Time spent at the Jersey Shore ...

No, not that Jersey Shore...I am definitely not referring to the location of the trashy, "reality" TV show which is at present entering it's 4th season. Although I did tell my host parents I was going to tell everyone I went to the Jersey Shore, to which they replied... we took you to the nice part of Jersey!

Avalon, New Jersey

The week in Avalon was really great and it is a beautiful place BUT the most memorable experience was going to Wildwood, which is along the beach front and has lots of clothing stores, food stores and rollercoaster rides! So yes I rode the rollercoaster (and screamed like a little girl “we are gonna diiiiiiiieeee!!!”) but I went again and tried new ones too, so I guess I enjoy the near death experiences.

My first real rollercoaster!

The last few days in Avalon were spent traveling to the surrounding areas of Cape May and Ocean City. We played putt putt the one day, which apparently is not a good game for a 2 ½ year old to play as after the 5^th hole Annabel started to ‘gently’ kick the golf ball, pick it up and moving it or just walk away from it. We flew back home on the Sunday and as sad as I was to be “leaving” our vacation, I was excited to get back to Wisconsin as I have become rather attached to my new home in the States, plus I’ve been told  summertime is the best time to be in Milwaukee. Oh and just so you know where I am staying…

Mini Golf in Stone Habour, NJ

I am in Whitefish Bay (the Village of) which is 10 minutes from Milwaukee (the closest city, and the county we are part of) and it is in Wisconsin (that’s the state aka WI) So “we” as in WI is known for its cheese, dairy products and beer – go figure!

The Wisconsin State Quarter (google image)

I have had a little beer here and must say, I am no fonder of US beer as I am of SA beer, I would love a Hunters Dry if anyone wants to send one? I did see Black Label the other day, I was actually so excited I brought it, it tasted pretty close to ours, but when I read the labeled I realized that it was brewed here, in Milwaukee, USA.

The other thing I realized the other day while scanning through a “Sa food shop in the Us” (I know it’s so lame) is that we have pretty awesome food in Sa! I spoke to Des my aunt and she knows what it is like to oogle the Sa wares and dream of braai’s with Savannas, pap en wors. I have yet to attend a BBQ, football game or thanksgiving celebration but I feel that in my 70 or so days in the US of A I have already experienced many things that will leave a lasting impression on me.

Hilde and I on Brady Street, WI

*Hi-lighted words are explained in the glossary page

Our first vacation as an extended family ...

We left Milwaukee (Mitchell International Airport) on the 7^th of July in the morning. When I say “we” please bear in mind that this small two letter word actually means Dave (Host Dad) Amanda (Host Mom) Annabel (2 ½ year old girl) Finn and Braden (both 3 months at the time) and Me! After working out that there was no way “we” plus luggage would fit into the car (even though it’s so big) we decided to go by airport shuttle. I’m going to skim over the details but just keep in mind we were going through an American airport (so you take your shoes off going through airport checks) they even checked the milk Amanda brought in the bottles. While standing in line to go through airport check point we had a well-dressed business man that kept throwing causal glances our way, and I knew he was praying that “we” were lost and not boarding the same two hour flight as him. After boarding the plane and doing some serious rearranging as you cannot have more than 3 people in one side of a row on the two seats. (the original Game Plan was Annabel and I together, Dave, Amanda and both boys together but that made 4 on their seat, so I was moved to my own seat by the emergency exit (which is not allowed to have children in its aisle) and Dave went to sit with Annabel. I had space and I only had to promise that IF the plane should go down I would help the flight attendant, seems like a pretty fair deal to me!

This + me = "we"

The boys and Annabel were really well behaved (both ways) and on the homeward bound flight we even had someone say to the boys “you guys did well!” That was a relief! We flew from Milwaukee to Philadelphia which is in the state of Pennsylvania. *1^st state* We were “house sitting” for friends of my host family while they were exploring the Galapagos Islands. We stayed at the house for 3 days and in that time we went to the Aquarium, the Zoo (America’s first zoo) and a 4D movie, which for those for haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing, is a movie on a big screen with the 4^th dimension being the effects such as water being sprayed at you, air pumping into the back of your neck and things under your chair touching your legs, this is all while wearing 3D glasses so you feel like you are in the movie!

Annabel, Amanda and I watching a 4D movie

 I spent the next day on a hop on-hop off bus. I saw a natural world museum, the Ben Franklin museum, Liberty Bell, a few other sites (like the jail where Al Capone was held, but I never went into the jail) and of course the legendary Rocky Balboa (I think that was his full name) steps, where I ran up and did the famous jump (and got a picture of it!)

The rocky steps

Then my host parents drove down to Avalon, New Jersey and I got a lift with my host dad’s sister to Virginia *2^nd state* where I was to meet up with another South African au pair that I met at orientation. We met up and had a really awesome night (involving a bottle or two of wine and stories of home), and then contacted another South African au pair, and decided our plans for the next day…Washington D.C! We fetched Michelle and all three of us (Lorren, Michelle and I) got on the metro (the train system) and got off in the heart of DC. Wow, the president’s own home! We walked and walked and walked, as everything in Dc is pretty close together we decided this would be the easiest (and cheapest) way to explore. Yes, I saw the white house and all the other special DC landmarks but the thing that impressed me the most was the crime and punishment museum! It had CSI feel where you had to solve a crime by looking through the museum and finding clues. This involved a simulated high speed chase, crack the safe, scanning your fingerprints, escaping from a prison cell and even a cop shoot out. We spent about 2 hours there, and left with big smiles and many pictures! We caught the metro home at 8pm that night after a stop at Chinatown, which was really cool; all the signs were in Chinese (or Japanese?) except Nandos and Hooters. Crazy I tell you!

Lorren, Michelle and I at the Crime and Punishment Museum

 I stayed the night at Lorren’s house again, and then caught the metro back to DC on Sunday by myself, where I caught a bus to Philadelphia (Philly). Then I caught the New Jersey transit to Avalon. While booking my buses and making my plans my host parents thought I was either A: a crazy South African or B: going to get horribly lost and phone them from somewhere like Utah! But I made it! In the process I crossed Delaware *3^rd state* and Maryland *4^th state* and arrived in New Jersey *5^th state* I met up with my host parents in Avalon where they were having a family BBQ, so I got to meet a whole lot of people!

Waiting for my bus to New Jersey

*Hi-lighted words are explained in the glossary page