After Ohio, we headed to Indiana so we could cross the river and visit the Kentucky Ark Encounter. It was quite the encounter, wow! So impressed with the thought and detail put into this huge museum. I do not think I ever once grasped, in Sunday School, the magnitude of the ark..... So, we had a very very special visitor come all the way from Kansas to meet us for the next few days of fun. NANA! The inside of the ark was dark and kinda orange to recreate a lantern look. You enter one the bottom of 3 floors of INCREDIBLE and in-depth displays showing what Noah's ark may have been set up like. I have a lot of pics, so I will be using slideshows so you can dig as deep as your interest level allows. :) One of the neatest things about this ark set up, was each set of basket cages you walked by, had the noises of the animals inside them. This was in addition to the creaking of the giant boat, the BOOM of thunder during the storm happening outside as well as rain fall. There were a few times I swore the boat was moving, because it was THAT convincing!!!!! Slideshow: Our journey lead us from floor to floor, each more impressive than the last. The attention to detail on this displays, and the Biblical education pouring out of each is BAR NONE! We could've spent two days here probably, just reading it all. Paxton's attention span kept us moving and we did the whole thing in about 4 or so hours. Slideshow: Outside you can go walk the gardens, eat at a huge restaurant, do the petting zoo or just kick your feet up. It was so fun to get to spend the day with my momma AND some of my oil family, too! Miss Kathy is part of our doTERRA team, one of mom's builders, and she and her girls were sweet enough to bring mom to the museum and meet us for the day. They were such a delight! We grabbed some Mexican and headed back to the RV. Kathy and mom took the girls to the mall, then back to Nana's hotel for a slumber party before they parted ways. TOO FUN!! :) I left this place with my heart so FULL and my mind finally had the answers to some of my burning questions of childhood about the ark, dinosaurs, the ice age and more. What a NEAT experience! It is a MUST for your family! We got the boys down at a good time because the next day we would be exploring the Creation Museum! We picked Nana up from her hotel and headed over. The first thing I noticed about the Creation museum is how huge the outside is. Lots of gardens, and bogs and fun bridges to walk through. Slideshow: While the Ark museum is fairly new, just a couple years maybe, the Creation museum is like 10 years old or so. That was news to me! After a few exhibits, you enter this cool tunnel and "Travel back" 6000 years...... Slideshow: And viola, just like that, you are in the Garden of Eden..... We were BLOWN away by the animatronics and displays that literally walked us through the old testimament highlights! Sweet Nana splurged for us all to go to the Plantarium show, we got in line early because they said it fills up fast. We had a two day pass to the Creation museum because of the combo pack we bought, so we decided to call it a day and go to Chewey's to get some grub. We dropped Nana and the boys off at the hotel for there turn to have a sleep over and made plans for pick up the next day. Dale and Destiny took off the next morning to go get Nana and the boys, and see the final part of the Creation museum we missed the day before: Bugs and Dinosaurs. Avery and I stayed back to get ready for a fun day with Nana at our RV park! When they arrived, we were kicked back by the pool reserving them some seats. We spent most of the afternoon there, visiting, dozing and catching up! Ahhhhh this is the life! We planned a simple Steak Caesar Salad supper and once it cooled off a bit, headed out to walk the trails. We played games until it was time to beat a thunderstorm into town! We had SO much fun with Nana. So special that she got to come all this way to be with us and explore God's Word in museum form.
Travel safe Nana! She is off to visit her BFF in east Ohio while we headed west. Both teaching essential oil classes! And both planning on seeing friends and having a fun time! :) Until next time! Hugs, T
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With back to school and cold and flu season coming, the time to get essential oils in your home is NOW!
I was invited to guest speak on another FB page and I wanted to share the video with you today.... Watch and learn with me! :) Hugs, T Top 10 Oils Class from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo. After all the hype of the big city, we had to go back to our country roots......AMISH COUNTRY! Did you know both Dale and I come from Amish roots? My grandmother's family left the Amish church when she was 8. Dale's grandma was Amish mennonite, he doesn't remember when they left the full Amish side of things, but they always have lived very conservatively. We always feel right at home when we are in Pennsylvania and Ohio! First stop was Lancaster! 3 years ago, we ate at this little teeny hole in the wall chinese place, and went crazy over it. WELLLL, being the foodies we are, we let Destiny pick where she wanted to eat for her birthday, and she mentioned this place. Haha, it helped us decide where to go after NYC to relax a bit! We stayed at an RV park run by the nicest couple. He would sit out every night with his talking parrot and entertain everyone. So cool! We drove 6 hours and headed into Holmes County, Ohio we planned to see some friends the next day, that recently joined our oil team! But first, it was time to eat! It had been a long travel day and the fridge was BARE since we didn't grocery shop in NYC at all. We found a darling little amish diner to eat at, Mrs. Yoder's. How you can tell you are in an Amish town, look how polite! No hats during dinner. :) And what do you order when its PEACH SEASON?! Homemade peach cream pie! Over dinner, we were chatting about how close we were to our friends and business partners, the Vissers. They full time RV too now, and we knew they were staying somewhere in this area. We went on their FB pages and studied until we figured out where they were staying and went to SURPRISE THEM! Haha, we should be DETECTIVES! :) They saw us pull in and recognized the car, darn it, but it was still a fun surprise! We spent the evening catching up and the kids had fun with the 9 other children running around! The next morning, was Destiny's 15th birthday!!! Dale got her up to drive 45 minutes to a nearby town to wait in line to try to get her iPhone fixed, whoever replaced her battery did a horrible job and caused some issues. While they were gone, Avery comes running back with this idea to set up a queen throne for our queen of the day AND to decorate the living room and yell surprise when they got home. So sweet! It turned out cute! The siblings all used their quarters to use the claw and "catch" her a birthday stuffed animal. Awww, so sweet! Slideshow: We went grocery shopping for some local fresh fruits and veggies, and then drove around and enjoyed the farm land and sites. OH, and we splurged and had ice cream. We have talked about this pace for the past 2 years, wanting to come back and eat their REAL cream Black Raspberry ice cream. Not too sweet at all, just creamy deliciousness. Destiny had asked me if I would do a birthday photo shoot with her like we used to back in our house days. OF COURSE! I had to dust off the ol' girl after all these years of just cell phone use, but we had a ball. How is she so GROWN UP now?! Birthday Shoot Slideshow: Which is your fav? I am having trouble choosing but am loving the white shirt ones for sure. And here she is, age 9 and age 15, getting to be SO grown up. A sophomore in HS this year!!!! SNIFF SNIFF :( We met our friends, Tim and Nataly for dinner that night. Got to met their baby boy, Emanuel for the first time, and opened gifts! We made plans to see them again the next day to chat oils, raising kids, Jesus and have some fun together too. Dale and Tim traveled together when Dale was on the ministry team back in the day, and we had him play piano at our wedding 16 years ago. He and Nataly came to visit us at our Kansas house many years ago, when Pax was a baby and it has been SO fun to catch up again. I used a local address to ship some of the things Destiny had on her wish list and surprised her with them at dinner. We usually do experiences not stuff, but in this case, the things she was wanting were small and totally doable for RV life! She was thrilled! We also got to see some doTERRA friends we met in Florida a few years back, when Dale saw a man whose shirt fell off the back of his golf cart. They got to talking, and doTERRA came up since they had a sticker on their car. His wife comes out, and she hears Dale chatting about our life on the road and selling our property in KS, and she is like, Wait, are you the RV OILERS?! Your photo from the doTERRA magazine is on my vision board. Can I meet your wife? Haha, needless to say, we have been hanging out ever since and we love their family! We had a GREAT time and our day together FLEW BY! Slideshow: As you can see by the slideshow, we had a ball! Boys got to 4 wheel with Lane, girls got to horse ride with Logan. The adults got to shoot the breeze and get all caught up before we had to go again. Such an awesome family! SO thankful the Lord brought them into our lives..... Next up, we headed to Plain City, OH for some oil classes! It was a cool and rainy day when we pulled in, so we laid low and played around the RV. The kids came up with a couples yoga challenge, CRACK ME UP! Check out this slideshow: What do you think of Paxton and Ty's final pose?! LOL! :) The next morning we arose to a parade outside our door! YUP! Our RV Park just so happened to be part of the location of part of a local Bicentennial festival, and the parade lined up right up front so we saw the whole thing go by!! SO COOL! Later, they set up all sorts of bouncy houses and carnival games, free to the public and had the coolest banjo pickin band out in the gazebo! We jumped, we rode horses, we slid, Pax made a bullseye shots on the giant dart board and most of us, got the dinger to ding on the giant hammer game. Whoop Whoop! Slideshow: Such a fun day! So grateful to be able to walk from our home sweet rolling home and enjoy this as a family before oil class. Speaking of an oil class, we have one coming up July 27 in Bowling Green, Ohio! I would love for you to join me...just message me via contact form for details.
Hugs, T
Today, I am sharing a short but power packed educational video on the TOP TEN oils that are a MUST to have on hand, and how to use them!
Top 10 Oils class from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
I would LOVE for you to come join us on our tons of fun, no pressure, learn along with me, oil education page on facebook. Themed Class Page
If you are ready to live better, choose better and feel better with doTERRA, I want you to fill out a contact form and I will be in touch shortly. You never oil alone and we will plug you into a wonderful community of support! HEADS UP! When you join in July with a Home Essentials or Natural Solutions Kit, doTERRA is going to send you 2 free oils! BONUS: You also get cash back. Hit me up for details! Hugs, T
We have entered day 3 in the city that never sleeps and we cannot believe what a TIME WARP we are living in. We cannot tell what day it is, we cannot believe how NYC is it's own little world.
We are exhausted but having a ball. We have NEVER let our children stay up so late so many nights in a row, but it's almost like you get sucked in. Broadway the first night, exploring the second and our oils class the last day......plus, the city never sleeps. There is ALWAYS something going on! We let the kids sleep in, and then walked in per usual, to do some shopping and site seeing. Clearance rack twins:
Sweet Avery loves fashion and sparkles and all things GIRLIE, but she discovered day 1 that gold sparkly high tops give you ankle blisters, and day 2, she wore flip flops and discovered that didn't work so good either.
Day 3, we were on the hunt for ATHLETIC tennis shoes, the comfy kind. She says these are bulky and ugly but they feel better than my gold ones. And look, she is almost twinsies with her big sis now!
We headed through Time Square to return a pair of Old Navy slides that didn't work, and again I am amazed at how this particular place is packed ALL HOURS OF THE DAY and NIGHT!
We walked around and enjoyed the sites a bit more, knowing this was our last day here.
Do you remember the Seinfeld Soup Nazi? We want past his restaurant, it's a legit thing!!!! We were on a mission for Pizza though. Oh man, you cannot beat a NY slice. It's so chewy and soft, yet crispy because of the way they toast it fresh for you before you get it. I don't know how we will EVER eat "other" pizza again, and I am not even joking. Oh, and according to a nice man we met on the subway, the B&W Cookie is a New York MUST eat! So we got one of those too. It is almost like a lemon shortbread cookie with a half white, half chocolate ganache. Slideshow:
The whole reason for coming to the Big Apple was to give our sweet friend, Natalia an essential oil class for her family and friends! And tonight was the night!
She had to go teach a dance class, but told us where to go to set up for our oils class in the meantime. It was the most beautiful place, with doormen and chandeliers and gardens!!!! Class went GREAT and we will be returning in the fall hopefully, for some more. We told Natalia bye and headed across Time Square one final time to get to our subway and RV park, where we would be pulling out the next morning.
New York at night is so magical!
You just HAVE to be sure to use the buddy system when manuvering 6 people through!
Time Square Slideshow:
We are so so tired, but so so happy with our time in first Philly, and then NYC. What a week!
We pulled out fairly early the next day, and no joke, everyone took naps AND went to bed early because they were so pooped out from their NY party.
Bye NYC, it has been grand! See you later! We are off to Amish country and hid out a bit. Haha!
Hugs, T
We are loving our time in NYC, when I left off last, we were leaving Goveror's Island.....
After we got off the ferry, we decided to go to Greenwich Village.
I am amazed at how each part of NY, has it's own vibe, treasures and parks to enjoy. We walked all around before settling in at Washington Square Park to do some people watching. That place is like a circus with all it's performers! WOW! Well, this people watching, turned You Tube video making! First, watch this slideshow. See all those photos of the kids and Natalia walking by a video crew? I'll explain in a sec.
So we were watching this dancer, and Destiny said mom, she reminds me of something I was watching on Instagram. Here let me show you, this photographer is amazing.
So she gets out her Instagram and shows me this Insta famous photographer named Jordan Matter, who is known for his 10 minute shoots. So we watch a few of his AMAZING stuff and put phones away and keep chatting. Suddenly, Destiny GASPS.... THERE HE IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, what are the odds that we were just talking about the man behind the camera, and here he is beside us in the park.
NUTSO! After a while, he came over to us and asked if we wanted to be part of his You Tube shoot. Um, YEAH.
So this heartfelt shoot is all about Evan Ruggerio, dancer and cancer survivor, now living and dancing with one leg. He was offering free tap lessons for this shoot, so we all hopped out there to help.
It was a blast! Destiny went first....and then was interviewed by the local news.
Then Avery.....
If you want to see the girl's tap lesson video, it's on the vimeo channel: www.vimeo.com/rvoilers.
Here is their free style video:
Tylan decided they needed a boy out there, so he volunteered. When we found out they had a men's size 14 tap shoe, you better believe I bee-lined it for Dale!
If you want to see Tylan and Dale's tap dance lesson video, go to www.vimeo.com/rvoilers
Here is there free styles, CRACK ME UP! The crowd went wild!
In the end, Paxton and I watched, because so many other people wanted a chance to dance, but it was SO AMAZING to see so many Ferguson's and Miss Natalia out there!
I will blog the you tube video when it comes out, so you can see the final product. All that dancing had everyone starving, so Natalia wanted us to taste something fun called Pommes Frites...aka fries with cool tipping sauces.
We are walking over 20k steps everyday and it makes us STARVING at weird hours, and sleepy. So after we ate fries and NY pizza, because hello?! What else do you eat at 10pm, we knew we needed to get to bed!
Good night, everyone. See you again tomorrow for our LAST DAY in the Big Apple! This was a day that memories are made of. :)
Hugs, T P.S. Since I blogged this, Jordan has posted his You Tube video. I have posted it below! Can you spot all 6 Ferguson's? Day 2: We are getting better at this whole subway thing. Did you know you can only swipe your Metro card 4 times? Yup, we had to have 2 cards so the other 2 people could get through. Oh buddy, that tooth has GOT TO GO in a New York minute! Dale says if he gets it out in the next few hours, he can get a special treat. Sweet Natalia took some days off work to show us around, and has been the most excellent host and city guide! Today, she sent us on ahead to the 9/11 memorial site and the ferry over to Governer's Island. She was running all over town, gathering her favorite NY treats for our picnic lunch there! HOW THOUGHTFUL!!!! The memorial is so beautiful, and our emotions were overwhelming. I was physically ill when we left, just taking it all in and feeling the extreme loss of life. The waves in which it the tragedy happened, people on board gone in an instant, people in offices losing their lives, jumping to their deaths? Rescue workers lost as they tried to save others, their oxygen tanks beeping haungtingly in the wreckage, it's just heart wrenching. Seeing all those names? The squares were massive towering buildings once stood, people bustling in and out, going about their days. Wow. Slideshow: St Paul's Chapel, and Trinity Church played a major role after 9/11, and usually they have the church open for you to walk through and see some displays, but it was under construction. We still went in the chapel and enjoyed the courtyard and cemetery paths. Look whose tooth is OUT! He picked a chocolate milk tea from the street cart. Destiny, of course, picked out a Bubble Tea. Avery and Ty wanted a hot dog to share, because they were starving and were going to pass out if we didn't. Riiiight. Time to make our ferry over to Governor's Island to explore... Governors Island is a 172-acre island in New York Harbor. Governors Island’s fortifications were an integral part of the former harbor defense system of New York, dating back to the War of 1812. Today, the National Monument offers visitors an important look at the area’s military history and impressive period architecture, as well as incredible views of the New York skyline. From 1776-1996, Governors Island stood as a silent sentinel in New York Harbor, and provided protection of the ideals represented by the Statue of Liberty across the bay. Castle Williams was built between 1807 -1811. Construction of the walls and gate of the existing Fort Jay were completed in 1808 to replace a series of earthen forts built in 1776 and 1794. Castle Williams was designed and erected under Colonel Jonathan Williams, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the first Superintendent of West Point. Considered by some the Alcatraz of the East Coast, Castle Williams served as a prison for Confederate soldiers from 1862 – 1866. The U.S. Army ceased operations there in 1966 and turned the island over to the Coast Guard, which closed its facilities on the island in 1997. In 2003, the federal government returned Governors Island to New York State and City. GIPEC now owns 150 acres of the island and the other 22 acres are administered by NPS. The City’s first project includes creating a 72 to 87 acre mega-park along the southwestern end of the island, giving the public the most direct view by land of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor. The boat ride over was short and sweet, but what a great way to get around! Once you are on the island, there are restaurants, a bar, a walking path that takes you around the island, and some big hills to explore. We followed the path over to the big round building that acted as the jail for a while. We wandered around in awe of the old beautiful dorms, and homes with wide front porches that all sit empty, barring a few art gallery exhibits. Sad that people can't come restore them and make them a home again! Once we crossed under the arched building, we were in the newest developed part of the island with playground, hammocks, walking paths, a huge observation hill and more. Really neat! Slideshow: What a great place to see Lady Liberty from. And the kids thought the slide section of the playground was SO COOL! They have the biggest slide in NY there, at 57 feet! Everyone but daddy had a turn. Slideshow: Natalia called and said she was on the island and ready to meet us for our picnic lunch! She brought the most AMAZING things! This sandwich is called a banh mi. Oh my heavens! It's sweet, it's smoky. It has fresh flavors of cilantro and cucumber and carrot. The bread is perfectly chewy! Drooling. The bagel like thing is called a bialy. It has more of a bread texture then bagel, and is very soft. They cram it full of an everything cream cheese and it is FOODIE PARADISE! And a crazy, cool treat: Pickled Pineapple! Tasted like cinnamon red hots in pineapple with some cayenne pepper heat after. So good and so good for you to eat fermented like this! Pickled Mango! Tasted just like fresh homemade applesauce, except mangos. Not mushed up. Anyhow, it was lovely! We wandered around some more after lunch, even finding an old abandaned movie theatre and a gorgeous church All of a sudden we realized what time it was, there were only 2 ferries left for the day. We barely made it to the 5 ferry and even though we ran like Home Alone movies, and still, they were shutting gate. We JUST made it and they were nice and let us in. The people behind us weren't so lucky.....they have to wait an hour for the 6pm ferry, last of the day. Day 2 in the city isn't near done yet, but this blog is FULL and it's starting to act up on me. So alas, this post is to be continued another day.......
The city that never sleeps has SO much to offer! Come hang out and read some more next post. Hugs, T
We woke up with nervous anticipation for the BIG city we were about to tackle for the first time.
NEW YORK CITY! Here goes nothing... Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore!
Made it in to RV park without much hassel.
Phew! But getting in was a WHOLE NOTHER STORY. This RV park is in NJ, and on the harbor. It's basically a parking lot. We have to go around the back to park the encolsed trailer since there are no pull through spots big enough for our rig. We head down and there is this SUPER DUPER tight, sharp left turn, like 90 degrees with a truck on one side, a concrete hill in front of us with a telephone pole and a RV to the right of us. Dale slips past with 3 inches to spare on either side after some backing up and changing trailer angle. The RV owner came out to help AND make sure his mirror didn't PING off! ;) I don't know how he does it, but praise Jesus, HE is the driver not me.
We walked the 5 blocks to the train and took our first subway ride ever, and then off to the big city to meet our friend and business partner, Natalia, the NY dancer!
The concentrated amount of people when we first made it out of the subway scared us a bit, like oh no, is this going to be how it is the whole time? We did the 2 x 2 x 2 buddy system and pushed through, literally. Politely. ;)
Natalia had us wait in Bryant Park while she took the subway to meet us and show us around the city sites.
She's here! It's off to see the library and the Ghost Buster Lions.....
Slideshow:
Natalia took us all over the city, hitting the highlight real! Off with a BANG!
Rockefeller Center, Lego store, American Girl Doll Store Slideshow:
We went in and out of some of the most BEAUTIFUL churches!!!!
We also went by Tiffany & Co, Trump Tower, and the Home Alone hotel!
Slideshow:
We were STARVING by this point, so Natalia took us down into a subway that was full of shops and restaurants so we could try the infamous Chick N Cone, and of course we had to stop for our newest obsession, BUBBLE TEA!
OH MY WORD, sweet waffle cone with savory chicken was DIVINE! Get the mustard BBQ, it's for sure the best!
Re-fueled and back into the city!
Central park is HUGE! LIke way bigger than you will ever believe from Home Alone and Elf. Bahahaha! I am serious though!
The kids played on the rocks, the swings and Natalia took us all on the oldest Carousel in NY....
So, Broadway is sorta a big deal in the Big Apple. So we knew we needed to see a show, but woah was the cost high.
How big of a deal? Like new shows going for $500 a ticket a big deal! Like Lion King 20 years later, still $200 for the super duper, nose bleed, cheap tickets. There is something called a Ticket Lottery you can play every day, unfortunately we didn't win any of them, BUT, Natalia took us down to Broadway, and we went from theatre to theatre, enquiring about their last minute tickets. ROCK STAR friend right there! Thank you Jesus, one of the main ones we wanted to see, had availability in the nose bleed section. The more Natalia talked about her friends coming to visit and living on the road in the RV, the nicer the guy got, and the better the seats we were able to access for the same price. We got to see FROZEN!!! YAY! :) In the end, we got amazing seats to the left and right of the theatre, Dale and Pax on one side, Destiny, Ty, Avery and I on the other. We couldn't see the very very edge of the right side of the stage, but wow, it was amazing!
I had NO idea they used such amazing special effects in these gigs. WOW! I mean it was phenomenal. I had chills and sweetie Dale even got teary during one of the big songs. (shh, he doesn't want you to know that part) Outfit changes, sparkling diamonds dripping from the stage and everything frozen like crackling ice, it was SO WELL DONE!
At this point, my phone died, total rookie mistake! Noooooooo. It does NOT feel safe to be in a strange place with no way to call if we get seperated or lost. I will be packing a battery charger tomorrow! We walked over 25,000 steps today, so as soon as we got home it was time for some doTERRA deep blue lotion for our feet, deep blue pills so we can walk tomorrow, and serenity pills for deep, restorative sleep! More tomorrow, I can't wait!! Eeeek! Hugs, T
Day 2 in the City of Brotherly Love, Jason & Karena had to work, so we headed to the Adventure Aquarium really close by, in Camden, New Jersey.
We had read some mixed reviews online, so we were a little nervous, but decided to go for it! And we are so glad we did, it was wonderful!
Adventure Aquarium is just minutes from downtown Philadelphia on the Camden Waterfront and features one-of-a-kind exhibits with more than 8,500 aquatic species throughout two million gallons of water. The Aquarium is home to the largest collection of sharks on the East Coast, including the only great hammerhead shark on exhibit in the United States, the only aquarium in the world to exhibit hippos, one of only six facilities in the US to have Little Blue penguins as permanent residents and exhibits the longest Shark Bridge in the world, a unique V-shaped rope suspension bridge just inches over Shark Realm. Adventure Aquarium is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and is held to the absolute highest standards in animal care and exhibition.
After we pet the sharks and watched the hippos get fed, we headed up and down the different floors of this beautiful 3 story building!
Next up, the Shark Bridge, Frog exhibit and a super cool 3D ocean adventure movie!
Such amazing aquatic displays!
Slideshow:
Needless to say, it was a SUPER fun day! We headed back to the RV park to make dinner, relax and enjoy our beautiful KOA RV park.
One of our FAVORITE things about KOA, is all the fun things they offer for families, including the infamous bouncy pillow our kids go nuts over. Momma gets on their once in a while too! ;)
The next morning, our kids went back to the bouncy pillow, and met the nicest photographer, looking for a KOA family to photograph for some advertising. SO FUN! :)
Can't wait to see the final pics! The KOA ladies were wonderful to work with!
After this we met Jason and Karena for lunch at the neatest place, Reading Terminal Market!
One of America’s largest and oldest public markets, housed since 1893 in a National Historic Landmark building, the Market offers an incredible selection of locally grown & exotic produce, locally sourced meats and poultry, plus the finest seafood, cheeses, baked goods, and confections. The widest variety of restaurants under one roof! Interesting history behind this place! Check out this quick read: https://readingterminalmarket.org/about-us/history/
Guess we like choices because at our table we had Chinese food, a Gyro, Nacho Supreme, Amish Pretzels and more! haha :)
We decided to beat the heat in the Philadelphia Art Museum for the afternoon.
Of course, we had to go out front and do the Rocky steps!
And just like that, our time in the City of Brotherly Love was done. We had such an amazing time! Thank you to Jason and Karena for showing us around your beautiful city!
Hugs, T This must be the summer of BIG cities, because we are hitting Philly on our way to New York City! We are anxious and excited all at once. ;) We had a 5 hour travel day as we headed towards New Jersey, where we will park for the duration of our stay. I usually take the front seat, pop the recliner and get some work done, and this trip was no exception. My cute little waiter brought me some yummy "food" and a bell to call him back when I was done eating it. We got in a bit of a traffic jam outside of DC, so the kids passed the time by yelling Hi and Happy Birthday to the other drivers. lol :) Don't you dare get out of the front seat, not even for a minute. We have a chair hog in the house! We got settled in for the night and made plans to meet them at 10 the next morning. We took a toll road and headed in to the city, crossing over the Benjamin Franklin bridge. You know our goal is always to eat the local culture and see the local sites. When we ran to the grocery store, we found a little Water Ice shop. Dale had just seen a food show about Water Ice and how it was first served here. Cool AND delish! We are super thankful to have family in the area to show us around!!!! My cousin Jason and his lovely wife, Karena are going to take some time and hang out with us. YAY! They have a BEAUTIFUL modern home on the most darling street! Our hosts told us their neighborhood used to be the horse stables or block home slave quarters. I am telling you, this area is so full of history! If the walls could talk! We chatted a bit in the living room, while Dale taught Ty to juggle, and then we were off, a short walk to the city square. I could not get enough of the gorgeous brick homes! Most are 3 levels with a room on each. We walked through the most beautiful neighborhoods and stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the Revolutionary war. The thing we love most about Philly is you are literally walking through history! Slideshow: There seemed to be extra many people gathered about the town square. Then we realized, WHY! Even though we celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July, the Declaration of Independence wasn't actually signed until the 8th. Guess what day it was?! It was July 8th and EVERYONE wanted to be here for this special day. There was a reading of the DOI and the line to go see the Liberty Bell, wrapped well around the corner. We aren't picky and a window view did us just fine! We walked through the area where the first Presidential House was built. You can see the foundation and they have erected walls to help you imagine the size and lay out. All this is free to walk by and enjoy! The Chinese Lantern Festival was happening in Lincoln Square that we enjoyed! The lanterns were SO beautiful and detailed. Again, this was free to walk through, unless you went at night. We headed over to Chinatown for lunch! It was LEGIT. It was delicious and we tried some fun new things like SOUP DUMPLINGS!!!! Oh my heavens. You nibble the top off, let it cool, slurp the soup and then eat the dumpling and meat. We also completely fell in love with BUBBLE TEA! Have you ever had one of those? We got it cold, and did the black milk tea. I want one right now!!! Now that our tummies were nice and full, we had some fuel to walk around this amazing place. There is so much to see at every turn! Aren't those GIANT game pieces and old buildings cool? And of course we had to take photos by the iconic LOVE sign! It was VERY hot at this point, so we headed down by City Hall to the free giant fountains so the kids could play. Slideshow: It was a FUN first day!!! We walked over 20,000 steps! Dinner back at Jason and Karena's then out for an evening walk. What can we say? There was more to see! We walked by beautiful murals and headed past the dog park down to the water to watch the sunset. Slideshow: Good night, Detroit! See you again tomorrow.
Hugs, T doTERRA's Summer BOGO's are here and the deals are SWEETER than ever!
July 15-20 Each day, on our FB page, I'll be announcing the daily Buy One, Get One deal, in my closed group, along with tips, tricks, videos and fun education! >>>>>>One week only<<<<<<<< *You do not have to be a member to jump in! *If you are already be working with another doTERRA educator, please contact them instead! *If you are already a doTERRA member, simply place a 2nd LRP order all week and cancel it when the week is through. Message your oil support team if you have questions about this. :) Click here to be added: www.facebook.com/groups/rvoilersbogo/ See you there, this is going to be so fun! Hugs, T
We checked into our RV Park in the Williamsburg area, and immediately went to check out the amenities. Each RV park tends to have its own set of unique perks, and this one didn't disappoint! They had a huge covered building with fun bouncy things like this and even an outdoor waterslide one too. This was in addition to the boat dock, beach area, swimming pool and weekend activities.
They even had a legit Italian restaurant on the property that was AMAZING! But we were here for one reason, well 2, Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. We headed down to CW for dinner and to scope the place out after hours. Dinner first, we were starving! We found a CUTE diner to try!
We walked into CW afterwards. You can walk freely there even after hours, just not go inside the buildings. It was nice to have a chance to get some photos without tons of people in them!!!!
Slideshow:
Sad the crime rate is so high here, check out these felons being punished in the town square....
We headed out to Jamestown Beach to scope it out for a future hang out day....it was really nice!
Independence Day started with a BANG, hot and humid too, but off we headed to Colonial Williamsburg as planned. We wanted to get there in time for the Salute to the States and heard the Drum and Fife presentation.
The first thing you do, as you walk over, is cross the Time Bridge. It is really neat and helps you understand the era you are entering.
Check it out via slideshow:
It was quite the walk, and we made it JUST as the Drum and Fife presentation started, PHEW! We had a nice view, praise Jesus!
It was amazing and the kids LOVED the canon BOOMS!
National Anthem from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
We headed into the village to see if we could secure a carriage ride, and explore the town a bit. This place is 300 acres!
I also wanted to get some pics of us with the kids, so we grabbed a shady spot and got to work. Slideshow:
A nice lady asked if she could take our family portrait so we could ALL be in it. YES PLEASE! :)
Check out our photo bomber. Cracked us up!
Slideshow:
We walked until we could walk no more.......you all it was SO HOT!
And headed back across the Time Bridge.
We went back to the RV park to let the dog out, decided to rest in the AC until dinner. Standard BBQ fare, but Avery was sweet and set us a beautiful 4th of July-esque table to dine at.
Sophie was doing so well with the fireworks, thanks to Serenity oil, that we decided to take her back to CW with us for the fireworks. She was SO excited! Thomas Jefferson road in his carriage, to read the Declaration of Independence, the Drum & Fife crew came back through, and then the fireworks began! It was a great ending to a great day!
We heard from a lot of locals and online reviews that Jamestown was more enjoyable than CW, which surprised us. It is smaller, more manageable and has indoor museum and short film to enjoy with your ticket purchase. We loved it as well!
First you get to explore the Indian Villages and speak with them how they lived.
Next is the 3 ships that first came to this area with settlers onboard. Nope, not Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria!
The Susan Constant, Godspeed and the Discovery!
These are recreations of those ships that brought the first permanent English colonists in 1607. They are SO well done and there are people on board explaining their job and what life was like all those months on board.
In the slideshow below, make sure you check out the TINY cooks quarters, the officer and captains quarters and the hold below, where over 50 very sea sick English settlers were puking their guts out. They went MONTHS without fresh food, and loved when they landed on an island temporarily to replenish fresh fruit, bathe and more.
Once you have explored the ships, the path leads you to the settlement. They lived on these ships for months, while they secured a wall around the village and started public buildings.
Slideshow:
There was a Musket firing presentation, and I cannot BELIEVE how long and labor intensive it used to be, to fire a musket ONCE and then do it all again. It includes a burning wick that stays tucked between your fingers at all times as you reload and refire.
They also wore belts of gun powder and individual flasks of shot. This is how John Smith was badly injured and went back to England, never to return. Jamestown Musket Firing from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
We headed back inside for the movie and the museum. The AC felt WONDERFUL!
Slideshow:
Jamestown only takes about half a day, so we packed swim clothes and headed to the previously scoped out Jamestown Beach near by.
Slideshow:
Bye Virginia, it's been fun! :)
Heading to Philly! Talk again soon......
Hugs, T
The next stop in our journey was Bristol, TN in the beautiful home of our blue diamond uplines, and family friends, the Esteppes! And once again, due to no full hook ups at local RV spots (what is up with this?) we were invited to move into their lovely home for the weekend.
SECOND TIME IN 3 and a half years to do this. How is this continuing to happen?! I am so perplexed but so grateful for people with room for SIX EXTRA PEOPLE in their homes comfortably. LOL! :)
They have the cutest little Frenchie, Blossom. We were a wee bit nervous that the girls wouldn't play nice. It pretty much turned into Sophie running away from Blossom.
We had a nice evening visiting and getting settled in to our beautiful rooms.
We enjoyed coffee (water for me) out on the front porch the next morning. This house sits up high and has GREAT views!
Spring and Keith had a business training planned for the next day, so we took their daughter, Amryn, with us to go explore the area. Their oldest child, Ryland, was at a missions trip until the next day.
We went to a state park called Warrior's Path, and played at a playground called Darrell's Dream. It was Narnia themed and SO AMAZING!
The girls put on a little show for us in the theatre there at the park. SO cute!
There was a river, sand tables and even some musical instruments!
The kids wanted to throw some poles in the lake before we went to lunch. It didn't last long because the fish were NOT biting and it was SO SUPER HOT!
It was Spring and Keith's anniversary, so we ran to the store so the girls could make them a Chocolate Mousse! Mmm can't wait to taste it! Slideshow:
That night we headed to eat Mexican and then explore downtown historic Bristol, where one side of town resides in Virginia, and the other Tennessee! YES for real! It is so crazy cool!
Spring had this idea that she was going to take our photo by the sign in the middle of the road. So we wait for traffic to clear and we all rush out there.......only to realize Dale wasn't following!
PHEW, just in the nick of time!
We ate at the historic, Blackbird Bakery. OH MY HEAVENS, all the choices and a line a mile long. Dale ALMOST didn't come in, but we convinced him. Silly guy! ;)
ALSO, do you see Amryn's baby doll? Holy cow, that thing drew a crowd everywhere we went. It weighs over 5 pounds like a real life baby. Slideshow:
Can you tell this crew doesn't get sugar as often as they would like? Hahaha :)
It was a great night for walking around!
In this slideshow, you will see Dale getting himself into trouble in the middle of the road. Beautiful downtown main street, train station and the infamous state sign.
We floated around the lazy river all afternoon Sunday and just like that, Monday arrived and it was time to head on into Virginia.
Bye, Esteppe family! Thank you for your amazing southern hospitality and showing us your amazing town! Until next time...
Hugs, T
We left Florida early in the morning, in hopes of making it to the home our friends, the Trent Tribe, in South Carolina by late afternoon. They are our oil uplines in doTERRA and have become dear family friends to us!
When we arrived, they invited us to stay at their home, well technically, beside their home. We were there such a short time and wanted to maximize our visit! And, thanks to another RV family, they have a 50 amp plug!
Brian, being the videographer that he is, video'd Dale backing in. Dale is such a good backer upper, he gets applause from the old dudes at the RV parks we visit. I think they line up to watch the young whipper snapper fail, and then cannot help but to come shake his hand, when he doesn't! LOL! :) Check this out! Amazing! Dale Rocks! from Tonya Ferguson on Vimeo.
We enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner, made by Amanda, and just visited the evening away! The girls took Destiny to a self defense class at the church, and she got her butt whooped, but look at that smile. She had fun. :)
We stayed up WAY past our bedtimes, visiting and catching up after the kids were in bed.
Amanda gave me the MOST thoughtful gift, a sweet red bird that has fairy lights inside. It's solar powered so after a day in the sun, it glows so sweetly. As you know, Cardinals have been very meaningful in my life as of late, this gift took my breath away and I nearly lost it at the table in front of everyone.
It has a spot of honor in the RV! I LOVE IT!
The next morning, after a quick breakfast, we were off to Lake Wylie, SC to see some childhood friends.
We have talked for years about reconnecting with the Albright family, and it finally happened! All because of our unexpected trip to Florida, I am grateful how the Lord uses all things for good!
As soon as we got RV parking worked out at the marina, we headed to their beautiful home to chat a bit. Susie offered to take us across the stateline to the Billy Graham Library to do the last tour of the day. I wondered how a library tour would go or what it would be like? Books? I didn't have to wonder for long. It was one of the NEATEST places we have ever got to visit. When you first drive up, you see the Graham family home and a HUGE cross window in a barn that the entire tour takes place in.
The kids got to do a scavenger hunt and it was just the thing they needed to stay busy while being good listeners!
It was as moving as a powerful church service and is a MUST SEE if you are ever in Charlotte, NC!!!!! You start off at the Graham family barn, where a talking southern bell cow, tells you all about Billy as a kid. Then you go room to room to room, listening to short videos or walking around display cases that tell his life story. Each room was a different era, or part of his 60 year ministry. WOW! Slideshow:
After the final video with a call to Christ, a HUGE set of doors whooshes open and this is what you see. CHILLS!!!!!
Next, you enter the gift shop and view on display, Mr. Grahams personal library collection of nearly 3,000 books!
Even the bathroom was adorable and in the "Graham barn" theme!!!! There was also a restaurant tucked inside the big barn, for your eating and drinking pleasure after a fun day!
The place is well run by vounteers who graciously open doors and walk you both in and out of the facility. So impressive! They also had a private prayer room for those needing prayer or who came to the Lord during the tour. AMAZING!
We walked outside to pouring rain, but that didn't stop us from walking the beautiful garden path down to Mr and Mrs Graham's final resting place.
PLEASE go do this tour!!!! It is by donation and will touch your heart in powerful ways!
After "church" we headed into town to meet the rest of the Albright gang for dinner.....
Have you ever heard of MOD pizza? It's one of the fastest growing chains in the nation. It stands for MADE ON DEMAND.
And you can nicely "demand" as many toppings as you want for one base price!
Oh man, was it ever DELICIOUS! I chose basil, garlic, tomatoes and balsamic reduction. Man the crust is crispy and good! They also have in house-made lemonade and marionberry lemonade that is divine!
We met Bruce there, as well as their daughter Lindsey, my Briarwood neighborhood sleep over buddy from the 90's! ;) She is married with a family now and hasn't aged a BIT! I also gotto see her little brother Matthew, MY baby brother's sleepover buddy! :)
Because we couldn't plug in the RV and run all 3 AC units at the Marina where we parked, Susie graciously opened her home up to us to stay. In 3 and a half years of living on the road, we have never moved in to anyone's house!!!! LOL :)
It was such a fun treat and the kids thought they were in HEAVEN. And Destiny even had her own room! {cue squeals} :)
Slideshow:
Bruce had in and out back surgery while we were there, and we figured the LEAST we could do, was make them a meal after a long day!
Great Grandma Yoder's secret chicken marinade, asparagus and oven roasted brussell sprouts with feta, craisins and balsamic reduction. SO good! Cut ends off brussell sprouts and lay out on a large pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and generously salt and pepper. Roast at 400* for 10 minutes. Flip each one over and oil and season again. Cook another 10 minutes on that side. Dump into a bowl and toss with generous helpings of feta, craisins and balsamic reduction. Mmm mmm AMAZING!
I wish I had taken a photo of our dinner together! Guess I was too busy feeding my face? Haha! :P
Here is the dining room we ate in, it was so lovely. That wall is old wood that was milled in Susie's home town in West Virginia! Simply gorgeous.
Bruce and Susie ALWAYS made us feel at home when we were kids sleeping over. And that hasn't changed a BIT!
They were the most gracious hosts, and we loved every second of our time together. Blessings friends!!! Until we meet again..... ;) Hugs, T As you know, I have been growing a pixie FOREVERRRRRRRR! Almost a year now. My hair has not only grown, but it's gotten insanely BIG too. Haha! :) My hair dresser warned me with thick hair, that sometimes it appears to go BIG, THEN long! When we decided to go to Florida unexpectedly, and thanks to the humidity, it doubled again. Oh jeez. Good thing Drea let me go with her to her hair appointment and get a cut!!!! I asked her gal if she thought I was ready for the full buzz under the bob I am growing out. She said totally! EEEEEK!!! I am so scared! Tada!!! I love it! Cool and nice for the summer. Still need to grow the left side a bit longer like a bob, it's at an awkward stage STILL. Still growing towards this, but making some good head way! YAY! Hugs, T
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Tonya Ferguson
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