http://edventureproject.com Living Education through Adventure Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:11:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Tony and Jennifer Miller, with their four children, travel for a living, having traversed Europe and explored Tunisia by bicycle. Currently, they are making their way through Central America in their van. Tony and Jenn, during their work with The Institute for REALITY (www.i4reality.org), have been dedicated to providing a living education and promoting this in the homeschool community. Their philosophy comes alive in this blend of education and adventure found on this bike tour. During this trip, they are producing a multi-level cross curricular unit study based on their experiences in the cultures they visit. This is primarily meant for use in a home school, but is applicable for all ages and types of education. This podcast and the travelogue available on their web site (www.edventureproject.com) chronicle the trip and add to the unit study. Sign in and communicate with the travelers for a terrific, interactive experience. Be sure to visit the web site to sample one of these virtual field trip packets for free and to read more about the Edventure Project. Living Education through Adventure Edventure Project http://www.edventureproject.com/Images/EPPodcastLogo.jpghttp://edventureproject.com adventure, edventure, homeschool, geography, education, field trip, fieldtrip, europe, travel, bicycle, bike, tour clean Tony & Jennifer Miller podcast@edventureproject.com http://edventureproject.com/learn-to-make-chocolate/ http://edventureproject.com/learn-to-make-chocolate/#comments Sun, 01 May 2011 11:38:27 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/?p=3337 http://edventureproject.com/learn-to-make-chocolate/feed/ 9 Learn to make chocolate with us. This is not Hershey’s! Learn to make chocolate with us. This is not Hershey's! Edventure Project 00:26:10 central america, chocolate, cocoa, Guatemala, lago de atitlan, San Marcos no http://edventureproject.com/paragliding/ http://edventureproject.com/paragliding/#comments Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:31:40 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/?p=3302 http://edventureproject.com/paragliding/feed/ 0 Our friend, John, teaches us about his paraglider. Our friend, John, teaches us about his paraglider. Edventure Project 00:10:28 san marcos, guatemala, lago de atitlan, paragliding clean http://edventureproject.com/merry-christmas-messages/ http://edventureproject.com/merry-christmas-messages/#comments Sat, 25 Dec 2010 13:28:24 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=2416 http://edventureproject.com/merry-christmas-messages/feed/ 5 Merry Christmas to all our friends and loved ones, and our friends’ friends and loved ones! Merry Christmas to all our friends and loved ones, and our friends' friends and loved ones! Edventure Project 08:59 christmas, guatemala, lago de atitlan clean http://edventureproject.com/santiago-de-atitlan-and-maximon/ http://edventureproject.com/santiago-de-atitlan-and-maximon/#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:48:41 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=2332 http://edventureproject.com/santiago-de-atitlan-and-maximon/feed/ 2 We travel to Santiago de Atitlan and visit the idol “Maximon”. We travel to Santiago de Atitlan and visit the idol "Maximon". Edventure Project 00:07:52 guatemala, lago de atitlan, maximon, santiago, santiago de atitlan clean http://edventureproject.com/dia-de-los-muertos/ http://edventureproject.com/dia-de-los-muertos/#comments Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:34:21 +0000 Jennifer Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=2248 http://edventureproject.com/dia-de-los-muertos/feed/ 1 On a side street in San Pedro The hike up the hill from the docks in San Pedro to the centro is a long one.  It’s a town built right into the side of the mountain and flat spots are hard to find. We’re out of shape, that has become painfully clear.  We’ve forgotten how to walk for a living and carry every single thing on our backs.  It’s good for us.  We’re happier for the fresh air and the slower pace and we’re healthier for the several miles a day afforded by the daily need for fresh veggies and eggs.  Right now, however, it hurts. We were all winded with the mountain goat climb by the time we ducked through the green lace curtain into the little street side restaurant across from the mercado.  We ordered the “economico”: 20Q for a piece of chicken, a pile of veggies, rice, and unlimited stack of the small, fatter Guatemalan tortillas and a Coke.  That’s about $2.50 USD. While we waited we made small talk with the proprietor.  He congratulated us on our family size (something that often happens here but NEVER in the US and Canada) and insisted on knowing all of the children’s names… “Hannah…. Gabriel (pronounced: Gahb-reee-el here, with a rolled R)… Elisha… and… EXTRA?  His name is EXTRA?!”  We all laughed, “No, no, no, EZRA, not EXTRA.”  “EZRA.  Excellent.  Good Bible names.  Nice family.  Mucho gusto.”  He kept cooking.  We kept giggling. Needless to say, Ezra endured an entire day of jokes about being “Extra.”  He’s extra loud, extra fun, extra stinky, extra obnoxious, extra cuddly, extra dirty, extra brave, extra smart… he’s extra everything.  “And, if you lose one of THEM, you still have me, so I really am an extra!” He announced proudly on the way home.  So he is. In the cemetery... the girls to the right are lighting candles We discussed the Dia de los Muertos celebrations with our lunch host as well.  “Ah yes, the cemetery is just there, go left, up a block and then right, it’s at the end of the street.  Everyone will be there, drinking, eating, playing music.  It is a happy day.  Do you have this day in los Estados Unidos as well?”  Not exactly. I tried, in my slowly improving Spanish, to explain the difference between Halloween, as celebrated in North America, and Dia de los Muertos here.  It’s not at all scary here.  It’s not about fear at all. Instead, families gather with fresh paint and bouquets of flowers to give their loved one’s resting places a face lift.  They take lunch and picnic with their long passed grandparents.  They take rum and share it with the dead… at a 1:3 ratio I think, dead to living.  The children fly kites all over the city to honor the souls as they fly away from the earth.  It’s a beautiful celebration.  I like it much better than Halloween, and I told our host as much. The cemetery was not hard to find.  Merely turn right on the street that is hung high with fringe across the road way and follow the party.  We heard the marimba players before we saw the church yard. The kids would have loved to have purchased fat twists of cotton candy and coated nuts from the street vendors, but we were mean parents and declined. We weren’t entirely sure of the etiquette.  We always err on the side of quiet respect.  The locals were a mixed bag of solemn, cheerful, and falling down drunk.  The whole grave yard smelled like fresh acrylic paint and flowers; marigolds mostly, huge bunches stuffed down into old coffee cans and perched on the ledges of the mausoleums. Elisha noted the long beeswax yellow tapers being lit, and stuck by their melted bottoms to the ledges, “Just like that church in Chichicastenago, Mama.”  Sure enough, I can’t believe he remembers. The middle boys were steering a wide berth around a particularly “jubilant” celebrant when a fellow with a blue cooler, covered mostly in duct tape walked by, popped the lid and announced, a little too cheerfully:  [...] In which we join the party for the dead and Ezra is the "extra." http://edventureproject.com/belize/ http://edventureproject.com/belize/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:46:31 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=2008 http://edventureproject.com/belize/feed/ 0 Visit the Rio On Pools and Big Rock Falls for a swim and go fishing with us in Belize. Visit the Rio On Pools and Big Rock Falls for a swim and go fishing with us in Belize. Edventure Project 00:09:07 belize, rio on pools, big rock falls, edventure, field trip clean http://edventureproject.com/baboon-sanctuary/ http://edventureproject.com/baboon-sanctuary/#comments Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:26:26 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1922 http://edventureproject.com/baboon-sanctuary/feed/ 2 Visit the Community Baboon Sanctuary in Belize and learn how to survive in the jungle: eat termites, stitch cuts with leaf cutter ants, and more.  Oh, and see the Howler Monkeys that we came to see.  That’s right, no baboons – it’s the wrong part of the world.  Baboon is the word the locals have used and it stuck. Visit the Community Baboon Sanctuary in Belize and learn how to survive in the jungle: eat termites, stitch cuts with leaf cutter ants, and more. Oh, and see the Howler Monkeys that we came to see. That's right, no baboons - it's the [...] Edventure Project 00:16:30 Belize, Baboon Sanctuary, Howler Monkey, edventure, field trip clean http://edventureproject.com/mezcal-factory-tour/ http://edventureproject.com/mezcal-factory-tour/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:30:40 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1862 http://edventureproject.com/mezcal-factory-tour/feed/ 1 The owner of our campground in Oaxaca, Mexico owns and operates the Scorpion Mezcal factory and invited us along on a tour. Mezcal is a liquor, similar to tequila in that it’s made by distilling juice from the agave plant. However, where tequila can only use one type of agave, mezcal can be made of other types, so the flavors can vary greatly, much like wine. The owner of our campground in Oaxaca, Mexico owns and operates the Scorpion Mezcal factory and invited us along on a tour. Mezcal is a liquor, similar to tequila in that it's made by distilling juice from the agave plant. However, where [...] Edventure Project 00:23:15 Mexico, Oaxaca, Mezcal, liquor, edventure, tour, field trip no http://edventureproject.com/oaxaca-zocalo/ http://edventureproject.com/oaxaca-zocalo/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:11:33 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1856 http://edventureproject.com/oaxaca-zocalo/feed/ 0 Experience a weekend evening on the zocalo (the city square) of Oaxaca, Mexico. Experience a weekend evening on the zocalo (the city square) of Oaxaca, Mexico. Edventure Project 00:07:03 Oaxaca, Mexico, Edventure clean http://edventureproject.com/mexico-city-voladores-and-aztecs/ http://edventureproject.com/mexico-city-voladores-and-aztecs/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:40:55 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1769 http://edventureproject.com/mexico-city-voladores-and-aztecs/feed/ 1 See the flying men, the Voladores, and Aztec dancers outside the museum of anthropology in Mexico City. See the flying men, the Voladores, and Aztec dancers outside the museum of anthropology in Mexico City. Edventure Project 00:04:30 Mexico City, Voladores, Aztec, flying men, anthropology clean http://edventureproject.com/thermal-springs/ http://edventureproject.com/thermal-springs/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:35:54 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1766 http://edventureproject.com/thermal-springs/feed/ 2 Come with us to a camp with thermal springs near Cuidad Valles, Mexico, where the hot showers come right out of the ground. Come with us to a camp with thermal springs near Cuidad Valles, Mexico, where the hot showers come right out of the ground. Edventure Project 00:02:10 mexico, thermal spring, cuidad valles clean http://edventureproject.com/new-orleans-crawfish-and-mardi-gras/ http://edventureproject.com/new-orleans-crawfish-and-mardi-gras/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:21:27 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1665 http://edventureproject.com/new-orleans-crawfish-and-mardi-gras/feed/ 2 Learn how to eat crawfish and follow it up with a Mardi Gras parade in Metairie – just outside New Orleans. Learn how to eat crawfish and follow it up with a Mardi Gras parade in Metairie - just outside New Orleans. Edventure Project 00:09:30 New Orleans, Parade, Mardi Gras, crawfish no http://edventureproject.com/new-orleans-saints-superbowl-parade/ http://edventureproject.com/new-orleans-saints-superbowl-parade/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:27:28 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1656 http://edventureproject.com/new-orleans-saints-superbowl-parade/feed/ 6 We arrived in New Orleans just in time to catch the parade for the Superbowl champs. We arrived in New Orleans just in time to catch the parade for the Superbowl champs. Edventure Project 00:13:40 new orleans, saints, superbowl, parade clean http://edventureproject.com/fairhope-alabama/ http://edventureproject.com/fairhope-alabama/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:14:09 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1638 http://edventureproject.com/fairhope-alabama/feed/ 0 We visited the Grand Hotel in Fairhope, Alabama, where a historian told us about the area’s activity in the Civil War and fired a cannon honoring the soldiers. Get a history lesson about Alabama's involvement in the Civil War. Edventure Project 00:09:17 Fairhope, Alabama, Civil War clean http://edventureproject.com/italys-adriatic-coast/ http://edventureproject.com/italys-adriatic-coast/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:07:07 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1436 http://edventureproject.com/italys-adriatic-coast/feed/ 0 In this episode we travel from Mestre south along Italy’s Adriatic coast. Come watch a horse show, enjoy a food festival, and play in the warm ocean with us. Experience Italy with us Edventure Project 0:21:00 Italy, Adriatic no http://edventureproject.com/vienna-austria/ http://edventureproject.com/vienna-austria/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:03:44 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1434 http://edventureproject.com/vienna-austria/feed/ 0 We absolutely loved Vienna, and plan to return someday. This video podcast gives a quick feel of what we experienced in Vienna. A quick visit to Vienna, Austria Edventure Project 0:07:39 Vienna, Austria no http://edventureproject.com/the-colosseum-at-rome/ http://edventureproject.com/the-colosseum-at-rome/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:58:17 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1427 http://edventureproject.com/the-colosseum-at-rome/feed/ 0 Hannah takes us on a quick tour of the Roman Colosseum, giving some quick facts, including some things we didn’t know until our visit. Hannah's virtual tour of the Colosseum at Rome Edventure Project 0:05:17 Colosseum, Rome, Italy no http://edventureproject.com/czech-republic/ http://edventureproject.com/czech-republic/#comments Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:43:13 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1411 http://edventureproject.com/czech-republic/feed/ 0 This episode has sounds from our stay in the Czech Republic, including part of a church service in Czech. Sounds from the Czech Republic Edventure Project 0:18:25 no http://edventureproject.com/videos/ http://edventureproject.com/videos/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:39:38 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1406 http://edventureproject.com/videos/feed/ 0 We have occasionally recorded some video using our pocket camera. I have just spent time to learn the software necessary to edit the videos and managed to compile them into a podcast. If this works out well for people, we’ll start spending more time collecting videos. A collection of video clips from the trip. Edventure Project 0:09:40 no http://edventureproject.com/mr-robert-thomason/ http://edventureproject.com/mr-robert-thomason/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:34:18 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1402 http://edventureproject.com/mr-robert-thomason/feed/ 0 While in a campground in Wittenberg, we were approached by an older gentleman who heard us “speaking American.” He told us a lot of stories about his travels over the last several years. This is a long podcast, but is worth the listen. An interview with a fellow bicycle traveler in Wittenberg, Germany. Edventure Project 1:13:24 Robert Thomason, Wittenberg no http://edventureproject.com/street-musicians/ http://edventureproject.com/street-musicians/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:28:41 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1398 http://edventureproject.com/street-musicians/feed/ 0 While traveling, one of the items that we’ve been regularly recording is the performance of street musicians. The different types of music one hears throughout an area does, in a way, define that area. Of course, there are many things that make up a culture, but music, being such a personal thing, expresses the personality of individuals within a culture. So, this is a collection of music heard during our travels. A collection of street music from Germany and the Czech Republic. Edventure Project 0:17:20 street music, czech republic, germany no http://edventureproject.com/delft-holland/ http://edventureproject.com/delft-holland/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:24:14 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1393 http://edventureproject.com/delft-holland/feed/ 0 A short podcast of the sounds and some pictures collected after a great day in Delft, Holland, Netherlands. A perfect day in Delft Edventure Project 0:13:45 Delft, Holland no http://edventureproject.com/england/ http://edventureproject.com/england/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:18:57 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1387 http://edventureproject.com/england/feed/ 0 This podcast chronicles some of the trip through England, from the time we left London and travelled through the countryside to arrive at Hexham, along Hadrian’s Wall. London to Hadrian's Wall Edventure Project 0:27:30 england no http://edventureproject.com/blast-off-2/ http://edventureproject.com/blast-off-2/#comments Sat, 17 May 2008 02:13:56 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1382 http://edventureproject.com/blast-off-2/feed/ 0 This podcast chronicles our departure for England. We're finally going! Edventure Project 0:17:40 no http://edventureproject.com/promotional-video/ http://edventureproject.com/promotional-video/#comments Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:08:40 +0000 Tony Miller http://edventureproject.com/wordpress/?p=1371 http://edventureproject.com/promotional-video/feed/ 0 We’re down to only a week left to button up everything at the house and move into the RV for a month in the midwest getting our last visits in with family before blasting off. We’ll also have a booth at two home school conventions – Indianapolis and Worcester, Massachusetts. As such, we have a promotional video (a.k.a. a commercial) that we hope to play at the conventions. You can view it here first. Very special thanks to Andrew at A-Z Video Productions . Preview our promotional video created by A-Z Video Productions. Edventure Project 0:02:20 no