Lake Winnepesaukee’s majestic mountains surround it’s clear waters, which makes for a wonderfully peaceful boat ride across the lake. Except if you have two littles with you. Then it’s still mostly peaceful interspersed with loud kids singing/yelling the lyrics to their favorite songs while dancing on the life jacket bins. Or something like that. We hung out on the third level, and the cool breezes made everything better.
James, the butler.
After nap time (especially for “the Bill”), we headed downtown to hear the band practice for its evening performance. The boys danced like no one was watching, except they knew some people were watching so they danced extra wild. My boys really bring everyone in their lives such joy. I know all parents say that, but there’s a light within mine that they can’t help but share it with the world. We ate delicious seafood for dinner (swordfish tacos that made me actually like swordfish, and all of the avocado Elliot could bum off of others). The evening’s magic permeated our hearts.
Elliot woke up this morning wanting to visit the Village Creeme Stand. Immediately. It tasted that amazing. Too bad it doesn’t open until 10am, or we’d be eating it for breakfast.
Our last morning in Bristol was delightfully spent doing the same things we did yesterday. We ate at Snaps, played in the town square (this time at its excellent playground), and visited with Tom and Claire at their home. Elliot and Henry fed the horse (bye bye Lil’ Sebastian) carrots.
Driving through the Green Mountains, Keith and I marveled at their heights and hidden wonders like waterfalls and walkways. We broke for lunch at Rollins State Park in New Hampshire. Henry called it “amazing” and thanked us for taking him to this park. He also said we should come here every time we visit New Hampshire.
We got back on the road, and swiftly made it to the Petersen’s home in the Waumbeck Woods. We love them, including their new puppy, Tucker. We headed to downtown Wolfeboro for dinner, but since there was a long wait we just had to have our dessert first (mom, you’d be so proud). Ice cream as a first course is always a good idea. The Mexican food we had afterwards was also delicious. Wolfeboro looks way different in the summer than the winter, which is the last time we visited. I love it now!
I’m officially chilly. On this rainy, grey day in Bristol, as we take refuge in the town square under the whitewashed gazebo, I feel like I’m in Gilmore Girls. And it’s wonderful. Of course, it would be so much better if the weather was clear, but temperatures in the 60s with a view of the fog rolling in over the mountains is beyond good enough.
We ate breakfast on Main Street at Snap’s and shopped at Art on Main and Recycled Reading. Both shops are packed full of items I want for ourselves. The first contains art created by Vermont artisans including pottery, jewelry, and paintings. I got us some hand printed designs from A Revolutionary Press to decorate our home. I seriously wanted to buy all of them, that’s how cool they were. The second shop was a mix of music store (guitars, ukes, and more), art shop, and bookstore. Its selection of kids’ items was particularly cultivated with LEGO books, picture books, small toys – really anything my kids may want on a rainy vacation day.
Keith spent some time searching for Louie around Bristol.My first cherry tree sighting!
So we’re relaxing under the gazebo playing with our newfound treasures and listening to the rain fall. We walked here from cousin Kelly’s home where we are staying in her cute airbnb, and are headed to her mom’s house (cousin Claire) next. It’s delightful walking everywhere seeing robins hop about amidst the spruce and maple trees we never see in Florida.
We spent the remainder of our day being surrounded by cousins! We were taken out to lunch at the Village Creeme Stand, where the cheesesteak was close to Philadelphia standards, the onion rings melted in my mouth, and the kids loved their chicken nuggets and tenders. Cousin Claire’s home was full of beautiful collectibles, including antique toys for the boys to play with. Elliot loved feeding the little horse, Peppi, all the carrots. We rode with Claire on a tour of the Green Mountains, and ate even more at a cookout with a contingent of Wallace cousins (Tom, Claire, Kelly, Lance, Reese, and Piper).
The boys loved Reese so much, and started the day asking when they could see her. She walked with us back to the Village Creeme Stand for creemes. We now know that creemes are superior to soft serve, and maple ones are beyond amazing, especially when dipped. Now to figure out a way to bring some with us back to Florida.
I don’t normally take photos during church services, but apparently I do when I’m on vacation and with family friends.
More worship services should have blankets laid out picnic-style for families to sit together.
The kids took turns playing quietly and less than quietly with each other.
Sometimes a kid accidentally tosses a shoe and it hits a drum at a particularly important moment in time. Then, it becomes more impactful.
So. Many. Hugs.
Steve gave a baller sermon. Too bad my brain couldn’t focus up on all of it.
The anointed blessing made the service for me. Henry became part of the family unit of Cora and Belle, and Sarah joined Keith, Elliot, and Me. I felt at peace.
Having Keith sit with us made the service go so much more smoothly than when it’s just me.
Henry is great at unobtrusively getting a dessert sampler during coffee time.
Leaving much-loved friends may be he hardest thing a person can do, even knowing we will see them again in 6 months.
The Lord’s Prayer
On the Road Thoughts
A pot of coffee does not equal a coffee bar.
E-“The trees are really still.” He wanted to hike longer, but for the bugs.
K is giddy driving though the Old Growth Forest. He keeps talking about the trees and the possibility of seeing animals like bears and moose. Being outside is where he’s most at home.
The plague of flies that attacked us in the woods ruined the view. And made me feel itchy for the rest of the car ride.
Kids fart noises (not real farts) are disgusting and distracting and must be stopped when confined in tight spaces.
I’m kinda in a complaining mood today. I think it stems from leaving the Meyers and being stuck in traffic and having the ride last over an hour longer than it should.
Maybe we should buy a lake house. In upstate New York. For vacations. The lakes are just that beautiful with the giant rocks cut by glaciers.
Entering Vermont, I can’t help but hum “America the Beautiful.” “Purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain” as far as the eye can see. Vermont is gorgeous, and I wish I had better pictures than ones from my car. Can’t wait to spend some time here.
Total miles driven = 300 Miles
Our actual route went further south in the Adirondacks, but this is pretty close.
Due to the heat advisory, we stayed at the Meyer’s house for the day. We spent our time either in the pool, playing video games, and enjoying each other’s company.
We love these people, and it’s totally worth the 20+ hour drive to their house to see them. If I write more about it right now, I’m going to cry. So just know our day was perfect, just the way it was.
Steve took responsibility for all 5 kids plus others for VBS at his church, Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Rochester. Such a nice surprise to find ourselves with 4 hours of free time downtown. We meandered to a cool coffee shop near Eastman School of Music. Our only goal in exploring the city was to visit the library, because we’d heard it was cool. And it totally was. We read about Stonewall in a clear and well-written exhibit, wandered around admiring the details, perused the bookstore, and read silently above the Genesee River. It was pretty perfect. Without knowing anything about it beforehand, we discovered we really liked downtown Rochester! We ate lunch with Carina and then picked up the wild ones for nap time/reading time.
Playtime and pool time finished up our day. I didn’t swim because I have Floridian standards (the water was just too dang cold for me!) The water should warm up tomorrow because the heat wave puts the temperature here as the same high as Seminole FL (93 degrees!). Where is the cooler weather we deserve for leaving Florida in July? Arriving soon, I hope, with summer rainstorms in the forecast.
Four years ago, the Hen and I were flying together to see his Tía Nesa in DC for his first visit to the Capitol. So it’s fitting that we said goodbye to the Brownes this morning as we head north on our adventure. El was inconsolable at Vanesa leaving for work; he may have thought he was going to work with her to be a Boss Baby and that we were staying longer. Next time, little one.
Boss Baby!
Continuing the day of seeing Godparents and Godchildren, we briefly stopped by the Costa’s house on our way out of DC, even though we’ll be seeing them again in a week and a half. Totally worth it for the hugs and the kids to see/play with each other.
We got back on the road and drove until lunchtime where we stopped at Kidsgrove Park (247 W Sassafras St) in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. A wooden fortress of a playground, it had ladder tires, a wooden train, tunnels, turrets, and swings! Sadly, we didn’t have all day to play or else I think the boys would have tried. We ate lunch at the adjacent Major Anthony Selins Park (241 W Sassafras St), which had a small colorful playground and a shaded pavilion. Keith took a walk in it’s tree museum, kidnapping the Doritos and having a peaceful time up in a tree.
Several hours later, we made it to the Meyer’s house and it’s just so wonderful! Too fantastic to remember to take pictures. I’ll be sure to take plenty in the next few days while we’re here.
We left an hour and a half past what I had planned. I knew my leaving time was aspirational at best, but I’d still hoped we would leave close to that time. But we made it out of our nearly clean house and survived our first travel day.
Some tears before leaving home.All packed up!Buckled up and ready to go!
Keith is a champion at driving. I drove to Ocala and he drove the rest of the way to Walterboro, SC. The kids ate the dinner of their dreams at McDonald’s (I know, we’re so fancy). They rarely eat it, and I always tell them it’s vacation food. Since we’re on vacation, they get to live their best fast food life.
We stopped in North Jacksonville at Oceanway Park (12215 Sago Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32218) to run off some steam. Located less than a mile from I-95, it was an easy stop. The playground had a tent over it, keeping it cool. Slides, tunnels, and ladders galore; the kids loved it. We didn’t love the lack of bathrooms or the ants surrounding the picnic table like our food was the Last Supper. Keith took a short walk around a natural area and saw a snake!
Adios, Florida!
The kids predictably had a million of the same questions, asked over the course of our 6+ hour drive:
How much longer?
Where’s the hotel?
Are we out of Florida yet?
How long are we driving?
How many miles?
Can I use the iPad?
How long to hotel?
They fell asleep before we made it to the hotel, and easily continued sleeping once we carried them inside.
Tomorrow we leave for a 17-day great American road trip as a family. That’s right, we’re taking our 3 and 6 year olds with us in our Toyota Corolla up the East Coast from Florida to Maine and back. You’re probably thinking we may be crazy, and as I pack, clean, and do last minute preparations, I’m thinking you may be right.
Just kidding, we’ve got this.
I’m mostly sure.
Our idea for this trip was planted when we realized how many people we loved lived from the mid-Atlantic to New England and we missed them so much we knew we needed to schedule a visit. Flying four people anywhere costs a fortune, and then we’d have to rent a car anyway once we arrived. So we drive!
Each kid has a tote bag of car distractions that include a whole lot of Melissa and Doug, coloring books, games, and building toys like Legos and Tegu magnetic blocks. I also have another tote with school-type stuff for Henry – reading and math workbooks as well as books to read aloud so he can get to Home Base for Reading with the Rays (and fill my only official summer learning requirement of reading 30 minutes a day). He’s going to try to read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which will be incredibly challenging so wish him luck and persistence. Finally, we have iPads for each kid to watch movies and play games when the time on the road becomes too intense.
H’s Car DistractionsE’s Car Gear (don’t worry, I have more things for him for later in the trip)
The kids expectations regarding our trip are mixed at best.
Henry thinks it will take 3 hours to get there, and that time frame is entirely too long. “Why aren’t we flying?” is the main question he’s been asking. Such a privileged kid, mostly flying everywhere since he’s been alive. He’s most excited to visit Vermont, for reasons involving a horse and ice cream.
Elliot thinks we are visiting Spain and chose it as his top state on this trip because it’s like church. I wish we could drive to Spain, buddy. He has also asked when and how we are seeing Marlon Bundo while we are in DC…Tia Nesa is somehow making that difficult request happen.
I’m excited to see friends and family who we don’t get to see as often as we’d like. So is Keith. Overnight stops include:
• Walterboro, South Carolina
• Alexandria, Virginia
• Spencerport, New York
• Bristol, Vermont
• Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
• Jamestown, Rhode Island
• Rockville, Maryland
• Yemassee, South Carolina
We’ll be stopping at least every three hours so the kids can run around at parks and playgrounds along the way. Hopefully, that will break up the monotony of interstate travel and let them get their energy out. And nap. So no one goes crazy.
Keith has been wanting to attend the Catechumenate conference for a few years now, but never managed to go. This year’s one was hosted by Nativity Lutheran in Asheville (our friends and family’s church), so we decided the whole family was going to road trip it up to Amber’s house and spend the week working and playing. But first we had to get there, and that is no easy feat with a 4yo and almost 1yo. It’s about a TEN hour trip, without stops (and we knew there would be stops) so I researched potential stopping points along our route so the kids could play and we could get an “are we there yet” break.
The Play Across America Blog was particularly helpful once we hit I-95 because it had a descriptive listing of playgrounds to be found within a few miles of road exits, but first we had to make it out of Florida. Which takes HOURS. The only real place to stop for a picnic lunch along the route from Seminole to the Georgia border via US-301 was the town of Starke. I drove through this place all through college (it’s about halfway between Gainesville and Jacksonville), but have never really stopped. Except for that one time I toured the Florida State Prison located there, but that’s another story. The town of Starke had a small park a few blocks from downtown with clean bathrooms, picnic tables, and some playground equipment. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked for us. Henry had fun climbing and making up games while we ate in the 90+ degree weather.
The kids were getting stir crazy as we crossed the South Carolina border, so we stopped at one of the coolest playgrounds ever in Ridgeland – Harold Turpin Park. It comprised nearly a whole city block surrounded by quiet, tree-lined streets, and just looked how a playground was supposed to look (you know what I mean-picturesque). The whole playground was a wooden treehouse, and it had slides, fun swings (including a spiderweb swing), and a zip line! E loved the little splash pad to cool down. We would have spent more time here if we could have, but had to hop back in the car for the last stretch to Amber’s house where she was waiting up for us.
The day took a little more than 12 hours, but it was totally worth it to us to take these two long breaks for everyone’s sanity.
