Packing for a Cross Country Trip - Food

Once all of my planning is in place, I start to pack.  First I organize all of the non-perishable food, and make a list of what I need to purchase closer to leaving.

Breakfast:
The breakfast box contained several boxes of cereal, packets of instant oatmeal, breakfast bars, Pop-tarts, and bagels.  It also included several cans of fruit.

Lunch/Snack:  The lunch box held PBJ, jerky, tuna and salmon packets, shelf stable salami and pepperoni, trail mix, pretzels, fruit cups, applesauce packets and a few sweet treats.

Dinner:

This time around I started with a weekly rotational dinner menu.

Sunday:  Breakfast for dinner:  pancakes, eggs (fresh for a while and then dehydrated), and fruit  (sometimes fresh and sometimes canned)
Monday:  Soup, crackers and cheese
Tuesday:  Asian: a boxed rice meal, a can of chicken and a can of mixed vegetables (all cooked in the same pot), or dehydrated split pea dahl and instant brown rice with a side of canned vegetables
Wednesday:  Spaghetti and canned green beans
Thursday:  Oat burgers, canned baked beans, instant mashed potatoes, and canned peas
Friday:  Tacos (TVP with taco seasoning, queso dip, tortillas) and canned corn
Saturday:  Cheesy Pasta (mac and cheese or tuna helper) and canned vegetables

Once I had created my menu I first went shopping in my pantry to see what I already had on hand.  Then, I made a list of the bulk food items I needed to make the pancake mix, oat burger mix and taco "meat".  I also made a list of canned and boxed items I needed to round out what I didn't already have.  I bought enough food for five meals of each type - figuring that we would go out for dinner a few times, and have some days where dinner had to be quick and we would eat lunch food.

After knowing what I needed, I made two grocery trips.  The first to our local Sharp Shopper - bulk and reduced price food, and the second to our regular grocery store to purchase anything I still needed.  Once I got it all home I spent several evenings creating individual trail mix bags, and mixing up the other items I needed for the dinner box.

Taco Seasoning Mix

1/4 c. minced onion

1/4 c. chili powder

3 T salt

4 t. cornstarch

1 T garlic powder

1T cumin

1T red pepper flakes

2 t beef boullion granules

1 1/2 t. dried oregano

Mix together and store in an air tight container.  Use 2 T taco seasoning with 1 c. re-hydrated TVP

Oat Burgers

Mix together

1/2 T beef bullion granules

1/2 t. Italian seasoning

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/4 T onion powder

1/4 t. salt

1/8 c. dried onion flakes

1 1/2 T yeast flakes

1 1/2 c. quick oats

1/4 c. ground walnuts

When ready to use...

Add 1 1/2 c. boiling water, 1 T soy sauce and 1/2 t. hickory seasoning.

Once the mixture cools, shape into patties and cook on a griddle.

Split Pea Dahl

Cook together - simmer for about 30 - 45 minutes until tender.  Dehydrate, then re-hydrate when ready to use.

1 1/2 c. split peas

3 c. water

1 c. chopped onion

1 T curry powder

3/4 t. ginger

1/4 t. salt

Trail Mix Combonations

Dried Apples, cinnamon yogurt covered pretzels, peanuts

Dried Cherries, chocolate covered pretzels, almonds

Dried Pineapple, pecans, coconut flakes

Raisins, peanuts, chocolate covered sunflower seeds

Dried Blueberries, dried strawberries, cashews, dark chocolate

Finally, it was time to get it all organized.

Dinner Boxes (sorry it's blurry - I was in a hurry)

Breakfast Box (again, sorry for the poor lighting)

Having everything planned out and organized meant that dinner was usually on the table in less than 15 minutes.  Normally, I love to cook.  But, when we're traveling I want to keep it cheap and easy.  Then I have more time for this.....

Planning an Epic Adventure

Some folks like mystery and the unknown - they prefer to just put themselves on the road and see where it takes them.  I, on the other hand, am a planner.  The thought of hauling my children cross-country without knowing where we're headed, where we're staying, or what we'll be doing makes me extremely anxious.  Part of this anxiety is rooted in my own childhood travels.

My parents were both educators, so we did a lot of traveling in the summer.  We took two lengthy out West trips, and many smaller East Coast and Southern states trips.  I loved these adventures as a child, and as an adult I recognize how much I learned, and how closely those trips tied me to my family.  There's nothing like 8 uninterrupted weeks in the same vehicle to create some pretty strong family bonding.  As my grandmother would say, we built a lot of memories.  And, after all, shared experiences are what tend to keep us bound together.

As with our trips, my mother is the major planner.  However, unlike me, my parents have always been more comfortable traveling with a very loose plan. In fact, my Dad far prefers to not have too much planned.   They start out with a general itinerary, but change and adapt it as they go.   They don't know where they're staying most nights - they often only having camping reservations at the major National Parks.  Most of the time, this works really well, and there are definite advantages to not having reservations - you can stay as long or as short as you'd like at each location. Sometimes though, not knowing where you're staying can create some problems.

One of my least favorite childhood memories is of not being able to find camping near Yosemite.  We'd discovered fairly early in the day that the National Park campground was full, but still decided to spend our day exploring Yosemite.  When we eventually left the park we had great difficulty finding another campground.  Eventually, sometime after midnight, and after being lost driving in the dark on back roads, my Dad pulled the motor home over on the side of the road, and we collapsed in exhaustion.  We didn't even bother to set up beds.  We just said a prayer that we weren't going to be woken up by some angry land owner, or a local cop.  I also remember several times getting the last, or next to last camping spot at a place we really wanted to see, and several other times of staying at some really shady campgrounds.  These experiences left a deep impression on me; so when we travel, we usually have reservations at campgrounds I've vetted before we leaving.

When we're planning a major trip we start some general planning and thinking at least two years out.  Once we've picked the region, I gather information and we have a family meeting.  I lay out the major options - usually National Parks and cities - and everyone gets to give opinions of what they'd like to see.  I also take note of places that are priorities to make sure those locations get several days in our trip plan.  At that meeting, we also make a general decision of approximately how long we'll be gone.  Then the real work begins.

My mom is a great resource in planning.  Frequently, my parents have been to the places we'd like to see, and she always keeps very detailed journals on their trips so she has lots of information and suggestions about roads to travel, places to stay and things to do while we're there.  One of our first steps is to get out a U.S. map (or regional map if it's a smaller trip) to plot out our major stops.  When we have this map meeting, my mom also points out other smaller stops that I might not know about, but that are worth seeing.  We also consult our National Parks book to see what places we might want to see in each state.

After this general overview I do some online planning.  First, I go to the state tourism websites and request their travel information.  Usually, they send free maps, travel guides and brochures.  (Tip - use Google Chrome for your search and you won't have to retype your address each time.  Auto-fill will do the job for you.)  Then, I go to each National Park web site and request park information.  Most parks will still send you the park newspaper and brochure for free.  Some parks have stopped sending out free info because of funding, so in some cases you might need to send a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) to get the information you need.

I then use MapQuest or Google Maps to start getting a sense of how long it will take us to get from place to place.  We've discovered that a driving day (one where the main objective is to eat up miles) should have no more than about 8-9 hours drive time, and that a touring day (one where we're transitioning between major parks but still seeing things on the way) is best kept to 3-4 hours drive time.  We also factor in an extra hour to hour and a half for rest stops, gas refills and lunch breaks.  While I'm working with the maps, I use the lodging option to make note of camping possibilities along our intended route.

At this point, it's time for another meeting - this time usually just with the Woodsman - where I share my research and we hash out the nitty gritty of what day we'll be leaving, what dates we'll be at the major parks, and how many transition days we'll leave ourselves between parks.  Once we've made those decisions, we meet together again as a family to review options and make sure that everyone is going to get to see the places he or she really want to see.

Then I head back to the computer to book lodging for our major stops.  We try to camp at National and State Parks for the majority of our lodging.  Not only is it usually significantly cheaper (typically between $10- $20 per night), but there is also usually ranger programming (guided hikes, talks, kids programs and campfire programs) that happen right in the campground.  It's also usually quieter, and darker than when staying at a commercial campground.  On the flip side, there are usually no showers, and sometimes just pit toilets - but we're not expecting the Hilton so it works.  It can be hard to secure the campsite you want at National Parks, especially if you're traveling in the summer.  I make sure that I know the dates we want to camp by January 1st of the year we're traveling - this is typically when most parks begin taking reservations.  I've found the easiest way to make reservations is to use  recreation.gov and reserveamerica.com. The process is simple, and you can usually even see pictures of the campsites.  Do your research before attempting reservations.  You'll want to read about the campgrounds on the National Park web pages (usually found under the Plan Your Visit and then Reservations and Fees tabs).  Don't forget that there are also many excellent National Forestry and BLM campgrounds, although they're usually primitive camping.  Make sure you're certain of your dates, and make sure you know which campground you want (most major parks have several campgrounds) because there is a reservation change fee if you change your mind, and sometimes that fee is as much as the campsite.

After securing all of the major places, I start to do deeper reading about each park, and I also do more reading about some of the smaller places we think we'd like to see.  I also read reviews of possible commercial campgrounds for our travel days, and write down contact information so I can call ahead when we're on the road to make sure they have space for us.  I also make reservations for weekend nights and major holidays (like 4th of July) - even the commercial places often are running close to capacity on summer weekends.

Once I have everything gathered and printed I read and read and read and read.  We repeat the family meeting process when I find something new and interesting, and sometimes we have to make choices about things we need to cut from our itinerary in order to fit in something new or negotiate added days if we find something we just can't miss.  One thing we don't plan out too closely is the on the way home trip.  Once we start heading towards home we like the flexibility to extend our trip, or cut it a bit shorter.  This seems to work for us.

If I find things that I know we really want to do, and for which it might be hard to secure tickets, I'll also book those (boat tours, cave tours, etc.), but we usually leave the daily plan open ended and don't make those decisions until we're actually in the park.   As I'm doing this planning I use a notebook where I record all of the confirmation numbers and contact info.  I also plot out where we're staying on a calendar.  These two tools help me keep everything clear in my head while I'm planning.

Anyone can take the kind of trips we take - just get started early, read lots of information and talk to folks who've been there if you can.  Trust me, the payoff is well worth the effort. No matter when you plan to go - it's time to get started.  I'm already working on our next amazing adventure.  So, where's your next adventure going to be?  

 

Summer of a Lifetime: Overview

We spent the summer on the road.  We left our house around 7 in the morning the day after teachers were done for the summer.  We headed first to Kentucky, then through Missouri, Kansas and into Colorado.  After Colorado we drove through Utah and Idaho before spending several weeks in Oregon and Washington.  When we began to head east we spent time in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.  We then made tracks heading east eventually landing on the Illinois/Indiana/Ohio/PA turnpike.  We returned home for two days, unpacked, repacked and headed to the beach (Chincoteague, VA).  Then home for less than 24 hours, unpack, repack and on to PA for one last summer adventure for the adults, and the start of Grandparent Camp for the kiddos.  The Woodsman and I returned home around 11 PM the night before teachers needed to be back at work.

Some folks assume that with all of the traveling we did this summer we must be exhausted, but I can truly say we have never felt so rested and recharged as we do now.  We spent all summer soaking up time with each other and reveling in the beauty around us.  With the exception of a few minor vehicle/trailer issues there were no stresses, no deadlines and no to do lists.  It was bliss.

The day before we left the beach the boy asked where we were headed when we got home.  When I explained to him that Daddy and I had to go back to work, but that he had two more weeks of adventures he responded by saying, "Good... I love traveling."  I couldn't have said it better myself.

I hope you find this fall's traveling series to be interesting and helpful in planning your family's next epic adventure.

We're Back!

We have had a epic summer - 9 weeks, 12, 265 miles, 17 National Park Sites, 22 states and lots more. Check back in this fall and I'll tell you all about it from planning, meals and packing to keeping kids happy in the car and of course many details about our favorite places. For now here's a teaser photo, and a look at what's going on here at the moment.

We try to collect a bumper sticker for the back of the pop-up everywhere we go.  This is what the back looked like when we parked it for the summer.

The only down side of being gone all summer was that, with no garden, there were no ready made meals in the freezer.  So, when my mother-in-law showed up on Thursday with a ton of tomatoes, zucchini and beans I knew I had some cooking to do.  Clockwise from bottom left:  Rosemary Salmon, Spicy Tomato Tofu, Oven Enchilada, and Italian Zucchini.  Fourteen meals in the freezer is a good start.

Spicy Tomato Tofu

Adapted from Simply In Season

Mix together 

2 T olive oil

2 T soy sauce

1 t sesame oil

1 t smoked paprika

1 lb tofu (drained, and cubed)

Toss together tofu and sauce - bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes until the tofu is chewy.  Stir once or twice.

Saute in skillet:

1 sliced green pepper

1 sliced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

Then add 1 1/2 lbs. of tomatoes

1 T paprika

1/4 t. hot chilies

1/2 t. thyme

1 bay leaf

Simmer for 10 min.

Add 1 t flour and cook until thickened.  Combine tofu and sauce.  Serve over brown rice.

Oven Enchilada

Adapted from Simply In Season

Saute:

1 lb. ground beef or TVP

1 chopped onion

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 chopped green or red pepper

Add:

4 c. cooked beans

2 c. chopped tomatoes

1 c. shredded summer squash

1 c. corn

2 t. chili powder

1 t. cumin

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Layer 1 c. of mixture, 1 flour tortilla and 1 c. cheese until you've used up all of the filling.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 min.

Italian Zucchini Casserole

Saute:

3 med. zucchini - sliced

1 onion - sliced

1 clove garlic minced

4 c. tomatoes - chopped

1 T basil

1 t. oregano

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Simmer for 10 min.

Place in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, cover with dry stuffing mix, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese and 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 min.

See you in September

We've spent the past few weeks wrapping up all of the year's activities:  dance recital, gymnastics program, last soccer game, fifth grade graduation, the last of the big state testing (Hooray!) and on Tuesday a piano recital.

I teach the kids piano, which for the most part works very well.  However, they miss the performance experience that usually comes with a piano teacher with many students.  So, we decided we would do our own recital (with dessert to follow) for grandparents.

It was a huge hit.  I told the kids they had to choose two pieces they'd perfected this year, but that they should plan the recital.

I thought there might be some resistance.  After all, it's hard to practice when it's so pretty outside.  But, they were so motivated to practice that at times I had trouble getting them to do anything else.  They created their own program and introduced each piece.  There was even a piece where the boy played blind.  I'm not sure how many pieces they eventually played, but a delightful evening was had by all.  The best part, they told us all this would be an annual event.

One more end of the year activity today - it's the last day of school.  I'll see you in September.  I'll be too busy being outside and being with my kids to blog.  Don't worry - I'll have many adventures to share when the weather is cooler and the days are shorter.  Have a great summer folks!  Enjoy your family and down time.

Spring Happenings....

I love winter, but now that spring is finally here I'm really enjoying the warm temps, longer days, greener food, and more time outside.  I'm back to walking in the predawn hours now and I love starting my mornings with the bird's dawn chorus.  I think frequently about blog posts, but then somehow, by the time the evening rolls around the pictures stay in my camera, and the thoughts stay in my head.  So, here's a smattering of what's been going on in our world lately.

Egg Noodles - Why have I never made these before?  I'm never turning back.  They were delicious, simple (eggs, flour and salt) and a perfect use of the over abundance of eggs in the spring.  

Oatmeal Rolls and Chicken Noodle Soup with Watercress

 Kids - both the goat and the people kind.  We got to spend the afternoon with some friend's goats.  Both the girl and I were smitten.  The mower broke a week later.  My solution?  Get goats -  somehow The Woodsman was not as enthusiastic.  Huh - I'm pretty sure goats would be cheaper, and will that mower give me milk.  I think not.  One day my friends... one day...

It's just like Heidi.  Where are Grandfather and Clara?

The Zoo!  A wonderful, if a bit wet, day at the National Zoo with good friends.

See the black and white fuzz ball in the tree?  That's BaoBao - the baby panda.  

You know - it's really hard to get five kids to take a picture.  

Unless you're sneaky and you take one while they're watching the tiger cubs play.

Or while they're deciding if the lemur is male or female...

Or if they crawl on a statue and pose themselves....  If only all the eyes were open.

Concerts, Recitals and Programs:  Last week Spring Chorus concert, this week Spring Dance Recital, Next week Gymnastic Parent program... then done until September.  My how she's grown.

Outdoor Adventures:  Is this the world's longest dandelion?  Inquiring minds want to send it in to the Guinness Book of World Records.  I'll keep you posted.

 Spring Eating:  The big freezer is empty, and only a few freezer meals and a handful of base ingredients remain, so I mostly get to cook with fresh ingredients:  greens, asparagus, eggs and goat cheese are frequent guests at the table.

Clockwise from bottom left - Green Haven Chevre, Asparagus picked a few minutes before in between thundershowers, roasted red peppers from the freezer, pesto cubes from the freezer, last Spring's garlic.

Trip two  - in between storms.  Radish thinnings, green onions, more asparagus, and eggs.  One of the hens has gone broody.  I hate to tell her that we have no rooster.  It kind of makes me wish we did.  She's going to all of this effort, and she won't get anything for her hard work and sacrifice.  Poor bird.

Reading on the Roof

This was my favorite spot to read as a child.  I spent hours up here.  There's a great view of the fields, but mostly when you're on the roof  there is a great sense of solitude. 

We're a family of Readers.  When the kids were younger we needed to make sure to pack blankets, now the last minute, cannot be forgotten grab in the morning when leaving for a trip is their books. Last Sunday, before leaving the farm, the kids begged for some time outside.  We weren't in any hurry and the weather was gorgeous, so I settled in with another cup of coffee.  When I wandered out to see what they were doing I found them on top of the coal shed roof, happily ensconced with their books, water and a snack enjoying the spring sun.

Last week they discovered that if they wore their headlamps in the car they could even read while driving home in the dark from karate.  The Woodsman actually complained because there was such a lack of conversation on the way home.

Some parents have to argue with their kids to shut off their video games and go to sleep; we have to threaten to take their books, and the cry of
 "Can't I just finish this page?"  and "Please can I get to the end of the chapter?" are frequently heard.

Their MP3s contain songs to be sure, but they are primarily a vehicle for audio books, and it's rare that we take a long trip without a book on CD for a shared literature experience. 

Yep, they're addicts - and I couldn't be more proud.

Today's selection:  Animorphs and Swindle