DiNozzo Travelers

"Fifty nifty United States from thirteen original colonies… shout 'em, scout 'em, tell all about 'em… Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, …" the five DiNozzo kids sang the song in the van as the family travelled I-81 southbound towards Roanoke, Virginia.

Ziva tried to tune them out as they sang the song for the umpteenth time. "Do you regret teaching them that song?" she smirked at her husband.

"Nope," Tony grinned. "They should learn about our country. I learned that song in the third grade, and I've remembered the states in alphabetical order ever since. As we visit each state, they'll have a memory to associate with the names of the states."

~May 2024~

"I read on the internet that the average adult has visited about twelve of the states," Tali commented as she was finishing up her school project on New York State. Each of the students in the fourth-grade pod had been assigned one of the fifty states to report and create a visual for their "celebration of the USA" to finish out the school year.

Ziva helped Tali place the flag of the state on her poster board and silently went through the list of states she had been in, many of them for her job with NCIS. "I have been in forty-six, I believe. I do not remember going to Montana, Idaho, Oregon, nor Washington State."

"I have been in all but Alaska and Utah," Tony overheard the conversation as he entered the dining room from the family room. "I'd bet most of the adults in our extended family have been to way more than a dozen."

Tali looked up from her drawing of the Statue of Liberty, one of the many famous landmarks in New York. "I know that I have been in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina with our family. Wouldn't it be cool to visit all of the fifty states?"

Anthony followed his father to the dining room, hoping to get an update on dinner time. "That would be fun; we could visit places in each state that are interesting, but perhaps not well-known. Like in Delaware and New Jersey, we rode on the ferry between those two states."

"Where are we going?" Rivka and Beth noticed the others in the dining room and joined the conversation.

"Tali thinks we should visit all fifty states as a family," Anthony explained to his younger sisters. "I think we should see things that are not tourist-traps."

LJ was the last to wander into the dining room, "We go on twip?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he fully woke from his nap. "Me weady!"

Tony tousled the little boy's hair, "Not so fast there. We have to make a plan about how we will accomplish this list of states visited."

"Well, first we need a list of all of them," Tali grabbed a pen and paper from her supplies. "Let's see, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, um…"

"I have a better way to list them," Tony got the attention of the others. "Alphabetically, the states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii," he paused for a breath.

Ziva looked at her husband, "And how do you know this list so easily?"

"It was a song I learned in elementary school… Fifty, Nifty, United States…" he pulled up a video on YouTube on his phone and hit play.

"… Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming," he finished listing the states with the video's singing. "It just stuck in my head."

"Will you teach us that song, Abba?" Anthony was fascinated by the rhythm of the song. "I want to learn the fifty states too."

"Can do!" Tony grinned at the kids. "And while we are learning it, we can also start planning how we are going to visit each state."

Ziva smiled at her family; Tony was as excited as the kids for planning their trips. "I think we should visit them in order," she suggested. "But we can adjust our plans as needed to get to all of the states."

~June 2024~

The week before Fathers' Day aligned to be a perfect week for the family's first state adventure. Ziva purchased tickets online for the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama and found a good deal on lodging for the week as well. She also gathered information on other sights to see in the area, including several museums and parks.

They had set out from home at 0530 on Sunday morning to start the ten-plus-hour drive to the destination. Suitcases and duffels were packed and loaded in the van the night before. Each of the children had a backpack with small toys, books, and other items for the road trip. They had also chosen about a dozen DVS to bring to watch on the van's built-in entertainment system.

Chapter 2: Alabama

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 – Alabama

June 2024

Ziva glanced back at the five children in the passenger seats of the van as she drove onto the exit ramp off I-565 for the hotel where the family would be staying for the week. She'd found a two-bedroom suite that slept eight and with their government employee discount, the total cost for the week's lodging had been about half of what they'd budgeted. That left some money for a surprise that she'd booked for the family while at the US Space and Rocket Center.

LJ squirmed in his car seat between his sisters in the third-row seating. He'd had a glimpse of some tall white things in the distance that sure looked like rockets to his two- and one-half year-old mind. As his mother turned onto the cross-street to head to the hotel, he spotted the rockets again.

"Ima, Abba!" the little boy tried to get a better look from his position. "Look! Did we go to da moon? Dere's some wockets over dere!"

Tony turned towards the rear in the front passenger seat; he nearly burst out laughing at the look on his youngest's face. Awestruck didn't quite cover it, but was a close as he could get. He quickly grabbed his cell phone and snapped a picture of the little boy with his eyes wide with wonder and mouth slightly agape.

Tali rolled her eyes from her middle seat behind her father. Little brothers, and sisters too, were sometimes so silly.

Rivka pouted from her seat; she was on the far side of the van from the view of the US Space and Rocket Center in the distance. "LJ, move your big head; I wanna see the rockets, too," she groused. "So not fair that Beth and Anthony can see them and the rest of us can't."

"You will see the rockets in the distance from our suite at the hotel," Ziva tried to offer an olive branch to her middle child. "And tomorrow, we will see them up close at the USSRC."

Tony added, "Yeah, we have to check-in, get our stuff into the room, and then get some dinner. It's almost 1600 local time, which is 1700 our time. Then we are going to unwind from traveling since 0430, even with two longer stops for breakfast and lunch, plus stretch and bathroom breaks. We'll go over to the USSRC around 0900 and spend most of the day there."

"Can we touch the rockets, Abba?" Beth was already hooked just from the view from a distance.

"I just wanna see them…" her twin huffed. "Someone's big head is blocking my view." She poked LJ's arm with her finger, hard enough to make him feel it.

LJ turned to his sister, "Me no have a big head. Meanie…" He hit her arm and stuck out his tongue.

Tony made a 'T' with his hands, and got the kids' attention. "Whoa, step-back. I get that everyone is a bit tired and cranky from our long ride, but name-calling and hitting are not acceptable. After we get our suite, we'll find the pool or a play area so you all can burn off some energy. Deal?"

"I guess," Riv was not satisfied, but she knew better than to try to argue with her parents.

Ziva pulled to the curb by the main entrance of the hotel. Since the check-in parking was under a canopy, she didn't mind leaving the five kids in the van while registration, getting keys, verifying payment information, and other necessary details were completed. Tony stayed with the kids, but when he received a text from his wife, he had to go inside as well.

"Ima needs me inside for a few minutes to complete our check-in," he explained to the five youngsters. "You wait here… and stay in your seats." He locked the vehicle from the outside with his fob, while Ziva's was still inside to keep the engine, and hence the air conditioning, running for the kids.

Less than ten minutes later, Ziva came out with keycards in hand and Tony was pulling a luggage bell-hop type cart behind her. He unlocked and opened the doors to the van with his fob and guided the cart to the now-opened rear hatch.

"Gather your personal belongings into your go-bags," Ziva instructed the kids. "And any trash goes in the bag between the front seats so we can dispose of it."

Tali and Anthony helped LJ and the twins repack their bags before folding their seat backs down so the little kids could exit curbside. Tali handed each of them their backpacks and told the three preschoolers to stay put to wait for their parents. Anthony got his backpack and stood with the others. Tali quickly gathered her things and put the last few pieces of trash in the bag up front.

Ziva helped her husband load the suitcases and duffels onto the cart and hang their own backpacks on the hooks above. Tony glanced around the inside of the van, and once satisfied that they had all of the items on the cart or in hand, closed the rear hatch and sliding doors with his fob.

"You or me to park the van?" he looked over at Ziva who was trying to corral the three younger kids. Rivka had ventured towards the end of the building, determined to get a glimpse of the rockets. Once she started running off, the other two followed.

Tali was repacking Beth's go-bag; the little girl had dropped it on the sidewalk when she ran after her twin and the zipper had not been fully closed. Crayons, colored pencils, and other small items had spilled out.

"Come back here NOW, Rivka Abigail, Elizabeth Shannon, and Leroy Jackson," Ziva glared at the three miscreants.

"I just want to see the rockets," Riv turned towards her mother with hands on hips. "I didn't get to see them yet and it's not fair!" She turned and ran towards the end of the sidewalk.

"FREEZE!" Tony called out to the preschoolers.

LJ and Beth immediately stopped where they were and turned to face their Abba. Rivka kept running, her focus on getting to peek around the building and see the rockets in the distance. She wasn't going to stop until her goal was accomplished.

Tali and Anthony looked at each other and shrugged. They stood by the backpacks, luggage cart, and van and watched their younger siblings. Ziva ran past the two who had stopped. She caught up to her middle child right at the corner of the building, and cut the running little girl off.

"Outta my way, Ima."

Ziva reached for the child, "What did you say?"

"Outta…" Riv let out a squeaking sound as her Ima scooped the girl into her arms. "No… wanna see the rockets…" she squirmed and tried to get free of her mother' arms. "NO… down… now…"

While Ziva wrangled the misbehaving four-year-old, Tony led the other two back towards the main entrance.

"You were told to stay by Anthony and Tali," he started to scold the two. "Instead, you chose to run off without permission." He knelt down in front of the two little ones, "Do you understand that you did something wrong?" The two nodded and he continued, "Beth, can you tell me what you did that was wrong?"

The little girl hung her head, "I ran off. I should have stayed with our stuff. I'm sorry, Abba." She looked up at her father with a sad face.

"LJ?"

"I wunned wif Wiv and Bef," the little boy bit his lip as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. "Time out?"

Tony nodded, "When we get upstairs to our room, yes, there will be some time out. But remember that Ima and I still love you. What you did was wrong, but that doesn't change how we care about you and love you." He pulled the two into a quick hug and glanced over towards Ziva and their middle child.

"But Ima, it's not fair that everyone got to see the rockets 'cept me. Not fair!" the child stomped her foot as she complained. "I just want to see those rockets."

Ziva squatted to the child's level, "Rivka, running off without asking is wrong. We told you that you would get to see the rockets from our suite. And you were told to stay by the bags and van."

"I. Don't. Care. I wanna see the rockets. Not fair that only me did not see them," the little girl crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled while stomping her foot again. She started to make eye contact with her mother and quickly turned her gaze to the bushes next to the pair.

Ziva took a breath in and mentally counted backwards from ten; this child would be the one who tried her patience and parenting skills over and over… She shifted slightly and noticed Tony hugging the other two runners.

"I understand that you want to see the rockets. However, running off like you did is not the way to do that. Please look at me when I am talking to you," she gently placed a hand under the child's chin; Riv cooperated and made eye contact. "Running off is misbehaving. There are consequences for not listening and for not doing as you were asked."

Rivka sighed and slowly lowered her arms, "I just really, really, really wanted to see the rockets like everyone else. I… I'm sorry, Ima…"

"Apology accepted. Come," Ziva held out a hand to her child. "Let us go back to the others so we can go up to our suite. You can see the rockets from the suite after time out. I promise."

The family headed to the elevator to 'move in' to their suite for the week. The bedroom with the king-sized bed was obviously Tony and Ziva's; the three girls shared the second bedroom with its two double beds. Anthony and LJ would sleep on the fold-out double bed in the main living area of the suite. Ziva gave the kitchenette a once-over and made a list of groceries to pick up when the family went out for dinner.

The main area and the master bedroom both overlooked the view towards the US Space and Rocket Center across the highway. After the three younger children had their time-outs, Rivka stood by the sliding door to the balcony staring at the rockets in the distance. Tony tried not to laugh at the expression on her face, which was similar to her twin's and younger brother's earlier.

After dinner at a local fast-food eatery with an indoor play area, the family stopped at a grocery store to purchase the items on Ziva's list. She figured having breakfast foods, beverages, and snack items in the suite would make life a bit easier than trying to get all seven of them out to eat breakfast and for snacking after the day's activities were over.

On Monday morning, Ziva was very glad she decided to have cereal and other breakfast items in the suite. It made getting ready to head over to the USSRC much easier than trying to get them all to a restaurant or fast-food place to eat and then to the main event for the day.

As Tony pulled into the parking area for the USSRC, the kids were duly impressed. A bunch of 'wow,' 'oh wow,' and 'cool' comments could be heard from the rear seats. Even Tali was impressed; Ziva chuckled to herself at the ten-year-old's reaction to the Saturn I rocket, V2/A4 rocket, and Space Shuttle with external fuel tanks that were visible from the parking lot.

"Dey BIG!" LJ leaned back to look up at the full height of the Saturn I.

Ziva led the family to the ticketing center to collect the pre-ordered tickets for the family's general admission for three days, the IMAX theater, the Apollo 11 VR experience, the flight simulators and trainers, and the moon-shot VR experience. The surprise item was the two-day camp activity on Tuesday and Wednesday that also included NASA 'flight suits' for each of the kids. When Ziva showed her family all of the event tickets, Tony was as excited as the kids, but pouted when Ziva told him he did not get a flight suit for camp.

"You can have mine, Abba," LJ offered to the snickers of his siblings.

Beth stated the obvious, "LJ, your flight suit would be way too small for Abba. He wears size humongous, I think…"

Ziva had to turn away to laugh quietly at the expression on her husband's face.

"Just how big do you think I am?" Tony asked his number three ninja.

Beth looked over at her siblings for some help; the three younger kids had a quick discussion about how to answer their father's question, while Tali pulled up the Gift Shop information on her new phone.

"Abba, the gift shop has flight suits for adults," Tali showed the image on her phone to Tony. "You can buy one there that will be just like ours."

Beth tugged at Tony's shirt, "We think you are about six or seven feet tall and weigh about five hundred pounds?"

Ziva couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Excuse me… I was two hundred six pounds at my wellness check last month and I have been six feet two inches tall since I was fifteen or sixteen years old," the father informed his offspring. "And, yes, I am going to investigate those adult flight suits in the gift shop. Maybe Ima will buy one as well?" He looked over at his wife with his best 'puppy eyes.'

"We shall see…" Ziva started in the direction of the main entrance to the complex. Today would be the day for exploring all that the center had to see on their own, including the Saturn V rocket, which had its own building. It was one of only three remaining rockets of that type in the world. They crawled through a space station mock-up that had been used as a trainer module for the first Skylab missions. In the building with the Saturn V, the Apollo 16 capsule, a moon rock from Apollo 12, and images from the moon expeditions captured the family's attention for almost two hours. Tony shared vague memories of watching television coverage of the final mission in December 1972 with his mother.

At the end of the day, all seven were tired, but as Tony put it 'good tired.' Each of the kids had received their Space Camp packet with information, their flight suit, Space Camp backpack, and a map of where activities would take place. Tony and Ziva had received their adult camper packets, including rules about supervising minors, the list of family activities, and a discount coupon for a flight suit. Ziva relented to the pleading of Tony and the kids, and all seven went back to their suite with flight suits to wear for the two days of camp.

The family day camp was packed with activities, explorations, and learning fun both days. They completed astronaut training exercises, two immersive movies, learning challenges as a family, and building model rockets and launching them as teams.

After lunch on Wednesday, the teams put the final touches on the rockets. Ziva, Anthony, Beth, and LJ painted their rocket with red, orange, and green stripes for each of the kids' favorite colors. Tony, Tali, and Rivka painted their rocket with blue and purple stars for the girls' favorite colors.

"Our rocket is going to fly higher than your rocket," Riv boasted to her twin. "We got the best rocket in the whole camp!"

"Nuh-uh," Beth shot back. "Ima is gonna do her magic and make ours go into the clouds."

Rivka smirked at her sister, "Well, Abba is gonna make our rocket go to the moon!"

Ziva and Tony locked gazes over the teams' side-by-side work areas. They were definitely amused by their off-springs' over confidence and boasting.

"We're going to beat you," Ziva teased her husband.

Tony chuckled, "No way. We have the superior rocket…" He held up the body of the rocket to fit the nose cone in place for launch in thirty minutes.

Tali and Anthony grinned at each other, then rolled their eyes. If anyone dared say their parents were not competitive, the two would probably resort to fits of laughter.

The camp personnel showed the adults how to load the rocket engine packs into the lower portion of the rocket tube to prepare for launch. The engines were one-time use only, but could be purchased in bulk to launch the rocket multiple times. The camp-owned launch pads and controllers would assist each team to launch their rocket. If all went well, the team could recover its rocket to take home at the end of camp sessions, but to launch again at home would require purchase of engines, controller, launch pad, and other parts.

A successful launch could propel the rocket to about one thousand feet from the ground. The recovery pack, including the parachute, would then float the rocket body to the ground for reuse. The teams took turns launching and admiring each other's finished products. LJ like the green-striped rocket that a family of four from Texas created.

Ziva's team was up to launch first of the DiNozzos. She carefully positioned the rocket on the launch pad as the three kids watched. LJ wanted to help so Ziva let him put his hands on with her to settle the model in place for lift-off. The four stepped back to the controller and Anthony and Beth pressed the launch button. LJ jumped up and down and squealed as their rocket lifted from the launch pad and propelled upward. The group watched as the colorful model soared towards the sky. One of the camp leaders had a radar-like tracking device to estimate maximum height and kept scores for each team.

"One thousand fifty-eight feet," she announced as the parachute deployed to ease the spent rocket to the ground. "DiNozzo team A is our current leader by five feet."

Two more teams completed their launches; Ziva's team remained in the lead by four feet. Tony's team was the final launch. He stepped up to the launch pad followed by Tali and Rivka. The two girls placed their rocket on the pad and their father did some final adjustments. The three retreated to the controller and counted down together. All three pressed the launch button… and waited…

At first it appeared that the blue and purple stars rocket wasn't going anywhere. Ziva high-fived Anthony, Beth, and was about to high-five LJ when the rocket shot off.

"Ima, it's going up!" LJ pointed to the rising model from his Abba's team. "Waaayyy up!"

The colorful parachute deployed as the rocket slowly fell back to the ground.

"We have a winner! And a new Family Space Camp record! One thousand one hundred two feet!" the woman with the altimeter tools declared. "DiNozzo team B come forward to claim your prize for first place please. Also, DiNozzo team A come get your second-place prize and Westfield team gets third place."

Tony and his daughters grinned classic DiNozzo grins when they were handed a full kit including a model rocket of a larger size than those they'd built at the camp, launch pad, one single-use rocket engine, and full launch controller. Ziva, Beth, and the boys also flashed signature DiNozzo grins when they received their prize of a case of ten of the one-use engines that fit the models they had built and the new kit won by the family's other team. The third-place team went home with an additional two engines for their rocket.

"All campers, this concludes the family camp; feel free to browse the park for the remainder of the open hours today. Also remember to pick-up your family's souvenir picture from yesterday, and the Space Camp Family Camp patches to add to your flight suits. Soar high!"

Tali and Anthony proudly carried the family's winning rockets from the camp area as Tony toted the prizes to the family's van. Ziva and the other three waited by the main entrance for them to return so all could do a final exploration of the park and exhibits.

"This was better than I thought it would be, Abba," Tali admitted as she fell in beside her father on the way to the space shuttle Pathfinder display. Pathfinder was the final prototype and also a training vehicle for the SPSS astronauts. Its display was the only full shuttle launch assembly remaining in the world.

"Yeah, I think this will be a trip we remember for a long time," Anthony added. "Thanks Ima and Abba."

"I am glad you enjoyed the USSRC. Tomorrow we will visit the US Veterans Memorial Museum. They have artifacts and equipment from the American Revolutionary War through present day," Ziva informed her family. "And we now can check the State of Alabama off our bucket list!"

Chapter 3: Alaska

Chapter Text

Chapter 3 - Alaska

Long weekend October 2024 – Fairbanks: Viewing the Northern Lights

"The kids have a long weekend around the middle of October," Ziva noted to Tony. She had downloaded the new school year calendar that afternoon. "We could take a trip for the five days and maybe knock another state off our list."

"Alaska is up next," he replied. "What could we go see there in October?" He typed into the search engine on his laptop, and clicked a few possible events of interest.

Ziva also started searching on her tablet. "It says here that one can view the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis in Fairbanks in October. Perhaps that is the place to go?"

"I just found that same information," Tony grinned at his better half. "Let's check flights and see if this is doable…"

Ziva had already pulled up some flight information, "That is the weekend of LJ's birthday. We could celebrate his birthday in Alaska! Do you think he is too young to remember that in the future?"

"He'll be three, Ziva. I remember events from when I was three; you do as well."

Ziva nodded as she frowned at the pages of flight information. "If we leave on Thursday evening, that will give us a better deal on the round-trip airfare. To account for the time differences, though, we would probably need to leave Fairbanks early on Tuesday morning."

Tony pulled up details about a flight on his laptop, "We could leave around 1830 from Dulles and arrive in Fairbanks in about twelve hours with the connecting flight from Seattle. Only three hundred eighty-two per person for coach…"

Ziva scooted over to look at the information, "The time difference is only four hours. If we can get the children to sleep on the flights, that will help. Total in-air flight time is about nine and one-half hours. That is certainly doable in my opinion."

"Book it?" Tony queried.

"Yes! An adventure awaits once we find a hotel," Ziva navigated to a hotel-booking website to find accommodations for her family. She found a deal for a suite that slept eight and a rental mini-van that was less money than she expected. "Booked our lodging and a rental vehicle in one deal."

Tony grinned, "What a birthday our little boy is going to have! Do we tell them now or wait?"

~Alaska~

The weekend before LJ's birthday, Ziva and Tony told the kids about the upcoming trip to Alaska at dinner on Sunday. Tony pulled up some pictures of the aurora borealis on his phone to show the family.

"We will have a good chance to see these Northern Lights while we are in Fairbanks," Ziva explained. "This year, 2024, and next, are at the peak of the eleven-year cycle for aurora activity. The weather is not too cold yet, so we can sightsee during the day and go out at night to try to see the Lights."

LJ thought about the information that his parents just relayed to the siblings. "Wait, isn't my birthday coming up? How am I going to have a birthday if we aren't home?"

Tony ruffled the little boy's hair, "This is your big birthday present, kiddo. A trip with all of us to see Alaska, and the Northern Lights if we're lucky. We can have birthday dinner and cake in Fairbanks just like we would at home."

"Not just like home," Rivka had to point out. "Grandpa, and cousins and aunts and uncles won't be in Alaska."

At LJ's worried look, Ziva quickly spoke up, "We can do a separate celebration with extended family on the following weekend. So, LJ, it will be like celebrating your birthday twice instead of one time."

"TWO birthdays?" the look of surprise on her baby's face nearly had Ziva laughing out loud. She quickly bit the inside of her lip to try to maintain a serious demeanor. "Does that mean I will be…" the child paused to count on his fingers. "Four?"

"Good try, but you'll still be three come Friday," Tony chuckled. "But you'll turn three in Alaska, or… now that I think about it, when we are in the air overnight. Remember that you were born in the early morning hours our time. So…" he did some quick mental arithmetic. "We should be either boarding the plane or in the air from Seattle to Fairbanks at the actual time of your birth."

"Hopefully asleep," Ziva added with a smile.

~Alaska~

"Now boarding for those needing assistance, families with children, and passengers with a military ID," the announce came over the P.A. system by the gate for the flight to Seattle.

"Let's go!" Tony made sure he had LJ's boarding pass along with his own. Each of the children over three had his or her own boarding pass as per the latest regulations. He held LJ's hand as the little boy chattered with excitement.

"Is this our plane, Abba? Do we get to sit by a window? Will you sit with me or will Ima?"

"Boarding passes please," the attendant held out a hand to take the documents from Tony.

LJ watched wide-eyed, "I get to have my birthday on the plane to Alaska."

The attendant smiled at the boy, "Well, then, happy birthday! How old are you?"

"I will be three!" the youngest DiNozzo puffed up a bit and grinned as he held up three fingers.

"That means that you can show your own boarding pass when you come home," she informed him.

His mouth fell open into an o-shape. "Oh… cool! Abba, Ima, I get to carry my own boarding pass!"

The woman handed the two stubs back to Tony; Anthony followed his father and brother. Riv and Beth were behind their older brother, with Tali the last of the offspring to provide her pass. Ziva was the final DiNozzo in line.

"Enjoy your trip, ma'am. And I hope your little boy has a fantastic birthday," the attendant handed Ziva her stub. "I do have to say that your children are very well-behaved; thank you."

Ziva smiled, "No, thank you." She followed the rest of her family onto the ramp to board. Tony led the family to their group of seats in the first three rows of the main cabin; they were just in front of the wing on the right side of the aircraft. He helped the kids stow their backpacks under the seats, and shoved the two carry-on bags into the overhead compartment.

Anthony and Tali had the first row, facing the bulkhead. Anthony had the window seat, but both could see out the window if anything interesting appeared. Rivka, Beth, and Ziva were in the next row with Ziva on the aisle seat. Behind them, LJ had the window seat with his Abba next to him.

After take-off, Tali grabbed a book from her backpack and settled in her seat to read. Anthony watched out the window for a while, then found a book to read as well. Riv and Beth took coloring books and colored pencils from their packs. Ziva read for a bit and then planned the family's activities for the long weekend from some information she'd printed out about kid-friendly things to do in Fairbanks and nearby.

LJ was fascinated with the lights on the ground below the aircraft. He and Tony used some maps that LJ had put in his backpack to guess what cities they flew over. After about two hours in the air, the little boy fell asleep. Tony quietly repacked the maps, pencils, and paper back in the child's backpack.

By three hours into the almost six-hour flight to Seattle, all of the children were asleep except Tali. She was engrossed in her book, so Ziva let her keep reading. Other passengers also started sleeping so the cabin lights were dimmed; Tali put her book away and settled back to nap in her seat.

~Alaska~

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to make our final approach to SEA-TAC. Please assure that your seats are in an upright position, all items are stowed safely, and tray tables are secured. Local time is eight forty-three; air temperature is forty-nine degrees Fahrenheit. Thanks for flying with us tonight," the captain's voice accompanied the brightening of the cabin lighting to prepare the passengers for the landing.

"Are we there Abba? Are we in Alaska?' LJ stretched and yawned as he looked out the window.

"We're about to land in Seattle. We'll get on the plane to Fairbanks in about two hours," Tony replied to the curious little boy. "Right now, we have to get ready to get off this plane after it lands and taxis to the gate. We'll get everyone something for a snack, find our gate for the next flight, and settle in to wait for boarding. You can go back to sleep in the waiting area if you want."

Riv overheard her father and brother talking, "I wanna see everything! I'm to excited to sleep. Maybe when we are on the next plane, but not on the ground."

"If we were at home, you would be in bed," Ziva teased her middle child. "And I would bet you would be asleep as well."

Once the jet had reached the concourse for boarding and deplaning, the family gathered their carry-on luggage and followed the other passengers into the terminal. Ziva herded them towards the restrooms across from the gate. After bathroom breaks, Tony found a fast-food restaurant that was open and purchased beverages and food for his family.

Ziva located the information on the departure gate for the next leg of the journey; it was on the same concourse as the gate they arrived, but on the opposite side. At the waiting area, the kids watched out the windows, played games on their tablets, or read.

Tali looked up from her tablet, "Technically, we can knock Washington State off our list since we are here."

"True, but we will come back to see the sights in this state at some time in the future," Ziva smiled at her eldest. "If we count airports and military bases with airfields, Abba and I have probably been in at least one-third more countries than we count."

Tony looked over at his wife, "Although there are a few that I would rather forget…" One of the refueling stops on the return from Somalia so long ago came to mind. The NCIS group had remained on the C-130 as the crew changed out and the ground workers filled the fuel tanks. He doubted that Ziva even remembered that stop as she had been given some powerful sedatives in the field hospital before departing Camp Lemonnier.

Ziva noted the flash of pain in her husband's eyes and put a hand on his arm. She spoke to him quietly, "Let us think of better times, neshama. Leave the past in the past."

He nodded, put his hand on hers, and whispered, "Toda."

LJ was watching out the windows and noticed the approaching aircraft coming into the gate where they were going to depart. "Look! Look! Is that our plane, Ima? Are we going on that one, Abba?" The other kids moved over by the little boy and watched the ground workers guide the jet to the gate.

An airline employee heard the child's questions and replied to the children, "If you are flying to Fairbanks, Alaska, that is your plane. The flight coming in left there earlier tonight. After a crew cleans the plane, we will begin boarding in about forty minutes."

"Cool," Beth remarked to her siblings.

Ziva glanced at her watch, the flight was scheduled to leave at 2315 or in about ninety minutes. She did some quick arithmetic to calculate the time at home. Currently at home, it was 0048; LJ would officially be three years old when they boarded the flight to Fairbanks.

Tali glanced at the time on her tablet, which was still on DC time. "Ima, what time was LJ born? I remember seeing him in the early morning before you and Abba went to the birthing center to get checked over by your doctor and our pediatrician."

"0138," Tony replied. "Couldn't wait to get himself into the world that night." He reached into his pocket and drew out the boarding passes. "LJ, you get to present your own pass this time, if you want."

The little boy's eyes widened and his mouth formed an 'O' shape. "Really? I want!" he grinned a huge grin at his Abba and jumped up and down excitedly. Ziva and Tony exchanged a smile and a gaze at the youngest DiNozzo's enthusiasm.

At the gate at boarding time, Tony handed the pass to LJ to present to the attendant. The little boy practically strutted with the paper in his hand and grinned his biggest, best DiNozzo grin.

"Hi," he greeted the gate attendant. "I'm three! Today is my birthday, and I get to give you this!" He handed the boarding pass to the young man.

"Well, thank you," the attendant glanced at the pass, "Mr. DiNozzo. Have a good flight and happy birthday." He smiled at the thumbs' up from Tony and Ziva and continued boarding the family.

When Tony handed his boarding pass, as the last of the DiNozzos in the line, he grinned again at the attendant. "Thanks for making my son's day. He literally just turned three years old; he was born at one-thirty-eight a.m. Eastern time on the eleventh."

"My pleasure, sir. Enjoy your flight."

The three hour and fifteen-minute flight to Fairbanks was uneventful and all seven DiNozzos dozed in-flight. The two boys sat side-by-side across from the three girls in the same row. Ziva and Tony were in the row behind the boys; they were the last to nod off after the kids were asleep.

"Sleep for a bit, neshama," Ziva leaned over and kissed Tony before settling back with a neck pillow and closing her eyes. He interlaced their hands as he also closed his eyes and smiled.

~Alaska~

"Ima, it's cold!" Beth reached for her jacket in her backpack. "Did we fly to winter?"

Rivka zipped her jacket, "Ima told you to put on your jacket inside when we were waiting for our suitcases. Abba said that we should have heat in the van that we are going to be using while we are here."

Anthony turned to Tali, "Geez, you'd think we flew to the North Pole the way they are talking. We knew the temperatures would be a lot colder than at home. Some people's little sisters…"

Tali grinned, "You used to be that way, you know…"

The rental mini-van arrived at the curb and the car rental company employee handed Tony a second set of keys, "I left it running so the interior warms up for your family. Have fun while you visit us!"

"Are we gonna see the Northern Lights tonight?" LJ gazed upward while waiting for his turn to climb in the back of the van. "I wanna see them every night we are here."

"If you get your aaz… butt in the van, we can drive to where there are less lights and maybe we can see them," Anthony half joked. "From what Tali and I read, some nights they are very faint or you can't see them at all. Other nights, there are all sorts of bright colors."

Tony finished loading the last of the luggage in the rear area and closed the rear gate. He walked past Anthony, who was just climbing in behind the driver's seat. "Language, kiddo," he spoke softly to the boy. "Next stop is our hotel," he announced to his family as he shut the driver's door. "Everyone buckled in?"

As he drove to the lodging, Ziva pulled up the hotel's website and completed most of the check-in process before they arrived, hoping to make it easier to get the family into the suite and into bed until morning.

The kids watched out the windows and noticed the faint white flashes of the aurora in the northern skies. They were excited and also a little disappointed that there wasn't much to see that night. Ziva reminded them that this was the first of five nights, so there would be plenty of opportunities to see a spectacular show with many colors.

The night clerk finished the check-in and handed three room key-cards to Ziva, "Enjoy your stay, ma'am. Do you want a wake-up call?"

"Thank you and no thank you. With five children, we have our own wake-up system built in," she replied. She led the family to the elevators; Tony had unloaded their luggage while she finished the registration process.

As the elevator carried the family to their floor, she reminded the kids that once in the suite, they would need to get into pajamas and then to bed as quickly as possible. "It is 0230 local time, so we need to sleep for a few more hours, even though at home it is 0630."

The kids managed to fall asleep for a few hours and all were awake by 0615 local time. As the family waited for the hotel's free continental breakfast to open they discussed the various sights to see in and around Fairbanks. After reviewing several websites and links to the actual attractions, the seven DiNozzos put the University of Alaska Museum of the North, the Running Reindeer Ranch, the Fairbanks Children's Museum, and Aurora Pointe Activity Center on the top of the list.

At breakfast, Ziva contacted the Reindeer Ranch to see if they had any open times during the family's stay. Luckily, Monday was not booked, so she immediately reserved the tour for the seven DiNozzos to get to learn about the reindeer, hike in the fields with them, pet the animals and help feed them, get pictures with the reindeer, and have a hot snack and beverage afterwards. Since Aurora Pointe was a night-time activity, from 2200 to 0200, to see the Northern Lights, Tony checked the weather forecasts and the aurora forecasts for the best night to see the natural light show. From what information he found, Friday night looked to be the best opportunity, so he pre-purchased tickets for his family online.

The Children's Museum listed a "Super Saturday" program, so they planned to spend the entire day at the museum. Ziva also thought that they would probably crash early Saturday night, since the family would be out late the previous night. Sunday would be the day to explore the Museum of the North.

Anthony expressed an interest in the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, so they decided to head that way after breakfast. The family wandered among the old autos, the period displays, and then to the wildlife reservation next door. Mid-afternoon, they headed back to the hotel to rest and have dinner in the suite before the late-night excursion to see the Northern Lights. The dinner included a birthday cake for LJ and chocolate ice cream.

Mother Nature did not disappoint; the lights display that night was much more impressive than the little bit they'd seen coming in to the hotel from the airport the night before. Tony almost nodded off during the indoor presentation about the aurorae and how they occurred. When the show started, the cold air outside woke him up – as if his excited kids didn't – and he, Ziva, and Tali got some great pictures with their cell phones, as well as Tony and Anthony getting pictures with the digital SLR cameras. The Northern Lights awed the spectators with hues of greens, blues, violets, whites, and a touch of pink in swirling and dancing patterns. One of the center staff remarked that it was the most impressive show so far that season. LJ was thrilled to have it be on his birthday.

They all crashed and slept when the family returned to their suite; everyone slept in on Saturday until almost 0900. The Children's Museum opened at 0900 until 1700; the DiNozzos spent almost the entire time having fun with the various activities. Ziva joked that her big kid had more fun than the actual children. Tony quipped that he would always be a kid at heart.

At the Museum of the North, they learned about the history of the area, viewed artifacts from the native cultures, dinosaur skeletons, taxidermy of the native animal species, art works and crafts of the area and state, and clothing made from animal hides.

The Running Reindeer Ranch was by far the second favorite activity, only bested by the Northern Lights. The kids loved petting the reindeer and helping feed them. Ziva figured they took over two hundred pictures at with the reindeer and was glad she'd remembered to bring extra SD cards for the cameras.

As the DiNozzos drove home from Dulles on Tuesday evening, Tony listened to his kids comparing what they liked best about the Alaska adventure. LJ and Tali chose the Northern Lights; Rivka and Beth had a hard time deciding between the aurora and the reindeer.

Anthony summed it up for all of them, "My favorite part is that we did this as a family and we will have memories for a lifetime. Thanks, Ima and Abba!"

Chapter 4: Arizona

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 – Arizona – January 2025

"Arizona Law Enforcement Academy in Phoenix," Tony was on his cell phone via the Bluetooth connection in his truck as he navigated towards home on I-95. Ziva was also in traffic headed home from NCIS, but they figured out that she was about five miles closer to home than he was.

"When do you leave?" she asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

"It's only for three days; I think it's the same three days the kids have that break from school for King Day and teachers' workdays. As far as I know, I have to be on site two hours on Monday morning, and two hours on Wednesday afternoon to help them with implementing their new modules for refreshment training on dealing with hostage situations and with active shooters," he replied.

"They are training on a Federal Holiday?"

"I asked the same question, and the answer is yes. It was the only time that some of the teams from the agencies further out in the state could get to Phoenix for training," he answered her question with a slight chuckle. They always seemed to think alike. "FLETC gave me the option to fly out on Sunday if I want."

Ziva turned into the exit lane for home, "I am about to get off the interstate, and I have to stop for milk and a few other grocery items before I get to the house. Remember that Gibbs is staying for dinner tonight; when I called him before I called you, he and Tali were starting to put dinner together. The stew is in the crockpot and they are making rolls or biscuits to go with it. I will see you at home. We can talk about the trip more tonight."

~Arizona~

The DiNozzos boarded the Sunday mid-morning flight to Phoenix; ready for another adventure. Each had the usual carry-on backpack with books, toys, stuffed animals, and other entertainment for the trip and while at the hotels where they would be staying.

"How long does Abba have to work before we can go see the Grand Canyon?" Anthony asked for the fourth or fifth time. He really wanted to see the canyon in person after seeing images of the brightly colored rocks of the canyon walls online.

Ziva reminded all of the children that the trip was both for their father's work and for a family vacation, "Abba has to be at the training center at 0700 tomorrow morning, local time, and when he is done around 0900, he will come back to the hotel in Phoenix where we will stay tonight. Then we will drive about four hours to the South Rim of the Canyon. We will stay in a hotel near the Grand Canyon tomorrow and Tuesday nights, and then drive back to Phoenix on Wednesday morning. Abba has to be at the training center around 1200 on Wednesday, local time, and after he is done there, we head to the airport to fly home. We should be back here around midnight."

"Are we gonna ride the train?" Rivka had seen the pictures of the Grand Canyon Railroad and the adjoining hotel on websites as the family researched the trip.

Tony nodded, "Yes. Remember that we are staying at the hotel and riding the train to the park on Tuesday morning. On Monday, after we check-in, we will drive to several of the overlooks on the South Rim to see the Canyon."

"Way cool!" Riv and Beth responded together.

~Arizona~

After a bit of a mix-up with the two hotel rooms that Ziva had reserved, the family finally was settled in for the evening. She had made the reservation for two rooms since none of the hotels near the training facility had capacity for more than four people in a room or suite. When she phoned the facility directly, she clearly stipulated that the two rooms be either adjoining, or at least next to each other. She had followed up with an email, just to have the request in writing, and the hotel's assistant manager had replied that the request would be noted and honored.

At check-in, only one room was listed under Ziva's name. She pulled up the confirmation email, clearly showing two rooms, and the desk clerk, the weekend manager, and the facility manager – via phone – took nearly an hour to get the second room for the family. They finally found the reservation under Tony's name, but spelled incorrectly!

After check-in and getting settled into the rooms, which were on the same wing of the same floor, but not adjoining, they walked to a restaurant near the hotel for dinner. Tony and the boys were in one room, and Ziva and the girls in the other.

On Monday morning, Tony took a shuttle bus to the training center with the other participants. Ziva and the kids got breakfast, made sure all their belongings were packed and loaded in the rental vehicle, and waited for Tony's time at the training facility to be over. He managed to text Ziva about thirty minutes before he would be free to leave, so she was able to get checked out of the hotel, and over to the training center to meet him.

The drive to Williams, Arizona was about four and one-half hours with a stop for lunch at a fast-food restaurant. At the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, they again had two rooms. After getting checked in, and taking gear inside, they drove to some of the scenic overlooks on Arizona highway 64. The light dusting of snow on the ground and canyon walls added to the spectacular colors of the natural wonder.

The family headed back to the hotel as the sun set; they decided to have dinner at the restaurant at the hotel. The buffet-style meal included traditional rail dining car food as well as popular favorites, including roast beef, turkey breast, chicken, pot roast, and many varieties of vegetables, pastas, salads, and desserts.

On Tuesday morning, the train ride to the park from the railway depot included breakfast, snacks, and beverages, as well as in-car entertainment. Even though it was the most expensive of the options that allowed children, Tony chose the observation car just for the experience and views. The about two-hour ride into the park ended at Grand Canyon Village, the historic area of human presence in the park. The family explored the shops, sights, and historic areas until time to head back to the train station about four hours after arrival.

On the way back to the hotel, snow began falling. The family watched the snow from the observation dome, glad they were riding in comfort within the train car. Tony was happy not to drive in snow, even though he really didn't mind and was used to it from home.

"The canyon was beautiful," Ziva noted. "The colors of the rock formations are so much more pronounced in person than one can ever imagine from the pictures."

"I liked seeing all the animals," Tali added.

LJ jumped up in his seat, "Look!" He pointed out towards the west side of the train where some elk were grazing beside mule deer. The others watched the animals as the train rolled past.

Anthony snapped some images with one of the family's digital cameras. "I really liked the eagles we saw yesterday at one of the observation points. They were so close and didn't seem to be afraid of people."

"Neither did the squirrels," Riv commented. "Those beggars wanted food from us!"

Beth laughed at the memory, "But Abba said the signs told people not to feed them!"

LJ again pointed out into the forested areas alongside the tracks, "Is that a cat over there?"

Tony peered where the little boy was pointing, "I think that is a mountain lion."

While all were duly impressed with the Grand Canyon and its natural beauty, the highlight of the trip for the kids was yet to come. They relaxed at the hotel on Tuesday evening after dinner at the same restaurant as the previous night. Ziva reminded her family that they needed to on the road back to Phoenix early on Wednesday morning to get Tony to the training center for a lunch banquet and his final training session that afternoon.

~Arizona~

"See you in a while," Tony kissed his wife before heading inside to the last of his work-related duties for the trip. "Have fun!"

Ziva headed out of the parking area and towards the final activity that she and Tony had picked for the trip; a visit to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM for short.) MIM is the only global musical instrument museum in the world. The exhibits ranged from various instruments from all over the globe, displayed by region or country of origin, to an artist gallery, and a mechanical music gallery.

Once inside, she led the kids to the orientation gallery for a ten-minute overview of the museum and its displays. They then wandered through the Artist Gallery, viewing instruments played by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, and others.

The next room was the Mechanical Instruments Gallery; all of them were fascinated by the self-playing assortment of musical instruments. While the instruments themselves were interesting, only Tali and Ziva read about the history of them. The others were content to look and move on.

When the family entered the next display gallery, the children were hooked. The Experience Gallery allowed for hands-on with multiple instruments and techniques for creating music and musical sounds. They never went any further to view the upper-level rooms containing the historical displays by region and country. The interactive experience held the kids' attention for the remainder of the time that Ziva had allotted for their visit. Wisely, she set an alarm on her phone about twenty minutes into the time in the gallery.

LJ loved the percussion area of the interactive room. He tried all of the percussion instruments many times and with his siblings helped create a family musical piece.

Tali was drawn to the piano and piano-type instruments; Ziva figured that her daughter's interest and prior lessons added to the girl's curiosity with the computerized piano sounds.

The twins were engrossed in the interactive digital motion recording to generate sounds. Given their interest in gymnastics in the current school year, Ziva was not surprised that her two ended up spending a good bit of time at that activity.

Anthony tried almost all of the instruments and activities but kept returning to the computer that used light and sound to create a musical show. Luckily, the family was mostly alone in the area as the number of visitors on that weekday was low. They had the space to themselves for a good bit of the three hours. When Ziva's phone alarm sounded to let her know it was time to leave, she had to almost drag the kids and herself out to the rental van to go to pick up Tony before heading to the airport to fly back to DC.

"Abba! Abba!" LJ, Rivka, and Beth tried to get their father's attention to tell him about the MIM experiences. He patiently listened to their stories and comments on the ride to the airport, the wait in the boarding area, and even on the plane trip back to DC. Tali and Anthony added in their perspectives as they could when the younger three wound down.

Ziva smiled at her kids; she had thought the Grand Canyon itself or the train ride would be the subject of the discussion on the way home and was pleasantly surprised that the Musical Instrument Museum had been the activity to make the largest impression on her children.

Chapter 5: Arkansas

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 – Arkansas – Spring Break 2025

Ziva moved next to her husband to show him her tablet, "We can fly to Fort Smith, Arkansas, but there is no direct flight. Total time will be around five hours, although only half of that is in the air. There are other much closer airports, but then we would have to drive to Fort Smith for you to see the Welcome Center."

"I really want to see Miss Laura's Visitor Center. It seems so intriguing…" he replied. "Something about a visitor center in an old brothel just makes me want to see it!"

"It does sound interesting, but is it appropriate for children?" Ziva agreed to a point.

Tony pulled up the website on his tablet, "It's a generic visitor's center, Ziva, with the addition of a museum of sorts for the legal brothel that was once in the house. It's on the National Historic Register as well. They have period costumes and furniture from the early 1900s, a history of the house, and information about Fort Smith as a 'frontier outpost.' The website has a link to arrange for group tours, including school groups."

Ziva nodded as she switched tabs to show Tony the four-bedroom, two-bathroom cabin that she found for accommodations while in Murfreesboro near the Crater of Diamonds State Park. "We can rent this cabin for four nights. It has a full kitchen, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a wrap-around porch, diamond mining tools that we can take to the park, and on-site swimming, canoeing, and river access. It will be too cold to swim, but the children will have a place to be outside to play."

"Sounds good; are they available for when we need?"

Ziva grabbed her phone and made a call. Ten minutes later, she smiled and gave Tony a thumbs' up gesture. "We are booked for Sunday through Thursday. They gave us a free night with the four I requested. Check-out is by 1100 on Friday. We can check in any time on Sunday."

"I am getting our flights arranged as we speak," Tony glance up from his tablet. "Do we want the 0525 or the 0910 out of Reagan? Oh, never mind; it's the 0525 or we'll have a four plus hours layover in Atlanta." He tapped at the screen, "Done… and done. Flights booked. Spring break for the DiNozzos is ready to roll."

~Arkansas~

The family finally got settled into their lodging around 1600 local time. The flights had been uneventful and without delays, even though the kids were not too thrilled to have to get up at 0300 to get to the airport for the first leg of the flight. Ziva was glad the three younger ones had napped during the three-hour drive from Fort Smith to Murfreesboro. Anthony had dozed on and off for part of the ride.

Once in town, they stopped for groceries for that night's dinner, plus breakfast, and lunch for the next day. Ziva then text-messaged the owners to meet for check in and get the keys for the cabin.

Tony helped Ziva put up the food while the kids chose bedrooms. LJ and Anthony liked the bedroom with the red bedspread and curtains, not that anything else was different about the rooms. All had queen-sized beds, a closet, dresser, chair, nightstands, and rustic wood paneling. Rivka and Beth chose their room, leaving Tali to have a room to herself.

The open living room, dining area, and kitchen had plenty of modern amenities, including a large-screen television with cable access, internet access with wi-fi, relatively new appliances in the kitchen, and ceiling fans. Outside, on the wrap-around porch, there were more tables and chairs, a large grill, and lounge chairs to enjoy the outside. In the open area between the house and the river were a fire-pit and rustic seating.

The diamond digging tools were in a shed next to the main house, along with two canoes, some fishing gear, and a large wagon with inflatable tires. Tony figured out that it was for use in at the diamond field at the park. They could haul gear with the wagon.

On Monday, the family made their first trip to the park. First up was the park's visitors center where they learned about the history of the park, viewed diamonds found at the park, and learned about the area's history and geology from interactive exhibits. Next was the Diamond Discovery Center, where they learned multiple techniques for searching for the diamonds. The various rocks and minerals, besides diamonds, that could be found in the park were on display as well. A short video showed some of the techniques and how to recognize a diamond in the rough. They learned that diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow, but that the diamonds at Crater of Diamonds were white, brown, or yellow. Other rocks and minerals that could be found include amethyst, garnet, agate, jasper, quartz, sandstone, calcite, barite, and mica.

They learned that the diamonds from the crater were smooth, well-rounded, and mostly small – about the size of the head of a paper match. The typical diamond found by park visitors was around twenty points weight, but some as small as a single point, and as large as forty carats had been found over the years. Ziva reminded them all that the stones in her engagement ring were all about one carat so they were looking for tiny stones in their hunt for diamonds. One neat characteristic that they learned was that the diamonds feel as though they have an oily film on them. That prevents dirt from sticking to the surfaces. They also have a metallic luster and are not clear, but rather translucent. All rocks found were theirs to keep and park staff were available to help verify the finds.

"Are we ready?" Ziva walked to the cash register area of the Discovery Center to pay for the family's admission to the diamond field. She turned to the young man at the counter, "Two adults, two children between six and twelve, and three children under six." She paid the ten dollars each per adult and six dollars each for Tali and Anthony. The three youngest were free. Each had a paper wrist band for entry, color-coded and printed 'Monday.'

Tony retrieved the wagon, digging and sifting tools, and buckets from the back of the rental van. The family followed the path to the field. Anthony noted the shovel statue marking the location of the find of the largest diamond ever at the park – the 40.23 carat Uncle Sam diamond.

"I'm gonna find a big one!" he declared to his siblings.

Tali smirked and retorted, "Yeah, right. You'll be lucky to find a tiny diamond like the ones we saw inside. I'll be happy to find any of the rocks or minerals we saw, especially an amethyst."

With nearly forty acres to dig and sift, Tony looked for a spot away from other groups, but near one of the furrows made by the plow when the field was freshly plowed a week prior. They could dig as deeply as they wanted, but before leaving for the day, had to refill any holes made. The sifting and sorting of the dirt and rocks was the time-consuming part. Ziva, Tali, Anthony, and Tony worked for most of the six hours the family was in the field. Ziva had packed lunch and beverages for the family in a wheeled cooler that was at the cabin. Rivka and Beth helped quite a bit, but when they got bored, the two little girls just picked up rocks from the surface and added the interesting ones to the bucket of 'keepers' from the sifting process. LJ liked to dig, so Tony let him shovel the dirt into the sifting trays. The little boy dug even when the others were busy hunting through the sifting trays; he used his hands to sift when he spotted something interesting in the dirt. When he did find an interesting rock, he added it to the 'keepers' as well.

At the end of the first day, the collection included several nice pieces of jasper, calcite crystals, a few pieces of agate, multiple colors of quartz, and one small amethyst crystal that LJ found on the surface.

Ziva stopped at the grocery store again for more supplies for the rest of their stay, now that she knew how much space she had in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry for storage. LJ was very happy when his parents added ice cream to the cart! Back at the cabin, everyone was tired out.

Day two yielded more calcite crystals, some mica, two more pieces of amethyst, a large piece of jasper, two small garnets, and a five-point white diamond. Anthony found the diamond in his sifter and got so excited he nearly dropped it in the dirt. Luckily, Ziva was able to steady the wood-framed sifter and keep the diamond from spilling out. Park staff certified the find and gave the boy a certificate stating the date and size of his diamond, and his name. Again, the family was exhausted when they returned to the cabin in the late afternoon.

They decided to do one more day at the crater on Wednesday, and then use Thursday to see other sights in the area. On day three, they had just finished lunch and resumed digging when Beth found a brown diamond in the sifter she and Tali were using. Rivka and LJ had been searching for calcite crystals on the surface as well as the tiny white diamonds they hoped to find. Each had added at least a dozen possible tiny stones to the bucket of 'keepers.'

Clouds were moving in, so the family decided to call it a day before rain started. Tony was moving dirt to refill the hole, and noticed two small white pieces in the loose gravel. He quickly pulled them from the rest of the rock and added them to the bucket of rocks to keep.

At the Diamond Discovery Center, Beth's brown diamond was measured at six points. The two white rocks that Tony found turned out to be ten- and twelve-point diamonds. Several of the tiny white pieces that were retrieved in the sifting process also were tiny diamonds, two at three points, and one at two points. The four garnets were measured at around thirty to forty points each, and the three amethysts were similar in size to the prior finds at forty-five points. The last of the possible diamonds had been found by Ziva as they were sifting the final tray of gravel and dirt. The park staffer grinned at Ziva after checking the stone.

"You have a thirty-seven-point diamond! That's about a third of a carat."

Ziva grinned as the park staffer certified her diamond and took a picture of her with the stone. The family each held one of the diamonds as the staffer took pictures with the DiNozzo's cameras.

"Ima, how did you find the biggest one?" Anthony wanted to learn his mother's secret to having the largest of their finds.

Ziva shrugged, "Pure luck; I did not do anything different from what we had been doing each day."

On Thursday, the main event for the day was a visit to the Ko-do-ha Indian Village, an archaeological site that had a self-guided tour, and on-site museum show-casing some of the digs, excavated mounds, a historic trading post and gift shop, and a field for digging for relics from the native peoples of the area.

In the museum, the exhibits held pottery jars and water bottles, pipes, stone tools, and projectile points left by the prehistoric residents who inhabited the area for over one thousand years. Examples of the houses, cooking utensils, and clothing were also on display in both the museum and mounds area.

At the plaza field, the family found two arrowheads, two pottery shards, and some calcite crystals. As Tali noted, they were 'old pros' at discovering items in the dirt from the experiences at the diamond crater. The kids made the choice to skip the trading post; as Anthony noted, it was too tourist-y for his taste.

Thursday afternoon and evening was spent relaxing at the cabin and enjoying the warmer than usual day. Ziva did two loads of laundry so that most of what was packed to head home was clean rather than needing to be washed. The final night of the trip would be spent in a hotel near the Fort Smith airport on Friday night. The flight home on Saturday would leave at 0730 local time.

On Friday, the family checked out of the cabin after breakfast and headed back to Fort Smith. Before checking into the hotel, they made the stop at Miss Laura's. Tony chuckled when the visitors' center staff handed him a 'souvenir wellness check' paper similar to what Miss Laura's girls had used after their weekly medical checks. The self-guided tour of the house took about an hour. The rich tapestries, colorful Victorian-era carpets and furniture, and the period costumes were more interesting to Tali, Rivka, Beth, and Ziva than to the males in the family.

At the airport on Saturday when the family walked to the waiting area for boarding, Tony joked that his backpack had gotten a bit heavier.

"That's 'cuz you have all the rocks, Abba," Anthony shot back with a grin.

Chapter 6: California

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 – California – Fathers' Day weekend 2025

"Memorial Day long weekend, Fathers' Day weekend, or Fourth of July weekend?" Tony called out to Ziva from his office.

Ziva poked her head into his doorway, "For what?"

"California trip; I'm thinking San Francisco area. You know, Chinatown, the cable cars, Lombard Street, the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's' Wharf…"

"I think we should take at least four days to properly explore the area. On the plus side, we should be able to find a direct flight from here to there. Do you think Fathers' Day weekend would be less likely to have a slew of tourists?" Ziva thought about traveling on a national holiday weekend.

He nodded agreement to her first choice of weekends, "We can take Friday and Monday off or Monday and Tuesday. In fact, Monday and Tuesday would allow us to fly out on Friday night or Saturday morning and return Tuesday night. That would probably be cheaper airfare."

Ziva found three hotels with large suites that would accommodate the family in multiple bedrooms. They were not inexpensive, but given that the suites had full kitchens, living room areas, dining areas, and a bathroom for each bedroom, she preferred the suite to multiple rooms. She showed Tony the options and the first choice was a national chain in the heart of town. Ziva checked if the suite was available and by chance it was. Tony told her to book the two-story suite with its three bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The best direct flight was from BWI, but they didn't mind driving to any of the various airports around DC to get the best deal. The flights were booked and another state adventure was on the calendar.

That night after getting the kids to bed, Tony looked at some options of places to visit in San Francisco to start planning the family's visit.

"This will be state number five, Ziva. We started this bucket list almost a year ago, and we'll have five states done in a year. At this rate, it will be ten years before we hit them all. LJ will be a teenager! Tali could be on her own," Tony looked up at his wife with a slightly shocked expression at the thought of his number one mini-Ninja being grown up.

Ziva thought about his comments, "I do not want to think about our children being grown. Perhaps we should plan some more efficient trips. For example, to get to Alabama, we drove in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. We could plan a multiple-state trip and cross several states off the list."

"I think after this trip, we should be planning multi-state trips," he agreed. "My goal is to see them all before Tali turns eighteen; what do you think?"

"Agreed, if we are going to see all fifty as a family, we should get the trips done before they are adults." Ziva grabbed his tablet and turned the screen so they both could see, "Now about this trip…"

~California~

"I have all seven Muni Visitor Passports downloaded to both of our phones," Ziva reminded Tony as the family boarded the BART train at the San Francisco airport. I bought the seven-day passes, because that was less expensive than a three-day and a one-day to cover all four days we will be here."

Tony pulled up his pass to reread what all it covered, "Unlimited rides on all means of transportation, including the cable cars and streetcars. I like that. I have an app on my phone to help us plan the Muni transportation for where we want to go. I noticed that the cable cars stop at the Cable Car Museum, which is free by the way."

"Have you seen this one, Abba?" Tali showed her father the website for Musée Mécanique. "It's at Fisherman's Wharf Pier 45 and it's free. I think it looks like fun."

"You can look at that later when we are at our hotel suite," Ziva was watching the BART stations. "We must get off the train at the next stop and then get to the surface to walk to the hotel."

Riv looked at her Ima, "How far do we have to walk? Who is going to carry our backpacks?"

"It is about two-tenths of a mile or a five-to-seven-minute walk, yaldati. You will carry your own backpack. Since we have only three suitcases on wheels, Abba, Tali, and I will each have one," Ziva responded to her middle child.

"Well, I don't like to walk…" the five-year-old pouted.

Tony ruffled her hair, "Get used to it kiddo; we are going to be using public transit and doing a lot of walking while we are here. It's the best way to get around the city."

Tali showed her parents her phone screen, "We can get a cable-car just across from the train station and it stops by the hotel."

"If we did not have the luggage, we could do that," Ziva responded. "We cannot bring the luggage on the cable cars, unfortunately. However, after we get settled into our suite, we could take the cable car to the Cable Car Museum."

Tony nodded, "I think that's a good plan for today. Maybe if we feel up to it, we could hit Chinatown as well? Or see the famous Lombard Street twists and turns?"

"We shall see. We have three full days yet to visit the places we would like to see."

Ziva led her family from the train and to the street-level. They walked Powell Street to their hotel and got checked in. The multi-level suite was like a house atop the hotel; located on the thirty-first floor, the views over the city were amazing. Anthony and LJ claimed the room with the king-sized bed; Tali had one of the doubles to herself, while the twins had the other double-bed room. The girls shared a bathroom, and Tali placed their shared suitcase on a stand near the bathroom so all three could easily access it. Anthony and LJ placed their shared suitcase on the luggage stand in the room and tried the bed. LJ noted the large-screen TV on the opposite wall. Tony carried his and Ziva's suitcase to the master bedroom.

In the kitchen area, Ziva determined how much room for food she had with the refrigerator, pantry, and cabinets. She inspected the cooking area and the pots and pans in the cabinets as well as the flatware, dishes, and beverage ware. She did a search on her phone for the nearest supermarket and found a store from a well-known chain within a half-mile walking distance. She started planning a shopping list for their outing that afternoon.

"Whatcha doin'?" Tony came up behind his wife in the kitchen, snaking his arms around her.

Ziva leaned back into her husband, "Making a shopping list so we can have breakfast and snacks here in the suite."

He softly nuzzled into her neck, "You're all I need for a snack…"

The sound of the boys running down the stairs interrupted the parents' moment. The girls weren't far behind.

"When's lunch, Ima? I'm hungry!" Anthony ran into the kitchen.

"Me too," LJ added as the three girls came in the room behind him.

Riv piped in, "We passed that burger chain on the way here; I could eat two kids' meals today."

Tony looked at his better half, "Okay with me to do fast food burgers for lunch. And it's on the way to the cable car stop we need for the line to go to the Cable Car Museum."

The family walked to the fast-food restaurant to get lunch, then to the cable car stop for the line that would take them to the Cable Car Museum. The car that arrived a few minutes after the family got to the stop was relatively empty so the kids all got to sit for the ride. Tony and Ziva chose to stand holding on to the interior poles for standing riders so that others could take seats.

At the Cable Car Museum, they learned about the history of cable cars in San Francisco, including the competing cable car companies that eventually merged to form the present-day services run by the city's transportation authority. Many old cars were on display, some with logos of the now defunct operating companies. The large area with the working cables was fascinating for every DiNozzo. The large gears turned to move the cables under the streets. The large, powerful electric motors wound the cables which in turn propelled the cable cars. The motors were originally steam-powered. They learned that the system used four cables: one for the California Street line, one for Powell Street, and one for each of the lines off of Powell. The cables are over an inch in diameter, with six steel strands of nineteen wires each wrapped around a core of sisal rope.

Each cable car has a mechanical grip which latches onto the cable, much like a huge pair of pliers. The gripman (or grip-woman—two women in history have served in that position) can 'take' or 'drop' the 'rope,' as the cable is called, as needed to start, or stop the car. The cables move at a constant nine -and-one-half miles per hour. If a cable car is going faster than that, usually on the Powell Street line before the split to the two end lines, it's a sure thing that the car is going downhill and the grip is not holding the rope tightly. The world's only cable car crossing is at Powell and California Streets.

After purchasing t-shirts for the family, some books about the cable cars, and a small model of a cable car, the family boarded a car outside the museum to head to the top of Lombard Street's famous crooked block, eight tight switchback turns in six hundred feet of road. The street is one-way down-hill, and has flowerbeds of hydrangeas lining the curves. Two flights of stairs for pedestrians line the sides of the street. From the top, where the cable car stops, one can see the San Francisco skyline, including the Coit Tower, parts of the bay, and bridges over it. The walk down yielded many pictures on cell phones and with the family's digital cameras. At the bottom, they captured the iconic view of the street with the plants and twisting red-brick roadway.

"I would not want to live on that street," LJ commented to the others as they walked to a nearby bus stop to head towards Chinatown.

"Why?" Beth asked out of curiosity.

"Too many cars!" he replied.

Tali added, "And trying to get out of, or into, your own driveway must be a real challenge. I agree with LJ."

From the bus stop, they walked to the Dragon's Gate into China town and strolled a bit. In one of the shops, there was a forty-foot-long dragon kite on display spiraling up over a staircase in the building. The kids were in awe. Tony got under the head and snapped several cool shots looking upward.

They were all getting tired and ready to head back to the suite, so they boarded another bus to stop at the supermarket for some groceries after having dinner in Chinatown. Each carried a bag of groceries as they walked to the cable car stop across from Powell Station and hopped on to the stop by the hotel.

Back in the room, Ziva put up groceries with help from Tali and Anthony, while Tony found a family-oriented film on one of the cable tv channels. All agreed that their first day had been fun and that they were looking forward to exploring more, especially the Fisherman's Wharf area, over the next three days. By 2200 local time, even the parents were asleep.

The next morning, Ziva made omelets for breakfast before they headed out for the day's adventures. The plan was to take the cable car to the end of the line by Fisherman's Wharf and spend the day exploring the popular destination. As they watched the movie the night before, the kids had leafed through the books from the hotel showing sights to see in San Francisco. Anthony had made note of the Wyland Whale Walls near Pier 39 and the Museum of 3-D Illusions near Pier 45; LJ and Rivka saw the pictures of the sea-lion viewing area and the carousel and wanted to visit both areas. Beth and Tali wanted to see the Musical Stairs. The Musée Mécanique, on Pier 45 was also on the list of places the family wanted to be sure to see.

"We will try to see all of these, but it will probably take the two days that Abba and I have planned for this area," Ziva assured her brood. "I would like to visit the Aquarium of the Bay by Pier 39 as well."

After checking the Muni app on his phone, Tony suggested, "Perhaps today we should do the F tram to Pier 39 and then tomorrow take the Powell-Hyde cable car to the Pier 45 area. That way we can see all we want to see in one area each day."

At the end of the day, on the ride back to the hotel, the kids discussed the various things they'd seen that day. The Whale Walls were interesting to view, the San Francisco Carousel was a hit with everyone, and the Aquarium was a fun activity. Tali found the Musical Stairs were a bit of a disappointment; while it was fun to sound the tones by climbing or descending the stairs, she was bummed that trying to play a tune was a challenge unless the notes were consecutive. Playing a scale was easy, but that was also boring.

"Those sea lions were not at all nice to see; they were smelly," Rivka held her nose as she talked about a disappointment for her. "I really liked the Solve It! Puzzle store and play area."

"Yeah, we all bought something at that store," Tali noted. "Even Ima and Abba found puzzles they liked. I'm glad we emptied out our backpacks before we went there. I'd rather carry my purchases and souvenirs in my pack than in my hands."

Anthony listened to his siblings, then added his favorites, "I liked the puzzles, too. And the arcade was awesome. There was so much to do there. I liked the aquarium as well."

"But the waffle cones were the best!" LJ had been impressed with the size of the cones and the amount of ice cream that could be packed into one of them. He'd convinced the others to have the cones for lunch. "Too bad Ima wouldn't let us have them again for dinner."

Ziva chuckled at her little boy; that child sure loved his ice cream. "One meal of just ice cream and toppings is enough for this trip, motek. You seemed to like that seafood sampler plate you ordered for dinner."

Seven tired DiNozzos arrived at their suite just after 2100. It had been a full day of activity and sightseeing and none of them protested when Ziva suggested an early night and that if the kids wanted they could wind down in their rooms with a bit of TV. Each room had its own television. LJ and Anthony tuned to a kids' channel but fell asleep within thirty minutes.

Tali chose to read one of her new books that she bought at one of the bookstores on Pier 39. She also fell asleep within about thirty minutes. Rivka and Beth got on their tablets and played a few games, checked out the places they planned to visit the next day and had lights out in about an hour.

Monday morning brought some fog, but it didn't stop the family from venturing out to the second day of sightseeing in the Fisherman's Wharf district. The rode the Powell-Hyde cable car to the end of the line near Pier 45. They all watched as the cable car was turned around on the turntable for the trip back into the heart of the city before heading to the attractions.

First up was the Museum of 3-D Illusions. Anthony was somewhat disappointed when he realized it was very much like the virtual reality headsets they had at home. The family took some pictures with the various illusions and then headed out to the Pier and the World War II era ships that had been turned into museums. The USS Pampanito submarine was docked nearer to the street. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien was a Liberty class ship; both ship tours were self-guided. Knowing the characteristics of the two types of vessels, neither DiNozzo parent felt a need to do the tours and were relieved when the five youngsters were not very interested.

They moved on to the Musée Mécanique and ended up spending several hours inside. Almost all of the mechanical devices in the museum could be operated or played. The arcade style games were a hit with all seven DiNozzos. Tony found several pinball machines that reminded him of ones he played as a child in the resorts in the Hamptons on Long Island. Ziva was intrigued by the models of Ferris wheels and other rides. Tali spent most of her time with the mechanical music makers. All of them thought the fortune teller machine was creepy, but they laughed at some of the fortunes each one got after inserting their quarters.

Finally emerging at about 1400, both Anthony and LJ realized they were hungry about the same time as Tali commented about eating lunch.

Ziva found a sign pointing towards a well-known bakery for its sourdough bread and the family headed that way. All of the kids also got sourdough fish-shaped rolls to carry out for a snack later in the day.

Tony suggested they head back to the cable car station to ride back towards town. Once nearer to the hotel, they could decide if they wanted to go back to the hotel, head towards Chinatown, or in another direction. With the late lunch that was also filling, Ziva figured they could eat a light dinner back at the suite. The five kids had their fish-shaped sourdough rolls, and she could make something to go with them and for her and Tony from the food she'd bought.

They headed back to the suite and had a family game night with the puzzles and games bought at the Solve It! Store. Tuesday morning turned into the trip to Chinatown and after lunch the family headed back to pack up their things and check out of the hotel. They then headed to the BART station at Powell Station to ride the train to the airport for their flight home.

Chapter 7: Colorado

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 – Colorado – July 2025

"Abba!" Riv guided her wheeled suitcase with her left hand as she followed her father from baggage claim to the vehicle rental counter at the Denver airport. "You're walkin' too fast. Me and Beth can't keep up."

Ziva shook her head as she gently nudged the five-year-old forward, "Your sister is up behind your father, yaldati. Even LJ is keeping pace." Her middle child, the drama queen of the family, would complain just to complain some days.

"Well, I wouldn't be so tired if you didn't make us get up in the dark this morning," the girl huffed as she tried to catch up to her twin.

LJ turned around to glance at his sister, "You can do it, Riv. It's not that far… See?" He pointed to the rental area where his Abba was already at the counter speaking with the agent. Tali, Anthony, and Beth were waiting nearby with their wheeled luggage and backpacks.

"Pfft," the sister replied.

Ziva herded the straggler towards the others and joined Tony at the popular vehicle rental kiosk. She pulled her driver's license from her wallet to present to the agent. "We will both be driving," she noted.

"Thank you, ma'am," the woman employee placed both drivers' licenses on a scanner and saved the image to the DiNozzo's rental agreement file. "I'll need you both to sign on the electronic signature pad over here," she pointed to the device. "Reggie should be outside with your van in about five minutes. Thanks for choosing our company for your rental vehicle needs. Enjoy your stay in Denver."

The family passed through the automatic doors to the vehicle pick-up area. A large twelve-passenger van pulled up to the curb and a young man handed two sets of keys to Tony.

"Do you need any assistance with loading?" he asked.

Ziva had already opened the rear cargo doors and had the kids bring their wheeled luggage back before climbing into the sliding door on the passenger side.

"No, thank you," she smiled at him. "Thank you for offering, though." Tony walked over to help her load the luggage into the cargo area. Tali opened the sliding door and looked over the three rows of seats inside.

She counted the seats, "There are ten seats in the back; that means we each get two."

Anthony grinned as he climbed in and put his backpack on one of the two center seats in the third row. He sat in the seat next to the window. "That means no one has to be next to anyone else unless they want to be." He liked the idea of having some room for his backpack making it easy to reach.

Tali followed her brother to the rear-most row; she put her backpack on the second middle seat and sat down in the seat near the window on the opposite side. She grinned to Anthony, "Big kids in the way back; little kids in the center."

"Yup," he grinned back.

LJ was next in; he chose to sit in the single seat in front of Tali and put his backpack on the floor under his seat. He didn't care if there wasn't a second seat. Riv and Beth could choose from the pair of seats in his row on the other side or the three seats in the first row in the passenger area.

Beth chose the double seats opposite her little brother as Rivka rolled her luggage to the rear of the van. She let out a rather dramatic sigh that forced her parents to bite the insides of their lips to keep from laughing. Tony and Ziva shared a look; each could see the amusement in the other's eyes at their middle child's antics.

"Why do I hafta be the last one?" Riv sighed again. "I'm always the last one…" she climbed in the sliding door to the passenger area. "I don't get to choose where I sit."

Ziva and Tony shut the rear doors and headed to the front of the van; Tony would drive first and Ziva would navigate from the front passenger seat.

"You got the most seats," Tali noted to her sister. "You should be happy that we chose before you."

Riv made a face at her older sister, "What if I don't want three seats?"

"Rivka Abigail," Ziva warned as she buckled her seat belt. "Please choose one of the three seats in the first row and buckle up so we can get on the road."

Tony glanced back at his family and grinned, "First stop; Berthoud Pass and the Continental Divide!" He started the engine and eased away from the curb, following the signs to exit the airport. Interstate 70 was the first road of many to the destinations for this trip.

An hour and multiple twisting turns on the roadway later, he parked at the pull-off area by the sign for Berthoud Pass. As the family lined up on either side of the marker for the Continental Divide, Anthony found an elderly couple to take a picture with one of the family's digital cameras so that all of them could be in one picture.

"Smile!" the man took three pictures and handed the camera back to the boy.

"Thank you, sir. I'll take a picture for you if you want," Anthony offered. The man gave the boy his phone to get a picture of the older couple.

Tony looked at the images on the DiNozzo's camera and quipped, "In this picture, the girls would roll into the Atlantic Ocean, eventually, and the boys into the Pacific Ocean."

He was interrupted by LJ tugging at his hand. "What does that big number mean Abba? The one on the sign. It says the number and then 'feet.' I know that word."

"The elevation means how high we are from sea level. That number is eleven thousand, three hundred and seven. That's how many feet we are above the sea. Let me think, it's about the same distance up in the air as it is from our house to the McGee's house," Tony explained.

"About two and one-sixth miles," Tali added.

Ziva also commented, "Or about three and one-half kilometers."

The kids ran over to the small area behind the parking lot; it had some snow on the slight slope. They touched the snow and made a few snowballs to stack into a small snow person. Tony and Ziva both took pictures with their phones and with the digital cameras.

"Where else could we find snow in July?" Tony joked with Ziva.

She smirked at him, "South of the Equator; for example, at the house in Chile." She turned back to the children, "Time to get back in the van and head west again. We have two more passes over the Continental Divide on US Highway 40 before we get to our destination for the night."

Tony studied the map on Tali's tablet, "And lots of twists and turns in the roadway. Several hairpin turns and switchbacks as we go up and down the mountains. Look at this aerial view I found of US 40 through Berthoud Pass!"

Ziva met gazes with her husband, "I will drive this second leg if you would like. Or we can switch out after the next Pass."

"I don't mind driving," he shrugged. "Muddy Pass is about another ninety minutes; it's one of the lowest elevations on the Continental Divide. Rabbit Ear Pass is very close to Muddy Pass. Then about ninety minutes from there to our destination."

LJ heard his Abba talking about the passes, "Why is it called Rabbit Ear Pass?"

"Because the mountain on the north side has two peaks that look like rabbit ears," Beth showed her little brother the image that Ima had put on each of their tablets so that the kids could see pictures of where they were headed during trip.

"It is your choice. I am still planning to drive tomorrow," Ziva buckled her seatbelt as the kids settled into their seats and Tony started the engine.

~Colorado~

After an overnight stay near the attraction, the family visited Dinosaur National Monument the following day. The park is located on the Colorado-Utah border and has many unique things to see and do. Ziva drove across the state line on US 40 to the turn for UT 149 to go to the Visitors' Center and the shuttle to the Quarry Exhibit Hall where the dinosaur fossils are on view in a covered building.

After the twelve-minute video about the park and the wall of dinosaur fossils, the DiNozzos boarded the shuttle for the quarter-mile ride to the Quarry Exhibit Hall. The dinosaur models and bones had the kids spell-bound, including the big kid. Ziva had to laugh when the children's awe matched Tony's. There were life-sized models, reconstructed skeletons, partially uncovered remains, and areas where the visitors could touch the actual fossils in the rock wall.

The wall of approximately 1,500 dinosaur bones is inside a climate-controlled space. The remains of numerous different species of dinosaurs including Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus along with several others are on display. Exhibits, including an 80-foot-long mural, reveal the story of these animals and many others that lived in the Morrison environment during the late Jurassic Period.

At the store in the Visitors' Center, the kids picked out several books about dinosaurs and LJ, Beth, and Rivka each found a plush dinosaur to take home. Ziva reminded all of the kids that anything bought as souvenirs from the trip needed to fit into luggage or backpacks when it came time to fly back to DC from Denver.

Chapter 8: Utah

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 – Utah- July 2025

After the purchases were completed at the Visitors' Center, the family climbed back in the van. Ziva headed back to US Highway 40 West and then turned onto US Highway 191 towards Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Where US 191 turned to cross the Green River down river from the dam, she followed the signs for the Visitors' Center for the structure. The drive to the dam took about eighty minutes total.

"Welcome to Flaming Gorge Dam. U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Re- re-clam… help Abba!" Tali tried to read the sign at the entrance to the dam's visitors' center.

"Reclamation," he replied. "It means reclaiming the land by managing the water and generating power."

Anthony looked towards the dam from the Visitors' Center parking lot; he was not too impressed by the view so far. "I see water and something holding it back. It doesn't look all that big from here."

Tony chuckled, "That's because we are on the reservoir side; on the other side is the big drop and you can see the entire structure of the dam."

"Does the road go over the dam?" Rivka pointed to some people that appeared to be crossing the top of the dam.

Ziva nodded, "Yes, and after we have seen all that the Visitors' Center has to offer, we will drive over the dam and a small way back towards it to the spillway overlook. There you will be able to see the full structure."

"Cool!" LJ and Beth were very interested as to how the dam kept all of that water from spilling over.

The boys spotted a large silvery round thing in the area between the building and the parking area. There were also some covered picnic tables nearby.

"What is that?" Anthony pointed to the large item.

Tony followed the boy's pointing, "I believe that is a turbine that is used to generate electricity when the water passes by it. We can probably learn more about the turbines and power generation inside."

Inside the family learned the history of the area and of the dam. They learned that it was constructed between June 1958 and November 1962, and that the reservoir began filling in December 1962. The first power generation was in September 1963. They also learned that the three generating units have a capacity of about 150 Megawatts, and the powerplant produces approximately five hundred million kilowatt hours of energy annually which is enough to serve about 50,000 households.

The dam itself is 502 feet high and is an arch-shape with crest length of 1,285 feet, and contains 987,000 cubic yards of concrete. The top thickness is twenty-seven feet, and the maximum base thickness is 131 feet. The Flaming Gorge Reservoir has a total capacity of 3,788,900 acre-feet and an active capacity of 3,515,700 acre-feet. At normal water surface elevation, the reservoir has a surface area of 42,020 acres.

A scale model of the dam showed the various components, including the intake pipes, the generating plants, and the outflow pipes into the river below the dam. LJ was fascinated by the model, especially the parts that could be activated to simulate the flow of the water.

Rivka and Beth discovered that the Dinosaur National Monument area is part of the Flaming Gorge Country by viewing a three-dimensional map of the full gorge and reservoir. They also learned that it covered parts of three states; Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming.

Ziva took one of the brochures about the two scenic drives on either side of the gorge. She had originally planned to just follow US 191 north, but when she learned that UT 44/ WY 530 had fifteen interpretive stops along the west side of the gorge, plus a view of the Red Canyon, she noted to Tony that they would take the west side scenic drive instead. Once in Wyoming, she could get on Interstate 80 eastbound to reconnect with US 191 towards the next destination.

After viewing the exhibits at the Visitors' Center, they rode over the dam and Ziva pulled into the overlook on the east side to view the dam from the river side. Anthony was duly impressed with the size once he could see the full dam.

After pictures, they loaded back in the van and drove over the dam a final time to head to UT 44 at the Greendale Junction to start the journey on the Flaming Gorge - Uintas National Scenic Byway. The twists and turns in the road were not quite as snaky as those near the Continental Divide, but Tony was glad Ziva chose to drive this leg of the trip.

While the kids were enjoying the views, Ziva paid careful attention to the twisting and turning of the roadway. At a straight, almost flat, area, she sighed so that her husband heard. He smirked at her.

"What?" she glanced at him.

Tony grinned, "Just think, twenty years ago you would have taken all those turns recklessly. Tim and I would have been puking our insides out."

"Maybe so, but I have the most precious cargo in the passenger area now. My children are more important than the thrill of being on the edge of danger," she replied as she turned to the Red Canyon overlook.

The beautiful reddish-brown coloring of the rock structure of the gorge had all of the DiNozzos oohing and aahing. The sunlight highlighted the reds and the contrasts on the canyon walls. Many pictures were snapped with phones and the two DSLR cameras.

An hour later, after stopping at nearly all of the fifteen interpretive sites, Ziva turned from UT 44 to UT 43 in Manila, UT to connect to WY 530. She was very happy to realize that this portion of the scenic route along the Flaming Gorge did not have anywhere near the twists and turns in the roadway as the Utah part.

Tony estimated that they'd taken close to four hundred pictures along the route with all of the devices. There were a few places in Wyoming that they stopped to view the reservoir and gorge and take pictures, but the one-hour drive to Interstate 80 was less interesting than in Utah.

In Green River Wyoming, Ziva found a place to stop for a late lunch near the interstate. The next leg of the trip would take the family across the state of Wyoming from south to north on the western side of the state.

"Yellowstone, here we come," Tony announced as Ziva turned onto the ramp for I-80 east to reconnect with US 191.

Chapter 9: Wyoming

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 – Wyoming

"Why is it called Yellowstone, Abba?" Beth asked as her Ima turned to head towards the family's lodging for the next three nights.

Tony swiveled in his seat to face the kids, "Good question; I don't know, but we can look it up on Google." He tapped his phone screen and browsed through the information he found via a search.

He read from the screen, "'How did Yellowstone get its name? It's named after the Yellowstone River, the major river running through it. The river gets its name from the Minnetaree Indians, who called it Mi tse a-da-zi, or Yellow Rock River, most likely due to the yellowish formations of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.' That answer your question?"

"Uh-huh," the five-year-old nodded to her Abba.

Ziva arrived at the check-in for their lodging, a complex of a hotel, cabins, and several houses that had been converted into guest quarters just outside one of the main entrances to the National Park.

"Is that somebody's house, Ima?' Riv could not believe the size of the buildings. "Are we gonna stay here?"

"Yes, yaldati, we are staying in the largest of the converted houses. It has four bedrooms and a loft, and all the amenities of home, including a kitchen, living room area, a large porch, and a fire pit."

"COOL!" All five kids were impressed. Ziva just looked at Tony; until the family was actually in the house, the parents did not plan to inform the children that the house had no television or internet services.

Twenty minutes later, the suitcases were all unloaded and the kids chose their sleeping areas. Tali decided she wanted one of the downstairs bedrooms. The twins chose the upstairs bedroom with the bunk beds. LJ decided that he wanted to be in the loft room, but only if Anthony was with him. The older DiNozzo son readily agreed as long as his younger brother promised not to hog the queen-sized bed.

"If you do try to hog the whole bed, I will move to the room across from Tali," Anthony informed LJ.

As the family settled in and explored their home away from home, Rivka was the first to notice the lack of a TV.

"Where's the TV, Abba? I don't see one in any of the bedrooms, or in the living room area?" she queried. "And my tablet shows no connections available…"

"My phone has no bars," Tali held up her device. "And really, no TV?"

Anthony and LJ joined the conversation by also noting the lack of televisions on the premises.

Ziva smiled to herself as she finished writing out a small shopping list for their stay. She would go out to get some supplies and take one of the kids along as a helper. She glanced over at her husband trying to appease the kids' complaints.

"It's only for a few days, and we'll be out exploring the park for most of the time we are here anyhow. We're mostly just eating and sleeping in the house," he tried to explain.

Riv put her hands on her hips and pouted, "But we need TV or our tablets for something to do when we are here. I need to play my farm game every day to keep my crops alive…"

Tony shrugged as Ziva tried not to laugh at his predicament, "I am sure you will survive for three nights and two days without internet and television. There are plenty of things to do…"

"Like what?" LJ wanted to know how his Abba proposed having entertainment for his family.

Tony looked to his wife for help as he tried to come up with some ideas, "You have some games on your devices that don't need internet. And you have some downloaded movies and videos to watch…"

"There are some family games on this shelf," Ziva noted as she joined the conversation from the area dividing the kitchen and living room. As she perused the options, she read out the titles, "Uno, Scrabble, double-fifteen dominoes with Mexican train, Qwirkle, Jenga, several decks of playing cards, and three five-hundred-piece jigsaw puzzles.

"And, as your father noted, we will be out exploring the park during the daylight hours for both days that we are here," she added. "Now, who would like to go with me to get some groceries? I only need one helper today."

The four younger kids all pointed to their older sister; Tali smirked at them. She didn't care one way or the other if she went, but since none of them wanted to go, she was cool with getting to spend time alone with Ima. The two headed out to get the items on Ziva's list, including that night's dinner.

While Ziva and Tali were out food shopping, Tony showed the four kids the maps of Yellowstone Park that he had collected from racks in the Lodge check-in lobby. He showed them the various geyser basins, the lake, the canyon area, and the hot springs areas on the maps and where they were currently in relation to those areas.

"I think we should plan to see the park in stages; like maybe the lake and the southern geyser basins one day, and the northern basins, canyon, and the hot springs the next day. There are a lot of things to see, and we probably won't have time to see it all. Some of the geysers will not erupt while we are here, and some we may see erupting if we time it correctly," Tony told them.

When he noticed the kids losing interest in the maps, he suggested that they choose a game for the five of them to play. LJ chose Qwirkle and the others agreed. The five were playing the game when Ziva and Tali arrived back to the house with the groceries.

Ziva prepared a quick meal with pasta, vegetables, cut-up chicken, and a white sauce. The whole family scarfed up all that she made. After another game of Qwirkle with all seven of them, they had ice cream for dessert.

The next morning, both parents fixed breakfast of pancakes and bacon. After the meal, they headed out to the park to explore the natural wonders of Yellowstone Park. As Tony suggested, the first day's focus was Yellowstone Lake, the southern geyser basins, and the visitor's centers associated with them.

After the lake visitor's center, and viewing the lake, they headed to the Old Faithful Visitor's Center and learned about the park's geysers and other thermal features. Each of them had a particular feature that he or she wanted to view in person based on what they learned at the center, plus all of them wanted to be sure to see Old Faithful. As they exited the center, Ziva noted that the crowds were starting to gather at the famous geyser and suggested that they head that way first. The family was not disappointed when the geyser shot its column of water into the air.

Old Faithful was named by the first official expedition to Yellowstone, the Washburn Expedition of 1870. The geyser erupts every 35 to 120 minutes for 1.5 to 5 minutes. Its maximum height ranges from 90 to 184 feet. It is not the biggest or the most regular geyser in Yellowstone but it is the biggest regular geyser. It has been erupting in nearly the same fashion throughout the recorded history of the park. Through the years, it has become one of the most studied geysers. One result of this close observation is that the Park Rangers are able to predict its eruptions fairly accurately. This makes Old Faithful geyser one of the easiest geysers in Yellowstone to see.

From Old Faithful, the family traversed the pathways to other geysers in the basin. First up was LJ's favorite, the Lion group of geysers. He was somewhat disappointed to learn that two of them were inactive. After reading the information sign, he sighed loudly.

"I guess we won't see this one do its thing," he bemoaned as Tony snapped a picture of the boy with the sign and geysers in the background. "My Lions are a bit of a dud."

Lion Geyser is the main feature of the Lion Geyser Complex which includes Little Cub Geyser and the currently inactive Big Cub and Lioness geysers. Its eruptions issue from the largest cone of the group. Eruptions reach heights of 50 feet, but in 1988 an eruption reached 98 feet. It was named for the roaring sound of steam releasing during an eruption. Eruptions can reach 90 feet (27 m) and last from 1 to 7 minutes.

Next up of the ones on the family's list was Rivka's choice; the Grand Geyser. They had just missed an eruption earlier that day, but could see the bubbling pool of water from which it spouted. She, too, was slightly disappointed about 'her' geyser not being active.

"Get my picture, Abba!" she posed as Tony and Ziva captured images with the digital cameras and their phones. The child posed dramatically, causing her parents to lock eyes in amusement at their middle child's antics.

Grand Geyser is consistently the tallest and most spectacular of the predicted geysers. This excitement doesn't come without a cost though. It has the largest prediction window of the predicted geysers. Even so, it is worth waiting to see. Grand erupts from a pool of water making it a fountain-type geyser as opposed to Old Faithful which is a cone-type geyser. Grand's interval is usually around 8-12 hours, its height about 150-180 feet and its duration is about 10-12 minutes. It will often stop after about 9 minutes and then restart after a minute or so. This second "burst" and any subsequent bursts are often among the tallest if not the tallest of the eruption.

The DiNozzos walked along the pathway, crossing a small bridge over the Firehole River, which wound its way through the basin. Tali was reading about her favorite geyser as it began to show signs of erupting. A wait of about fifteen minutes proved fruitful when the Castle Geyser began its water phase with a large column of water rising about seventy feed in the air from the high cone of the geyser. The name came from the shape of the cone, which resembles castle walls. After about twenty minutes of water, the steam phase started with a loud sound. After about ten minutes, the family moved on.

Tali passed her phone to Anthony when the geyser was erupting, "Get a picture of me with the geyser in the background, please. That way I can show it to everyone back home."

Castle Geyser is a very old geyser. Estimates put the age of its 12-foot-high cone at 5,000 to 15,000 years. Castle is a cone-type geyser. Its interval is usually between 9 and 11 hours. Its maximum height is 60 to 90 feet. The 20-minute water phase of a major eruption is followed by a 40-minute steam phase. During the steam phase, the eruption mainly consists of forced steam with very little water. The first 10 to 15 minutes of the steam phase is relatively forceful and fairly loud and interesting to hear.

After the Castle Geyser, Tony led the family to the northern part of the upper basin, heading toward the geyser Beth wanted to view. The Daisy Geyser was about to erupt when they arrived in the area.

"My geyser is going to do its thing!" Beth jumped up and down with excitement as the family sat on the nearby benches to watch the show. "Somebody get a picture of me!"

Ziva tried not to laugh, "You have to stand still first!"

Daisy Geyser is usually the most predictable of the predicted geysers. This coupled with its relative frequency, makes Daisy one of the easiest geysers to see. The exception to this rule is when nearby Splendid Geyser is active. Fortunately, for those that like Daisy, Splendid is rarely active. Daisy is a cone-type geyser. Its interval is usually 90 to 110 minutes, its height 60 to75 feet and its duration 3 to 4 minutes. When Daisy Geyser is regular (in other words, when Splendid is not active) you can usually predict the eruptions very accurately.

"Okay, now we go see Ima's choice," Tony announced when Daisy Geyser's eruption wound down. "Back to the van, and then up the road to the Midway Basin."

Riv looked at the pathway as they started back towards Old Faithful, "I wish you had told me about all the walking we have to do here, Abba…" She followed her siblings as they trekked back towards the head of the Upper Basin walkway and trails.

"I kinda like this one because it has the same name as my dog, but I really want to see the big geyser," Anthony commented. "It said at the visitor's center that Steamboat is the world's tallest geyser."

Ziva smiled at her son, "We will see that one tomorrow in the Norris Basin along with the Museum and the Black Growler Steam Vent that Abba wants to see."

"Ima, I'm hungry! All this walking has made me want to eat," LJ decided he needed some food.

Tony glanced at his watch, it was almost lunch time. "Let's see what is available near Old Faithful for places to eat. Now that I think about it, I could use some food as well."

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Riv added her thoughts as she plodded along with the others. "Walking makes me tired and hungry."

After checking the options, Ziva and Tony chose the Old Faithful Basin Store for both lunch and a bit of souvenir shopping. The menu included burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, and kids' meal options, so each of them found something delicious to eat. LJ spied the ice cream menu and Anthony noted the root beer floats, so lunch also had the treats as well as the entrée.

A short drive to the next basin brought the family to the feature Ziva most wanted to see, the Grand Prismatic Spring. She had seen pictures of the spring at the visitor's center and online and wanted to see the colorful water in person.

Tony parked the van in the parking lot for the trails to the features of the Midway Basin. Rivka sighed loudly when he mentioned that they would be hiking to see the Grand Prismatic Spring, but followed the others so she wouldn't miss out on anything.

"It is a good thing she is so competitive with the others some days. It keeps her motivated to do the hiking and walking even if she does not like to," Ziva noted quietly to her husband as the family traipsed the paths. "This is an easy hike according to the guidebook and it is only seven-tenths of a mile around the loop."

"Whoa!" Anthony and Tali were leading the DiNozzos on the walkway and stopped in their tracks at the colorful spring in front of them. The reds and bright oranges were nearest to the 'shoreline' of the spring with the yellows, greens, and blues further out into the water. Steam rose from the surface of the spring.

Ziva had the camera ready to snap as many images as she could. "I am impressed," she acknowledged to the others. "This is larger than I thought it would be, and very colorful. I can imagine that seeing the spring from above is quite breath-taking."

Tony agreed, "We could go back to the Fairy Falls trail and hike to the overlook, if you want."

"Noooooo…" Riv had enough hiking for the day. "Buy a postcard or a picture at the store."

Ziva chuckled at her middle daughter's drama, "I think we should pass on that trail since we planned to do the Fountain Paint Pots Trail in the Lower Geyser Basin as the last one today. That trail has some stairs and steeper grades."

The older twin nudged her sisters, "No more walking… just shoot me now."

Beth grinned at her twin, "I think the hiking is fun especially when we get to see neat things like this spring that we cannot see any other place."

"I agree," Tali nodded. "And I would rather walk on the boardwalk trails than city streets any day. I think everything we've seen today is very interesting. And you did like the geysers that we did see erupt. They put on quite a show."

Midway Geyser Basin is home to two of the largest thermal features in Yellowstone. Grand Prismatic Spring, at over 300 feet across is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone. The various colors of the cyano-bacteria around the pool are quite pretty. Excelsior Geyser was the largest geyser in the world in the 1880s. Now it is just a very large crater that emits a copious amount of water. After nearly 100 years of inactivity, it had some minor eruptions in 1984.

The final stop for the day was for the Fountain Paint Pots Trail in the Lower Geyser Basin. All of the park's thermal features are visible along the trail. The hot springs and geysers have lots of water whereas the mudpots and fumaroles have limited water. The entire pathway loop in the area is boardwalk for visitor safety. There are two areas with steps or steep grades, but the majority of the trail is easy hiking.

Clepsydra Geyser, located in the Lower Geyser Basin, is named after a Greek water clock. During the 1800's it's intervals were almost exactly 3 minutes. After the 1959 earthquake it entered what is known as a wild phase, erupting almost continuously.

Fountain Geyser is a classic fountain type geyser, erupting from a pool of water and characterized by its splashing action. It is a fountain-type geyser that erupts jets ranging in height up to 80 feet or more, with most eruptions containing at least a few bursts that reach 40 to 50 feet. Durations of eruptions are typically about 30 minutes. This geyser is not easily predictable but has an average interval of around 11 hours. The DiNozzos happened to catch the Great Fountain Geyser erupting; they stayed to view the entire thirty minutes of the eruption.

The hot springs on the trail are aptly named. They are colorful like the Grand Prismatic Spring, but much smaller in size. The colors on some are not as vivid.

A weary DiNozzo family entered the house where they were staying with the kids complaining that they were hungry again. Tony and Ziva made spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread for dinner. After dinner, they worked a jigsaw puzzle together that showed the Grand Prismatic Spring. When the three younger kids got bored with the puzzle, they played Jenga and Qwirkle while the others completed the puzzle.

The following morning, Ziva made breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon, and fresh tomatoes. At the dining table, they planned day two of the visit to Yellowstone Park.

The first stop was the Norris Geyser Basin. Anthony was excited to finally get to see 'his' geyser, the world's tallest. Again, they lucked out and came to the geyser at the beginning of an eruption. The show was spectacular with the water shooting to the height of a multi-story building. The whole eruption lasted about fifteen minutes, but was well worth the time.

"I can now tell people that I have seen the world's tallest active geyser in action!" Anthony shouted out as he posed for pictures with his siblings. "The sign says the last one was a month ago."

Steamboat Geyser is the world's tallest active geyser. Its major eruptions shoot water more than 300 feet. In Yellowstone National Park's recorded history, only two other geysers have exceeded Steamboat in size: Excelsior Geyser in Midway Geyser Basin and Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin. Steamboat's minor and major eruptions are entirely unpredictable. Steamboat's major eruptions generally last from 3 to 40 minutes and are followed by powerful jets of steam. During these eruptions, water may be thrown more than 300 feet into the air. Steamboat does not erupt on a predictable schedule, with recorded intervals between major eruptions ranging from three days to fifty years.

After the Steamboat Geyser, they checked out the Black Growler Steam Vent that Tony had on his list to view. None of them was all that impressed after seeing the tall columns of water prior. The kids did laugh at the funny sounds from the vent as it loosed the steam.

The Norris Geyser Basin Museum is a large log and stone structure with an open foyer. It is the gateway to the Norris Geyser Basin and was built in 1930. The two rooms have exhibits explaining geothermal activities and life in the thermal areas.

At the Mammoth Hot Springs further north, Ziva decided to do the Upper Terraces drive of the springs area. Rivka was very happy they weren't hiking instead. The unique features of the eroded limestone were definitely different from the other sections of the park. The only overlook area with available parking was at the Angel Terrace.

From there, the next stop was at the Albright Visitor's Center, which was originally a barracks for Fort Yellowstone. They toured the Visitor's Center and then some of the fort before grabbing a bite to eat at the Mammoth General Store and heading to the waterfalls on the Grand Loop around the park east of the Mammoth Hot Springs.

The first falls were Undine Falls along Lava Creek. The pullout parking area had a short walk to an overlook of the falls. The falls has three tiers over a sixty-foot drop. A few pictures were taken and everyone loaded back in the van to continue the loop drive. The next stop was a short walk to see the Yellowstone Petrified Tree, a fossilized giant redwood tree. Two more quick stops at the Calcite Springs Overlook and the Yellowstone River Overlook gave the family views of the Yellowstone River and Canyon.

In Canyon Village, the family stopped for another snack before seeing the sights of the Yellowstone River and the main part of the Canyon. Inspiration Point and Grand View offered spectacular views of the canyon and many photo opportunities.

When Tony parked at the trailhead for the Brink of the Upper Falls, Rivka pouted. She thought they would get to avoid all hiking that day. Even when Tali pointed out that it was only about a third of a mile, the child balked.

"I don't wanna walk. I get grouchy and tired. But… I guess I'll go if I have to," she complained to anyone who would listen.

"I think it's fun to hike to see these things. It makes it better to then see the awesome sight," LJ tried to explain that he thought the short hikes were worth the reward of seeing the natural beauty of the park.

The trail led right to the top of the falls, and the overlook allowed visitors to see the cascade from the top as well as the river beyond the falls from above. Even Rivka had to admit it was worth the short hike to see the falls.

Anthony kidded his younger sister, "You should be glad Ima and Abba chose the upper falls instead of the lower falls. I saw at the Visitor's Center that the hike to the Brink of the Lower Falls is a much more challenging hike."

Riv stuck her tongue out at her older brother. "Whatever… I don't see you volunteering for that hike either!"

Beth joined the conversation between her siblings, "I don't think Abba would be too happy on that hike anyhow. He'd be complaining like…" She stopped short when she got the 'Ima glare.'

"How about we go back to Canyon Village and look for some souvenirs?" Tony suggested. "Just remember that whatever you choose to buy has to fit in your backpack or suitcase to get it home."

The kids ran back to the van, ready to choose mementos of Yellowstone Park.

The following morning, the family checked out of the house and headed east across the state of Wyoming on Interstate 90. The drive consumed most of the day, with a stop in Buffalo, Wyoming for lunch. The kids posed in front of the giant buffalo statue welcoming visitors to the town.

On the east side of the state, Tony exited to the hotel for the night. After check-in, the family found a place to eat dinner. The kids were excited to be staying where they had access to wi-fi and television once again.

"Tomorrow we make our first stop at Devil's Tower and then head into South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, and Wind Cave. Get some sleep everyone," Ziva admonished before lights' out.

Chapter 10: South Dakota

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 – South Dakota

With an early night in the hotel room, Tony found the film that was his whole reason for stopping to see Devil's Tower, after logging in to his streaming services account on the hotel television.

"Movie night in the middle of the week," he announced as he pressed the key on the remote to play the film. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind. A classic, and the reason we are going to Devil's Tower tomorrow morning before crossing into South Dakota."

Ziva smirked, "Older than me, but not older than your father."

"OLD!" Beth and Rivka declared as they settled back onto one of the beds to watch the show. The twins had already claimed the queen bed as theirs for the night in the room the girls would share with their Ima. Tony and the boys were in an adjoining room that had a between-rooms door.

LJ leaned back against his Abba, "Be nice to my Abba!" He scowled at his sisters. "He's a good Abba no matter how old he is."

"Yes he is," Ziva leaned against her husband on the second bed as he put a light kiss on the little boy's head. Anthony was sprawled across the bottom of the twins' bed and Tali was in the armchair on the side of Ziva and her bed.

After the credits rolled, all of the DiNozzos agreed the best scene in the film was the 'Five Tones' scene and they all liked the musical score.

The following morning, the family was on the road with fast food breakfast sandwiches by 0700. Tony wanted to get an early start since they planned several stops that day, including Devil's Tower.

"We are not going to do the around the mountain hike at Devil's Tower," he announced as he turned onto the ramp to the interstate highway. "We have other places where we will be hiking later today."

Rivka pumped her fist in the air and grinned, "NO hike! I like that."

LJ scowled at his sister, "But hiking is the way we get to see these neat things. Don't you like seeing all the different sights in the parks? Like the geysers and the dinosaur bones?"

"It's not like we hike all day or on difficult terrain," Anthony added. "After riding all day in the van to get to a new place, I kinda like being able to walk around exploring. Besides, we won't hike anywhere that Abba's back and knees can't go."

"Truth!" Tali nodded. "If Abba can't walk it, we won't walk it. And think about it, so far, there have been very few places that even Aunt Dee could not go. The walkways at Yellowstone were mostly accessible for wheelchairs."

Beth grinned, "See, I told you last night that Abba is old…"

"Hey!" Tony complained from the driver's seat. "I am not old; just have lots more experience than the rest of you…"

Ziva patted his arm with a grin, "That is your story and you are sticking to it?"

The side trip to Devil's Tower lasted all of thirty minutes. Tony was somewhat disappointed; he wasn't quite sure what he expected, but the giant monolith seemed more interesting in the film.

"It's just a big, weird rock," LJ commented as the seven DiNozzos walked from the parking area to the overlook for the side of the mountain facing the Visitors' Center.

Back on the road, Tony exited the interstate to pass through Deadwood, South Dakota, just because he could. He wanted to say he'd been to the iconic town. From there, he drove a scenic route along US Highway 385 to Mt. Rushmore. The just over one-hour drive had gorgeous vistas of the Black Hills.

Tony turned into the entrance to the park and wound around to the entrance to the parking garages. The kids looked out the van's windows at the entrance to the park's walkways and the main attraction.

"Another big rock, if you ask me," Beth commented to her siblings.

"Yeah, but this one has some really old guys on the mountain," Riv noted. "Older than Abba."

Tali laughed to herself, "I know who they all are, do you?"

"George Washington!" LJ knew of the prominent figure from listening to his parents plan the stop and the information Ziva downloaded to each of their tablets.

"Uh-huh, like LJ said, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and some other dude," Anthony couldn't remember the fourth figure on the giant sculpture.

Rivka looked at the paved walkways to the Visitors' Center, "Are we gonna have to walk here?"

Ziva nodded, "Yes, yaldati. We will see the information about the carving at the Visitors' Center. And we will see the carving from the terrace areas. If the sculptor's studio is open, we shall learn about the man who carved the images on the mountain."

"Ima, I'm hungry," Anthony's breakfast had long been gone. "I could eat lunch now, please."

Tony glanced at the park map, "There is a café on-site, if we want to have lunch here. Looks like the usual burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and similar items. Oh, and they have ice cream as well."

"You had to mention ice cream?" Ziva swatted her husband's arm. She glanced at the menu he'd opened on his phone. "A bit expensive, yes?"

Tony shrugged, "We have already paid our parking fee, and found a decent parking spot. We have two choices as I see it. Visit the park, see what we want to see, and then go find food outside the park; or eat here and see the park."

"Eat here!" Anthony, Beth, Riv, and LJ answered as one. Tali gave a thumbs' up gesture; she was okay with getting some lunch as it was already 1045.

Ziva led the family towards the cafe, "First stop is lunch; then the Visitors' Center. And, yes, we will get ice cream after the main meal."

After lunch, the kids were all impressed by the Avenue of Flags, noting that each state's flag was displayed in alphabetical order as they walked between the café and gift shop area to the Visitors' Center.

"We should get flags for each state that we have visited," Tali suggested to the others. "Not the big flags that fly outside like here, but maybe some small flags that we can have inside. Like the Israeli flag that Ima has on her desk."

At the displays in the Visitors' Center, the family viewed displays about the park's history, the progress of the carvings, and why the sculptor chose the four figures. They learned about the sizes of the faces; and how the figures were formed.

Gutzon Borglum chose Washington to be the most prominent figure on the mountain and represent the birth of the United States. He chose Jefferson to represent the growth of the United States. The sculptor chose Roosevelt to represent the development of the United States. After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to establish 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks, and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land. Gutzon Borglum chose Lincoln to represent the preservation of the United States.

The head of George Washington is 60 feet tall with a nose that is 21 feet tall. Theodore Roosevelt's head is slightly smaller, Abraham Lincoln's is slightly taller. Each of the eyes on Mount Rushmore are about 11 feet wide. Each mouth is about 18 feet wide.

Work on the sculpture began in 1927. Borglum remained devoted to the project until his death on March 6, 1941, several days before his 74th birthday. After his death, the project fell to his son James Lincoln Borglum who in turn put the finishing touches on his father's vision. After the elder Borglum's death, he took on the responsibility of sculptor. From 1941 –1943 he served as the first National Park superintendent at Mount Rushmore.

At the Sculptor's Studio, Tali and Anthony were most interested in the one-twelfth scale model of the carving. They noted the differences in the model and the mountain's sculpture. LJ and Riv were fascinated by the stone-carving tools, noting that the tools were both similar to and different from their Grandpa's wood-carving tools.

At the Gift Shop, the three younger kids bought coloring books of the park. Tali found a book about the history of the carvings, and Anthony got a set of mini-bricks to make a model of the famous landmark.

Pictures made, purchases completed, and sights seen, the DiNozzos piled back in the van to head to the next destination for the day. Ziva drove the short trip to the Crazy Horse Memorial. Similar to Mt. Rushmore in that the carving was on the face of the mountain, the Crazy Horse carving is still incomplete. The Indian Museum of North America and the Mountain Carving Museum explained about the carving, the vision of the original sculptors, and the peoples native to the area.

After viewing the museums, they drove a few minutes further south to Custer to check in to the lodging for the night, a three-bedroom cabin that slept up to ten people. Ziva suggested that the family order take-out foods for dinner to bring to the cabin to eat and that they do some shopping for foods for snacks and the next day's breakfast.

After shopping and dinner, they headed back to the Crazy Horse Memorial to view the nightly laser show on the side of the mountain. After the colorful light show, they wound down with root beer floats and large soft pretzels at the cabin. Two more area sights remained after the penultimate night.

Chapter 11: Nebraska

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 – Nebraska

"Wake up, everyone! Time to get ready for our sight-seeing for today," Ziva hoped the smell of the cinnamon rolls and the orange rolls would get her family out of their beds. "We want to get to the cave early to get the cave tour we want before it sells out."

Tony stretched as he brushed his lips on his wife's. He put one of each roll type on his plate and poured a mug of coffee. "I got smart… I went online and make our reservations for the 0915 tour."

Ziva raised an eyebrow at him as the kids started coming into the kitchen for food. "I did not know that was an option. Thank you, neshama."

"I aim to please, Sweetcheeks," he grinned with a mouthful of orange roll.

The kids were discussing the unique geological features of the area in and around the Black Hills. The mountain range rises out of the Great Plains in western South Dakota and extends into northeastern Wyoming.

"It's like everything we've seen lately has been big, weird rocks, some with carvings on them," Anthony summed up the sights they'd seen the previous day.

"Or big mountains that the road has all sorts of twists and turns to climb up and down," Tali added, think of the Rockies and the Continental Divide that they had crossed over multiple times in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. "Jagged mountains that are very different from the rounder mountains near home."

Riv nodded her agreement, "And more colors in the rocks in the mountains and gorges. Pretty colors. The mountains at home are just gray and tree-covered."

Ziva joined her family at the table, "Remember that the Appalachians are nearly five hundred million years old while the Rockies are less than one hundred million years old. The Appalachians have eroded over time to the current rounder shapes. The Rockies stretch across the country almost twice as long as the Appalachian Mountains: 1,500 miles compared to 3,000 miles."

Tony looked over at his wife, "Impressive, Ms. Encyclopedia… Where did you acquire all this knowledge?"

"I read the displays at the parks…" she retorted. "You should have learned the same things."

Beth and Rivka shared a look before blurting out, "Definitely older than Abba!" All of them, even Tony laughed at that comment.

The father smirked at his children, "These old bones are going on a cave hike today. Try to keep up…"

"Seriously, Abba? A cave hike?" LJ perked up at the unusual activity mention. "Where?"

Ziva opened the website on her tablet, "It is called Wind Cave National Park. The cave is under the prairie and forests. We will be able to see bison, elk, prairie dogs, antelope, and many species of birds if we are lucky. Since we are going inside the cave, you will need to wear jeans and your walking shoes. You may want a light jacket to wear inside the cave as they say the temperature is about 55 degrees year-round."

"Why is it called Wind Cave? Did it form from the wind instead of water?" Anthony remembered learning about caves being formed from water eroding limestone.

"The cave gets its name from the strong air currents that blow alternately in and out of the caverns. The direction of the wind depends on whether the air pressure in the cave is higher or lower than the atmospheric pressure outside. The cave was not found by settlers until 1881, when two brothers, Jesse and Tom Bingham, heard a loud whistling noise. The sound led them to a small hole in the ground, the cave's only natural opening. It was regarded as sacred by the Native peoples of the area," Ziva read from the website for the park.

"If I remember correctly, we will go past that natural opening on the tour of the cave. I think we pass by it on the way to the man-made entrance where we enter the cave," Tony added.

The family dressed for the day and Ziva reminded everyone to bring a light jacket for inside the cave. She checked that each of the kids had on appropriate footwear for the cave hike as well. Since they were going to be traversing about three hundred stairs, mostly going down, and navigating tight places, shoes with sneaker-like soles and a closed toe are highly recommended. She also reminded everyone that no backpacks or large bags were permitted.

"Fanny pack, or carry it in your pocket," she suggested to Tali for her phone, knowing the girl would want to take pictures in the cave. "Anthony, make sure the camera strap is around your neck for the digital SLR, if you are planning to take pictures."

"Got it, Ima!" the boy held out the camera with a grin. "I'm ready to go."

Rivka sighed loudly as the group exited the van to pick up their reserved tickets and meet up with the rest of the group going on the first tour of the day for this particular tour. "More walking, why do we always gotta walk everywhere?"

"We get to see the interesting stuff by walking," Beth reminded her twin. "I don't mind at all. I kinda like seeing all of the cool things."

"I guess… well, if Abba can walk it, so can I… but I don't hafta like it."

LJ overheard the twins' conversation, "It's good exercise and fun. And Ima says it gets the squirmies outta me…"

The group including the DiNozzo family followed their tour guide to the shuttle tram that would take them to the tour start. Rivka smiled to herself as the shuttle started moving; at least one part was not walking on the tour!

At the natural entrance to the cave, the guide pointed out the small ten-inch by about eighteen-inch hole that made the largest natural entrance to the cave. He told them the story of how the Bingham brothers allegedly discovered the cave when the wind that was exiting the hole from the cave knocked the hat off one of the brothers. The more likely story was that they noticed the loud whistling sound made by the wind as it blew through the hole in the rock.

"We will be entering the cave via a man-made passage," he continued as he led the group further along the walkway. "When we enter, there will be a slightly declining walkway and then some stairs down into the cave. Please remember to hold the railings as you descend as the stairs can be slippery."

"How deep are we going into the cave?" Tali asked the park ranger.

"The tour we are on goes to about two hundred and ten feet; the cave itself has spots that are six hundred feet below the surface," he replied. "We will be in the mid-level of the cave."

In the many rooms and passageways of the tour, the family learned about the features of the cave and how they were formed. One rare feature, the boxwork was prevalent on the tour. The boxwork was formed when calcite filled tiny cracks within the limestone. Later, when the cave formed, water dissolved the limestone and revealed the delicate crystal fins that had filled the cracks. Wind Cave has more boxwork than all of the other caves in the world that also have this formation.

Cave popcorn, or coralloids, are small nodes of calcite, aragonite or gypsum that form on surfaces in caves, especially limestone caves. LJ thought the popcorn was funny, and he had Anthony take multiple pictures of the popcorned ceilings in the various rooms.

Several places on the narrow, winding passageways, the adults had to stoop down to pass through without bumping their heads on the cave's ceiling. Ziva squeezed Tony's hand a few times, using his rock-like presence to stave off claustrophobic impulses in the narrowest and most closed in passages.

The Methodist Church room had intriguing boxwork formed into a cross-like shape, hence its name. Tony, Tali, and Anthony captured many images in the room along with the other rooms and passages. Ziva had several images from the Post Office room showing the almost precision regularity in the delicate rectangular shapes of the boxwork.

At the end of the tour, the group split in two to ride the elevator back up to the surface. Tony glanced at his watch as the family exited to the outside; it was now about 1045, which meant after a quick drive around the surface of the park to see some of the bison in the herd on the park lands, the family would need to stop for lunch before heading to the next stop on their trip.

~Nebraska~

As Tony drove into the Oglala National Grasslands, Tali and Anthony noticed a cluster of prairie dog holes on one side of the road. Tony pulled off the road so they could all enjoy the sights. The kids could see the animals poking out of their holes to check out the surrounding areas. They all laughed at the critters popping up and down in their prairie dog 'town.'

There was grasslands for as far as the eye could see, with the exception of the Toadstool Geologic Park. As Anthony noted, the area was more 'weird rock formations.' A short hike allowed them to discover the unique, unusual geological formations, some in the shape of toadstools, and scientifically valuable fossil deposits. Once back on the road, as they traversed the park, several more prairie dog colonies and herds of pronghorn elk were viewed.

The final drive was back to Denver for the night. The following afternoon, the family boarded the flight back to DC.

"We saw quite a bit in just eight days," Ziva noted as the family waited near the gate for boarding. "Five states and eight National Parks. I am glad we got to see it all, even though I am tired."

Chapter 12: Hawaii

Chapter Text

Chapter 12 – Hawaii – October 2025

"Hawaii?" Tony was incredulous as Ziva nodded and grinned.

"Yes. Why I was the one chosen to go is something I will not question. Leon told me that I could bring the family, since he knows about our fifty-states bucket list," she explained yet again to her spouse.

Tony started to pull up his favorite travel website; Ziva stopped him with a hand on his. "Already booked a flight and lodging for the trip. The NCIS travel agent got us an overnight flight from DC to Honolulu on Thursday with a return flight on Tuesday. We have a family suite at the Navy Lodge at Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam since I am on official NCIS business for part of the trip. With the holiday on Monday and the teacher workday on Friday, the children would only miss one day of school," she told him what she knew.

"I guess we can let their teachers know about the trip, and get any homework or missed classwork for them to work on," Tony thought out loud. "Tali may be the hardest to work out since she is now in middle school."

Ziva nodded thoughtfully, "I am sure that we can get the work for the children from their teachers. After all, traveling to other states is educational in nature. You may have to take them to see the sights alone on Friday while I am working though. I also may have to work a few hours on Saturday morning."

"No problem; we can save the sights you want to see for when you're free."

The Friday before Columbus Day, 10 October, the DiNozzo family deplaned at Inouye International Airport still slightly woozy from fourteen hours of travel, including a two-hour layover in LAX. The kids had been able to sleep in the economy class seats, mostly because they were tired from a day at school. Ziva had worked her usual Thursday at NCIS, so all bags were packed and ready to go to the airport the night before. She'd slept on and off on the flight, waking up when Tony wiggled around to try to get comfortable.

She felt badly for him as he hobbled off the ramp into the terminal. Ziva could tell that his back was hurting from trying to sleep in the airline seat. The family followed the others off the aircraft and towards baggage claim.

Greeters smiled with "Aloha!" and dropped flower leis over the arriving passengers' heads. The younger DiNozzos grinned, even Anthony and LJ, at the warm welcome. The three girls had purple and white flowers on their leis. LJ had green and white, and Anthony had orange and white flowers.

"Ima, how did they know my favorite color is orange?" Anthony queried.

Ziva pointed to his orange backpack, "Perhaps the color of your backpack gave them a clue?"

Rivka and Beth admired the flower garlands, "Can we take these home?"

One of the greeters overheard the girls, "Yes! I will give your parents a sheet about how to care for your leis to make them last so you can take them with you. Generally, the artificial flowers will last quite a while unless exposed to extremes. Since your mother has real flowers, hers may not last as long, but with some extra care to preserve the orchids, it can be preserved. The website with directions is listed on the care sheet." She held out the page to Tony who thanked her and folded the page to slip into his pants pocket.

As the belt started on the carousel for the baggage to be claimed, the lead agent from NCIS Hawaii field office came over to Ziva and introduced herself. She mentioned that she had a van waiting to take the DiNozzos to the Navy Lodge.

"We made sure that you have one of the three-bedroom suites," Agent Jane Tennant explained to Tony and Ziva. "There is a queen-sized bed in the master bedroom with adjoining bathroom, and single over double bunk beds in the two smaller bedrooms. They share a bathroom. The kitchen is pretty basic, but workable. The living room has a sixty-five-inch television, a secure docking station for a laptop, and a sofa bed. Wi-Fi is available throughout the suite."

Ziva helped Tony get the kids settled into the suite and then prepared to leave with Agent Tennant to head to the NCIS Field Office.

"I will send you a text message when I am done with today's training," she gave Tony a kiss and admonished the children to behave for their Abba. "I will see you all later today."

Agent Tennant handed the keys to the van to Tony, "I have another agent coming for Ziva and me so that you have transportation for your time here. Either I or one of my team will bring Ziva back here after the session today. On Tuesday, I will come to take you to the airport for your return flight home and get the keys back from you."

Tony grinned, "Thanks! I was wondering how we were going to be able to sightsee."

"So where are we going without Ima?" Tali wondered out loud. "I want to see the beaches around Diamond Head. Ima said she does too, so we'll have to wait for her to go there."

Anthony had been reading about the memorial for the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor on his tablet. "Ima wants to go to the USS Arizona so that is out until she can go with us."

"How about the zoo and the aquarium?" Tony suggested. "They're close to each other and it's somethings I think Ima would be okay with missing. We can take lots of pictures to show her later."

Rivka looked at the website her Abba was showing them on his laptop, "I guess… as long as we don't hafta walk and walk and walk."

Talia rolled her eyes to Anthony, "We could get a baby stroller and push you around, Riv. That way you won't have to walk if you don't want." LJ, Beth, and Anthony snickered at their big sister's suggestion.

"I. Am. Not. A. Baby!" Riv put her hands on her hips and got in Tali's face. "I can walk all by myself. So there."

"Then quit complaining," Tali shot back, as her sister stuck her tongue out.

Tony called a cease to the sibling bickering, "If I can walk it, you all can walk it."

"Yeah, Abba's the old one of us…" Beth quipped to giggles from her siblings.

Tony jingled the van keys, "Old, young… be ready to go in ten."

As he parked the van at the Waikiki Aquarium, he detailed his plan for the day to the five children, "We will do the aquarium tour first. From what the website mentions, it should take us about ninety minutes. Then we'll get some lunch. After lunch, the zoo is the next place on the list. That should take us about three hours, give or take, based on the information on the website. If Ima hasn't let us know she's done with work, we'll get groceries to have at the suite and take them back there to put up.

"We'll see what Ima wants to do for dinner tonight, but we will probably make breakfasts and several dinners at the Lodge. I have a list of groceries to buy written out, but maybe we can add some treats…"

"ICE CREAM!" LJ yelled out before his Abba finished the sentence. "We gotta have ice cream."

Tony ginned at his youngest, "Already on my list, kiddo. And popcorn for movie night tomorrow or Sunday night."

The walking tour of the Waikiki Aquarium lasted about eighty minutes. The first exhibit was about the coral reefs and coral itself. They learned that the coral is a group of living organisms, living in colonies. Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. The animals have a simple nervous system called nerve net; they lack a brain. Corals get their colors from symbiotic algae, which have greenish brown coloring from photosynthesis; fluorescent proteins, and non-fluorescent chromoproteins. The living reef had vast areas of green, blue, purple, red, and fluorescent blues.

Next up was the South Pacific Marine Communities, showing five different communities representing the various areas of the southern Pacific Ocean. The Land Meets the Sea exhibit features a living mangrove forest containing fish and plants commonly found along the shorelines of tropical regions. Seagrasses, which are aquatic plants, are also found in these waters and help create a lush underwater forest which provides shelter for juvenile fish and invertebrates.

The Reef Partners exhibit highlights the numerous relationships found on a reef, such as that between clownfish and sea anemones! There were dozens of clownfish nestled within a living carpet of anemones.

The Lagoon Corals exhibit contains various live corals with large, fleshy polyps waving gently in the current and fishes found in the sheltered reefs between the shoreline and the offshore reefs of many Pacific islands.

At the Reef Predators exhibit, there were numerous species of fish that prey on other fish species, and who, in turn, are themselves eaten by still larger species, such as sharks or jacks. Many of the species seen here form a large part of the diet of indigenous Pacific Islanders.

The highlight of the gallery is the 5,500-gallon (~21,000 liters) Barrier Reef exhibit, containing over a 100 species of fish, giant clams, and live corals. The giant clams in this exhibit are probably the largest and oldest in captivity anywhere in the world and weigh over 170 pounds. The interactive touch screen helped them to identify and learn more about the animals in the exhibit. (Source: Waikiki Aquarium website)

The Ocean Drifters exhibit highlighted several species of jellyfish, including Atlantic sea nettles, which the family had seen at the Baltimore Aquarium when the kids went on a preschool field trip. The Hawaiian Marine Communities showed many colorful species of fish, including the colorful striped longnose butterflyfish and angelfish.

Anthony's favorite was the Hunters of the Reef tanks with the sharks, jacks, and groupers who help maintain a natural balance in the wild reefs. Several of the giant groupers were almost eight feet long and about eight feet in length.

Rivka and Beth liked the Diversity and Adaptation tanks the best. The seahorses fascinated the two girls as they watched the horse-like fish attach their tails to a piece of marine plant and anchor in the current of the tank. The shrimp, eels, turkeyfish, and frogfish are all adaptations to survive in the wild. Animals in the Diversity and Adaptations Gallery use a variety of techniques, including deception, venom, and armor, to find food and to stay alive.

Tali almost got left behind at the Edge of the Reef Exhibit. It is a 7,500-gallon outdoor exhibit that recreates habitats one might find along a Hawaiian rocky shoreline. The animals in this exhibit are typical fishes and invertebrates one might see snorkeling along Hawaii's reefs, and include yellow tangs, parrotfish, butterflyfishes, rice coral, sea cucumbers, and bright red pencil urchins.

Both Tony and LJ were partial to the pool with the Hawaiian Monk Seals. The Hawaiian monk seal and visitors to Hawaii have something in common. Both are active in the morning and evening, but the rest of the day may be spent lounging on Hawaii's beaches. For the Hawaiian monk seal, this activity pattern may be an important adaptation for survival, allowing them to conserve energy between hunting and foraging trips. The aquarium has two male monk seals that were rescued as pups and would not be able to survive in the wild. Marine biologists observe them to gain information about monk seals in the wild.

The Clam Farm and Coral Farm tanks were closed for maintenance, as was the Ocean Aquaculture tank with the moi, or threadfin. LJ and the twins were disappointed about the Coral Farm after Tali read from the interactive at the site that the coral farm sent pieces to aquariums around the world, including the one in Baltimore.

After a sit-down lunch at a national chain restaurant, the next stop was the Honolulu Zoo. The birds exhibit included flamingos, birds native to Hawaii, storks, toucans, cockatiels, and quite a few native to Africa. The barn owl was hidden in the trees, asleep as is normal for daytime, but Anthony managed to snap a good picture of the bird.

The primates were mostly resting in the heat of the day. The orangutan was perched on some flat rocks that resembled an armchair.

"Does that look like me in my recliner?" Tony asked the kids with a smirk.

"Nope!" LJ answered first. "Your eyes are usually closed and his are open and watching us."

Beth agreed with her younger brother, "Your belly isn't that big either, Abba. That orangutan is fat!"

Tali and Anthony moved on, deciding to stay out of the conversation, and check out the alligator and tortoises in the reptiles area.

The African Savanna was the popular exhibit with all of the DiNozzos. All of them watched the giraffes, zebras, and warthogs before moving to the big cats area. Afterwards, they agreed unanimously that the big cats were the favorite part of the zoo.

LJ watched the Sumatran tigers for a brief time before moving to the lion area. He asked if he could stay by the lions while the others checked out the rest of the savanna displays.

"Abba, you know the lions are my favorite, and I gotta get some good views of them so I can tell Leroy all about the real lions when I get home. He was sad that he couldn't come with us, but he also didn't want to have to travel in a suitcase for the long trip. Grandpa promised to give him some hugs while we are gone," the about-to-be four-year-old was so serious that Tony had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from laughing.

"Do not move from this spot," he admonished the boy. "I will keep checking in on you as the others move through the animal displays." He was okay with the arrangement since there were very few people in the zoo that afternoon. He handed over his cell phone, "If you need me, call Tali's cell. She is number three on the speed dial."

LJ nodded, "I know that Abba. Ima is number one, Uncle Tim is number two, and Tali is number three. Grandpa is number six, after Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Leon."

Tali and Rivka watched the cheetahs for a bit, then moved on to the other animals. Anthony managed to get some good photos of the meercats. When it was time to move on, LJ tried to get a few extra minutes with the lions.

"I gotta say goodbye to them, Abba, please?" he pleaded. The little boy turned back towards the big cats, "Bye, lions! I will tell Leroy all about you." He waved to the animals lazing on the wooden platform the zoo had built for them.

"A quick goodbye then, and we move on. The Keiki Zoo area, the petting zoo, is closed today, so we can head on back to the van, and pass by the tigers one more time," Tony glanced at his watch. "Plus, we still need to get the groceries before we get back to the Lodge. Ima should be back there soon as well."

On the way to the store to get the groceries, Tali was quiet. She was thinking about all of the animals in displays and exhibits that they had seen that day.

"What if we are in someone's zoo, just like the animals we saw today at the zoo and the aquarium?" she posed the question to her family. "What if the Earth and our solar system are some display in a universe beyond ours?"

"Weird," Riv replied. "I don't even wanna think about that."

Anthony frowned, "No, Tali has a point. How would we even know if some being out there is studying us as an experiment or exhibit? We wouldn't know unless we could see them looking at us somehow."

"That would make a good sci-fi movie, or even a sci-fi horror movie," Tony commented. "I'll have to see if there was one made with that as the plot line… maybe for movie night."

"I don't get it, how would they keep us from just doing what we want and when we want?" LJ was trying to wrap his head around the concept.

Anthony answered his brother, "Earth is our zoo exhibit. Like one of the tanks at the aquarium. We are part of the large exhibit called planet Earth."

"So, it's like we are free to move around like the animals in the African Savanna at the zoo?" Beth was also trying to understand what her older siblings were proposing. "And something or someone in the universe is watching us, like we watched the cheetahs and lions?"

Tali responded to her younger sister, "I think it would be more like the animals in their natural habitats. Like the real African savanna, or the Hawaiian reefs. Not separated by any fences or barriers from natural predators or other animals."

"It's possible, I guess," Riv admitted. LJ and Beth nodded agreement as the family arrived at the supermarket.

While they were shopping, Ziva sent a text message to Tony that she was back at the suite at the Lodge. He replied that he was just finishing the grocery shopping and about to check out and would be back shortly with the food.

Back at the Lodge, everyone was starting to feel the effects of the long trip and the day of activity, so the parents decided to cook a meal in the suite and then have movie night to wind down. Ziva didn't have to be at the NCIS Field Office in the morning, so the plan for Saturday was to see the sights near Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, and Diamond Head. On Sunday they would drive around Oahu, seeing the east and north shores, and any interesting stops along the one-hundred-fifteen-mile drive.

Saturday morning got off to an early start with breakfast burritos at the suite at 0600. Everyone wished LJ a happy birthday. Tony figured if they could get to Diamond Head by 0700, there would be a good chance he could drive through the Kahala Tunnel and park in the crater to make the hike to the summit and the various sights of the attraction. Once inside, they could start the climb up the side of the volcanic crater and view the Pacific Ocean from the rim.

The kids were agog as they drove through the tunnel in the side of the crater. At the toll booth, Tony paid the parking fee and entry fees for the seven DiNozzos. Anthony noticed the sign that had the rates and the 'three and under- FREE' listed on the fees.

"We should have done this yesterday, LJ was three yesterday," he commented to the others. "Today we gotta pay for him."

LJ grinned, "That's because I'm a big boy now."

Ziva smiled at her baby, "Two birthdays in a row, we have been on a trip, LJ. Last year was Alaska, and this year is Hawaii. You have had a very special birthday twice!"

As the family started the eight-tenths of a mile hike to the top, Rivka lead the others along the concrete walkway. She and Beth were followed by LJ and Anthony, then Tali, and the DiNozzo parents at the rear.

"No complaining?" Ziva pointed at their middle child as she spoke quietly to her husband. "She is leading the group as well. What changed?"

Tony chuckled, "Yesterday, before we headed out to the aquarium and zoo, Tali told Riv that we could put her in a baby stroller if she hated walking that much. Riv was very adamant that she did not need such stroller. No complaints yesterday at all… let's see how long it stays this way."

"Yes. I like the new Rivka, the hiker."

Once the trail began the climb to the summit, there were many switchbacks and twist and turns until the family arrived at a concrete landing/lookout. From there, the view of the floor of the crater was amazing. The sheer size could be better appreciated looking from above. The next portion of the hike consisted of seventy-four steps to the first of two narrow, but lighted tunnels.

The tunnel opened to another concrete pad and the foot of the ninety-nine steps up to the second tunnel. Anthony found the overhead beams along the stairway interesting, especially when Ziva read from the trail map that the beams were used to hang camouflage when the area was a part of the defense system.

The second tunnel, the fifty-two-step spiral staircase, exit to the exterior part of the crater through slits that were once covered with metal shutters, pathway, and fifty-four metal stairs led to the observation station at the peak of the crater. The view from the observation station was almost breath-taking at 761 feet above sea level. The Pacific Ocean and areas surrounding the crater were stunning. With her IDF training and background, Ziva could see the defense assets for the observation platform, the lookout and its lighthouse and bunkers.

"An assassin's dream?" Tony wrapped his arms around her from behind and whispered in her ear. The kids had no knowledge of their Ima's Kidon past.

Ziva settled back against him, "No, but a warrior's perfect vantage point."

From the observation station, the family descended the metal steps, and began the downward part of the hike along the rim. Another set of stairs down, with eighty-two metal steps terminated at a path that led to the lookout in one direction and another concrete pad overlook in the other. From the rest pad, they entered the first tunnel to begin retracing the path that had taken up to the summit.

At the end of the trail, they stopped at the information booth and store. Each chose a t-shirt that proclaimed 'I hiked Diamond Head' as a souvenir of the visit to the popular attraction.

In the van, Ziva drove to a restaurant for the family lunch before the tour of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. The reservations she'd made online were for 1300, so after eating, the first activity was to head to the boat dock for the ride out the Arizona Memorial. The US Navy vessel transported the visitors to the dock at the USS Arizona Memorial. Both DiNozzo parents were reminded of trips on similar Naval vessels as working agents.

Once inside the memorial, they could see the ship below the water and the single turret above the waterline. The list of names of those killed in the attack was sobering; the 1177 who perished made up almost half of the 2341 who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. A diagram showed the ship as it was in service and how the remains lay on the seabed.

Back on land, the family viewed the presentation at the Memorial Theater, toured the exhibit galleries about the road to war and the attack, and managed a quick view of the USS Bowfin submarine museum before the site closed.

Dinner was at a traditional Hawaiian-style restaurant to celebrate LJ's birthday. Back at the suite, Tony found the film The Fighting Sullivans on one of his streaming accounts, and the family had a second movie night with root beer floats and birthday cupcakes for snacks.

Sunday started with a rain shower, but it didn't deter the exploration of the east and north sides of the island. As Tony started out on the loop tour he found online, the kids laughed at the road designation as an interstate highway.

"Abba, how can it be an interstate highway if it's only in Hawaii?" Tali was curious. The interstate highways back home ran through multiple states.

Tony deferred to Ziva since he was driving, even though he did have an answer for his curious eldest. Ziva had her phone in hand and could add any additional information as needed.

"The interstate highway system, properly called the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. The system was funded by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. Uniform standards for the construction of the highways ensured that military vehicles could be moved on the system as national defense deemed necessary.

"Main roads use one- or two-digit numbering with feeder highways or bypasses using three digits with the last two matching the parent roadway. All north-south interstates highways have odd numbers with the lowest on the West Coast and the highest on the East Coast. East-west interstates are numbered with even numbers, with the lowest on the southern edge of the continental US and the highest on the northern edge. All fifty states have interstate highways as does Puerto Rico," Ziva read from her search. "Hawaii has four interstates: H1, H2, H3, and H201. We will travel on H1 and H2 today and cross the other two."

Along the drive, the family stopped to view Hanauma Bay, Makapu'u Point Lighthouse, the Byodo-In Temple, and other east coast 'must see' places. They mostly did the look-see until the temple. The Temple grounds are a lushly landscaped paradise and are home to wild peacocks and hundreds of Japanese koi carp. The beautiful grounds include a large reflecting pond, meditation niches, and small waterfalls.

On the north shore, a stop at the Banzai Pipeline to watch the surfers was a must. From there, they went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation for a lunch, and the Pineapple Garden Maze. Dole Plantation's giant Pineapple Garden Maze was declared the world's largest maze. The maze stretches over three acres and includes nearly two and one-half miles of paths crafted from 14,000 colorful Hawaiian plants. Walk through the flora of the islands as you seek out eight secret stations that each lead you closer to the mystery at the heart of this larger-than-life labyrinth, one of only a handful of permanent botanical mazes in America. All seven DiNozzos were excited to find the clues and track them on Tony's phone with the downloaded app for the maze.

The final experience at the Dole Plantation was the twenty-minute train ride around the plantation. The four trains used for the tour are historic replicas of trains that are designed to operate on three-foot gauge tracks on steep inclines and in mountainous areas. The family learned the history of the Dole Plantation as the train wound along its journey.

On the way back to the Naval Lodge, after passing Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield the road changed to H2, the second of the two interstates the family traveled on their journey. At the suite, Ziva and Tony prepared a late dinner as the kids relaxed with tablets and books.

Monday was spent mostly on the beach relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. Everyone agreed a chill-out day was just what was needed after the tourist activities of the past three days. The early morning flight back to DC with a stop in San Francisco got them to Dulles a bit after midnight and home by 0130. School buses came way too early on Wednesday morning, but the five young DiNozzos had a lot of interesting things to share with their classmates.

Chapter 13: North Carolina

Chapter Text

Chapter 13 – North Carolina – June 2026

Charlotte, Discovery Place

"How about a southern tour for the family fifty-states bucket list?" Tony suggested to Ziva as they were winding down for the night in their room.

Ziva rolled into his side, "Which states are you considering?"

"From home, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and then back up the Blue Ridge Parkway towards home," he showed her the route he'd tentatively laid out on his tablet. "We knock another nine off the list this way, including our home state, with a two-week road trip."

She considered the trip route carefully, "It looks very plausible as a family trip. And getting nine states for one trip may gain some lost time from all of the broken bones and injuries from Christmas."

He snickered, "The DiNozzo Disaster… we'll be talking about last Christmas when we are old and in the nursing home."

~North Carolina~

On the morning of Fathers' Day, the family had a filling breakfast, said goodbye to the dogs and cats, and loaded into the minivan. Tony headed to I-95 south and the six-hour - plus stops - road trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. Traffic slowed in a few places in and around Richmond, but nothing too bad. At Petersburg, he exited to I-85 south. In South Hill, Virginia, he stopped for a break for everyone, including lunch.

Ziva drove the next leg of the trip, almost all in North Carolina, arriving at their hotel near Charlotte around 1530. After checking in, the kids wanted to go to the pool, so the entire family spent some time relaxing and unwinding poolside.

The following morning, after packing their luggage back in the cargo area of the van and a large breakfast at a national breakfast chain, Tony drove the city streets to Discovery Place Science in uptown Charlotte. He found a parking spot not all that far from the main entrance on North Tryon Street in a secured, pay-to-park lot.

Ziva retrieved the confirmation email for the family's reservations for entrance that day. The greeter at the entry desk scanned the QR code and printed wristbands for each of the seven DiNozzos. She also gave the adults printed maps of the displays at the three-story science museum and circled the website URL for the companion interactive map.

LJ spotted the Project Build activity area, "Look Ima! We can build things. Are we going there first?"

"Just a minute, let Abba and me look over the activities and exhibits on the brochure and interactive map on the app. Then we will decide how we will go through the museum," Ziva moved around to the large bench behind the entrance kiosk.

Tony noted the three floors and how they interconnected, "I think we should start down on the first floor and work our way to the back by the IMAX, then go up to the third-floor areas, and finally back to this floor and work our way forward."

Tali was studying the interactive museum map on her phone, "That would make the building area last, or next to last if we do things near the entrance last. We could also see the Rainforest as the last activity."

Ziva showed the interactive maps to the three youngest DiNozzos, "I think we should do the Project Build last with the Rainforest upper level before that. If we go down the stairs to our left, we can get to the lower level."

"Oh, okay," LJ sighed. He really wanted to play with the large building toys now.

Tony led the family downstairs and to the first of the exhibits. The aquarium area was similar to many other aquariums the family had visited, but on a much smaller scale. The kids were more interested in the adjoining World Alive area with live starfish and other sea life that could be seen up close.

Riv got to touch the starfish in the touch tank, "It's really cool, with the bumpy surfaces." She giggled when the starfish moved its arms in reaction to her stroking the surface.

From there, the kids were excited to see the Nose-to-Nose sign for a live animal encounter, but were disappointed when they learned that the show only ran on certain days and times. It was partially rectified with the interactive Explore More Life lab where they got to learn about biodiversity and explore how animals, plants, and humans interact in our world.

From the lab, Ziva led the family to the ground floor of the Rainforest exhibit. They could hear the sounds of the indoor waterfall and the birds chirping in the trees. On the ground level, there were frogs, turtles, snakes, and more among the lush plants of the typical rainforest.

Tali noted the humidity to her siblings, "This is like a summer day before a thunderstorm at home."

"But warmer, I think," Anthony added. "This is so cool." He pointed to the rope and plank bridge above them, "Are we going to go on that bridge too?"

"When we get to the second-floor area for the Rainforest," Ziva nodded. "I agree with Tali; this place is very interesting." She watched one of the turtles ease into the shallow water and swim to another sandy area.

Beth wandered towards the exit into the main area of the first floor; she spotted one of the large snakes in a low tree and stifled a scream, "I'm outta here!" The six-year-old left the Rainforest quickly, and Anthony followed her to make sure she was okay.

"It won't come out of the exhibit, Beth," he tried to comfort his sister. "We were okay on the walkway. The glass and railing kept the snakes and other creatures in the exhibit you know." He put an arm around her shoulders.

"I don't care that the dumb snake couldn't get out, Anthony. It. Was. A. Snake. I hate snakes," she shuddered.

The others exited soon after, and the family checked out the Explore More Collections lab space. LJ and Tali sorted through the rocks and minerals native to North Carolina, while Beth and Rivka were fascinated with the butterflies and moths in display cases.

Anthony gave the over 3,000 liquid preserved spiders, collected in North Carolina, wide berth. He hated spiders; they could leave permanently for all he cared. Beth squeezed her big brother's hand in sympathy when he turned his head so he didn't have to even look at the display. He was much more interested in the pelts, skeletons, and taxidermy animals that are native to North Carolina and surrounding states.

Tony did check out the spiders and other insects in the display cases, while Ziva was entranced by the display of native tress and flora. The cross-sections of tree trunks fascinated her, and she ran her fingers over the preserved wood.

As the family passed by the Kidscience area, where children under ten could play, explore, tinker, and test with scientific principles, a group of kids and adults entered the space. They seemed to be from a daycare or summer camp, as all had on matching t-shirts.

"I think we should skip this one," Tony suggested to his wife. "What's next?"

Ziva agreed, "Yes; our five do not need to be in that noisy bunch of children. I think the Fantastic Frogs are the next exhibit, by the IMAX theater entrance." She pointed towards a colorful poster of a frog.

After viewing the frogs, the family climbed the stairs to the third floor, which was only on the side of the IMAX theater. The Think It Up exhibit and Thinker Space labs allowed all of the DiNozzos to experiment with designing, creating, and innovating.

The two activities that every one of them wanted to try were closed for maintenance. Tony was very bummed that the walk on light sensors that make a sound when touched wasn't operating. He and Tali had wanted to collaborate to make music. The activity that allowed you to create your own visual art piece by touching and turning dials on a large LED light display was also being serviced and LJ pouted when he and Ziva learned it wasn't running that day. The virtual activities included woodworking, sewing, and soldering.

"Too bad we didn't come on a day when the lab had live activities," Ziva noted to her family. "Perhaps if we visit again, we can try to attend a family invention workshop. I think that would be fun."

"Way cool, Ima," LJ was not as impressed by the virtual activities after helping his Grandpa with woodworking.

Riv agreed as well, "We get real hands-on at Grandpa's house. That is more fun than on a dumb computer if you ask me."

Tony shrugged, "I was kind of a dud. Let's go back down to the second floor and see what's there." He led the way down the flight of stairs to the street-level floor.

First up on the back of the second floor was the Cool Stuff exhibition. Tali read from the interactive map on her phone, "Discover the strange and eccentric world of physical phenomena. Guests of all ages can experience the extraordinary, strange, and super cool science principles that govern the workings of our everyday world.

"Witness strange motion and weird happenings that delight the mind and senses. See the invisible with thermography cameras. Be lifted by air in the vacuum-powered Air Chair. Lie across a bed of 5,000 nails unharmed. Defy gravity with gyroscopic technology and electromagnetism.

"Engage the fundamental – and fun – principle of "What goes up, must come down" as you explore the physics of lifting. Launch objects by the explosive force of a chemical reaction or pull yourself to new heights using a pulley system. Work together on the Gizmotron to scoop, fill and turn the wheels of this giant contraption.

"Perform amazing feats of strength such as crushing a garbage can or winning a seemingly impossible tug-of-war match. Flex your superhuman muscles for a round of hydraulic arm wrestling. Harness the power of the wind to steer a sailboat or spin a wind turbine.

"It's not magic. It's really cool science!" {from Discovery Place Science website}

"We gotta try them all," Rivka declared as the family spread out in the exhibit area, trying and testing things and discovering scientific principles.

"This is so cool!" Beth grinned as she used the Air Chair to rise above the floor.

Anthony and Tony spied the bed of nails, "I dare you Abba." The son and father exchanged looks and nodded in silent agreement that each would take a turn.

Tony lay down on the nails, and grinned with a thumbs' up as Anthony snapped several pictures.

"Hey, Zi… look at me!" he called out to his better half. Ziva looked up from the windmill activity with a bemused look. She shook her head and laughed; only her crazy Tony!

Anthony took a turn next and grinned as Tony got multiple pictures of his son. Ziva watched the two; sometimes her older son was so like his father, it was unreal how alike the two were. Her crazy boys, she often thought as they pulled off some crazy stunt or antic.

Tali and Beth laughed at the robotic arm wrestling and each won a match. LJ was enthralled by the pulleys and the launching objects activities. When each had tried all that they wanted, the family moved on to the Being Me area.

"Is this what Uncle Jimmy sees every day?" a curious Beth asked her mother at the display with the opened torso of a human body. She and Ziva removed the internal organs and parts as they explored gross anatomy of the human body.

"Yes, yaldati, only sometimes the bodies he has on his morgue table are injured," Ziva tried to explain to the six-year-old in a way that the girl would understand, but not be worried about the nature of the injuries and devastation that Jimmy often witnessed.

"Oh, so they may not be all nicely arranged like this one?" Riv had wandered over to see what her twin was doing.

Ziva hesitated, then answered, "Remember that your Uncle Jimmy has to deal with people who may have died in unnatural ways. His job is to determine how and why they died many times. That is the medical examiner's job."

The Explore More Me lab was open for the family to wander, but no actual labs were taking place that day. LJ was more interested in the model of the human eye than the lab itself.

"Abba, this is very interesting," he pointed to the parts of the eye and the way they moved when different amounts of light were projected on them. "I think it's cool how the image is upside down on the back of the eye and our brains figure it out!"

The penultimate stop on the second floor was the upper level of the Rainforest. From the rope and plank walkway, the family viewed the treetops and the birds and animals in the branches. The top of the waterfall was also visible and the sounds from the birds was louder than at ground level. Beth averted her eyes as a snake slithered on the branches just below the walk. Anthony held her and led her past the snake.

The final stop, the Project Build area, was a favorite of every DiNozzo. Tony and the twins built a sandcastle with the special sand in the walled table. Ziva, Tali, and LJ built a fort with the giant wood blocks and draped it with the camouflage netting. Anthony found the computer with the design programs and spent his entire time in the area designing on the screen.

A stop at the gift shop before heading to the van, then a run through the drive-thru at a fast-food place, and the DiNozzo family was back on I-85 south headed to South Carolina.

Chapter 14: South Carolina

Chapter Text

Chapter 14 – South Carolina

Greenville – Children's' Museum of the Upstate

The relatively short – an hour and one half - drive to Greenville South Carolina put the family at the Children's Museum of the Upstate around 1520. They would have about an hour and one half to explore the sixty-thousand square foot facility before it closed. Ziva showed the QR code for the prepaid tickets to the young man at the entry desk. He scanned it and printed wristbands for each of the seven DiNozzos, two blue for adults, and five yellow for children between three and fifteen.

Anthony read the sign near the entrance and laughed out loud, "All adults must be accompanied by a child." The other kids joined in the laughter.

"Why does it say that?" Beth was used to the signs saying children had to be in the company of an adult.

Tony grinned at his brood, "Maybe because it's a Children's museum? The whole place and its sister facility in Spartanburg are designed for kids."

"Or they don't want creepy people watching the kids?" Tali had heard too much of the conversation of the adults in her family. "It's to keep the kids safe."

Ziva inwardly sighed; she and Tony had tried to shield their five from the terrible things people could do to each other for as long as possible. Tali had just turned twelve, and Ziva knew that middle school kids were much more aware of the types of things perverts and evil-minded people could do to youngsters.

The museum employee handed the wristbands and three museum maps to Ziva. She thanked him and turned to see all of her family, big kid included, staring with mouths agape at the central focus of the museum. The multi-story Climber took up much of the center of the ground-level floor of the museum. Nets, platforms at varying heights, some with waves and some with slopes, and ramps for access adorned the structure.

"Whoa…" Rivka was duly impressed.

"Yeah, whoa," LJ echoed. "Are we allowed to go in there?"

Tony just stared at the climbing structure.

Ziva walked in front of the six to get their attention, "Yes, you may climb. It says it is for children of all ages. That is up to fifteen years of age according to the museum's definition of a child. So, no, Tony you may not climb."

He pouted at his wife's words, "Well darn. The next place better have a climber for everyone!"

Ziva put one of the museum maps in his hand, "I suggest we start at the bottom floor and work our way up; the same approach we used at Discovery Place."

On the bottom floor, the Garage Rock exhibit featured hands-on exploration of different types of sounds through a variety of instruments and materials. Tali spent more of her time at Garage Rock than at any other station on the first level.

Anthony found the Animation Station. He soon had the hang of the computerized animations and created a series of moving sketches. He also spent some time in the Garage Rock area experimenting with the sounds.

Rivka and Beth checked out the Garage Rock and the Animation Station, but when they found the Reedy River Bend, the twins were hooked. They learned about various chemical and physical properties of water with multi-leveled channels featuring miniature dams and waterfalls. One of the draws for the girls was the moveable elements that allowed the two to make their own dams and waterfalls.

LJ was immediately drawn to Sensory Square, a space designed for children of all ages to utilize their five senses and engage with various colors, shapes, lights, and other immersive exhibit elements. His creative, artistic side came out in full force.

When Ziva reminded them all that there were two more floors to explore, plus the Climber, all grumbled about leaving the bottom floor activities.

"I was just getting to a musical composition with the off-the-wall 'instruments' with Tali's help," Tony groused. "But I guess we can come back if we have time."

On the second level, the Up in the Air activities which explore various aspects of aerodynamics, including a wind tunnel and paper airplane station, had all seven engrossed. Ziva's paper airplane flew the longest distance.

"How did you do that Ima?" Tali asked the question for the curious kids.

Tony smirked, "She learned from the best." He pointed his thumbs at his chest and grinned. "I used to fly paper airplanes at your mother and Uncle Tim to annoy them on slow days."

Ziva snorted, "Ha! Your pathetic paper planes could barely make it across to my desk or over to Tim's. Mine, on the other hand, could fly from my desk to Tim's easily."

"Mine flew almost as far as your plane did," he retorted. "And at NCIS…"

"You were the only one who Gibbs ever caught. Tim and I would have to duck our heads down to avoid laughing out loud at the expressions on your face when you got the head-slap…"

LJ and the others listened to their parents' banter with amusement and interest. They all liked hearing about the days when Ima and Abba worked at NCIS for Grandpa. Most of the stories were funny or silly, usually with Abba being a goofball and Ima trying not to get caught as his sidekick.

Ziva finally threw her hands up in the air with a shrug, "Enough of this. Let us go to the other activities on the third floor and then everyone – no, not you, Tony – can go on the Climber."

The third floor had several places that the whole family could be involved in an activity. In Fun & Games, they played with life-size checkers, chess, and Kerplunk. The females teamed against the males for checkers and the game ended in a win for Ziva and her daughters.

The life-sized Kerplunk had plastic balls like those found in ball pits, plastic dowels for the rods to hold the balls in a chicken-wire-like tube and frame. Rather than teams, the seven DiNozzos took turns pulling a rod from the cylinder. Each had two turns before the balls started shifting. LJ was up next; he carefully inspected the remaining rods, and slowly extracted one. A few balls fell from the cylinder, but most remained inside.

"Your turn Abba," he grinned. "I think it's gonna be it."

"Nah; I'm going to get my rod out with success, and Ima is going to crash all the balls down. She's after me."

Tali snickered, "Famous last words there Abba…"

Tony flexed his hands and walked around the column, inspecting his choices. He frowned at the contraption, and walked the other direction to assess the options.

Ziva grew impatient with his antics, "Choose one and remove it already! Besides, if we want to play the mini-golf, we have to finish this game soon."

"I am… almost… ready…" he took hold of a bright orange rod and slowly moved it. Balls started shifting, and the kids were laughing already. "Hey, if I do this right, they won't all fall…" He tugged the rod a bit more, and two balls fell from the column. "Or I could just yank it like this," he pulled the rod rapidly and all but two of the balls rained on the space below the cylinder.

"And then change the rules to the one with the most fallen balls wins!" He smirked at his family who were just about doubled over laughing.

"Whatever, Abba," Riv chuckled more. "You lost!"

The mini-golf was interesting for the lessons with each hole. Geo's Golf, a mini golf course with 9 STEM-focused and Upstate-inspired holes, is designed to teach kids about the game and history of golf. While they were on the second to last hole, an announcement that the museum was closing in fifteen minutes came over the PA system. The family decided to finish the golf game and head out.

While no one got to try the Climber, they were all happy with the various activities that they did get to try.

"I'm okay with not getting on the Climber," LJ announced to the others. "Yeah, it would have been cool to climb to the top, but we have similar things at home."

"True," Beth agreed. "The things we did get to explore were a lot of fun."

Tali shrugged at her siblings look, "I probably wouldn't have climbed a whole lot anyhow. Seems more for younger kids to me."

"Ima, when are we going to eat? I'm hungry!" Anthony commented as the family made their way back to the family van. "My hamburgers, fries, and shake left a long time ago."

Riv added her two cents' worth, "I agree with Anthony. I'm hungry also."

The family stopped at a buffet steak house chain and filled up on all sorts of delicious foods for dinner. They even had soft-serve ice cream for dessert. Afterwards, it was back in the van for the drive to their lodging for the night.

"Next stop, Marietta, Georgia for two nights. If the traffic cooperates around Atlanta, it should be about a two- and one-half hour drive from here to there," Ziva read from the GPS screen before she pulled onto the entrance ramp to I-85 southbound for Georgia.

Chapter 15: Georgia

Chapter Text

Chapter 15 – Georgia

Kennesaw: Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (The General), Kennesaw Battlefield

"Two- and one-half hour drive… famous last words," Ziva muttered to herself as she crept forward on I-285 on the northern side of Atlanta.

"Say something?" Tony looked up from his tablet, pausing the movie he was watching and taking the earbud out of his left ear.

Ziva sneered, "Nothing important… this traffic is horrible. Almost as bad as DC."

"What exit is that coming up?" Tony opened the GPS app on his phone.

"Ashford-Dunwoody Road is that overpass we can see just ahead, and then Georgia 400 and Northside Drive."

He typed in the destination address for the hotel in Marietta where they would be staying for the next two nights, "Lemme see if I can find an alternate way to get there…"

Ziva glanced at the screen on the dashboard, showing the current location on the onboard GPS, "I do not think it will matter as the map on the dashboard indicates slow-moving traffic on the highways we are supposed to travel."

"When are we going to be there?" Rivka asked from the rear seat. "I'm tired of this ride."

"Yeah, and I'm hungry too!" her twin added. "This traffic is boring."

Tali turned towards her sisters from her middle-row seat, "We ate dinner only a few hours ago, and Abba gave us all snacks about thirty minutes ago. I agree that the traffic is awful, but it's not like we don't have tablets or books to keep us occupied."

"Wasn't talkin' to you Tali; you're not the parent…" Riv stuck her tongue out at her older sister.

LJ watched his sisters, "Abba, Riv stuck her tongue out at Tali!"

Tony sighed, "We are all stuck in the van until further notice. Yes, I get that you are getting grouchy and antsy, but we gotta make the best of it until we get to the hotel." He glanced up at the road sign and noticed two tall buildings with unusual tops on them. He quickly checked his phone app, announcing, "Hey look at these two buildings coming up on the right. They're called the 'King' and 'Queen' buildings."

Anthony leaned towards Tali from his seat behind the driver's seat, "They look like chess pieces; which one is which?"

"I can't see the buildings," LJ complained from his seat behind his older brother. "Can't see through Beth and Riv…" He slouched down in his seat to try to see out the passenger side windows.

Tali found some information about the two buildings on her phone, "The 'King' has the squared top, and the 'Queen' has the rounded top. Says here that they are two of the tallest suburban buildings in the United States. The 'King' is five hundred fifty-three feet tall and the 'Queen' is five hundred seventy feet tall. Both of them have thirty-four stories."

LJ managed to see the buildings from the window by Rivka and then out the rear window before they disappeared from view. Traffic started moving a bit faster as the kids all settled back in their seats again.

"Five miles to I-75 interchange," Tony read from an overhead sign. "Sign says fifteen to seventeen minutes…"

Ziva shook her head slightly, "I will believe it when we get there. This traffic will most likely slow down again before we get to the Cobb cloverleaf."

Forty-five minutes later, she finally steered the family minivan into the parking lot for their hotel.

"That was not two- and one-half hours; it was almost double that time," she noted to her husband as she parked under the canopy for the entrance to the hotel. "Let us get checked in and unload the luggage. I am ready to chill!"

~Georgia~

"First stop, the railroad museum with 'The General' and then the battlefield," Tony announced as the DiNozzos piled into the minivan in the hotel parking lot. "If you're still hungry, it's your own fault," he joked. The hotel had free breakfast, including cereal, fruit, yogurt, make-your-own waffles and/or pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits, sausage gravy, and assorted beverages.

As Ziva turned the minivan into the parking lot across from the Southern Museum of Civil War and Railroad History, a CSX freight train made its way over one of two nearby parallel tracks. The five DiNozzo children, well six, if Ziva counted her big child, ran to the historic Kennesaw Depot on the west side of the parking lot and watched as the long train made its way south towards Atlanta. One of the engineers waved to the group of people, including the DiNozzo family, as the lead engine passed by.

"One... two… three… engines!" Beth announced to the family. "Let's count the cars too."

"Shh… I'm counting…" Riv hushed her twin so she could keep her numbers correct.

LJ tapped Ziva's arm, "Ima, will you help me count and tell me about the different cars?"

"I will help you count. I will also tell you as much as I can about the rail cars," she replied. "See those ones just behind the last engine? Those are tanker cars."

Tony swiped the screen on his phone and opened a notepad app. "I'll keep track of how many of each type of car if all of you will count them. Three engines so far, right?"

Tali pointed to the line of cargo cars, "Ooh, look, those flat cars have military vehicles!"

Anthony held up his hands, "I counted eight tankers at the beginning, Abba."

Six minutes and fifty-three cars later, Tony tallied the numbers and read from his screen to the family, "Three engines in front, one engine in the rear; two groups of tank cars, eight and seven each; five flat cars with military vehicles; nine hoppers with gravel; twelve boxcars; seven auto-racks; and five gondolas with large spools of wire. Did I miss anything?"

"That was a long train!" LJ was excited to be so close to a real-life, moving, train. "Are we going to see more trains? Can we go on a train?"

"We will see a real train in the museum," Tony informed his youngest. "It's called The General and it was part of a train chase during the Civil War."

"Cool!" all of the kids were eager to see a piece of history as the family crossed the street to the museum entrance.

Outside, a retired caboose was open to walk through. All of them climbed the ladder-like steps and viewed the inside of what was once living quarters for train workers when on the job.

In the museum, Ziva showed the family Smithsonian membership card to get the discount entry fees. Each of the seven had a paper entry wristband printed to look like railroad tracks to wear while touring the exhibits. From the places they'd visited, each had at least one souvenir with the entry wristbands.

Once past admissions, Anthony noticed the floor immediately, "Look! The floor is painted to look like railroad tracks. That's cool. It's like we are trains on a track."

The first of the three main themed areas was the history of the railroad in pre-war southern United States, and the rebuilding of the South after the Civil War. The family learned how Atlanta was first named Terminus because it was the end of a rail line built for the Western & Atlantic line in 1837. In 1843, the area was renamed Marthasville after the then-governor's daughter. Just two years later, in 1845, the town was given its final name of Atlanta, after the railroad.

"Atlanta didn't build railroads, rather railroads built Atlanta," Tali read from one of the longer explanations near a vintage image of the rail yards in Atlanta. "Between 1845 and 1854, rail lines from all directions converged in Atlanta, making the small settlement around the zero-mile post for the W&A into a major rail hub for the southern United States."

They learned how the railroads played key roles in the Civil War, from transporting troops to moving wounded, to moving supplies and munitions to the various frontlines, and to being a primary target in Sherman's March to the Sea. As a walk through the history of the area's railroad ties, the exhibit also showed how the railroads played a major part in rebuilding post-war Atlanta and the South.

From the history exhibit, the family moved to the reproduction of the Glover Machine Works factory, the nation's only full-scale reproduction of a belt-driven locomotive assembly line. Casting a New South exhibit offers a fascinating glimpse into the turn-of-the-century business technology that contributed to the rebuilding of the South after the Civil War. The Glover Machine Works of Marietta, Georgia, was the South's last builder of steam locomotives. The exhibition showcases this remarkable company and includes an office, pattern shop, factory equipment, and two locomotives in various stages of completion. The Glover Machine Works manufactured over 200 small steam locomotives in eight different gauges in the early 1900s. The Southern Museum is the home to the company's complete corporate collection.

Finally, the 'tracks' led to the premier, and founding, exhibit of the museum; the history of The Great Locomotive Chase and one of two locomotives from that chase, The General. In one of the most daring episodes of the Civil War, on April 12, 1862, James J. Andrews and a band of Union spies stole the General locomotive from Big Shanty (present-day Kennesaw). Pursued and eventually caught by Confederate conductor William Fuller, the episode came to be known as the Great Locomotive Chase. The exhibition features a movie about the chase, art and artifacts documenting the raid, pop culture objects celebrating the event, a mock-up of a railroad tunnel, and the General itself.

The bravery of "Andrews Raiders" led to the granting of the first Medals of Honor, the nation's highest military award. The medals presented to raiders John Scott and Wilson Brown are featured in the exhibition.

As LJ led his family through the tunnel mock-up, he suddenly stopped In his tracks at the sight of the historic locomotive. "It's real!" he spoke quietly. "It's really a train!"

Ziva read the introduction to the display of the locomotive and its tender, "The General is an American type 4-4-0 locomotive that weighs, when including its tender, approximately 50,300 pounds. The General was built in 1855 in Paterson, New Jersey, by Rogers, Ketchum, and Grosvenor for Georgia's Western & Atlantic Railroad (W&A). It cost $8,850.

The General initially served passengers and freight, but during the Civil War, it also moved troops and equipment. At the end of hostilities, the General was returned to service running between Atlanta and Chattanooga.

The General was retired in the early 1890s in lieu of more powerful modern locomotives. It subsequently traveled to fairs, reunions, and conventions around the country, including the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The General moved under its own power for the last time in the 1960s to commemorate the Civil War centennial. In 1972, the General returned to Kennesaw, Georgia, where it was placed on permanent display a few hundred yards from where it was stolen in 1862." (From museum website)

Tony stood with his mouth open, staring at the train. When he finally spoke, he shared memories with his family, "I never realized until much later in my life that the Lionel train set that my cousins had was a model of a real train. They got it at Christmas in 1961, before I was born, but they always told the year to anyone who asked. Anyhow, it was the General with its tender, two yellow passenger cars, and a flat car with moveable fences that had six horses, two each of black, brown, and white. The tracks made a circle that went around the Christmas tree. They looked like real rail tracks except for the narrow strip in the center that was for powering the O-27 scale train."

"It is smaller than I thought it would be," Ziva commented as she stood along the black metal rail fence around the train. "The large wheels are only five feet in diameter, according to this spec chart. The wheel-base is about as long as our mini-van!"

After many pictures with the famous train, the family followed the 'tracks' to the gift shop. LJ found a wooden whistle that made a train whistle sound. The other bought patches, postcards, and books about the area and railroads. Tony found a reproduction of the train set he remembered from his childhood and after some puppy eyes at his wife, purchased a set to be shipped back home.

"Next stop is take-out food for lunch, and then the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield and Park!" Tony announced as his family crossed over the street back to the parking lot. "We can picnic in the park, if we want."

Tony found a popular sandwich shop on the way to the park and they stopped for subs, chips, and beverages to have the picnic lunch at one of the many picnic areas inside the attraction. Tony drove up to the top of Kennesaw Mountain and they found an empty table in the picnic area. As the DiNozzo family ate their subs, some bold squirrels came near to the table.

"If we were at home, those squirrels would be history," Anthony joked. "Asher and Daisy would have them running for the neighbors' yards."

Two little girls from another family threw some pieces of bread to the animals and laughed as the three gray squirrels squabbled over the scraps. Rivka noticed a black squirrel hanging back a bit from the others and pointed it out to her family.

"Look, there's a black squirrel watching the gray ones," she noted.

The father of the two little girls overheard the DiNozzos talking about the gray squirrels. "These squirrels are just run-of-the-mill critters. Nothin' much impressive about the beggars. Back where I grew up in Florida, there are these huge," he gestured with his hands to indicate a size, "squirrels that are as big as house cats. We called 'em fox squirrels because of their black face masks, similar to a coon."

"Those sound so cool," Beth nudged Tali to check it out with her phone. "I wanna see the big squirrels."

"Sneads, Florida… you can see them near the park where the rivers come together," the man added.

Tali turned her phone, "They are called Sherman's Fox Squirrels; says here that these are the largest squirrels in the Western Hemisphere. The map shows a park called Three Rivers State Park in Florida, just west of the Apalachicola River."

"Can we go there?" LJ, Rivka, and Bath spoke at the same time.

Ziva looked over at her husband who was reading about the squirrels on his own phone, "We shall see… let us finish the tour here and when we get back to the hotel, Abba and I will check the plan for driving to our stops in Florida and see if that fits in the route."

The family finished their lunch, toured the battle areas, the monuments and markers, and the museum of the history of the Atlanta campaign of the Civil War, including much more than just the military aspects. The information was nicely tied in with what they'd seen at the railroad museum earlier in the day.

After dinner at the infamous "Big Chicken" – a landmark in the Marietta area for a national fast food chicken chain, they returned to the hotel for the night. Tony found "The Great Locomotive Chase" film on one of the streaming services to which the family subscribed for them to watch before bedtime.

Chapter 16: Florida

Chapter Text

Chapter 16 – Florida

Three Rivers SP, Air Force Armament Museum, Naval Aviation Museum

Tony drove the first leg of the trip to Florida; he and Ziva had checked their go-to travel website and determined that going to see the large squirrels was a feasible idea. The route that had been originally planned was not all that different from the new route taking the family down I-75 through Atlanta – obviously after morning rush hour – to I-85 south towards Montgomery. Instead of going all the way to the Alabama capitol city, the changed route had them taking I-185 to Columbus Georgia and then GA-27 to the southwestern corner of the state, crossing the Chattahoochee River just south of the Florida state line. The route in Florida ran along the west side of Lake Seminole, formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and the Woodruff Dam. Water flowing out of the lake formed the Apalachicola River which then flowed to the Gulf of Mexico. The park they wanted to visit to see the fox squirrels was off of that same road. From the city of Sneads, it would be a short hop to get to I-10 and head west to the planned destinations.

In Atlanta, the city skyline shone in the morning sun. When they drove past Georgia Tech campus, Rivka watched the campus buildings as they passed by. She noted the sign for the college and the large 'Buzz' the Yellow Jacket symbol.

"I'm going to live here someday," she announced to her siblings. "And I'm going to go to Georgia Tech. I just know it."

"Whatever," Anthony shrugged. "Time will tell, wont' it?"

"Yep!" she agreed with a grin, "It'll prove that I'm right. So there…"

Beth glanced over at her twin from the middle seat in the rear, "Some of us can't even see out the windows that much. But if you say so, I believe you."

Tali looked up from her tablet, "The Georgia State Capitol building should be coming up. It has a gold-covered dome with gold from this state. It says here that the gold came from Dah – long… No, Dah-lon-…" She tapped the text to speech button, and turned up the volume so the others could hear.

"Dahlonega," the voice said.

"Anyhow, the page says that the gold from the mines in that town was used to put a thin layer of gold leaf on the Capitol dome in 1958. The town of Dah-lon-e-ga was the site of the original gold rush in the US in the 1830s. The Capitol building originally had a terra cotta and tin roof when it was built in 1889," Tali read from the tablet.

"There it is!" LJ spotted the golden dome out the rear window of the minivan. "That's cool."

Soon the bustling city was left behind, and as the family continued south, they passed the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the south end of the perimeter highway (I-285), and the southern suburbs before the road wound through the more rural areas of middle western Georgia. A stop at a fast-food drive through in southwest Georgia provided lunch on the go as the family headed to the southwest corner of the state to cross into Florida. Tony soon found the turn for Three Rivers State Park, the Florida park the young man from the Kennesaw Battlefield had mentioned.

As he drove towards the park, the kids spotted two of the large squirrels in a field.

"Look! There's a cat," LJ had a view of the field out the window by his seat.

Anthony, who was in the seat in front of his brother also spotted the animal with the black face mask and large gray body.

"That's not a cat, LJ… I think it's one of those Sherman's Fox Squirrels. It's huge, bigger than our cats at home!" he pointed to the squirrel. "Ooh, look there are two of them!"

Tony pulled the van to the side of the road and the seven DiNozzos crossed to the field. They captured several images of the large squirrels with phones and digital cameras.

"Okay, we have seen the monster squirrels; time to head to our destination for tonight so we can see some military history tomorrow," Ziva announced as she climbed into the driver's seat.

On I-10, the five young DiNozzos quickly got bored with the lack of sights along the roadway. They all got out their tablets to read, play games, or watch videos.

Beth put it best, "Road and trees; and trees and road… BORING!"

About an hour and one half later, the five looked up as Ziva exited the highway onto the ramp for their overnight destination.

"Eglin Air Force Base," Tali read from the signs along the ramp. "Crestview; Niceville."

"What's here that we are going to see?" LJ didn't see anything interesting so far. "This just looks like a regular town… oh, and some traffic!"

"Well," Tony turned towards the back as Ziva stopped at the bottom of the ramp for the light. "That Air base? It's the largest in the world. Eglin was established in 1935 as part of an airfield in nearby Valparaiso. Post World War II, Eglin became a pioneer in developing the techniques for missile launching and handling; and the development of drone or pilotless aircraft," he read from a webpage on his phone. "Eglin is an Air Force Materiel Command base serving as the focal point for all Air Force armaments. Eglin is responsible for the development, acquisition, testing, deployment, and sustainment of all air-delivered non-nuclear weapons. The base plans, directs, and conducts test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and command and control systems. Severe-weather testing of aircraft and other equipment is carried out at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory. The base covers 463,128 acres; much of it undeveloped forest land.

"Eglin is home to the 96th Test Wing; the 33rd Fighter Wing – Nomads; 919th Special Operations Wing; Air Force Research Laboratory; 7th Special Forces Group, and Naval Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) School. The 20th Space Control Squadron of the US Space Force also has a presence on the base. A commercial regional airport shares part of the space with the military base."

Rivka listened to her Abba reading the information, "So… why are we going there?"

"Patience, mini-Ninja… I was just getting to that part," Tony chuckled. "We are going to start our day tomorrow visiting the Air Force Armament Museum on the west side of the base. From there, we will head towards Pensacola, to NAS Pensacola and the Naval Aviation Museum."

LJ perked up, "Will we get to see planes and jets?"

Anthony smirked at his little brother, "Duh, it's Air Force and Aviation; that means aircraft, silly."

Tali swatted her brother's arm, "Be nice, Anthony. LJ was just being curious. Besides, I'm sure Ima will download information about the museums to our tablets when we get to the place we are staying for tonight. Like she always does…"

"Ima, Tali hit Anthony," Beth called out as Ziva turned the van into the hotel parking lot. "Anthony was mean to LJ."

"AND Beth is a tattle-tale," LJ added loudly.

Ziva sighed as she parked at the entrance to the hotel and shut off th engine, "Abba and I are going to get us checked in, please try to keep your hands to yourself while we get our lodging for tonight." She gave each of her five the 'Ima glare' as she spoke.

Soon the family was settled into the six-person suite and adjoining two-person room with a king-sized bed on the top floor of the building. The two queen-sized beds in the suite were separated by a short wall from a living area with a sofa bed, chairs, and a mini-kitchen. Tali claimed the sofa bed, while the twins picked one of the queen beds, leaving the other queen for their brothers.

"We get our own suite," Rivka nudged Anthony as their parents wheeled luggage into the adjoining room. "Ima and Abba only have a room."

Anthony grabbed the remote for one of the televisions in the suite, "That means we can watch what we want on TV too." He scrolled through the channel choices and found a cartoon channel. He settled back on the bed to watch.

Ziva chuckled at her brood's conversations. "They are funny sometimes," she noted to Tony. "They get that from you, my little hairy butt."

"Be careful, they get their stubbornness from both of us, and you know they will pick up on silly things like that old pet name," he glanced through the open doorway between the rooms. "Last thing I need is one of them…"

Ziva put a finger over his mouth, "Do not repeat if you do not want the children to hear." She glanced at her phone to check the time. "Perhaps we should have dinner at that national chain restaurant that is behind the other hotel? We could even walk there from here and not have to go out in that traffic."

"The guy at the check-in desk said it gets better after six or so, but I'm okay with country cooking style food. The kids like the menu choices there also, so I say, let's go for it."

~Florida~

Tony herded the kids towards the van, which they had fully packed again before chowing down on breakfast in the hotel. The morning traffic had eased up considerably and the family took their time since the Armament Museum opened at 0930. Ziva had downloaded information about both museums to each of the kids tablets before dinner the night before.

"If anyone is still hungry, it's your own fault," Anthony grinned. "That was a great breakfast. We even got to make our own waffles and pancakes!"

"Plus bacon, sausage, and biscuits!" LJ added, patting his belly. "Ima, you sure do know how to pick the hotels with the good food."

A short and easy twenty-minute drive later, the kids' were wide-eyed as Tony parked the van at the Armament Museum. There were many aircraft around the outside of the building, including an F-15, and F-16, an SR-71 Blackbird, a Blackhawk helicopter, and a B-52. As the family walked across the parking lot to the entrance, the roar of jet engines had them all looking skyward. Two F-35 aircraft sped overhead performing maneuvers for training.

"That's so cool," Rivka watched the jets disappear beyond the tree-line. "I wish we could watch them take off and land. That would be awesome."

One of the groundskeepers overheard her, "They practice touch-and-go exercises for about two hours this time of day. If you go back towards the 123 cutoff, if you time it right you can see them come in to land and then take off at the other end of the runway. Love watchin' them birds fly; the sound of freedom…"

"Thank you for the tip," Ziva nodded to the man. "Maybe we will be lucky when we leave."

Beth called the others over to where she was checking out the memorial to military working dogs. "Abba, please help me read the words. I can read some of them but not all. I think it's really neat how the dogs are military too."

"To honor and remember all handlers and their faithful K-9 partners for their service and sacrifice. Faithful Partners – Guardians of the Night. Dedicated 2008."

Anthony read aloud from the information brochure that he grabbed from a display at the entrance to the indoor part. "The Air Force Armament Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of artifacts and memorabilia associated with Air Force Armament and its platforms of delivery. There are over 29 different aircraft that have found a home at the Air Force Armament Museum including an AC-130, B-17, B-25, B-52, P-51, A-10, F-15, F-16, F-100, F-101, and many other aircraft from the WWII era to the present. There are also several hundred pieces of armament to include a gun collection, bombs, bomblets, and missiles to include the Sparrow, Sidewinder, cluster bombs, Bunker Buster, and the MOAB. A 32-minute film on the history of Eglin Air Force Base and its role in the development of armament is shown continuously throughout the day."

"The MOAB?" LJ looked at his Abba with a question all over his face.

Tony grinned, "The Mother Of All Bombs!"

"Ooh… is that like a really big bomb? the curious four-year-old was now very interested.

Ziva showed him a picture on her phone, "We will see it in the outside exhibits shortly. It does look quite large."

She had the family gather by the logo sign near the entry area to the display hall. She was about to snap a few images with her phone when an elderly man came over and explained that he was a museum volunteer and he would be glad to take the pictures so Ziva could also be in them.

As the family walked into the indoor exhibit area, LJ stopped in his tracks and pointed towards the far end of the hall.

"A. Giant. Flag!" his mouth hung open, "It's huge!"

Tali pointed to a railing along the middle of the flag, "It looks like we can walk right near it too. We have to get some pictures with the giant flag. I've never seen one so big."

All of the DiNozzo kids, including the big kid liked the two simulation cockpits from trainers, the various munitions, and of course, the different aircraft on display inside the large building. Ziva was very interested in the history of the uniforms worn by the pilots and US Air Force personnel that lined the perimeter of the mail hall. Upstairs, they viewed more armament, images of the history of Eglin Air Force Base, and the giant flag. Tony estimated that each stripe was about two-feet wide and that the overall dimensions of the flag were about forty by twenty-six feet.

Outside, the family viewed the historical aircraft from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and modern eras. There was even a Soviet MIG-21. Tony was a bit surprised that the infamous 'Huey,' the UH-1 from the jungles of Southeast Asia was not as large as he thought it would be.

He posed with the MOAB and had Tali take pictures with his phone so he could text them to Tim McGee. Tim sent back an upside-down smile emoji. Tony snapped a picture of the descriptive information for his brother. The GBU-43/B MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast) bomb, nicknamed "Mother Of All Bombs," is a large, powerful, and accurately delivered high explosive weapon. The MOAB is the largest-ever satellite-guided, air-delivered weapon in history. The 21,600 lb MOAB is an improved replacement for the unguided 15,000 lb BLU-82 Daisy Cutter used in Vietnam and Afghanistan. MOAB is a guided bomb which delivers 18,700 lb of H6 explosive using a BLU-120/B warhead. It uses the KMU-593/B GPS/INS guidance system and is stabilized by series of fixed wings and grid (lattice) fins. The unique lattice fins offer excellent aerodynamic properties. It is designed to be launched from a C-130 aircraft, the MOAB is strapped to a specially designed cradle. Upon extraction from the aircraft the cradle is separated from the MOAB. The MOAB then proceeds to the target. The MOAB was developed, tested, and fielded by the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate, Air Armament Center, the 46th Operations Group, Detachment 1 at Eglin AFB, FL in concert with other agencies and contractors. Specs: length 30 ft; width with fins extended 10 ft; diameter 40.5 inches.

Around the back of the museum, a man, his son, and the man's grandfather were talking about the T-33 trainer jet from post-World War II. Anthony, LJ, Tali, and Ziva listened to the old man, who had flown one of them during his training for missions during the Korean War.

After a quick stop in the Gift Shop, with each of them finding a souvenir or two, including Thunderbird patches and caps, the DiNozzos headed back towards Crestview to get on I-10 west towards Pensacola. As Ziva drove past the northern end of the runway, she slowed so the kids could see the flight line and the aircraft in their protective sheds. Two F-35s approached from the north and landed as the seven watched from the shoulder of the road. Ziva tried not to linger too long as she didn't want to break any laws about parking on the shoulder to watch aircraft.

The family stopped for fast food in Pensacola before heading to the Naval Air Station gate. The kids used the Wi-Fi at the restaurant to read about the National Naval Aviation Museum while they munched on tacos, burritos, and nachos.

At NAS Pensacola, they learned that Naval Aviation Museum had just recently reopened for public viewing. It had been closed to all but DoD identification cardholders since a terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola in December 2019. Tony and Ziva showed both their driver's licenses and their DoD ids at the main gate.

The young seaman at the guard station noticed Ziva's NCIS id, "Are you here on Navy business, ma'am?"

"Not today; we are on a family vacation and hope to see the Naval Aviation Museum," she replied.

"Follow the signs, and stay on the public access roadways, please," he responded. "Enjoy your visit."

First up was an IMAX film The Magic of Flight showing perspectives from the cockpit of various Navy aircraft including the Blue Angels jets. The family then toured the exhibits of aircraft used by the US Navy, including a Grumman F-14, a flight simulator, and a VR Apollo 11 experience. Many of the exhibits reminded the DiNozzo parents of their days as field agents with NCIS. Ziva liked the flight deck simulator, but for Tony it wasn't as pleasant having memories of his time as Agent Afloat surface. The history of Naval Aviation was similar to what they had already seen at the Air Force museum earlier.

At the gift shop, Tony noticed the Challenge Coins for the many branches and levels of the US military. He grinned at his wife, "I bet they don't have SecNav's coin, like I do!" That was one memory from his Agent Afloat days that he didn't mind remembering. That coin had gotten him free drinks, food, and entertainment.

"You have a SecNav coin?" a young Navy officer and her parents overheard Tony's comment.

"Yeah, we," he pointed to himself and Ziva, "used to work as field agents on the MCRT for NCIS in DC. Got to work directly with SecNav, well, a former SecNav, many times. I did him a huge favor and got one of the coins directly from him."

As they exited the museum two hours later, the Blue Angels flew overhead on a practice run for the upcoming 4th of July air show.

"I wish we could see the Thunderbirds also!" Riv lamented. "Abba, does the Army or the Marines have any special presentation groups like the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds?"

Ziva checked that her picture on her phone of the Blue Angel flyover had come out okay as she replied to her middle child, "The US Army has the Golden Knights, a parachute team. I do not think that the Marines have an active team any longer. You can ask Grandpa Gibbs when we get home."

"But right now, we need to get in the van to head to our next state; NOLA, here we come!" Tony announced to all.

Chapter 17: Louisiana

Chapter Text

Chapter 17 – Louisiana

New Orleans

The three-hour drive along I-10 was uneventful for the most part; they managed to get past Mobile before rush hour. The short-term house rental in New Orleans was close to the places the family would visit over the next two days, including the many attractions at New Orleans City Park and at Audubon Park.

After checking in at the house, Ziva took Tali and LJ with her to a near-by supermarket to purchase some groceries for breakfasts for the next three days, dinner the next night, and snacks. She figured they would be eating out for lunch and some dinners, including take-out for the meal that night. The kids didn't know it yet, but she had booked the family on the riverboat Natchez dinner cruise for the last night they would be in New Orleans.

The supermarket had a deli department with hot to-go food, so the three DiNozzos chose foods to take back to the others to eat at their home-away-from-home. Tali chose chicken filets, macaroni and cheese, and southern-style green beans. LJ decided the meatloaf looked good, as did the corn-on-the-cob and potato wedges. Ziva added some dinner rolls to the pile and in the frozen foods aisle, she grinned at the two youngsters when she placed a gallon container of chocolate ice cream in the cart.

"Sugar cones too? Please Ima?" LJ held up a package of eight cones that he noticed near the ice cream case. When Ziva nodded, the boy nearly danced to the card to place the box of cones in with the other groceries.

After dinner, Ziva loaded information about the next day's activities to the kids' tablets. All of the sightseeing would be centered around New Orleans City Park, including the Louisiana Children's Museum, the City Park Labyrinth, the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, and the City Park Miniature Golf Center.

Tali and Anthony were fascinated with the images of the labyrinth and looked forward to the challenge of navigating the maze. Tali wasn't too thrilled with the on-line descriptions of the Children's Museum; to her it seemed to be more for little kids.

LJ looked at all the pictures of the miniature golf course, hoping to find a hole like his favorite one back home, but he didn't see any animal-themed holes. At the favorite mini-golf course at home, LJ always found a way to play the lion-themed hole twice on a visit there.

Beth and Rivka were mostly interested in the Children's Museum. Both wanted to see the 'Move With the River' exhibit in person. The photos on the website showed kids building dams and levees among other interactive parts of the exhibit.

" 'member when we built the dams and played with the water and dirt in Ima's garden? Abba made us clean up before we went to lunch…" Riv reminded her sister.

"Yep; Ima wasn't home 'cause of her school classes. LJ and the dogs got all muddy too," Beth grinned. "And Abba got in the shower with his clothes on!"

Rivka laughed, "How could I forget? He was soaked after washing the dogs and making sure we all got cleaned."

In the morning, after a breakfast of Ziva's own version of a popular food chain's breakfast muffin with egg, cheese, and Canadian bacon, the seven DiNozzos piled into the van to spend the majority of the day at the City Park's various venues.

First up was the Louisiana Children's Museum and the associated outdoor areas. LJ and the twins chattered excitedly all the way from the parking lot to the main entrance.

"Looks like this is more for little kids," Tali noted to Anthony as the two walked side by side. "Did you see that some of the play areas are specifically for toddlers?"

"Yeah, and there are a few that are for 'under four' also," he replied. "Are we gonna be bored with this while the other three have fun?"

Tali shrugged, "I hope not. I guess we are sorta stuck with this since Ima and Abba chose what we will be doing."

"Say something, Tals?" Tony had overheard most of the conversation between the two older kids.

"Um… no, Abba…"

After paying the admissions fees, each family member was given a museum map along with their paper bracelet. Tali glanced at the map and sighed. The little kids would have a lot more fun than she was anticipating.

At the 'Dig Into Nature' exhibit, the family learned about native animals, plants, and their habitats in the State of Louisiana. There was also some water play tables where the kids could build dams and levees and make waves in the water.

None of the kids were all that interested in the 'Follow That Food' area, although Tali and Anthony did read about some of the farming techniques unique to the area to avoid having the fields flood. The kids were all happy to skip the pretend grocery store and kitchen and head to the second-floor exhibits.

'Move With the River' emulated the port of New Orleans and the movements of cargo and ships on the Mississippi River. The one-hundred-foot water table caught all of the DiNozzos' attention as they explored the simulated locks, dams, drainage systems, ports, and tributaries along its length. The 'Cargo and Destinations' part even had Tali planning how to move a shipment down the river to the port for shipping all over the world.

The next area, though, is where Tali and Anthony both decided that the museum wasn't so bad after all. The 'Make Your Mark' exhibit showcases how New Orleans got its magic from art, music, history, architecture, and culture. Interactives gave them a chance to create music, art, and building models. Tali and Tony were captivated with the 'Jammin' House' and its music makers from drums to horns to a bass.

Every one of the seven stood with mouths agape in the 'Bubble Studio' when they realized that the bubble in which they were now standing was bigger than all of them! When time came to leave for the next area, all seven agreed that the 'Make Your Mark' was the most fun thing in the museum.

Tali and Anthony led the others onto the Lagoon footbridge to get to the Labyrinth. They were somewhat disappointed that the maze was not three-dimensional, but rather a paved brick area with clearly denoted paths on a circular base.

"I was kinda hopin' it would be like the corn mazes at home at Halloween," Tali sighed. "Although since Abba told us his secret for getting through, they are not quite as much fun."

Anthony smirked, "Keep your hand on the corn on one side and keep following the rows of corn until you get out. Never take your hand off the corn. It does work, but yeah, it kinda takes the fun away."

"Ima, I'm hungry!" LJ tugged on Ziva's hand. "When are we going to eat lunch?"

Tony and Anthony perked up at the mention of food as well.

"There are several places we can have lunch. The Acorn Café in the museum is one of them. Or we can find the food trucks," Ziva gave her family some choices.

"Acorn Café works for me," Tony was looking at the menu on his phone. "They have several kinds of pizza, plus tacos, chicken fingers, and pasta."

Next up was the Botanical Gardens in another section of the park that was a short drive away. The parking was across the street and next to the miniature golf course.

In the Gardens, the seven explored the various areas, including native plants, a shade garden, reflection areas, a Japanese Garden, and a butterfly walk. Ziva and Rivka were the most interested in the plants, trees, and shrubs, and the others followed along. The ten-acre New Orleans Botanical Garden contains more than 2,000 varieties of plants from around the world. The seeds for the Garden were planted in 1936, when the City Park Rose Garden opened. The Botanical Garden was funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which created New Orleans' first public classical garden.

When they came upon the train gardens, Tony was hooked! The G-scale trains are in two areas that are side-by-side in a corner of the Botanical Gardens. The Historic New Orleans Train Garden is one of the Park's hidden gems, featuring typical New Orleans home and building architecture made with botanical materials, and replicas of streetcars and trains that wind around the track. The 1,300 feet of track carrying streetcars and trains like those that traveled the city in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, at 1/22 of their actual size winds its way through the trees and plants of the garden.

All five kids were also interested, but when Ziva reminded them about going to the City Putt mini-golf, the three youngest DiNozzos tried to drag their Abba away from the trains.

"Just one more round… I'm watching for the passenger train to come through again," he tried to brush them off. "These trains are so cool. Hey, Zi, we could put up some G-scale trains in the backyard…"

"I think the dogs and cats would get into any layout you could make unless you fenced it off," she responded with a sigh. "I cannot see you building any layout that would be snow-proof either."

Tony looked at her, "Good point. The snow and winter weather would keep the trains from running on the track in the yard… but I could build a roof over the layout…"

Ziva put her finger over his mouth, "Perhaps your train layout should be limited to the O-scale set you had shipped home from Kennesaw, and the HO-scale set for the Christmas tree."

"Abba," Beth poked his arm, "There goes the passenger train." The girl pointed to the Santa Fe line cars as they rounded a turn headed away from the family. "Can we please go play at the mini-golf now?"

"I guess…"

The City Putt is the only miniature golf course in the city of New Orleans. The 36-hole mini golf complex is comprised of two courses: The Louisiana Course highlights cultural themes and cities from around the state and the New Orleans Course highlights streets and iconic themes from around the city, with signs detailing the city's historic sites at each hole. They bought tickets for two rounds of play, one on each course, earning a discount of fifty percent on the second round.

Ziva glanced at her watch as the family started the first course. Figuring about two- and one-half to three hours to play both rounds, they would be done with golf around dinner time. They planned to go to a seafood restaurant for dinner.

A very tired DiNozzo family finally got back to their vacation rental house about 2100 and most of them were too tired to watch any television. Ziva downloaded info about the next day's activities at Audubon Park with its Zoo, Aquarium, Labyrinth, and Meditation Garden. She did not include anything about the Natchez, so it would be a surprise for the kids.

LJ was the most awake of the kids. He looked at his tablet and the new information from his Ima. Then he went back to the website for the Train Garden and looked at pictures of the trains.

"Ima, do you think Abba will really build a train layout in our yard?" he asked.

Ziva pulled her youngest to her side, "It would be fun to have trains in our yard, but I do not think it is a very practical idea. Our dogs and cats would get in the way, and possibly even make a mess of the tracks and layouts. Plus, the winter snow and ice would make the trains unusable for a good part of the year."

"Oh," LJ's face fell in disappointment.

"We still have the trains under the Christmas tree and we will have the new one Abba had shipped from the museum in Kennesaw Georgia to set up as well," she chucked the boy under the chin.

Soon, all seven were snoring in their beds, resting for the next adventure in the 'Big Easy.'

The Audubon Zoo was the first stop of the day. There the family viewed the various animal exhibits, including the Asian animals, the Primate World, the Aviary, the South American Pampas, the African Savanna, and a quick pass through the Reptile World. All agreed that the most interesting areas were those that were different from the other zoos they'd visited.

The Louisiana Swamp section with its alligators, black bears, otters, and bobcats showcased animals that were not commonly seen by the DiNozzo family. Ziva didn't like the way the alligators watched them, their eyes just above the waterline and not blinking.

"I think they are checking us out as possible meals," she whispered to Tali. "They creep me out a bit."

Tali agreed with her Ima; the two moved over to watch the black bear cubs playing instead.

LJ stood watching the lions for quite a while as the others checked out the other African Savanna animals. When it was time to move on, he tried to get a few extra minutes watching his favorite zoo animals.

The whole family enjoyed watching the antics of the sea lions as a handler threw fish to them.

At the Aquarium, the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River exhibits had the more interesting displays with new things the family had not seen at other aquariums. The sea otters played in their tank and entertained the visitors with their silliness.

When the kids saw that the Labyrinth was similar to the one seen the previous day, they chose to skip it in favor of getting some food before heading back to the house to rest for the night's adventure. Ziva promised them it was something good even though she kept it a surprise until they were actually on the way to the dock where the riverboat waited for its passengers.

"Oh cool!" Anthony realized that his family was going on the historic riverboat as they walked towards the boarding area.

"We're going on the river dinner cruise, and we'll get to see some sights along the Mississippi River as we go. We have the first dinner seating," Tony explained to his offspring.

Tali took some photos of the Natchez with her phone. She then searched for information on the riverboat online.

"What are we going to eat?" LJ was curious. "Do we get to choose our food?"

"It is a buffet that includes salads, gumbo, backed chicken, seafood pasta, potatoes, hot vegetables, garlic rolls, and dessert, plus beverages. We get to fill our own plates from the choices," Ziva told her family.

Tony continued with the details, "There will be narration about the history of New Orleans and live jazz music as we cruise the river. We can also sit outside to see the river sights and the city as we move along the water. If I remember correctly from the booking, our dinner seating is mostly dockside, so we can enjoy the views as the cruising gets underway."

"This is so cool, Abba," Beth and Riv agree with their older brother.

Tali was reading the information on the website, "We get to see the sunset from the river. We won't be back at the dock until after dark, so we can see the lights of the city too. I like this surprise, Ima. Thanks.

"According to their website, the Natchez is the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi. Cruising on the Steamboat NATCHEZ includes Steam Engine Room visitation, calliope, live jazz, and optional dinner buffet. When the New Orleans Steamboat Company launched the NATCHEZ in 1975, they revived more than a famous name. They created one of only two true steam-powered sternwheelers plying the Mississippi today. The NATCHEZ combines the best of contemporary construction, safety, and comfort standards with all the authenticity and style of her classic steamboat gothic predecessors. The NATCHEZ resembles the old sternwheelers VIRGINIA and HUDSON in her profile and layout. Her powerful steam engines were built for U.S. Steel Corporation's sternwheeler CLAIRTON in 1925. Her genuine copper and steel steam whistle is a treasured antique. Her copper bell, smelted from 250 silver dollars to produce a purer tone, once graced the S.S. J.D. AYRES. Her 32-note steam calliope was custom crafted and modeled after the music makers of the Gilded Age." {from the steamboat company website.}

Tony pointed to the paddlewheel behind the vessel, "The steam engine turns the paddlewheel to propel the steamboat through the waters."

"This is gonna be fun!" The six other DiNozzos fully agreed with the youngest family member's declaration.

Four- and one-half hours later, the very tired family crawled into the beds for the final night in the 'Big Easy' with happy memories of the city and the fun adventures over the two days.

"Next stop is Vicksburg, Mississippi," Tony announced to all as they said their good-nights.

Chapter 18: Mississippi

Chapter Text

Chapter 18 – Mississippi

Vicksburg – Civil War Battlefield; Coca-Cola Museum

"Welcome to Vicksburg, Mississippi," Tali read the sign along I-20 to her siblings as Tony drove towards the city. The three- and one-half-hour drive from New Orleans had been almost all on interstate highways, making it rather boring for the kids. They were glad to have their tablets to play games, watch videos, or look at the information Ziva had downloaded about the newest destination.

Anthony glanced up from the game he was playing, "Yeah, more Civil War stuff from what Ima put on our tablets. This battle was a key one for both sides, according to the history lesson page. I guess we'll see more monuments, and stuff…"

"There's a boat too, I think," LJ added what he remembered.

Beth snickered at her little brother, "It said that the 'ironclad' vessel USS Cairo was a gunboat. Sorta like a submarine, I think."

"You are correct," Ziva turned towards the rear seats. "An ironclad is similar to a submarine in some ways. It is low in the water, and the visible part is protected by metal; unlike a submarine, the ironclads could not go under the water completely. The website says it was the first ship or boat in history to be sunk by a torpedo or mine. There were other famous ironclads during the Civil War. The two you may know from school are…"

"The Monitor and the Merrimack!" Anthony called out. "We learned about them in social studies this past school year. Grandpa said that the two ironclads were the first battle ever between that type of ship. The Merrimack was destroyed and the Monitor sank off the North Carolina coast but some of it was recovered when Abba was a kid."

Rivka had been quietly listening to the conversation. "Why are we going to all these Civil War places? Aren't there other places we could go?"

"The American Civil War is a part of the history of this country. It is the only war fought on US soil since the United States was formed. Many of the sights we have seen are monuments and memorials to those who fought for either side and the beliefs that were held at the time. The National Park Service has made many of these places into National Parks to preserve the history and heritage," Tony explained to his brood.

He followed the signs for the Visitors Center for Vicksburg National Military Park as the others observed the new sights along the roadway.

"Welcome to the Park," the ranger at the entrance gate handed Tony a map of the driving tour for the park and his permit for the park, which was good for seven days. "If you are here tomorrow, we have a reenactment of part of the Battle of Vicksburg starting at nine in the morning."

"Thanks," Tony took the items and handed the map to Ziva. Under his breath he muttered, "If I never see another reenactment, that's perfectly fine with me." Distant memories were shoved back into the cobwebs in his head. He did not need to remember his one and only reenactment.

"What's a re-… re-en… re-en-act-… thingy?" LJ couldn't quite remember the word the ranger told his Abba.

Ziva looked to Tony; he shrugged and sighed. "Abba can tell you more than I can."

"People get dressed in period costume, in this case, most likely in Civil War uniforms for both the US and the Confederate States. They have weapons, tools, equipment, and conditions similar to what the Union and Confederate soldiers faced in the actual Siege and Battle of Vicksburg. The people act out the scenes from the war, including battles, injured soldiers, living in the encampments, and eating food similar to what the soldiers had back then. Men, women, and kids can participate. I did when I was about LJ's age with my father…" Tony trailed off, not sure he wanted to give any more information. He'd already told more than he planned.

"COOL! What did you do, Abba?" Beth, Rivka, and LJ were immediately interested to learn more since their father had actually been to a reenactment.

Tony gritted his teeth, and silently cursed himself. 'La'azazel!' He looked to his wife for her to bail him out of the predicament. She grinned and slowly shook her head to the negative.

"You got yourself into this one," she reminded her husband as he parked the van by the Visitors' Center.

He turned towards his family, "You gotta swear this goes no further than this van." The kids all solemnly nodded, knowing full well that they would tell their cousins once back at home. "I was the one who lugged the bucket that served as a sanitary station…"

"Huh?" Anthony frowned and looked at his Ima.

"I was the poo-boy," Tony grimaced as he blurted it out. "Now, I do NOT want to hear any more about this; okay?"

Inside the Visitors' Center, the family viewed a short film about the park and some of the history of the area. Most of the tour for the park was the driving tour that is self-guided from the park maps. They viewed many of the monuments, historic markers, and formations that were recreated to show the layout of the battlefield.

On the north side of the park, the USS Cairo Visitors' Center, Museum, and the actual restored gunboat were the favorite attraction for all. They learned about the construction of the Cairo, its six sister ships which patrolled the Mississippi River, and the demise of the vessel. Exhibits also showed how the remains were located and raised from the riverbed after about one hundred years of being buried in the silt of the riverbed. Items and artifacts recovered from the ship were on display in the Museum. Since the crew barely had time to get themselves to safety as the boat sank in twelve minutes from the time it was hit and damaged, almost all of the personal items were left behind. The relics give insight into the life on the gunboat as it cruised the river.

The portions of the restored USS Cairo showed the plated sides, the cannons, the chimneys, and the riggings are all displayed for visitors to explore the ironclad gunboat. The remains are set on a concrete base to help preserve the structure. The total length of the vessel is one hundred seventy-five feet; it had a crew of two hundred fifty-one men. Top speed was six knots. Steam, generated in the five boilers, powered the engines which turned the paddle wheel. These iron boilers were built to hold tons of water and steam under pressure.

Inside the hull, the damage that was inflicted and subsequently caused the sinking of the vessel can be viewed.

As the family exited the boat, Tony's stomach growled loud enough for all to hear.

"I'm hungry too, Ima!" Anthony grinned. "When are we going to eat lunch?"

After a meal at a local restaurant, Ziva used the onboard GPS to head to the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum in downtown Vicksburg. The building was a candy and confectionary company that also had a soda fountain. Joseph Biedenharn bought the syrup from Asa Candler to sell Coca-Cola flavored soda water at his soda counter, along with several other flavored soda waters. In 1894, Biedenharn came up with the idea of selling bottled Coca-Cola flavored soda water to his rural customers and hence became the first bottler of Coca Cola.

The family browsed the museum with its information about the history of the popular soft drink, the bottling process used by Joe Biedenharn, restored company offices, and a replica soda counter. In the museum store, they got to try some of the flavored soda water.

LJ took a sip of the sarsaparilla flavor and crinkled up his nose. Ziva laughed at his face.

"It is an acquired taste, motek."

"Do you like it?"

"Not really," Ziva tried not to think about the taste she remembered sampling at about the same age.

"I think I'll stick with the Coke fountain drink and my Coke float," Riv didn't even want to try any of the flavors.

LJ agreed, "My ice cream is much better tasting!" He shoved a spoonful in his mouth and grinned at his family.

Once settled into their hotel, the DiNozzos planned where to have dinner and a walk along the riverfront to see the historic murals on display. The pleasant summer night allowed the family to view all of the murals depicting various historic events and places in and around the city of Vicksburg and the Mississippi River.

"Where are we going tomorrow?" Tali asked Ziva as the family strolled the riverfront area.

Ziva replied to all of her children, "We shall head to Tennessee in the morning. There are a lot of places we could visit, but this trip we will focus on Chattanooga. From there we will drive the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway to head back into Virginia and then home."

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