Road Trip Family

A Wild Ride!

Last summer, while on vacation, I witnessed my two older girls going off to ride a roller coaster together. Alone.

Without me or My Chandler.

For me, it was kind of bittersweet to watch them enjoy something that I love.

For My Chandler, it was a relief that he didn’t have to ride the coaster! He and wild rides don’t always mix! 

Two days later, I watched my youngest, Pumpkin, take her first spin on a kiddie roller coaster with Peanut.

Followed by a very quick stop by the ride attendant to let her off.

Followed by tears from Pumpkin because the ride was too scary and bumpy.

For her, carousels and ferris wheels are more her speed.

I was a bit surprised that one of my children would not like a roller coaster.

And then I remembered my first time on a roller coaster.

It was a kiddie coaster, much like the one that Pumpkin had just attempted on her own.

I was so excited to go on this ride at the small amusement park in York, Maine. I was about the same age as Pumpkin is now and my aunt and her roommate were taking me and my sister on some of the rides in this park. The kiddie coaster looked amazing to my small eyes and I couldn’t wait to try it out.

When it was time to board, I sat down in the car with my aunt while her roommate sat with my sister behind us. The excitement started to build. And then, the coaster took off around the (mini) track.

We weren’t even fully around the track when I started to cry. I wanted off this ride!

I remember feeling a mixture of embarrassment and relief as the coaster came to a stop to let me and my aunt off before it resumed for the others in the cars.

Relief that I didn’t have to be on that scary, bumpy ride anymore.

Embarrassment that my younger sister was completely fine with the coaster and stayed on for the rest of the ride, waving to me with a huge grin every time they went around the track.

But, as I grew, I gained a better appreciation for coasters and will gladly escort one of my kids on the latest and greatest coasters.

So, I guess there’s hope, yet, for Pumpkin!

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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

With the heat wave hitting the Northeast this past week and seeing recent advertising on television about Christmas in July, I started reminiscing about a trip we took when I was a little girl. I think I was maybe 4 or 5.

It was summertime and it was hot. But, there was a place near Wilmington, NY, in the Adirondack mountains where it was just a little bit colder - magically colder.

It’s called the North Pole and it can be found in Santa’s Workshop, a themed park that actually boasts the address of North Pole, NY.

Our visit must have made quite the impact on me, because even though I was very young, to this day I have very vivid memories of this place.

I remember getting to touch the North Pole, an actual frosty cold pole situated in the center of Santa’s little village.

There was a building where you could see reindeer. Actual reindeer! And each one had their name on their stall. (Are you singing the song right now? I am!)

I remember going to visit the big man himself, jolly old St. Nick. It wasn’t even December! I hadn’t even made my Christmas list, yet! (Although, I am sure I came up with some suggestions for him, anyway!)

I remember there being some rides to go on and sleighs to sit in. I remember it feeling very “Christmas-y” and kind of magical in this little village.

But, the biggest memory for me was my acting debut at Santa’s Workshop. There was a short skit that was being performed at an outdoor stage area in the park and we decided to check it out. My sister and I were given permission to head down towards the gate at the front of the seating area so we could see the show a bit better.

Call it luck, or just being in the right place at the right time, but I was selected by an elf to be a part of the show.

I got invited on stage and was given the honor of sitting next to Mother Goose as she read a story.

Don’t ask me what the show was about. I think I was too mesmerized by this opportunity to be on stage to fully remember what the plot.

But, I do vaguely recall it was a mystery that needed to be solved. I do remember needing to skip around the stage with Red Riding Hood and being shocked when her shoe came off. And I do remember being even more shocked that she just kept right on going and didn’t go back to get it!

It was hard work pulling off a convincing role as “child who helped solve the mystery.” But, I did it and I was rewarded with a special Santa hat with my name on it.

A hat that I still have to this day!

The hat is still around and so is the workshop. There are still rides and shows with the Mother Goose Players. The reindeer are still there and so is Santa Claus. You can still get Santa hats and cookies.

The park is open during the summer all the way through December.

And if you go, and there’s a mystery to be solved….give me a shout!

More than just Anne

I’ve just spent a week talking about all the wonderful ways to immerse yourself in the Anne of Green Gables culture when you are on Prince Edward Island. And I am sure I’ll continue to share bits and pieces about that in weeks to come.

But, there is so much more to this piece of the world than one author who based her novels on Prince Edward Island. I want to share a little bit about what else the island has to offer.

It begins with the big Confederation Bridge that you take to get on the island. Even though it was a little rainy and cloudy when we arrived at the bridge, and you couldn’t see very far ahead, we still managed to get a taste of just how majestic and big this bridge really was. And actually, it made our entrance somewhat magical. We couldn’t see the island until we got close to it, so it made it feel like we were exiting our world and entering a whole new world.

There is an amazing welcome center when you first enter Prince Edward Island and I will definitely share more about this later. After picking up pamphlets and maps, we headed on to the house. 

Our home for the week was situated right on a red-dirt road. Really! The dirt was red and beautiful and vibrant next to the green grass and colorful wildflowers.

We opened the door to the adorable cottage and were immediately greeted with a welcome basket of yummy goodies. The girls were enamored by the cookies!

After unpacking the car and getting situated, we decided to take a hike to the semi-private beach that we had access to for the week.

All I can say is – AH-MAZE-ING!

Red dirt dunes, soft beach sand, gentle waves, warm water….wait, what? Warm water in a place up north? It was hard to believe, but with the way the gulf stream flows, the water that surrounds PEI is usually around the same temperature as what you’d find on the coast of North Carolina.

I think we spent a little bit of every day on this beach. Sometimes it was for a whole day.

Sometimes it was just to play a game of bocce ball or to have a cook out.

One time, we went down to the beach for a walk after dinner and found the “Teacup” rock that we had heard about.

I could have spent the entire week just at the beach!

But, alas there was so much more to see and do on this island. We definitely kept busy. What I enjoyed was the driving. There was always some little treasure just waiting around a corner for us to see.

One time we rounded a corner and saw the bright blue of the ocean in the distance behind rolling green hills.

Another time, it was a colorful fishing village that is one of the most painted landscapes by artists on PEI.

Another time, we stumbled upon “The Lake of Shining Waters”, a lake made famous in the Anne books.

There was even a time when we found a farm where we could pick up some freshly picked PEI potatoes.

My favorite treasure, though, was one we found at the very end of the week – a road with our family name on it that was all dirt, and covered by a blanket of trees. And all along the road were signs warning cars to slow down for horses. It felt like we were the only ones in the world as we drove through this tunnel of trees, never once seeing another person or car. It was a road named after our family and it felt like it was just for our family.

It was a good way to end our week!

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Red Roads and Red Hair

Red Roads and Red Hair

For the Road Trip Family, our year has been a crazy and exhausting year, with constant on the go activities, work, and school. My Chandler and I have felt that we’re on one of those hamster wheels running and trying to keep up with our kids and the world around us!

So, it makes perfect sense that I would want to crank my blog back up after a (not-so-brief) hiatus with some memories of a relaxing and quiet vacation our family had last summer in Prince Edward Island.

For a number of years now, as we’ve thought about where to plan our next vacations, both friends and family members have suggested Prince Edward Island as a destination. I’d hear about it and would think, “oh, that’s nice.” But, I never really entertained the idea of spending a vacation further north.

I guess my brain was stuck in the notion that in order to have a vacation, you needed to travel south?

Anyway, when we started making a list of places to visit, My Chandler brought PEI up. So, we looked online at our favorite home rental website to see what the cost would be. When I discovered that we could rent a beautiful little A-frame house for a very reasonable price and that it was within walking distance of one of the best private beaches on PEI, I was sold.

I mean, an A-frame house! Remember that Fisher Price little people A-frame house with the green roof? Ever since I had played with that as a kid, I had been enamored with the idea and have always wanted to stay in a home like that.

The house was available for a week and after inquiring, we were penciled in and had our destination. Now it was time to start planning the vacation.

Because we were going to another country for vacation, there were some new details to take care of that we don’t normally need to deal with, such as passports/birth certificates and what you can and cannot bring over the border.

A lot of time was also spent pouring over tourist websites and checking out all the attractions centered around the books “Anne of Green Gables.”

I have always been a fan of Anne. I have read the books numerous times and loved the movie with Megan Follows. So, I was excited to see “all things Anne.”

I’m not sure My Chandler was.

Or Sweet Pea, Peanut and Pumpkin.

But, that’s okay. Because I had enough excitement for all of us.

We started out on a Thursday and took our time getting to PEI, by way of the Maine coast and LL Bean outlet.

We stopped for taffy in York, ice cream at Brown's near Nubble Light, rode the trolley in Ogunquit and dipped our toes (or whole bodies) in the cold Atlantic Ocean!

But, Saturday afternoon, we crossed the Confederation bridge and entered a whole other world.

Prince Edward Island world.

I’m not sure words can even explain the feeling that washes over you on this island. There’s a slower, more laid back pace on the island. The people we encountered on our trip seemed to be relaxed and stress-free and happy. There was a feeling of peacefulness surrounded by a beautiful landscape. All the worries and daily stresses seemed to just lift right off our shoulders from the moment we stopped at the Gateway Village welcoming us to PEI. (More on that place later!)

We spent time every day at the beach, playing and relaxing and being a family. We did “all things Anne” and drove around the island taking in the beauty of the blue skies and green grass and red/pink sand. We moved slower and were relaxed.

You know it’s a good vacation when no one wants to leave. In fact, Peanut burst into tears as we were packing the car and said that she "didn't want to ever leave!”

But, leave we must and we did, dragging our heels all the way back to the Confederation Bridge.

So, over the next couple of weeks, I’m devoting my entries to Prince Edward Island world. I will do my best to try to share what this island has to offer and hopefully I can share just a little of how special this island is. A friend of mine said it perfectly when she remarked the other day that “it’s hard to fully understand the impact this place has on people until you have actually visited the island.”

Grab your red braids and straw hat and get ready for a week with Anne Shirley.

Cool Treats on a Hot Day

Awww – summertime! The hot summer days, the colors of the trees and flowers, the family road trips. I’ve been thinking a lot these past few weeks about my childhood summertime memories. The long days spent playing with friends down the street, riding our bikes (pretending they were horses or motorcycles), swimming in pools and lakes, going to camp, spending time with family on vacations.

It’s funny how many of those memories also involve one of my favorite summertime activities– partaking in cool summertime treats! Don’t get me wrong – I love a great ice cream cone any time of year, but there’s something about having an ice cream cone on a hot summer day as you race the heat to finish it before the melted ice cream dribbles all over everything.

Some of my favorite summertime memories involve ice cream! The trips where we all piled into the back of my uncle’s pick up truck to go to the local ice cream stop (remember those days when seat belts weren’t necessary?).

Or seeing the Schwan’s truck coming down the street and wondering what goodies were going to be dropped off at our house. (Are those yellow trucks still around?)

Or then there were the trips to the store with 51 different flavors of ice cream and having to choose between all of those yummy treats! And if you couldn’t decide between two, the employee would let you have a sample spoonful of each.

And even as I got older, ice cream was still a part of my summer plans. There were the walks in high school from the local library to the best soft serve ice cream in town where the small sizes were at least 6 inches tall . There were the summer treks to the local ice cream store while working at a summer camp and feeling the thrill of being back in civilization for a little bit.

Maybe that’s why I even get a little excited inside when I hear the tinkling music from the ice cream truck as it gets near our street.

So, in honor of this cool treat, here are 5 of my favorite places (in no particular order) to get a yummy ice cream cone:

1. Cows – Prince Edward Island: This is a new addition to my favorites. We discovered this ice cream  while on a recent trip to Prince Edward Island. What a delectable treat this was! I loved the fact that the size of the ice cream cone was not based on the number of scoops, but rather by weight. It’s true! They actually weigh the ice cream cones! Speaking of the cones, every cone is a heavenly waffle style cone and so delicious. And then there’s the yummy flavors with fun names. My personal favorite – Cowrispy Crunch. Even the merchandise is great. We had a blast checking out all the t-shirts with the play on words. “Angry Herds,” “MooTube,” “Super Moorio Brothers” were just a few of the shirts. There were even some for the kids like  “Elmoo,” “Justin Beefer” and “Hannah Moontana.” 
2. Ben & Jerry’s Factory Store – Waterbury, Vermont: I can’t live in Vermont and not put this on my list. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is always yummy, but there’s something about watching it being made and walking through the “cemetery” of retired flavors and getting a free sample and getting your picture taken inside a huge pint canister. And Phish food is heavenly!
3. Martha’s Dandee Cream – Queensbury, NY: Three words – Raspberry Crème Twist! I’ve been known to stop on occasion with a cooler and buy a pint of it on my way through Queensbury. But, we’ll talk more about Martha’s tomorrow.
4. Plaza Ice Cream Parlor – Walt Disney World, FL: You feel as if you have stepped back in time when you enter this little ice cream store on Main Street in Walt Disney World. Choose a scoop or two in a cone or choose a sundae from this old-fashioned ice cream parlor and then sit outside and enjoy the scenery. I do recommend checking this spot out mid-day as it can be pretty busy before, during and after the parades and fireworks.
5. Brown’s Ice Cream – York, ME: This is a must have any time we are in the area and make the trek to see Nubble Lighthouse. Located downhill from a big rock, this store has tons of flavors to choose from and the portion sizes are huge!

Of course, there are many other ice cream stores that I have stopped at and had a delicious cone. And I'm always open to trying new places (a friend just mentioned a place a short drive away that I'm anxious to try out).  But, these spots are my current favorites, partly for the good ice cream and partly for the good memories that they provide. Do you have any spots like that where you just can’t pass up a good ice cream cone?

Birthday Memories

It’s my birthday week, so I thought I’d focus this week on birthday celebrations. Which has had me thinking about all of my birthdays over the years.

Because I have a summer birthday, my birthday never seemed to be quite the same two years in a row. Sometimes, we’d be camping and I’d be sung to around a campfire.

Sometimes one of us would be at overnight camp or Dad would be directing a bike camp during my birthday, so we’d wait and celebrate it when we were all together.

One time, we were at my grandparents in Delaware and we celebrated there.

If we had visitors staying with us, they’d be included in the celebrations. Which was really fun the year my aunt – who was just getting into cake baking – was visiting. I got a Barbie cake that year! You know, the kind where the doll is put in the top of the cake and the cake is her dress? Oh, yeah, that was a fun year!

Because it was summer, sometimes I would have an ice cream cake. Sometimes, it was one of those cake mixes where you’d bake it right in this little cardboard box that came with it. Remember those? One time, My Chandler surprised me with a Mickey Mouse ice cream cake!

And then there was my 5^th birthday, when I got to have a Sesame Street birthday cake! Oh, I was in heaven that year!

It’s funny when I think back to all of my birthdays. I vaguely remember the gifts. Oh, I remember some, like the first curling iron I ever got or the birthstone ring from Grandma or the handmade pillow with my three girls handprints on it. But, what seems to stick out most in my mind are the interactions, the gatherings, the celebrations themselves.

Having Dad put on the Beatles “Birthday” song, teasing each other that the wrapped presents that were clearly a record were really flat pinapples, the laughs and jokes as we sat longer around a dinner table to eat the cake, the hugs from my girls. Being able to come home from the hospital with Pumpkin on my birthday and have my favorite meal with my family.

Ahhhh, birthdays!

A Journey's End

My Chandler and I are coming to the end of a journey that we've been on for 8 years. Our last child is finishing Kindergarten today.

I can still remember standing with Sweet Pea, our oldest, outside the building of the elementary school on that first day of Kindergarten. She had her new outfit on, her hair nicely combed, her new backpack on her back, and sporting a big smile.

Me, I was fighting back tears that my Sweet Pea was old enough to enter the public school system.

I remember walking into the classroom with her after the bell rang (we were allowed to do that at the time). We hung up her backpack, found her name at a table, took her picture at her spot, gave her a (teary) hug and walked out the door. I was nervous for her, worried that she'd not know where to go or what to do. Worried that others wouldn't know how to take care of her the way I knew how to take care of her.

But, I soon learned that she was in good hands with the most wonderful Kindergarten teacher there ever was (aside from my own teacher!).

Then, just a few short years later, Peanut ventured into that same classroom with that same great Kindergarten teacher. She was excited to be going to her sister's school, excited to be able to play on the playground every day, excited to try out hot lunches, excited to sing her heart out in music and get creative in art.

I remember that parts of this transition were easier for me. I knew Sweet Pea was in the building with Peanut and they would see each other in the halls. I knew the teacher, I knew the school structure. I didn't have those anxieties this time, but it was still hard to let go and it was hard to believe that my little Peanut was old enough to be in that big building.

And then we had to do this all over again with Pumpkin just a few short months ago - okay over 9 months ago, but it really feels like just yesterday. Pumpkin counted down days that summer until she was going to get to be a student. She was ready, willing and able to become a Kindergarten student and learn great things.

Of course the same worries and anxieties hit this mommy as the big day approached. But, this time there was an added emotion to this. It was that pang that it was my last child to enter Kindergarten.

Fortunately, we got lucky a third time and Pumpkin was assigned the same teacher that the other two girls had been fortunate to have as well. We were familiar with her and she with our family. It was like a family reunion with her!

Today, Peanut and Pumpkin will parade out of the building with their classmates as a new 5th grader and a new 1st grader. And I will fight back the tears that we are closing the door on our Kindergarten journey.

I guess it is like road trips, though. You have the memories of past trips and the excitement of trips yet to come!

Let's Go To The Movies

My brother posted a list on his Facebook page recently that listed all the movies that he had seen unaccompanied by a parent and the dates he had seen them. (He had collected the movie stubs over the years.) It’s been fun to see the list of movies that ranges from Disney cartoons to Academy Award winners and think about my own list of movies and reminisce about the movies that played a part in some of my fond memories - first dates (Gremlins, The Bodyguard), hanging with friends (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), introducing our girls to a movie theater (Return to Neverland, The Polar Express and The Princess and the Frog).

One of the discussions that has occurred from my brother’s list is a trip that our family took to a drive-in theater when my siblings and I were single digit ages. I remember it was a double feature of Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan and Airplane. Both movies were a little over my head at the time (and my Mom still can’t believe that they would have taken us to see those movies), and I think the movies were definitely over my younger siblings heads, seeing as they both were asleep by the second movie. But, whatever the movie choice, the experience of being at a drive-in theater was memorable.

I remember arriving at the theater and pulling our big station wagon into a great spot in front of the biggest movie screen I'd ever seen. As Mom pulled out the big bag of popcorn and the drinks and got us situated in the back with blankets and pillows, Dad unhooked the big speaker from the post and attached it to the window of the car and adjusted it so we could hear the sound.

It was quite the experience to watch the movies on the huge screen while sitting inside our vehicle.

Years later, some college friends and I decided to view a release of a Disney movie at a drive-in theater instead of a regular indoor movie theater. By that point, the big speakers were retired. Instead the movie sound came through a special station on the radio. We thought it would be fun to spread out blankets and lawn chairs, crank up the radio and watch the movies outside.

And it was fun. Until the sun went down and the mosquitoes came out.

Today there aren’t many drive-in theaters left in the country, but we are fortunate to have one just a few minutes drive from our house. We haven’t taken the girls, yet, because I keep waiting for the perfect double feature.

I think I need to give up that idea and just give the girls the experience of watching the movie in the car in their pjs with pillows and blankets and big bags of popcorn.

Dessert!

We took a road trip on Sunday after dinner to one of my favorite destinations. It was the first creamee of the season at our favorite little creamee stand!

With sunny, warm weather all weekend, Road Trip Family was kept busy outside. For some of us it was to ride bikes, run through sprinklers, swing on the swings. For others, it was to weed the strawberry patch and the flower beds, mow the lawn, build a new garden bed frame. Can you guess who in our family did what this weekend?

After all that fresh air and hard work, My Chandler and I decided that it was a perfect opportunity to sit outside and enjoy a soft serve ice cream cone. So, we climbed into the roadtripfamily van, drove along the lake until we came to our favorite stand. Some chose the chocolate, some the chocolate/vanilla twist, some the maple and some the black raspberry.

And while our choices were varied, we all had the same reaction. Yummy!

Red Hot and Yummy!

There’s a road trip that I love to take. We usually make this trip at least once a year, usually on Mother’s Day. We climb into our “roadtripfamily” van and make the trek to Plattsburgh, NY, to visit this place:

Clare and Carl’s is really just a tiny ramshackle type of restaurant, but it has perhaps the best Michigan hot dogs anywhere.

Established in 1942, this little out of the way stand on Route 9 features a small U-shaped counter where you can sit and enjoy a special hot dog with meat sauce. Or if it's nice out, head out to the picnic tables. Just don’t feed the seagulls!

(And yes, My Chandler, loves to make faces in pictures!)

If you’d rather stay in your car, though, a “car hop” will come to your car, take your order and return with it on a tray that attaches to the window frame of your car. 

What I love about it is that some of the members of this road trip family are fairly particular, but enjoy a plain hotdog, so it’s a place where we can all find something to eat.

 

The rest of us like to have the meaty sauce - otherwise known as Michigan sauce - liberally scooped onto the hotdog which sits in a little bun that is dug out like a boat. With a little mustard, it’s spicy without being too hot. You can have without onions or with onions – specify on top or buried, though!

After we get our fill of these delicacies, we pour ourselves back into the car and head home, completely filled and completely happy!