Half a Hundred Acre Wood

Christian homeschooling integrating Classical and Charlotte Mason principles

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We are currently planning one of our 50-States-Before-They-Graduate trips.

This trip will include 8 states:  Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.

Our three main goals for each state is to

  1. Experience the countryside and soak in the beauty of God’s creation
  2. Delve into some history by visiting at least one historical site
  3. Do something unusual or specific to that state while we’re there
With that in mind, here is our current plan, which is still in the works:

Virginia:  

  • Blue Ridge Parkway
  • Mabry Mill
  • Shenandoah Valley
  • Monticello
  • Mt. Vernon

Washington, D.C.

  • Lots of stuff but haven’t figured out what we will do this trip and what we will save for a later trip when the boys are older.

West Virginia:

  • New River Gorge
  • Mystery Hole
  • Harpers Ferry

Maryland:

  • Baltimore harbor
  • Fort McHenry
  • Chesapeake Bay (drop by a seafood restaurant, of course)

Delaware:

  • This is sad.  I really should know better.  But what is there to do in Delaware?  Help!

New Jersey:

  • Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty (both are currently closed due to Hurricane Sandy, but maybe we can at least see the Statue of Liberty from afar – may drive on over to NY to see it from the front or wait for a future trip).  What else to do in NJ?

Pennsylvania:

  • Philadelphia – Liberty Bell & Independence Hall
  • Gettysburg (?? – unsure of this stop)
  • Amish country (nothing specific planned yet -where should we stop?)
  • Punxsutawney, PA – Groundhog Zoo.  My husband loves Groundhog Day…

Ohio:

  • Near Cincinnati – Creation Museum
  • Oh, what to do, what to do, what to do in Columbus and/or Cleveland area?

Indiana:

  • Covered Bridges in Southern Indiana

So… if you are from one of these states or have visited a place you highly recommend, we could use your help! Please comment (or email me at brandyferrell at yahoo dot com) to offer your suggestions on this part of our 50-states adventures.  A favorite restaurant?  A peculiar experience?  A sight to behold?  A unique place to stay overnight?  A hands-on history adventure that will be interesting to three boys under the age of 10?  (To get an idea of what kind of trips we take, visit any of our Traveling America posts.)

Note:  We will be returning to Virginia on another trip to experience Eastern Virginia (Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, etc.) and Washington, D.C. once again.  (We want this to be an engaging trip, so there are several things we will wait to do in Washington, D.C.)

Though we’ve ordered the travel guides for these states and will look into the activities listed at http://familydaysout.com, I really enjoy getting the “expert” opinions of those who have been-there-done-that!