Springfield VT to Jefferson OH

Today we drove about 540 miles to our new destination.  It took us about 11 hours to get there.  We drove through New York, and the scenery was gorgeous.  I still was not a fan of being in the truck that long.

Normally I try to catch up on my scrapbooking while we drive, but today I was trying to read instead.  That only lasted so long before I was ready for something else though.

Luckily, I have the boys to entertain me.  They shared interesting fun facts with me.  Like Memaw has mint Tums in the glove compartment of her car.  So anytime Austin has a tummy ache, headache or heartache she can fix what ails him.  Given Memaw's vast personal pharmacy, it does not surprise me that she has Tums in her car.  But mint?   I had no idea they made mint tums.  Good to know!

Austin just returned from a visit with Daryl and Diana, so he filled us in on all the comings and goings with the family.  They had a family get together while he was there, so he had lots to share.  He told us about a house that Daryl and Diana want to buy, so we looked online at pictures of that.

Aric shared his talent in taking my brother Steven's songs and remaking them Weird Al style.  Or maybe that should be Weird Aric style.  For example, one of the lines in a song as originally written is: You've got me locked inside your prison, and I hate everything you do.  Aric's version was something like: You've got me locked inside your freezer, and I am slowly turning blue.  (Forgive me guys if I have either one of those lines incorrect.  I'm going by memory and I'm kind of oldish now so my memory comes and goes)  Aric fully entertained us for some time with his brilliance in this area.  Ah, my kids are nothing if they are not creative. 

The very best of all for this particular trip was a conversation about Austin's now bald head and the moles the shaving of hair revealed.  Austin asks how bad it looks that the bulging one shows.  Aric:  It doesn't look bad from far way.  But up close it's scary.  It looks like it's giving me the stink eye.

 It just doesn't get any better than that kind of live improv that they have going on.  Not to mention, that there is a certain interaction with brothers that is fascinating to me.  That would be one great example of how guys relate that is totally different than girls.  It is hysterical to me to listen to, and as a girl I know I'd be horrified if my sister said that to me.  We are more likely to say, the mole...nah, it hardly shows at all.  Let me get some concealer out of my purse and see if I can make it go completely away though.

I love having boys for so many reasons but one of my favorite reasons is that on days like this, they make my life so much better. 

Living the life while driving through pretty New York!

Goodbye for Now, Vermont

Today we said good-bye to lovely Vermont.  We were here a week less than we'd planned, so I'm hoping to come back again to explore more.  The weather was so nice and the scenery was so nice that we just soaked up what little bit of time we did have here.

I was trying to decide which I liked better: the landscape or the architecture.

What do you think?  I still can't pick one over the other.  I love them both!

We are heading west to explore some new states with the boys.  We are hoping the weather stays as great as it has been here!

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

My friend Patti asked me this past week if I ever fall in love with some of the cute small towns and want to stay there.  We get asked things along those lines quite a bit.  The short answer is yes I do fall in love and no I don't want to stay there.  Because I want to move on and see the other cute small towns too.

There's more to it than just that though.  I had been chewing on this very topic for a blog post when she wrote to me.  Because I'd been pondering how surprised I am that I still get emotional when we leave a place.  I get attached and do fall in love and am always sad to be saying goodbye.  Part of it is just my personality, meaning I hate saying goodbye.

The other part is that there is just something so uniquely endearing about each and every place we visit.  Each place has a way of worming itself into our hearts.  We find some good there.  We find something we admire there.  We find something that is beautiful there.  We find people that inspire us there.

 That might sound really cheesy to those that haven't experienced this way of living and seeing the world.  It might sound like someone who says they still love every girl/boyfriend they ever had.  Really though, it is quite a bit like all of the relationships one has.  There is always some downside or something that is snark worthy, and trust me we do our share of those observations when visiting.  We are human after all.  Like past loves though, there is always something that touched your heart and becomes a part of you when you live in a place.  Even if you do only live there for a week or two.

So yup, I sure do fall in love and as impossible as it might sound-not sometimes.  Every time.  It's a pretty amazing thing to me even two years later.  I hope I never become jaded in this area, because it's a pretty cool part of this journey.

Living the life in our beautiful country!

More New Hampshire From My Window

Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge

I couldn't visit the New England area without taking pictures of at least one covered bridge.  Unfortunately, we only saw one that I could take a picture of.  It was an awesome one though!  If you click on the picture above, it tells how it is the longest wooden bridge in the US and some other history.

This alone made the visit here worth it!  The river separates Vermont and New Hampshire.  

I love what it said above the bridge too.

 Isn't it just beautiful here?  It's like a fine painting everywhere I look.  I am enjoying our time here so much!

Living the life in Vermont!

Vermont and New Hampshire Barns From My Window

And my favorite barn that we've seen so far.  It wasn't the prettiest, but I loved its endurance and character!

And while I'm writing, can I say how good it is to be back?  When we were in PA, we had no cell phone service and very limited internet.  As in, I could not even read Pioneer Woman's blog.  So I didn't bother doing much posting there.  I'll have to see if I can go back and cover what we did see and do there sometime.

I have missed blogging so much though.  I told Nathan tonight that it truly helps to cultivate gratitude for my life when I blog.  When I'm going throughout the day, I can easily fall into a mindlessness about what we are doing.  When I look at the pictures and write the words to capture the day, it makes me stop and be very mindful of this wonderful life we are living right now and all of the neat things we see each day.  It's good for my soul!

Living the life in Vermont!

Vermont and New Hampshire Landscape From My Window

The landscape is just stunning here.  There is green, green and more green everywhere.  I found myself snapping like a mad woman today while driving away.   I love it here!

Springfield VT From My Window

This is a wonderful town.  The houses are great with their big wide front porches.  The business buildings are old and brick for the most part.  And there are flowers everywhere.  Such a pretty place to visit!

Mercersburg PA to Springfield VT

Today we arrived in Springfield VT.  This is the same town that the Simpson movie did it's premiere in.  Pretty cool, huh?  We left yesterday, stopped at the Lake Timothy Outdoor World and got here rather late tonight.

It's been a whirlwind of busy since we left Tennessee.  We are still adjusting to the new job, which is going very well, but it's still different.  We are adjusting to being in parks other than the Thousand Trails system.  We miss the people we have come to know and love and thought we'd have time with this summer.  The people at the last park were so wonderful, and the people at this park seem the same.  So we're hoping to settle in and find new people to meet.  We're still biased when it comes to TT's, but surely there are other wonderful people out there beyond the parks we've visited so far.  Right?

I'm excited to see more of Vermont.  We had a far too brief visit here when we first hit the road.  I'm looking forward to a visit where we can dig in and see more and learn more.  Oh, and the temps seem fabulous here after all the hot weather we endured in Virginia!  Big bonus points there! 

Living the life in wonderfully moderate temperatures in Vermont!

Pennsylvania From My Window

We are in such a beautiful area of Pennsylvania/Maryland.  I'm enjoying how timeless it is here.

I'm enjoying being here when the view is full of bright, earthy colors.

I'm enjoying the rich history that is here.

Mostly I'm enjoying small town America and all of her goodness.

Living the life in Pennsylvania!

Broadway VA to Mercersburg PA

Today we traveled to Mercersburg, PA.  It was only a few hours away from Mom's house, so it was a very short travel day.

Pigeon Forge TN to Broadway VA

Today we left Pigeon Forge and headed to Virginia for an overnight stop at Mom's house.  She made a special dinner and a red velvet birthday cake for Aric and I.  We finally learned how to play Mexican train and had a blast doing that.  She even found some dominoes and made a template so we'd have our own set to play with.  Thanks, Mom!

We left Austin behind and are now heading to PA.

Our Special Fun in Tennessee

Updating our blog, because I don't think Aric ever got around to sharing what we saw at the park.  First, I have to ask people who live in Tennessee to explain the above picture to me.  In North Carolina we saw people riding in the back of trucks.  I don't mean sitting in the back of trucks.  I mean couches and lawn chairs were in the back of trucks, with people riding in them. 

In Tennessee, we saw this happen though.  More than once.  Vans driving down the road with doors open and people hanging out.  I don't get it, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ok, now to the fun.  This is what we encountered at the park.

Those were Nathan's shots.  He had a great view because he was very close to this guy.  I won't tell you how nervous that made me.  I won't tell you what I had to say about that on the ride home.  I'll just say it was an amazing experience to be that close to this creature.  And next time, I hope Nathan does not have my camera in his hands.  It would be a real shame to lose both him and my camera.