Vacation Education

 September 11th, 2022, Patriots Day! It seems fitting that today is the day I finished reading Cato by Joseph Addison.  Have you heard of Cato? I only had in passing.  Have you heard of Joseph Addison? I had not heard of him at all, and yet he inspired many of the great heroes of the United States of America in its beginnings. When I read " A Thomas Jefferson Education" I learned from Orville DeMille to look to the heroes in our lives; to consider those who we think are great men, and then to see who they looked to as heroes. How did men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and others become the men they were? Who taught them? Who mentored them? Who led them? When we visited Colonial Williamsburg this year, we heard Washington, Jefferson, and Wythe all speaking. They all mentioned Cato and his influence. Who could this Cato be that had so much influence on these men? What could we learn from this great Roman hero who the founding fathers of our nation...

  It all began in 2014, when we bought our big, white, 12-passenger van. Our oldest was 18 and had lamented that the only place she ever got to go on vacation was Walt Disney World. She was right. The all-inclusive packages at WDW had made it the most attractive and economical choice for our family. It required only a little planning and everything was taken care of when we arrived, from Disney transportation at the airport to free dining plans. But, I was also ready to see more of the country. I bought a sticker map from Amazon Get Your Sticker Map Here First, we put on Wisconsin, since that is where we live. Then, Indiana, because we had lived there. Then, Michigan, because we visit family there. Then, we had to decide what “earns” a state? Driving through is not enough. Stopping to eat or for gas is not enough. We decided that we had to do something in the state that was specific to that state. With that goal in mind, we wondered if we could see the whole country, and fill the m...