"kum-buy-ah"

10 Lessons from my Vermont camping trip- (okay i was desperate for song lyrics re/camping- no one actually sang kumbuyah on the trip though)

1. Hanover, NH has no fast food restaurants- yes those poor Dartmouth students- a college town with no fast food can you believe it? (this when I was in desperate need a McDonald's ice cream)

2. Moms rarely to play sports, really it is rare for women to play sports once they are moms (the guys always play- the girls never do)- I have some great grass stains to show for my mean (okay make that very marginal) volleyball playing with the boys- really it felt great to play- it made me realize how much I miss really using my body.(thanks to smart nanay, my mom, who occupied my kids during said games)

3. Smart son has no fear of slide and sludge- and waded through a very nasty pond (complete with leeches and slimy seaweed) to catch frogs, salamanders, newts. He can swim adeptly in murky water with no flotation devices while holding a large semi-conscious frog.

4. I love hanging out with friends- there is something to slowing it down, being outside, sitting around a fire chatting (and of course eating- and the food always tastes better outside).

5. Smart baby is already a connoisseur of Ben and Jerry's and began loudly protesting when his sample was finished. (yes got to love the factory tour)

6. Summer Camp is cool - yes we stopped by Camp Lochearn (where my mom taught sailing almost 40 yrs ago) And if I had $8000 to spend for 8 weeks - I'd love to send a daughter there (first I need a daughter then I need a spare 8K- but so fun!!)

7. Vermont is gorgeous, very sparsely populated, and filled with unpaved windy roads named things like skunk hollow (a land in which mapquest is not to be trusted).

8. Camping does not equal sleep (as many of us crazy moms with little kids lamented)

9. I look a little scary with 3 days and no shower.

10. Family trips are always memorable!