Julia
and Janos and their
Vacation Adventure
We met Julia on the way back from our Russian trip. She was
one
of about 30 Russian and Kazakhstani students on our flight who were on
their way to work as councilors in summer camps all over the
US.
We spent much of the flight talking with her and others about what they
might expect during their visit. Here is a picture of some of
them. The organization that sponsored them is Camp
Counselors USA
otherwise known as CCUSA. We exchanged e-mail addresses and
kept
in touch with a couple of them through the summer.
Toward the end of the
summer we got a
note from Julia asking if we
knew
of any camps where she could work for a couple of weeks in
August. It
seems that her job was ending a little earlier than she expected
leaving her more time on her own in the US than she
had planned. We
asked the folks at Pikeville Science Camp if they knew of any jobs and
came up empty. We thought about it for a couple of days and
decided to
invite Julia to vacation with us. We also asked her if she
would
like to
bring a friend along to join in the adventure. Arrangements
were
made and we met Julia and Janos at their camp in Du Bois,
IL. We stayed overnight in the staff cabin so we had a chance
to
see the camp and its facilities. On the way back to our place
we
stopped at the Buffalo Trace distillery where we learned some of the
fine points of making bourbon. Here Julia is using a
specialized
stamp to imprint identification numbers on a barrel so that
it
can be traced later.
When we got to our house
we walked
down along the cliffs to the
lake. As we made our way down the trail they saw this
overhanging
rock that was about to fall. They took turns holding it
up. They also scrambled around along the base of
the cliffs
and Julia found that a umbrella magnolia branch doesn't provide much
protection under the waterfall that we have at the edge of our
property. We went out on a pontoon boat on Grayson
lake.
Climbing the cliffs, exploring caves, jumping into the lake,
and
a mighty thunderstorm added to the excitement there. Other
local
stops were Bat Cave in Carter Caves State Park, an Hot Rod show in
Ironton Ohio and a bluegrass concert at the Paramount theater in
Ashland. I don't have pictures but we also visited Walmart
and
the Barbersville Mall.
Then we set out on our
grand
tour. At Tamarack in West Virginia
we
saw craftsmen producing traditional instruments, pottery, and glassware
and an array of paintings, quilts, furniture and woodcrafts on display
for sale. A tour of a coal mine, miners shacks, the
superintendents home, church and school as they were in the early
1900's was next. A youth museum right next door had a great
array
of challenging puzzles. Further along we came on this unique
piece of architecture built in 1959 using 30 tons of coal.
The
ranch style home in the background was also made of coal.
In Virginia we visited a
museum/shop
that was selling local
products
then went on to Natural Bridge park. We hiked the trails and
visited the demonstration Native American village there where we
chatted with the chief about their current and ancient way of
life. Then on to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline
Drive. Otter Creek was just like we remembered it
from more
than 35 years ago. Wildlife was abundant. We saw
many deer
and a mother bear with 2 cubs as well as smaller animals. We
stopped at Luray Caverns where we saw spectacular formations and heard
the stalactite organ. A museum next door was included in the
price. It had a lot of restored cars, motorcycles and a 3
wheel
vehicle that was a unique blend of the two.
To continue the adventure
to Washington,
the seashore, Philadelphia, Niagara Falls and lots more click here.
Go
to our Science
Fun page
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home page
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to our Community
page
E-mail Nancy
and
Alan
