Things We Have Learned During Our Vacation in the U.S.

1.  Corn really does grow as high as an elephant's eye.

2.  Use turn signals.

3.  Blueberries take about 4 days to digest.

4.  Wipes always come in handy - especially after the baby throws up on the airplane.

5.  Squirrels, blueberries, water fountains (yes, you can drink the water,) trains and corn-on-the-cob produce a disproportionate level of excitement.

6.  Driving on the Interstate in New England is a pleasure.

7.  There's nothing like salt and vinegar potato chips, Dr. Pepper, triscuits, Mounds, sushi, and smoked Vermont cheddar.

8.  Ask for a clue in the corn maze sooner rather than later.

9.  It's easy to forget you know how to speak Spanish.

10. Leaf-cutter ants don't eat the leaves - they use them to make fungus to eat!

11.  Leaf-cutter ants aren't native to the U.S., but apparently don't mind native U.S. leaves.

12.  Half a bushel of apples is a lot of apples!

13.  Invisible ink books are priceless.

14.  It's okay to take a 2-year-old on the open chair lift because it's covered by the insurance.

15.  Isaac loves to slide and hates water.  He can eat his weight in blueberries.

16.  Josiah will do anything- even tube the diamonds at Schlitterbahn.

17.  Samuel completed the magic square of numbers at the science museum faster than Kim, but Kim learned something about game theory.

18.  Nathan has turned into quite a good hiker since the month in NYC 3 years ago when he often told us his legs were broken.  However, 3 hours lost in a corn maze did him in.

19.  The excitement of a train ride wears off pretty quickly.

20.  Paul can take as many pictures of the glider above the blueberry patch as the kids picking berries.

21.  The queen leaf-cutter ant is really big (1 1/2 inches) and seldom seen.  

22.  No matter how long the trip, the boys get punchy for the last 20 minutes.

23.  We're used to seeing buses on the road, not RV's and boats.

24.  Knowing where you are and where you are going isn't enough.  You need the map.  Equally true for corn mazes and unfamiliar highways.  

25.  Macs really are better.

26.  Free wireless doesn't mean what you think it means.

27.  Plymouth rock is just that - a rock in the sand.

28.  Someone else from the Shell area (or el Oriente) has been to Plymouth, MA and visited the t-shirt store where we found going-out-of business deals.