We returned from our Vermont Vacation earlier this afternoon. The kids were really happy to see us, and although we had fun, we were very happy to be home.
I learned a couple valuable lessons on the trip:
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I don’t like being a passenger. I much prefer driving. Plus you really can’t see much from the back seat of a car. Because no one builds cars with 4 seats across the front, this is an important lesson when considering family vacations by car. The kids aren’t going to get as interested in the scenery as I am, because they can’t see it the way I do.
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My knee doesn’t like hanging out in the back seat. This may sound like the same as the previous lesson, but it really isn’t. After shattering my patella in August of 2001, my knee starts to ache if I can’t move it frequently. And the back seat of almost any car just doesn’t offer the same scope of movement that the front does.
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I really need to get back into camping. I’d forgotten how much fun it can be to hang out in nature. Plus camping is much cheaper than hotels. Of course, I wasn’t really prepared for this trip: I ran out of fuel for the Jetboil stove. In part that was because I used the stove to sauté vegetables and make eggs for breakfast burritos. Not quite the boiling water and heating food that fuel estimates expected. We also forgot a number of items, including flatware to accompany our Lexan plates and bowls. And of course, I over packed. But all that served to re-ignite my enthusiasm for camping.
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I really, really, really hate mosquitos. Vermont was enjoying a late bloom of flying blood suckers this year, and we seem to have arrived right at the peak of winged peril. Anna undoubtedly received the worst of the bites. Her legs inspire pity in even the most hard-hearted. The insect repellant I was using seemed work well enough, when it was on. But I couldn’t spread repellant everywhere. And the mosquitos inevitably found the spots I didn’t protect. Especially my scalp.
All in all, the trip was a lot of fun. Anna and I both agree that we’ll have to return to fully explore Stowe, Woodstock, Brandon, Middlebury and a couple smaller villages we were able to visit only briefly. I expect we’ll find ourselves in The Green Mountain state quite a bit the rest of the summer.