Mobile Viewing (Phones, Tablets, etc)

If you are viewing our site on a mobile device, it doesn't read too easily through 

http://www.rvingnorthamerica.com.  

So if you want to use 

http://hallsontheroad.blogspot.com 

it is better for mobile viewing.

Thanks.

Samuel Clemens

Samuel Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens  was born In a two-room house in Missouri, on November 30, 1835. He was the sixth living child of his  Father and Mother, John and Jane Clemens. John was a Farmer, a lawyer a merchant, and a speculator. Sam apprenticed at a printer’s shop and learned the printing trade. At the age of fifteen, Sam and his friends saw a steamboat coming down the river, thus giving him the wish to pilot one. But the dreaming came to a halt when his Father died on March 24, 1847.

In 1859, Sam became a riverboat pilot. One day, he heard a man yell the depths: Mark twain was one of them. Sam heard it, and in his later years, used it as his pen-name.  He carried on the job for 2 years until The outbreak of the Civil war. Sam left for Nevada and discovered the mining business, which he entered. But, alas, he eventually ran out of money.

Several years later, Twain started writing for a newspaper, and after a few years, wrote his first book: “Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog.” He fell in love with a woman named Olivia “Livy” Langdon, and married her after proposing twice. They moved to hartford and in 1870, he had his first child, who died at the age of two. He had three more children years later, Clara, Susie and Jean. Twain lectured throughout his life, which earned much of his money.  Twain Wrote the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in the house in Hartford, where he said those years spent in that house where the happiest years of his life.

Mark Twain’s house in Hartford, CT.

The Clemens family moved to England, because finances were better there. Several years later, they moved back to Hartford. He continued lecturing and writing, yet his writing showed more anger and emotion. Livy died in 1903 because she had heart problems. Mark Twain died seven years later.

By Ian Hall

Mark Twain House/Museum

iPad App Review: Stack the States

We purchased the iPad over 2 years ago now.  We originally bought it so Ian could use it to help us plan this adventure and feel a part of the planning.  It has turned into an awesome piece of technology that we use daily.

The kids use it for schoolwork wherever we may happen to be.  Before they can play a game (Minecraft is the biggie) they have to do schoolwork.  Some of the apps we have purchased, or downloaded for free, I'd like to share here.

One of our absolute favorites is Stack the States...  

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stack-the-states/id381342267?mt=8

It costs .99 to download...low-risk cost I'd say.  All three kids use it, not to mention the adults at times.  Chloe can beat any adult in recognizing the shape of any US state, and is fast becoming an expert at each state's capital and flag. Ian is right there as well, and Brendan is coming along swimmingly.

It is a fun, cute, fast-paced, reward-based game with multiple levels that need to be unlocked through acquiring states by answering questions correctly. Your kids are learning and don't even know it!

Check it out!  And you may like Stack the Countries as well.

Back to Blogger

Phew!  We are back!  After an exodus to Wordpress, I have decided I missed my old posts and the easy format of Blogger.  As I nestle in, please visit often to read our posts.  We love comments, too.

As a part of Ian's homeschooling he will be studying History and those who played a part.  Here he will share what he has learned.  We will start with...

Dr. William Beaumont

-Written by Ian Hall

William Beaumont was born in Lebanon, Connecticut on November 21, 1785. His family moved from England in 1635. William was the second born out of nine children. His parents were named Samuel and Lucretia Beaumont. In 1807, William left for Champlain. There, he became the schoolmaster and secretary for the local debating society.

On September 13, 1812, when he was 26, William went into the army as a surgeon’s mate, and was paid $30 a month. In 1813, The British army retreated, blowing up the main magazine in the process. The explosion caused lots of injuries. Beaumont was treating injuries, some that included using a cylindrical saw to cut off pieces of bone, to relieve pressure on the brain. (ouch!)

After the war, Beaumont left the army and began private practice in June, 1815, in Plattsburgh, NY.

There he met Deborah Green Platt. In December, 1819, William went back to the army as a post surgeon. He was sent to Fort Mackinac in Lake Huron. The hospital was in a storehouse. They had little supplies, and no thermometer.

In August, 1821, Beaumont left to go back to Plattsburgh, and married Deborah. They moved to Fort Mackinac, and brought Melancton Smith, Deborah’s 11-year-old step-nephew. Melancton’s father was Colonel Melancton Smith who died in 1818.

On June 6, 1822, Alexis St. Martin was shot  by an accidental discharge of a shotgun in the upper left of his abdomen.  He was shot less than three feet away from the gun. This was at the American Fur Company on Mackinac Island. St. Martin was brought to Dr. Beaumont, leaving the doctor to find the man’s latest meal gushing out of the wound. Beaumont cleaned the hole, but could not keep the contents of his stomach from falling out unless it was bandaged.

On August 1, 1825, Beaumont began to experiment on St. Martin’s stomach. Those experiments included tying string to a piece of food and lowering it into St. Martin’s stomach. After a few hours, Beaumont would take it out to see the extent of digestion. In one experiment, the food was removed after five hours for Alexis had a severe stomachache. The next day, St. Martin still had stomach problems, and Beaumont helped. Six days later, St. Martin didn’t eat for 17 hours (on Doctor’s orders!) so Beaumont could find the temperature of the stomach, which was 100 degrees.

A month later in September, Alexis went back to Canada, got married and had kids, so Beaumont had to wait to experiment on him.

In June, 1829, St. Martin came back to the doctor, but he brought his family this time. However, the doctor was busy and could not continue work until December. When he observed St. Martin on dry days, he saw that the temperature of the stomach increased, and vice versa on humid days. Beaumont would have St. Martin eat a meal, and then would later take out samples of the food and put them in separate vials of water, and gastric juice.  He observed that cold stomach acid does nothing, so digestion needs heat.  He also learned that when Alexis showed anger, it slowed the digestion process.

Near the end of 1832, Beaumont left the army to experiment on Alexis more. Beaumont tried a variety of different foods again, this time including sausage, raw oysters, and mutton. He saw that exercise helped the digestion. In April, 1833, Beaumont published his work and findings in a book called: Experiments and observations on the gastric juice and the physiology of digestion.  A month or so later Alexis left for Canada, and Beaumont went into private medical practice.

Dr. William Beaumont kept up the private practice in St. Louis. In March, 1853, Beaumont was leaving a patient when he slipped on the icy steps and hit his head. He died a month later on April 25, and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

http://www.amazon.com/Experiments-Observations-Gastric-Physiology-Digestion/dp/0766127168

The Oven Works!

Works!

Since new (two years now), my oven in the Eagle would not stay lit. More precisely, the pilot would not remain ignited. When at the Jayco factory last year, it was on my “fix-it” list; but, I had other issues I wanted fixed as well and focused on those repairs first. Long story short, the oven was overlooked and remained inoperable.

As much as this should have been an inconvenience, it really wasn’t.  In fact, we contemplated taking it out and replacing it with something more important, like a wine fridge.  We also had the world’s best grill (Thanks to mom and dad…and now bequeathed to Jay and Michelle.) on which to cook and bake.

So, we converted the oven to a bread-box and put the oven repair back on the “fix-it” list.  It should be noted that I checked the thermocouple with a multimeter in the past and all checked OK. So, today being a cool damp day, I figured I would take the thermocouple out and just replace it. When I went to disconnect the gas line from the couple, I discovered that the nut was finger loose. Once I tightened this connection I could hear a ‘click’. VOILA!  The pilot light lit.

Now we need to find a new place for our bread…

LED Bulbs

In the past two years, I have had to replace more than half of my halogen ceiling lamps inside my Eagle. The GY6.35 bulbs were blowing out at a rate of one every 3 months; so, I finally bit-the-bullet and ordered 14 LED lamps to replace the halogens. I opted for the “warm white” effect. Initially, I ordered two @ $14.95 and paid an additional $3.90 for shipping. Although the web-store I purchased thru provided dimensions/specifications for the LED lamp I was purchasing, I figured I would just get two at first to make sure they fit with my OEM glass ceiling fixtures. Well the first two arrived today; and they fit and light just like the halogens. The immediate difference I noticed, is the lack of heat that the LED emits. As most of you know, halogens cast off enough heat to badly hurt you if you touch a bulb while lit (or even after a few minutes once it is off – they retain enough heat to fry an egg it seems). So, after successfully installing the first batch of LEDs, I just ordered 12 more to complete the switch-over. Since I spent more than $99.00 on this second order, I received free shipping. The overall cost will be saved in longevity and energy consumption. I highly recommend this “modification”…

http://www.lalightingstore.com/proled-3-6-watt-gy6-35-led-12v-ac-dc/

After testing the old bulb’s temp (158˚) and the new bulb’s temp (70˚), I know we made the right decision.

Small Plastic Brick x 10,000

We now have less than two months left in New England before we hoist anchor and set the wheels in motion.  The excitement is building, but the time will pass quickly.  It calls to mind my teaching days, during those last two months of school; excited for summer to begin but overwhelmed with trying to accomplish all of the end-of-year requirements by the last day.  Considering we have been stationary for almost a year, you’d think we wouldn’t have to do much to get underway, but we are still purging.

The Eagle weighs, including full water and propane, 12,498 lbs and can hold an extra 3302 lbs of cargo.  That’s a total of 15,800 lbs.  The truck can tow 18,000 lbs.  3302 lbs can add up quickly considering the electronics, pots and pans, linens, clothing, books, toys, toys, toys, and other items we will be bringing.  We do not want to be stopped and fined for being over weight.  So, before we hit the road, we need to hit the CAT Scale and check our weight.   http://catscale.com/

There are certain things, of course, that we cannot say goodbye to.  One of which is the multitude of Legos that belong to the children with whom we travel.  Legos are small, but even small things have mass.

According to an unofficial Lego site, each 1×4 Lego weighs 1.64 g which equals 0.057849298 oz.  That means 275 1×4 Lego pieces weigh 1 pound.  Since we most likely have at least 10,000 Legos, that would equal about 36.5 pounds of Legos.  And since most of the Legos are larger than a 1×4, that weight is probably an underestimate.  Not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but weight none-the-less.

So, we continue to make decisions about what goes and what stays.  What we can store (poor parents) and what we can give away.  And we begin the end of Phase…something-or-other… to head full-on into Full-Timing.

We have moved....come see us at  http://www.rvingnorthamerica.com



Thanks.

Pork and Sauce

Decided on pork chops for dinner this evening.  Since I cannot bake them, I cooked them in an electric skillet.  Started by making a rub of dried oregano, dried basil, onion and garlic powders, and a pinch of chili powder.  Added some olive oil and mixed to a paste.  Seasoned the chops with salt and pepper, then rubbed them with the paste.  Seared both sides for about 5-6 minutes, then let rest.  I wanted to make a sauce so added the only thing I had available, Apple Cider, to the drippings.  A pat of butter, reduced, and poured onto the chops.

One of my favorite shows is Chopped on Food Network.  When I have very little in the "pantry" I pretend I am on Chopped and must make due with what I have.  I have to say, the sauce was very tasty (sweet but not too sweet and just the right thickness) and the chops were tender.  I used to cook the death out of my chops, fearful of undercooking them and poisoning everyone.  I have learned to let the meat rest.  Which, by the way, produced a nice 1/2 cup of fresh drippings that I added to the sauce before it was finished.

I have no pictures.  Probably wouldn't have posted anyway as there was really only one golden-seared chop, so nothing too pretty.  But the real reason is I was so freaking stressed out after cooking (add in 3 microwaved red bliss potatoes and a pathetic attempt at fried biscuits) in a small, tight space with no room, that I had no desire to take out the camera.  I just had Steve pour me a glass and sat to eat.  Luckily, it tasted good.  The kids even ate all of theirs up!  So everyone got a mini St. Patrick's Day cupcake.

My goal...a sauce with every protein.

Do you have a favorite sauce recipe?