffel Tower at night (except Yolanda and David weren’t with us because they already went there.) The view was amazing. Then we went and had dinner with Yolanda and David and Ben choked. But he’s okay now. We just now were driving for a LONG time to Macon to visit some friends that my mom lived with back in her college days. Bye!

Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland Nov 25

Next we went to Trier. The first stop we made was a HUGE rock tower built in 300 B.C., called Porta Nigra. It went very high and had a lot of history to it. That night we went to a place called a Youth Hostel. A Youth Hostel is a place for college students with not a lot of money.
After the HUGE Porta Nigra, we were famished and wanted something to eat. So we went over to the town square and found some people singing a German song. We found a restaurant close by and I ate something fantastic called a Giro (Hero). It is a kind of meat (I had pork) and white sauce put in some bread. It was great and the music was fun too.
The next day I went to a city called Luxembourg, in a country called Luxembourg. It had gigantic walls made at around 900 AD. Everyone fought over Luxembourg: Spain, Austria, France, and Holland….over 1 town! We think it’s because of its roads. Luxembourg had very good highways.
Sam and Ben also wanted to go to a pirate ship park (as they call it). I have to admit though, it was pretty fun.
After that, we went to a new country called Belgium. First, we went and got a hotel. We found it in a city called Mons. That night we took a walk to the town square. We were very lucky because there was a carnival. We walked around but didn’t do anything. When we were about to leave I spotted a BB gun booth. So I went over, my Dad paid and I hit every single target with “deadly accuracy” (as I call it).
The next day, we drove by an amazing cathedral. When we went inside, there were statues everywhere you could look. They were made out of alabaster marble. It was very beautiful.
After that we drove to another city called Brussels. When we first drove into Brussels, we came across a flea market. A flea market is a place where you can get things for a super cheap price. We parked the car and went out for awhile. When we came back, I had a warm coat, my Mom bought a hat, scarf, and pair of socks. Ben got a sweater and Sam got a sweatshirt and we all had new gloves. After awhile of running around like some helpless mice, we came across a little statue of a peeing boy as a fountain.
Next, we came across a very colossal place called the Grand Place. When you go and see it though, you’ll know why they called it The Grand Place. Everywhere you look, you see 100 statues at least! When we were leaving, we could go up and rub a low relief of Christ. It is supposed to give you good luck.
The next day we arrived in a different city called Mechelen. We went to a toy museum. The first floor had mostly dolls. The second was tin soldiers and trains. The third floor had Legos. I liked the tin soldiers the most. They were even educational. They taught me what happened in Waterloo.
The Legos were amazing too. They had a life size lego statue of Hagrid in Harry Potter. His beard even had different colors!
The only good thing about the youth hostel was the shower. But we couldn’t take one because we had no towels! There were 6 mattresses strewn across the room. But we still slept on them.
The next day we took a long drive and ended up at a city called Soust, Holland. It had a pool table and we got very good over the next two days.
The next day, we packed up some rain clothes and walked to the train station. We were going to a place called Amsterdam. First of all Amsterdam is not a regular city. Number 1, it has marijuana in “coffee shops.” Number two, it allows something called the Red Light District. I shouldn’t tell you what that is. It’s inappropriate. When we got to Amsterdam, the first thing we saw was a person with an amazing yoyo thing. Then we went to a museum about a person named Anne Frank. She was a Jew. When the Germans attacked, she and seven other people hid in the back of one of their friend’s houses for two years. Then the Germans found her and her family and friends, and she died one month before the war ended. People found the diary she kept and it’s been published all around the world. People found out how wrong it was.
Then we walked around a little, and then we went to a boat tour. It showed us a lot of canals and a drawbridge so perfectly balanced that the bridge drawers could lift it with a finger.
After that, we tried to get to another flea market but it turned out that it was closed. So we started wandering around town a little and my Dad walked through the Red Light District.
We got back to the hotel and went to sleep. Now after about 6 hours of driving, we’re in Paris! I can’t wait to tell you about it later. Bye!