20 Aug
19 Aug
We Looked At The Swim And We Jumped Right In: West Dummerston
We went to Vermont in search of family friendly hiking and swimming, and we found them both. On our last morning at the Brattleboro North KOA I walked into the cozy camp store and asked Beverly to recommend a good swim. She pulled out a list culled from swimming holes.org/vt and highlighted two of them. Then she grabbed a photocopied map and highlighted the exact route to both locations. If you ever find yourself in the Brattleboro area on a warm summer day and you want to go for a swim, go see Beverly. She will get you there. I promise.... Read More
17 Aug
Sometimes the Universe Echoes: A Scavenger Hunt on Mount Putney
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our first scavenger hunt hike in the Shenandoah National Park. We have done so many hikes in so many different states since the boys were born and have never once before been handed a trail scavenger hunt. Not in Acadia National Park. Not in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Never. So you can imagine my surprise when we stepped out of the truck in Vermont to hike up to the Mount Putney Summit, and there was a kindly older woman approaching us with a stack of papers and some tiny pencils. This volunteer from the... Read More
15 Aug
When Base Camp Feels Like Home (Brattleboro North KOA)
As we packed up the camper on the last day of our stay at the Brattleboro North KOA my mother-in-law mentioned that the campground had started to feel like home. I agreed wholeheartedly. This southern Vermont gem is possibly the best managed family campground that we have ever visited. Ernie, Beverly, and their son Justin made us feel comfortable and welcome on a daily basis. They are big-hearted people that are lucky enough to love what they are doing. They also seemed to be having just as much fun as we were during kid-friendly... Read More
13 Aug
A Rainy Day in Vermont and a Glass Factory: Our Family-Style Anniversary
It rained from dawn to dusk today on our 13th wedding anniversary, but I’m pretty sure we managed to make it as romantic as possible with my lovely mother and three kids in tow. The Simon Pearce Glass Factory in Quechee is just simply a beautiful place, and even though the price tags on their items are too rich for our blood, the views (and glass factory tour) are free. We got to watch from just a few feet away while the craftsmen created vases and bowls and glass pumpkins. Jeremy seems to have developed a bit of a man-crush, but I am... Read More
13 Aug
More Food, and the Best Kind (eating in Brattleboro, cont.)
Walker Farm, an organic farm and market was just next door to our campground outside of Brattleboro. My mother and I regretted bringing any food whatsoever from New Jersey once we stumbled into this place. We tried to restrain ourselves from buying one of everything. Instead we left with a random assortment including corn picked that morning, a melon, a cucumber, two raspberry cookies, and some local goat cheese. The real find ended up being some Beer Bratwurst from Green Mountain Smokehouse. The next night we had the brats loaded up with... Read More
12 Aug
