We made it all the way to Bangor last night, sleeping in our church parking lot so we would make it on time (sort of). We had a wonderful Sunday. As always, the church members were very welcoming. We met up with a family at a local park after lunch. The bishop learned our names even though we never met him. We fed the missionaries at the church. Then Aunica attended a bishopric youth discussion at a members house. Yes, I…
Thankfully today’s hiking adventures were a little more relaxed. I was getting some push back from my tired kids, and from my own legs! First stop: The Basin. Again, beautiful, powerful water from snowmelt. This is a great season to be here. We saw some crazy kayakers drop down into this basin. They all came in upside down, then flipped over. It didn’t look at all fun to me, but to each their own. Then we sat on the beach…
Deon has been craving some mountains, and he loves waterfalls. Today fit the bill for both! We found a sweet little campsgound to drop the trailer and let the kids play at the playground for a few minutes. Then we headed out on our adventure. I had chosen Flume Gorge trail in Franconia Notch State Park. We were a little disappointed to find the trail was closed due to boardwalks being removed, but we went ahead and hiked it anyway….
Travel is always an adventure, and you learn to expect the unexpected. Today was finally a sunny day, forecasted to be 70 degrees. Perfect for hiking! We chose smugglers notch. As we were driving up we saw the snow capped mountains. Then we entered the snow capped mountains! We drove as far as we could before the road closed, and parked at the ski area parking lot. The kids got out the sleds and played while I made lunch. Notice…
The kids were so excited to start our day at the Vermont teddy bear factory. The tour guide was very sweet, and it was obvious the company really cared about their product. The bears are all articulated and come with a lifetime guarantee (we even saw the teddy bear hospital). My favorite was the Bernie sanders bear. I wish I could have bought one for each of my children, but that kind of quality, hand made workmanship comes with a…
Oh, boy, welcome to Vermont! I think I gained 10 pounds today. 😉 It was rainy today, so I decided we would squeeze in three food factory tours. I have determined that Vermont is full of makers. Makers of furniture and wool clothing, pottery and toys, but most of all FOOD. We started at Cabot cheese factory. We watched an informative movie, donned paper booties, and went on our own private factory tour. It was so cool! So much cheese!…
Today we headed out of Massachusetts, but on the way we spent some time in Salem, MA. Everything I read said that Salem doesn’t want to be known only for the witch trials. That is only an 8 month stretch of their hundred years old history. But it was the epicenter of an important event, and it is an important event to ponder. It even makes it into modern vernacular in the form of phrases like “witch hunt” and “trial…
We FINALLY made it to church today! After a 3 week break, nothing was going to stop me today! It was so nice to be welcomed and spiritually fed. We brought all our things along for lunch and beach play at cape cod national seashore, where the pilgrims spent their first winter (or at least some of them), and JFK and Jackie O played the the sand. It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Toes in the…
Once in a blue moon my expectations line up with reality, and it’s wonderful. The weather mostly cooperated, with just a few sprinkles, although it was bitingly cold On our way to the city center, we happened to run into the march for science, which started a cool discussion with my girls. It was probably the biggest march any of us had ever seen (although they didn’t *go* anywhere, which would have annoyed me). They, like us, were headed for…
Well, we had planned to conquer Boston today, but a rainy forecast (and it was correct) kept Deon working and the kids and I back to Providence, RI to visit the children’s museum. I had planned to take them to a science museum, but they begged for a children’s museum. Children’s museums are my saving grace. They are like a vacation for me. The kids played happily for 4 hours, and I got to spend some stress-less time playing with…