Time to move on.

It was time for us to move on with our travels and everybody was sad!

The girls were crying, saying good buy to "their" animals, Ivana was taking pictures with her own camera to remember them by, and both I and Mirek liked our stay on the farm very much. Everybody benefited from these 6 days at "Earth Song".

For Mirek it was great to have new experience working with heavy machinery and see hydroponic garden in action.

Ivana really took off with milking the goats and being independent most of the day, riding her bicycle around the farm and exploring the surroundings.

Leona had bonded with a Golden Retriever, named Noah, and her fear of big jumpy dogs disappeared. She had him wrapped around her little finger and made him listen to her when we needed him out of the house or when he was overwhelming Evan or Milana with his presence and size.

Milana had a wonderful time playing with goats, picking the eggs, and foraging on daisies. Now I have to remind her that she needs to ask me first if she would like to try this or that plant.

Evan was getting more and more fearless and less dependent on me. To see him pick the peas off the vines and try to open the shell with his small puffy fingers was the memory I would cherish forever.

As for me, I felt like I visited my home. Steve and Cindy took such great care of us, that we did not have to worry about anything! A feeling like that you can only have when home, when you know that your parents are there for you, and you can relax and enjoy yourself and kind of be a child again for awhile.

Steve kindly gave us a tour of his printing company and showed us how those fascinating machines work. He has been doing this for over 20 years and has served the local community well.

We will miss Steve and Cindy very much and had to promise the kids that we'd try to stop by on the way back if we would be passing by. Instead of going to a Disneyland or spending thousands of dollars on a cruise, take your whole family to Lodi, Ohio, and spend a week or two woofing on the farm. It will be a vacation that would not cost you much, but the experience will be priceless. Your kids will beg you to come back there for many years to come.

And this time we were driving to our second farm not as "first timers", but "experienced woofers". Not so much experienced with our Airstream, though, as we found out we were driving without trailer brakes and, in addition, lost one of the propane tanks while making a U turn. Thank goodness it was a Wall Mart parking lot and we were able to put it right back where it belonged, with just a torn gas line and scaring a few local folks a bit. At least they had something to tell at the dinner table at home that evening.