Play Time

We had access to the brook at Winhall Brook campground, and the kids LOVED it!  We only went a few times, because we went out and checked out the area quite a bit, but it was a great benefit to the campground.  Winhall Brook is run by the Army Corps of Engineers, and we adore COE campgrounds.  They're clean, they have free showers, they're cheap(ish), they're on water, and they don't charge a reservation fee.  LOVE THEM!!!  At any rate, the brook is home to tadpoles & polliwogs, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, and huge spiders.  I avoided seeing the spiders.  The kids enjoyed catching all the critters.  G preferred to pile up the rocks to affect the currents.  Piling up the rocks to create a protected area was good for critter watching, too, because then they put the critters in the protected area to observe them.  Turns out that tadpoles/polliwogs/crayfish etc... don't enjoy being confined in a palm.  Who knew?                        

There's an obsession with throwing rocks.  I got involved, but that's never a good thing.  My aim is such that I'm a walking catastrophe.  So I hit Bill's ankle with a HUGE rock.  Frankly, I'm amazed I got it that far.  Amazed isn't exactly how Bill felt about it.  But he started it.  We also spent time rock skipping.  I got a few that skipped, and one that went pretty far, but I got a lot of sinkers.  It was fun, and good exercise for my shoulder.  I was feeling that one for a few days.  Clearly I need to be doing more heavy lifting and throwing.                                

I headed back to the trailer early, which let me get this picture of everyone from the bridge.  The bridge was a bit narrow, and some of the rigs coming through are pretty big, so watching people come into the campground was sometimes frightening.  But everyone made it, even if they had to take several chances to line up their rigs.  And hit the rails.  I bit my nails a few times.  I wouldn't let the kids play under the bridge when this one guy came through, I just felt like he was going to jump the rails and come into the brook.  Didn't happen.  Not for lack of trying, though.            

As we left Vermont to spend time in New Hampshire, we stopped in Norwich at the King Arthur Flour store/school/ bakery.  Pure heaven.  I could have stayed all day, but we confined it to just a wee bit of shopping, lunch, and watching a baking class for kids.  So, so, so very tasty.  And some many varieties of flour I don't ever find in the grocery store.  I left them behind, but I took a catalog so I can order some.  I want to experiment with my pizza crust, get that tastier/lighter/crisper/better.  We may stop back in on our way back to CO.  Just looking at the picture again, I'm in love.  Oh, I do so love a store with a demo kitchen.  And cooking tools.  And cookbooks.  I'm drooling....                            

And I leave you with this...the McLobster Roll.  You're welcome.

Sleeping

Sleep has eluded me, off and on, since the Southwest.  Starting in Texas, breathing was difficult, and I started panic attacks at night.  Because my breathing was just so out of whack, I developed anxiety about nighttime, especially lying down and trying to sleep.  And so I wouldn't.  I would make myself tea or cocoa (up to four cups at night, just to smooth out my breathing--sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn't), play games on my device (an old trick taught to me by a social worker who thought my allergies were a mental problem), go for walks, and cry.

Fast forward four months, and I'm still in the same boat, minus the breathing issues.  I am very thankful that my breathing is under control, and I now have my emergency inhaler for when it isn't.  But my anxiety and my sleeping AREN'T under control.  I freak out if I can't get to sleep immediately.  My mind goes to all the things that could happen, including things that may (or may not) happen when I'm old and dying.  And so I don't sleep until late.  Last night, late came at 7:30am.

I don't want to depend on medication to get me to sleep.  But man, I need to break this cycle of anxiety.  I need to learn to relax and settle down.  If I can't do this soon, I'm going to be in so much trouble.  I need my sleep.  My family needs me to sleep.

Celebrations

The Fourth of July this year was low key for us, which is really not that different.  From our house in CO we could see several cities' fireworks, so we tended to stay home.  This year we were at a resort-y RV park where you could see fireworks from nearby cities if you were down by the pool.  So that's what most everyone did.  Earlier in the day we had some fun food and such, we decorated the trailer, and just laughed a lot.  

Watermelon is something we almost never have on the road.  We generally don't have the space for it, cutting it makes a lot of trash, blah blah blah.  But it was the Fourt of July peeps, watermelon was a must for us.  Not the best watermelon we've ever had, but because it had been so long since we'd had watermelon, it disappeared almost before I even got any.                                  

The kids had never had deviled eggs before, and I had to use up some eggs.  Fate.  I must be starving the kids, because these also disappeared in a jiff.  I'm not a fan of hard boiled eggs, so I did not partake in the deviled egg experience.  But I do put hard boiled eggs in my potato salad, which I DO eat.  There's no explaining me.  The kids also got to spend time down at the pool.  This was our first time having a swimming pool, aside from the times when we've been at hotels.              

Dinner was homemade mac and cheese and some fried chicken tenders.  On festive plates.  That's one of the things I miss from being in a house--I miss decorating and the associated making of stuff for holidays.  Not that I miss making a mess and such, but I miss getting into the holidays.  I know people do that on the road, but I think they're also the people who are only out for that particular holiday, not out for an entire year.  Space is limited, our focus is other places.  So we forgo some of the things that we enjoy in order to do new things that it turns out we enjoy as well.  




This month is full of celebrations for us.  Our country's birthday, the anniversary of starting this glorious trip, my birthday, and many other "ordinary" celebrations (ice cream for everyone!).  I hope that as you read this blog, you think about travelling the country as well.  There is so much to see and do all over this awesome country of ours.  There's no possible way to see and do everything, but getting out and doing and seeing something you've never seen or done before just is so fantastic.  Even if you never want to do it again!

Flashback

I do not use Instagram or Twitter, but I thought I'd go ahead and do a Flashback Friday.  

That's us, 12 months ago exactly!  We have reached our goal of at least a year, and what a ride it's been!   We've seen wildlife.....

We've seen the shore...

We've gone to the mountains...

We've been through the desert...

We've had fun with family...

We've met up with friends...

 

We have seen and done so much this year.  We're thankful for the opportunities this year has given us to reconnect with family and friends, to see things we've only read about, and to see things we've never even known existed!  We've explored caves and sinkholes, played in the surf, hugged cacti (not really...don't try this at home, kids), walked with the burros, held alpaca, endured a million bug bites and a case of Lyme, toured factories, seen glass blown and iron poured, eaten our way through the treats of different regions, and just generally had a blast.  Our trip doesn't end for another seven weeks or so, so we still have adventures ahead of us.  And when we're done travelling, adventure awaits us in CO, too!

More Tours

We popped over to visit the Chocolatorium one day.  The kids each made a candy bar, and we got to view a very informative video on the history of chocolate.  In the video they also showed us what cacoa beans look like before they're dried.  I've never seen that before, so that was really cool.  Before we left, we also purchased some more chocolate--it was very tasty.  We needed to get lunch while we were out, and our chocolate friends recommended the Market Wagon out in Bennington.  That turned out to be a wonderful recommendation.  It's an Amish place, and the food was terrific.  We had salads and sandwiches, on par cost-wise with a Subway, but so much better.  And the portions were HUGE.  Bill and I split a sandwich, and still walked away a bit uncomfortably full.                          

Friday we moved campgrouds to be closer to Ben & Jerry's and Cabot.  On our way to the campground we stopped at Ben & Jerry's for the tour.  Under 13s are free, and it cost $12 for the three of us who are over 13.  Totally worth it.  We got to try a new, in development flavor, and it was mighty good.  We got to check out their flavor graveyard, say hi to some cows, and see where they make their tasty treats.  They weren't making any when we were there, something about stopping to clean the equipment every three days.  I'm cool with that.              

We dragged K out of bed to visit Cabot.  We did get to see cheese being made, which was cool.  When we went to the place that handmakes the cheese (Crowley's), they weren't making any that day, so this was our first shot at seeing cheese made.  This place also cost us $12, but that was for four of us this time.  The cheese tastings were delightful.  My favorites were the Artisan Reserve (we bought some), and the Old School Cheddar.  The Old School is aged 5 years and is SOOOOOOOOO good.  But also SOOOOOOO pricey.  I'm drooling just thinking about it, though!                              

We started Monday off with a bright and early visit to the doctor for K, and by the time we had the meds and all, we were ready to visit a maple farm.  We've tasted a lot of maple, bought a lot of maple, had a lot of maple cremees and shakes, but we'd not yet toured a maple farm and sugar shack.  Let me tell you, Morse Farm in Montpelier is the place to go.  They have a country store where you can purchase all kinds of handmade items, tons of syrups and other maple products (along with cremees & shakes), but the prize is walking around their farm.  They've got a cool video on how they do the sugarin', they've got a collection of wood that includes the elephant & donkey (oh--and Pi-Cow-So), and the maple trail that winds through their maples.  So cool.  And on our way out, we picked up some strawberries they get from a local farm.  We ate the whole container before leaving their parking lot.  I miss our homegrown strawberries, but these were a close second.  So good.                      

On our way back to our campground, we stopped at Cold Hollow Cider Mill.  We got to see them stack the apple mash and press out the cider, as well as read all their cool signs.  And taste it.  Wonderful stuff.  Holy cow.  So we bought cider, cider doughnuts, cider vinegar (crikeys that stuff is strong!), and some postcards and such.  And so, while Vermont has brought upon our family Lyme disease, we are hanging out for a bit longer.  I need to get over to King Arthur Flour!

Vermont's Other Side

We have absolutely been loving our stay in the Green State.  But not everything is sunshine and roses (or even rain clouds and maple cremees).  A week or so K had me take a tick off her.  Today, she started the antibiotics for Lyme disease.  Because her tick was in her underwear area, we let her have her privacy in checking for the rash, and she was telling us there was no rash.  But the symptoms were big.  She had a huge headache that was keeping her from walking around much, she really wasn't eating (even ice cream--what???), and she was sleeping all the time.  Because the symptoms happened so close to her bite, Lyme was on our minds.  Thank goodness.  We took her to the doctor and got her a prescription.  We opted not to do the blood test.  Reading up on it, there's just an unacceptable level of false negatives with the test.  And the repercussions of not treating Lyme are just too great.  Because we caught it early, once she's done with the antibiotics, she should be good.

Coincidentally, I've been reading articles about Lyme.  I read an article about a pro golfer whose wife arranges his THIRTY-FIVE pills a day for him.  THIRTY-FIVE.  A DAY.  The article was light on information, more like a fluff piece than an article, so I have no idea when he contracted the disease and when he started treatment.  And then there's this article, which helpfully tells us that we're in the worst part of the country for Lyme.  Thank God I've been seeing/reading these articles, because it really imprinted me with an awareness of the disease and how quickly it needs to be taken care of.

Now, I had always heard that the bulls eye rash was the indicator or Lyme.  So when K said that she had no rash, I was thinking we were good.  Yeah, only about 50% of kids get that rash.  Oh, and she does have a rash.  Since it's in her lower region, she had a hard time seeing it herself.  But the doc took a look, and there's a definite rash.  And that just helped confirm what was already pretty obvious.  Though, really, the symptoms are a bit vague and can be indicators for other illnesses as well, but the fact that she had a tick bite made it suspicious.  I am so very thankful we are getting this taken care of quickly.  I certainly hope she feels better soon!

Quiet Time

In the midst of making pancakes this morning, I twisted my back.  I've had this back injury for the last 20+ years, and in the last few years it's been more problematic.  Aging isn't kind.  So I've been laying about all day, with a head that's messed up by the rainy (again) weather.  For whatever reason, with rain or overcast weather, I tend to get motion sick, just existing.  So instead of getting out and checking out Stowe or something fun, I'm wishing my back would just freaking heal itself.  I can't do a lot of my stretching and exercises, I just don't have the space for it. Lying down in the mud isn't my thing, either.  So until we get back to CO, I'm just playing the waiting game.  Wait til my back feels better, wait fr it to hurt again..  I hate my 25 year old self who didn't get the back taken care of after the car accident.  I don't even know if it could have been repaired, but I'd like to think it could have.