Some of the things I love about my first born is his creativity and willingness to learn. Yes, he has a sense of justice that just won’t quit and while it is incredibly tiring to be on the other side of the head butting, I admire his persistence. As Evan likes to say about his sales prospects: “It isn’t so much about winning them over as it is about wearing them down.”
So this is what we did: We kind of submitted. Josh did some research and came up with a proposal that would include a 2 hour drive, boondocking (sleeping in a Walmart Parking Lot) and an acceptable drive for the following day. I pitched it to the other family, they couldn’t do it. Hooray! A double win for the parents! Josh learned the importance of research and advanced planning and we kept on track…not that there is that much of a track to keep to.
What turned me around from my position of “not driving out of our way a single iota” to splitting the difference was that on Wednesday night he and his friend had an hour long phone conversation. Afterwards Josh and I had a chat. Another thing I love about Josh is that he is a chatter. I am trying to instill in my boys that chatting is good and to keep doing it. Cool guys chat. Chatty boys get the girls. Chatty boys have more fun.
Josh mentioned how hard it is for guys to stay in touch. He is worried that he will drift away from his friends. So am I. Friends and family are key to a persons happiness. That sense of belonging to a community. Josh is getting older. He is putting together a community of his own that I need to respect and encourage. Get over yourself Wendy….it isn’t about your schedule. And another brilliant point made by My Personal Help Desk (aka Evan) was that this trip is also about showing the kids that we can be flexible and spontaneous.
I am trying to keep up my hour a day of exercise and an hour of writing. Today I took a beautiful bike ride along County Road 31 in East Springfield, NY. Lots of farms. I biked to a state park – Glimmersglass. It was 7:30 when I biked in. Nobody was around. Who would have thought that the oldest covered bridge in the US would be there? 1867. That use to sound old to me, but now that I am an International Snob that sounds like recent history. Give me something from the roman age – now that is old.
We live in an RV. I still don’t believe it. We drive with all our stuff with us, all the time. Simon and I danced in the Big Pig this morning. There was room to do a couple of spins
We had lunch today in a rest area off the highway. Pizza bagels. Noodles. We have a budget of 130 bucks a day. Goes fast. I look at money very differently now that there is nothing coming in. Invite us to dinner and we might steal stuff out of your pantry– this is your warning.
I am now typing away as we are barreling down the New York Turnpike (or is it Thoroughfare? Or thrufare?) on our way to Buffalo and then up we go into Canada to see Niagara Falls. Bruce Springsteen is singing “Keep your eye on the prize, roll on” from his Live in Dublin album, the boys are plugged into an I Touch watching The Simpson’s Movie. Don’t worry, Evan is driving.
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
DAY 1 - So far so good?
It is 9:50 pm. We made it a little more than 150 miles today to East Springfield, NY. Just a quick drive from Cooperstown. We are parked in a level spot. We plugged in our new home on wheels to the water and electricity at the RV park. We went for a swim, had dinner, a walk and now bed.
In truth? Up at 6 am wallowing in the details to get out of the rental house. Loading up the RV, bringing suitcases, boxes, a suitcase filled with suitcases, and books to Evan’s parents place in VT to store. Yes, all this is in addition to the 534 boxes in the official storage facility. Does that number keep getting larger and larger the more I tell it? “Did you hear about Wendy and all her boxes in storage? I heard she was up to 4328 boxes! And more than half are filled with useless plastic objects!” My version of hell? A house filled with miniature toy poodles, Chihuahuas, lima beans and useless plastic objects.
And then…the 12 hour chant by an unnamed older son telling Evan and me what useless parents we are. How we just don’t understand and that we are violating his rights and have no respect for him. Why? Because we aren’t going to drive 6 hours out of our way to see his good friend. Just because we are in New York and so is his friend, doesn’t mean he is close by. 10 months in an RV being told that I am an uncompassionate human being. We were thinking this would be a sans alcohol RV. I am beginning to reconsider that policy on the first day.
But it really is all quite cozy. Our little bedroom is comfortable. Everything works. Oh no, delete that line, don’t want to jinx anything. And if all goes well I will get up at 6 am and take that 10 hour long bike ride through the beautiful NY state countryside - yes, I will ride back to the RV.
In truth? Up at 6 am wallowing in the details to get out of the rental house. Loading up the RV, bringing suitcases, boxes, a suitcase filled with suitcases, and books to Evan’s parents place in VT to store. Yes, all this is in addition to the 534 boxes in the official storage facility. Does that number keep getting larger and larger the more I tell it? “Did you hear about Wendy and all her boxes in storage? I heard she was up to 4328 boxes! And more than half are filled with useless plastic objects!” My version of hell? A house filled with miniature toy poodles, Chihuahuas, lima beans and useless plastic objects.
And then…the 12 hour chant by an unnamed older son telling Evan and me what useless parents we are. How we just don’t understand and that we are violating his rights and have no respect for him. Why? Because we aren’t going to drive 6 hours out of our way to see his good friend. Just because we are in New York and so is his friend, doesn’t mean he is close by. 10 months in an RV being told that I am an uncompassionate human being. We were thinking this would be a sans alcohol RV. I am beginning to reconsider that policy on the first day.
But it really is all quite cozy. Our little bedroom is comfortable. Everything works. Oh no, delete that line, don’t want to jinx anything. And if all goes well I will get up at 6 am and take that 10 hour long bike ride through the beautiful NY state countryside - yes, I will ride back to the RV.
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
12 Hours and Counting...not that I am counting...
Is this the calm before the storm? Will there be a storm? There just was a storm - with a ton of thunder thrown in - an hour ago. Tomorrow night in the RV park. Oh god, another anxiety nightmare – we are in a tin box in a lightening storm. Cue the visual of the lightening bolt hitting the RV Toaster. 4 pieces of bread that look suspiciously like Evan, the boys and I are popping out slots at the top and we all have permed hair...
Simon was better today. During the day he decided to pitch the idea of making a cardboard box into a replica of our old house in London because he was feeling better. He drew a bundle of pictures to put up in the RV, even a picture of a Dream Eater that eats the bad dreams and puffs out beautiful dreams. I think I might need that picture above my head tonight to keep away the thoughts of lightening frying the RV.
But then this evening before dinner I found him in our bed quietly sobbing to himself saying he just couldn’t go on the trip at all. Evan overheard us chatting about his worries and suggested that after a dinner of pizza we could spend some time in the RV looking at all the cool storage boxes (always a crowd pleaser!) and then have a family meeting to discuss Simon’s feelings and to check in in general about the trip.
Simon perked right up – unsure if it was the pizza, the storage boxes, or the chance to be highlighted on the agenda. We have been holding Family Meetings pretty regularly for the past 5 years and Simon is very familiar with the format and to have your item first – with your name right on it – makes you feel special and that you are being heard. Isn’t that what we all want? To be heard? To be first on the agenda? Having your needs addressed?
Family Meeting Agenda
I. Simon’s Worries
II. Pace of the next couple of weeks
III. What we need to do before we leave tomorrow
IV. Thanksgiving Plans (Evan’s parents were over and we wanted to be sure we talked about when we would see them next, with them and the kids)
During Simon’s Worries we all discussed how overwhelming the trip is and to think about living in an RV for a year is just too long and makes us want to scream. Starting anything new can be scary and could make you want to scream. Simon and I went out on the balcony and screamed a really good long scream and felt better.
Talk calmly. Go outside and scream. Come back in and continue conversation. This is normal yes?
We then came inside and we all discussed how we were excited about the first couple of weeks.
Tomorrow we head out to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Simon got all excited about seeing Babe Ruth’s bat and Grandpa told us all some stories about The Babe and Lou Gehrig.
So, we all decided that we would leave tomorrow as discussed but we will check in once we are in St. Louis next week and see how we are feeling. But then we remembered my mom, Mama Jo, is coming to meet us in Springfield and then there is the family reunion and we get to stay at Aunt Jackie and Uncle Paul’s house and they have a sneaky club house with a trap door and everything. So, we decided to just think about the trip up until then.
Phew. I like this idea too. 10 months in an RV is too long to think about. What is that old line? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. I have to say, I prefer a year in an RV to eating an elephant…
Simon was better today. During the day he decided to pitch the idea of making a cardboard box into a replica of our old house in London because he was feeling better. He drew a bundle of pictures to put up in the RV, even a picture of a Dream Eater that eats the bad dreams and puffs out beautiful dreams. I think I might need that picture above my head tonight to keep away the thoughts of lightening frying the RV.
But then this evening before dinner I found him in our bed quietly sobbing to himself saying he just couldn’t go on the trip at all. Evan overheard us chatting about his worries and suggested that after a dinner of pizza we could spend some time in the RV looking at all the cool storage boxes (always a crowd pleaser!) and then have a family meeting to discuss Simon’s feelings and to check in in general about the trip.
Simon perked right up – unsure if it was the pizza, the storage boxes, or the chance to be highlighted on the agenda. We have been holding Family Meetings pretty regularly for the past 5 years and Simon is very familiar with the format and to have your item first – with your name right on it – makes you feel special and that you are being heard. Isn’t that what we all want? To be heard? To be first on the agenda? Having your needs addressed?
Family Meeting Agenda
I. Simon’s Worries
II. Pace of the next couple of weeks
III. What we need to do before we leave tomorrow
IV. Thanksgiving Plans (Evan’s parents were over and we wanted to be sure we talked about when we would see them next, with them and the kids)
During Simon’s Worries we all discussed how overwhelming the trip is and to think about living in an RV for a year is just too long and makes us want to scream. Starting anything new can be scary and could make you want to scream. Simon and I went out on the balcony and screamed a really good long scream and felt better.
Talk calmly. Go outside and scream. Come back in and continue conversation. This is normal yes?
We then came inside and we all discussed how we were excited about the first couple of weeks.
Tomorrow we head out to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Simon got all excited about seeing Babe Ruth’s bat and Grandpa told us all some stories about The Babe and Lou Gehrig.
So, we all decided that we would leave tomorrow as discussed but we will check in once we are in St. Louis next week and see how we are feeling. But then we remembered my mom, Mama Jo, is coming to meet us in Springfield and then there is the family reunion and we get to stay at Aunt Jackie and Uncle Paul’s house and they have a sneaky club house with a trap door and everything. So, we decided to just think about the trip up until then.
Phew. I like this idea too. 10 months in an RV is too long to think about. What is that old line? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. I have to say, I prefer a year in an RV to eating an elephant…
Monday, 17 August 2009
36 hours until departure
Simon is so sad. He misses London so much. "Mommy, London is the only home I know. I miss our house. I am excited about the big adventure, but right now I am so sad."
Me too. I know this is the right thing to do and all the other intellectual self growth, chance of a life time blah blah blah along with it, but mostly I am tired of moving and we haven't even begun.
Simon took an empty cardboard box and excitedly suggested we could make a replica of our old house in the box. "That way we can take it with us all the time." Josh suggested we have a special Anniversary Day for the house so we can all tell each other things we remember.
We will do both suggestions. And look at pictures. And write letters to our friends on the street. But it still makes us sad.
I have always maintained that the kids would take their cues from Evan and me and that if we put on a brave face and make whatever trouble or trying time we are going through in to an adventure - they would rise us and all would be well.
But that leaves little room for lying in your seven year olds bed crying together.
Oops. I think I dropped my brave face.
But he is asleep now and tomorrow is another day.
My suggestion was that we need to make the RV more of a home...starting tomorrow. I can't call it the Big Pig anymore and expect that will make my kids feel like it is a nice place to call home. While it isn't really a "home" it will be the one thing that will remain constant in our lives over the upcoming 10 months.
Time to paint the walls, put up the art work, organize our blankets and stuffed animals and start thinking of the RV as our respite rather than a joke.
I guess this really is our life...for now.
Me too. I know this is the right thing to do and all the other intellectual self growth, chance of a life time blah blah blah along with it, but mostly I am tired of moving and we haven't even begun.
Simon took an empty cardboard box and excitedly suggested we could make a replica of our old house in the box. "That way we can take it with us all the time." Josh suggested we have a special Anniversary Day for the house so we can all tell each other things we remember.
We will do both suggestions. And look at pictures. And write letters to our friends on the street. But it still makes us sad.
I have always maintained that the kids would take their cues from Evan and me and that if we put on a brave face and make whatever trouble or trying time we are going through in to an adventure - they would rise us and all would be well.
But that leaves little room for lying in your seven year olds bed crying together.
Oops. I think I dropped my brave face.
But he is asleep now and tomorrow is another day.
My suggestion was that we need to make the RV more of a home...starting tomorrow. I can't call it the Big Pig anymore and expect that will make my kids feel like it is a nice place to call home. While it isn't really a "home" it will be the one thing that will remain constant in our lives over the upcoming 10 months.
Time to paint the walls, put up the art work, organize our blankets and stuffed animals and start thinking of the RV as our respite rather than a joke.
I guess this really is our life...for now.
Heading out letter
Dear Friends and Family!
It is Saturday afternoon the 15th of August. I am writing you from the green mountains of Vermont where we are now official residents, wear tie dye everyday and flash the peace sign as we drive past folks on the dirt roads. Evan and the boys are making blueberry jam from the buckets of blueberries we picked yesterday and we are listening to an interesting combination of Green Day, Weird Al and the Simpson’s Sing the Blues. I am sorting through lists, freaking out and eating chocolate.
We have had an action packed summer cleaning out our storage facility in Roswell, Georgia, road tripping up the East Coast, playing in Vermont at the Holiday House with a ton of fabulous friends who have helped up keep our sanity and taking care of the details for our Adventure Year! We are registered to vote, have new driver’s licenses, and the home schooling curriculum we put together is all approved by the VT Dept of Education. All our stuff (over 500 boxes from both the UK and Georgia) is in a storage facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. Don’t get me started on the stuff conversation.
We are getting into the RV this Wednesday the 19th of August – 4 days behind schedule. But wait a minute! Whose schedule are we on? We just revised the schedule. Never mind.
Our new home is a 30 foot Winnebago Itasca Impulse. We will be holding a Name the RV Contest on our website with the winner receiving a jar of the previously mentioned home made jam! Right now I keep calling it the Big Pig. Simon calls it Chuck. It clearly needs some help!
If you haven’t checked out our website and all our blogs lately – do so! www.familyadventureyear.com. At this point, the Web site also has a Calendar that is reasonably up-to-date with our itinerary through the end of 2009. We plan to update the 2010 itinerary in October. Evan still has not finished the integration with Flickr (for photo sharing) or the button that lets you see where we’ve been on a map. The Web site also shows where we are at any given point in time (Evan can update it from his Blackberry, but we’re not planning to update it more than once a day).
Our hope is to send out monthly updates to our Google Group email list (you can sign up on the left-hand side of our Web site). If you know someone else who wants to sign up, go to the left side of our Web site and enter the email address and then click the “Subscribe” button. If you're having trouble, send Evan an email at evan@familyadventureyear.com and he'll sign you up for it
Here are some blog highlights:
Homeless No More and RSVP Evan’s blog about the American South and the RV –with photos!
Notes Upon Reentry and 4 New Things Wendy’s Blog about coming back to the US with too many self absorptions.
Bromley Mountain and Turkeys – Simon’s blogs about life as a 7 year old
Penguins, Summer Camp and Poet William Cowper – Josh’s blogs about life as a 12 year old.
Peace, love, admiration, adoration and clean laundry to you all!
It is Saturday afternoon the 15th of August. I am writing you from the green mountains of Vermont where we are now official residents, wear tie dye everyday and flash the peace sign as we drive past folks on the dirt roads. Evan and the boys are making blueberry jam from the buckets of blueberries we picked yesterday and we are listening to an interesting combination of Green Day, Weird Al and the Simpson’s Sing the Blues. I am sorting through lists, freaking out and eating chocolate.
We have had an action packed summer cleaning out our storage facility in Roswell, Georgia, road tripping up the East Coast, playing in Vermont at the Holiday House with a ton of fabulous friends who have helped up keep our sanity and taking care of the details for our Adventure Year! We are registered to vote, have new driver’s licenses, and the home schooling curriculum we put together is all approved by the VT Dept of Education. All our stuff (over 500 boxes from both the UK and Georgia) is in a storage facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. Don’t get me started on the stuff conversation.
We are getting into the RV this Wednesday the 19th of August – 4 days behind schedule. But wait a minute! Whose schedule are we on? We just revised the schedule. Never mind.
Our new home is a 30 foot Winnebago Itasca Impulse. We will be holding a Name the RV Contest on our website with the winner receiving a jar of the previously mentioned home made jam! Right now I keep calling it the Big Pig. Simon calls it Chuck. It clearly needs some help!
If you haven’t checked out our website and all our blogs lately – do so! www.familyadventureyear.com. At this point, the Web site also has a Calendar that is reasonably up-to-date with our itinerary through the end of 2009. We plan to update the 2010 itinerary in October. Evan still has not finished the integration with Flickr (for photo sharing) or the button that lets you see where we’ve been on a map. The Web site also shows where we are at any given point in time (Evan can update it from his Blackberry, but we’re not planning to update it more than once a day).
Our hope is to send out monthly updates to our Google Group email list (you can sign up on the left-hand side of our Web site). If you know someone else who wants to sign up, go to the left side of our Web site and enter the email address and then click the “Subscribe” button. If you're having trouble, send Evan an email at evan@familyadventureyear.com and he'll sign you up for it
Here are some blog highlights:
Homeless No More and RSVP Evan’s blog about the American South and the RV –with photos!
Notes Upon Reentry and 4 New Things Wendy’s Blog about coming back to the US with too many self absorptions.
Bromley Mountain and Turkeys – Simon’s blogs about life as a 7 year old
Penguins, Summer Camp and Poet William Cowper – Josh’s blogs about life as a 12 year old.
Peace, love, admiration, adoration and clean laundry to you all!
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Major League Freak Out - Update
We are well on our way to solving a lot of the issues. Alright, Evan has solved a lot of the issues.
Our kids are registered as Home Schoolers for the State of Vermont. I have the official piece of paper! Why does an Official Piece of Paper make me feel so much better? Validation!
We both have VT drivers Licenses. Again, another piece of validation.
The RV is registered in VT.
We have a Vermont PO Box.
We are registered voters in VT.
I made the bed in the RV in the Target parking lot in Milbury, MA. And then took a nap…in the RV. In the Target parking lot. Strangely surreal and peaceful.
We have doctors appointments scheduled for Monday.
I have driven the Big Pig for over 200 miles. And I didn’t hit anything. Ran over a few curbs but that is to be expected. Backed it up down a long drive way. note to future self: look into changing careers to truck driver.
I have turned on the generator.
All of our guests are gone and we have 4 days to pack up and move out on to the road.
First stop: Middlesex, Vermont.
Our kids are registered as Home Schoolers for the State of Vermont. I have the official piece of paper! Why does an Official Piece of Paper make me feel so much better? Validation!
We both have VT drivers Licenses. Again, another piece of validation.
The RV is registered in VT.
We have a Vermont PO Box.
We are registered voters in VT.
I made the bed in the RV in the Target parking lot in Milbury, MA. And then took a nap…in the RV. In the Target parking lot. Strangely surreal and peaceful.
We have doctors appointments scheduled for Monday.
I have driven the Big Pig for over 200 miles. And I didn’t hit anything. Ran over a few curbs but that is to be expected. Backed it up down a long drive way. note to future self: look into changing careers to truck driver.
I have turned on the generator.
All of our guests are gone and we have 4 days to pack up and move out on to the road.
First stop: Middlesex, Vermont.
4 New Things - In One Day!
At 46 years old sometimes I am reluctant to try new things.
Quite frankly, at 46 years old there are not that many new things that present themselves in the course of a day to try.
At 46 years old I know the consequences of trying new things and, while I hate to admit it, I know that my body doesn’t bounce back as quickly in case the new thing I try doesn’t turn out as expected.
An incident involving a push scooter, a bottle of wine, an unexpected pothole, and a heroic save of a certain son on a promenade in Paris that ended badly still haunts me.
But then there was Thursday.
We were at Bromley Mountain in Southern Vermont. In the winter it is a lovely place to go skiing. In the summer for the past 30 years they have put up an Alpine Slide where you take the chairlift up the mountain and then throw yourself into a small cart on wheels to plummet your way down the mountain in a graphite chute to the tune of 30 miles per hour. But I have done the Alpine Slide for years –nothing new there.
Over the past 10 years or so they keep adding new, better, faster, more exciting things to do to entice the ADD crowd.
So here is what I did:
1. Space bike. I strapped myself in, with my trusty husband at my side, to a bicycle and got whipped around upside down on a circular track. Ride time – about 3 minutes. Recovery time – about 2 hours.
2. Rock wall. Sure I have seen these all over town. My kids have been to birthday parties where this was the activity. But for me? The harnesses alone are enough to turn me off. And the answer is, yes, your butt looks enormous in the rock climbing gear. But one of the benefits of 46 is is that I don’t care anymore. I climbed the wall! There were 4 options ranging in difficulty. I started at 1. Mastered on the first go. I continued up 2. Check. I thought about 3 but no! Saved by the bell. It was time to head up to the 3rd NEW THING of the day.
3. Sun Mountain Flyer
“It cost $1,000,000 to build. It soars as high as a five-story building. It approaches speeds of 50 MPH. At one-half-mile long, it’s the longest thrill ride of its kind in New England, one of only three on the east coast, and one of only ten in the world. It’s the Sun Mountain Flyer, the Sun Mountain Adventure Park’s new double-line ZipRider®, and it’s like no ride you’ve experienced, anywhere. Prepare to meet thy zoom!” – taken from the Web Site.
What this means is that you take the chair lift up. Climb a fire tower. Strap yourself into a diaper/chair thing with lots of hooks with the help of a mostly together, however slightly disinterested, 18 year old with assorted tattoos. And then they push you out the flap of a door so you can zip down the mountain, building up speeds to 50 miles an hour. It is fast, it is beautiful overlooking the Vermont valley, and not too scary. I felt like I was flying…until the end when the swing catches on a stopper, you get whipped up and flung back and poured out onto a platform. Ride Time - about 30 seconds. Recovery time - an hour.
And then…and then…
4. The Red Fox Inn. www.redfoxinn.com This old road house has been a steady friend over the past 15 years or so. It is a beautiful 1.2 mile walk from our Holiday House and in the summer is very casual. The bar serves food and kids are welcomed and on Thursdays it is Open Mic Night.
Do you see where this is going?
Honest, we didn’t know it was Open Mic Night until we got there. We sit up next to the stage, we talk with Mike the guitarist for the house band. The drummer Adam let the kids have a go on his drum kit. My husband, friend Mary from London, and the 4 kids encouraged me, rallied me. I couldn’t ignore the growing drum beat any longer. Mike gladly relinquished his guitar. Adam gave me a back up beat and I PLAYED PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON ON THE STAGE AT THE RED FOX INN! And the best part was that Simon did his interpretive dance as I played. Playing time – 5 minutes tops. Recovery time – 3 days and counting.
Phew. What a day.
Quite frankly, at 46 years old there are not that many new things that present themselves in the course of a day to try.
At 46 years old I know the consequences of trying new things and, while I hate to admit it, I know that my body doesn’t bounce back as quickly in case the new thing I try doesn’t turn out as expected.
An incident involving a push scooter, a bottle of wine, an unexpected pothole, and a heroic save of a certain son on a promenade in Paris that ended badly still haunts me.
But then there was Thursday.
We were at Bromley Mountain in Southern Vermont. In the winter it is a lovely place to go skiing. In the summer for the past 30 years they have put up an Alpine Slide where you take the chairlift up the mountain and then throw yourself into a small cart on wheels to plummet your way down the mountain in a graphite chute to the tune of 30 miles per hour. But I have done the Alpine Slide for years –nothing new there.
Over the past 10 years or so they keep adding new, better, faster, more exciting things to do to entice the ADD crowd.
So here is what I did:
1. Space bike. I strapped myself in, with my trusty husband at my side, to a bicycle and got whipped around upside down on a circular track. Ride time – about 3 minutes. Recovery time – about 2 hours.
2. Rock wall. Sure I have seen these all over town. My kids have been to birthday parties where this was the activity. But for me? The harnesses alone are enough to turn me off. And the answer is, yes, your butt looks enormous in the rock climbing gear. But one of the benefits of 46 is is that I don’t care anymore. I climbed the wall! There were 4 options ranging in difficulty. I started at 1. Mastered on the first go. I continued up 2. Check. I thought about 3 but no! Saved by the bell. It was time to head up to the 3rd NEW THING of the day.
3. Sun Mountain Flyer
“It cost $1,000,000 to build. It soars as high as a five-story building. It approaches speeds of 50 MPH. At one-half-mile long, it’s the longest thrill ride of its kind in New England, one of only three on the east coast, and one of only ten in the world. It’s the Sun Mountain Flyer, the Sun Mountain Adventure Park’s new double-line ZipRider®, and it’s like no ride you’ve experienced, anywhere. Prepare to meet thy zoom!” – taken from the Web Site.
What this means is that you take the chair lift up. Climb a fire tower. Strap yourself into a diaper/chair thing with lots of hooks with the help of a mostly together, however slightly disinterested, 18 year old with assorted tattoos. And then they push you out the flap of a door so you can zip down the mountain, building up speeds to 50 miles an hour. It is fast, it is beautiful overlooking the Vermont valley, and not too scary. I felt like I was flying…until the end when the swing catches on a stopper, you get whipped up and flung back and poured out onto a platform. Ride Time - about 30 seconds. Recovery time - an hour.
And then…and then…
4. The Red Fox Inn. www.redfoxinn.com This old road house has been a steady friend over the past 15 years or so. It is a beautiful 1.2 mile walk from our Holiday House and in the summer is very casual. The bar serves food and kids are welcomed and on Thursdays it is Open Mic Night.
Do you see where this is going?
Honest, we didn’t know it was Open Mic Night until we got there. We sit up next to the stage, we talk with Mike the guitarist for the house band. The drummer Adam let the kids have a go on his drum kit. My husband, friend Mary from London, and the 4 kids encouraged me, rallied me. I couldn’t ignore the growing drum beat any longer. Mike gladly relinquished his guitar. Adam gave me a back up beat and I PLAYED PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON ON THE STAGE AT THE RED FOX INN! And the best part was that Simon did his interpretive dance as I played. Playing time – 5 minutes tops. Recovery time – 3 days and counting.
Phew. What a day.
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