Family Adventures: Last Hike of the Summer

Hiking was a tough sell for our daughter this weekend.  In fact, getting her out of the house at all was quite a challenge.  We'll get to why at the end of the post.

We went to Underhill State Park yesterday, site of several gratifying family hikes over the past few months.  We hiked the Eagle's Cut Trail, then CCC Road to its junction with the Sunset Ridge Trail.  It was our intention (by which I mean My Wife's and my intention) to make it all the way to Cantilever Rock but Our Girl was pretty fussy.  At one point, My Wife said to her, "Come on, it's our last hike of the summer.  Daddy goes back to work this week."  I hadn't really thought of it in those terms.  What a fine summer it's been, too.  Sigh...  In the end, it was a pretty close match to our very first hike of the season.

It's definitely getting cooler and there are other, more visible signs of autumn's approach, too.

We did see a beautiful luna moth caterpillar on the way down the hill:

 

Our Girl didn't even want to stop for ice cream, so eager was she to spend time with her early birthday present.  Everybody, say hi to the new kid.  Hi, new kid!

Dog Days of Summer, Part II: Photo Highlights, Summer 2012

Prince Edward Island

 

Hiking

Kickball

Balloon Festival

 

This post is a variation on Question #1 from Jeremy Bates's Dog Days of Summer Blog Fest.  For details, click the graphic on my side bar or try this link.  Please stop by for tomorrow's startling conclusion.  Happy hopping!

Family Adventures: Stoweflake Balloon Festival

Through her employer, My Wife scored free tickets to the 26th Annual Stoweflake Balloon Festival.  It is a weekend-long event but we only went for the Saturday evening launch.  The Mocks joined us, too.  None of us knew much of anything about ballooning going in.  I think I may have gone on a tethered ride as a child but as an acrophobe, that's the sort of thing I wouldn't remember too well because a) I would have been cowering in a corner of the basket screaming to be let down and/or b) I would have blocked as much of the memory as possible as a means of self-preservation.  It's also possible that I just watched other people doing it and had sympathetic anxieties.  Phobias are fun!

Needless to say, I didn't opt to go for the tethered ride this time and I'm delighted to say that all of my companions also decided against.  Otherwise it was fun.  The food was alright but definitely overpriced.  If we were to do it again, I think we would either bring food or eat beforehand.

While there was a lot of waiting involved, it was really most impressive once the balloons started to inflate.  We counted 23 in all.  It was a bit like watching sleeping giants awake, then take off for the sky.  Obviously, it's a great opportunity for taking loads of photos.

On the way out, I asked My Wife if she'd want to do it again and she said yes?  "Would you be willing to pay $10 to go again?"

"Oh no," she laughed.  "It would be contingent upon getting free tickets again."

So, there you have it.

The ladies went hiking on Sunday while I sat riveted to the Federer-Murray match at Wimbledon.  Here is My Wife's write up:

Hike #14 - Sunset Ridge Trail

I did get to meet them for the creemies afterward.  The Underhill Country Store had orange again.  I've found that the orange/vanilla twist makes for a better Creamsicle effect than just orange alone.

We won in kickball, 7-4.  Mixed performance by me.  I got to play right field the whole game which I enjoyed but I dropped two pop-ups.  I did get a third to atone for my sins - sort of.  I did better at the plate: 1-for-1 with an infield single.  We have one more game before the playoffs.  Our record stands at 3-3-1.

I leave you with more Balloon Festival photos:

Family Adventures: 14 Waterfalls

On Saturday, we went for a hike at Underhill State Park.  Here is My Wife's writeup:

Hike #13 - CCC Road to Maple Ridge Road aka 14 Waterfalls

There were indeed quite a lot of waterfalls on the hike.  My Wife is keen to try a hike to the Mount Mansfield summit but I am feeling timid.  I believe in working your way up to such things and I don't feel we're quite there yet.  I think I've convinced her that we need at least one more moderate hike before we tackle the difficult ones.

On Sunday, we spent a leisurely afternoon with the Mocks by their pool.  After a hot week, the day was a pleasant one for being outside.  We played a seven-hand game of UNO, one of my daughter's favorites, though we usually only play one-on-one.  It's completely different with a big group and a lot of fun.  Mrs. Mock won.

We played Pandemic, too.  We won but as the ever-observant Mock pointed out, we've been playing one rule incorrectly.  For those who know the game, we've been using the Forecast Card incorrectly, looking at the next six cards in the Player Card deck as opposed to the Infection Card deck.  The card, of course, clearly states what you're supposed to do but I think in our eagerness to avoid Epidemic Cards, we read what we wanted to read.  It's too bad.  I like our way.  I guess we'll have to play it the right way from now on...

We tried out a new restaurant on Friday night: Mimmo's in Essex Junction.  I love a dive Italian restaurant and while Mimmo's is a bit too upscale to qualify, it hit the spot.  My go-to dish for Italian food is Chicken Parmagiana and theirs was very good.  Our favorite dive Italian place in the area is Papa Frank's in Winooski.  We used to live within walking distance but alas, it's a bit out of the way for us these days.

Kickball was less successful this week.  We lost 8-4.  Part of the problem was that two of our most athletic players were out of town but we just didn't play well - self included.  I did get to play a lot due to the absences.  I think first base is still my favorite, though I'd like to get better at it.  We only have two more regular season games left.

Family Adventures: Nebraska Notch and More

On Sunday, we went for a hike on the Nebraska Notch Trail and the Long Trail.  My Wife's write up is here:

Hike #12 - Nebraska Notch Redux

A few bonus photos:

An uprooted tree, both sides:

Afterwards, we went for creemees at the Underhill Center Store - just vanilla on offer on Sunday but that was all we needed.  Summer and ice cream are an obvious combination anywhere but it's a particularly big deal in our proud dairy state.  My Wife makes her own and is currently teaching Our Girl to do the same.  Our Girl had been bugging me for creemees all week but I held off, knowing mom would be disappointed if we went without her.  So, we hatched a creemees-everyday-of-the-weekend plan.  Our Girl was surprisingly unimpressed when I told her.  "That's interesting," was her casual response.  Of course, she'd just had Friday's cone at that point.  But then, we forgot on Saturday and she was disappointed - figures.

In other news, Our Girl passed Red Cross Level 2 in swim class on Friday!  We're doing Level 3 in just a couple of weeks.  She's already worried she won't pass.  I told her we could practice at the town pond every day if she wanted.  Naturally, we're very proud of her.

We won again in kickball last night, a close battle: 1-0.  Our Girl came to watch for the first time, more or less out of necessity.  My Wife is out of town for a few days.  She enjoyed it, I think.  She certainly had a fun time running around with the other kids.  I got a "Good job!" and a high five after I got a hit in my only at bat.

Family Adventures: Underhill State Park

Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of hiking season in Vermont.  Our first trek of the year was at Underhill State Park.  My Wife has a full write up at her blog:

Hike #11 - Underhill State Park

This was our first hike at a state park.  One thing I really like about the state park system is that they grade their hikes by difficulty.  The Green Mountain Club, the fine organization which maintains the Long Trail and many other hiking trails in Vermont, isn't so good about that.  In their many publications, only the trail map offers any indication as to easy, moderate and difficult hikes.  My Wife argues that all of the Long Trail hikes are difficult but I still contend that they're not all equally difficult.  A frame of reference is very useful for planning.

It was a beautiful day for hiking.  On the way back down the hill, I was walking a bit behind the ladies and had a very funny encounter.  As a group of 20-somethings was coming my way, one of them was whistling "Yellow Submarine."  I couldn't resist belting out "And we live beneath the waves..."  He laughed.  "I'll have that stuck in my head all day now," I said.

"That is how it came to us," he replied, "and that is how we pass it on to you."

Inspired by the idea, every time we came upon other hikers on the trail from that point on, I whistled the song, trying to plant the song in their heads.  No observable reactions but maybe I can get this going all summer.  Care to join me?  Need a refresher on the song?  Here you go:



On the way home, we stopped off at the Underhill Country Store for sandwiches and creemies: orange and vanilla on offer.  I love creamcicles so that's always a winning combination.

Monday marked the beginning of kickball season.  That's right, adults can play kickball, too, and there might very well be a league in your area.  Check out the WAKA (World Adult Kickball Association) site for details.  I hadn't played since the fourth grade but a contingent from the broomball team played the spring season with an eye to getting a jump on the summer.  There are 16 teams in the league with approximately 18 players each.  The league champion goes to Vegas for Nationals. 

For my first game, I did...okay.  I went 1-for-2 at the plate but felt lost in the field.  I'm sure that will improve with time.  Just as with broomball, some organization is required for our team to succeed, I think.   I say Mock is the man for the job!

The atmosphere is far more relaxed than the broomball league - plenty of beer on hand, too (perhaps not coincidental).  I felt a little out of my element as the first-timer.  This group is bigger than the broomball team and includes many more people whom I don't know.  Yes, yes, a stranger is a friend you haven't met yet.  Yadda, yadda...  I can already see that it will be a nice excuse to see friends regularly over the summer. 

Oh right, we lost 4-1.  It was really just one bad inning that made the difference.  I think once we get our act together, we'll be respectable.  The team finished second out of four in the spring season. 

Family Adventures: Mocks and a Letterbox

We had a fairly busy weekend. We spent late afternoon/early evening with the Mocks on Saturday. They came over to our place for board games before we all headed out for a chicken pie church dinner. My Wife has blogging rights on dinner but I'll post a link. We've gotten together for games a few times now. Our favorites are "Ticket to Ride" and "Hey! That's My Fish!" I'm a game enthusiast for life and I'm always excited to find friends who like to join in the fun.


We went letterboxing on Sunday, another quest in Mills Riverside Park. The weather is absolutely glorious right now: stunning fall colors with Indian Summer temperatures. We encountered fellow letterboxers for the first time, or at least former letterboxers. We got to the bench and sat as instructed. A couple came along and he said, "Oh, I know why you guys are here. We'll leave you alone so you can figure it out."

"It is here, though, right?"

"Yes, or at least it was a few years ago."

We did find the box - two stamps this time! The box was in excellent shape, though we did bring extra ziplocs this time, just in case.

Family Adventures: Letterboxing

My Wife has discovered a new family hobby for us: letterboxing. Learn all about it here. The basic idea is, someone plants a waterproof box somewhere. They put a rubber stamp and a small notepad in the box. They post clues to finding the box online. The searcher finds the box, stamps their own notebook and marks the notepad in the box with their own stamp or signs it. Done. It's basically a treasure hunt. The boxes are planted throughout North America and beyond. There are 178 listed for Northern Vermont alone, including quite a few within easy striking distance of our house. So, we decided to give it a go.


We started with the Mills Riverside Park Series. Sadly, we were only able to find two of the three in the series. We couldn't find #1. One of the clues for #1 is "Check out the amazing tree." This is Vermont, for crying out loud! Throw a rock in any given direction. It'll bounce off of one amazing tree and hit the one next to it. There has been some flooding in the area, as you may have heard, and it's not difficult to imagine that box might have been washed away. We did find #2 and it was in excellent shape. #3 hasn't fared as well. The box had been crushed and the notepad was completely soaked. The stamp was in good condition, though.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I think it has a lot of promise as a hobby for us. It's hiking-light compared to our Long Trail and Side-to-Side projects. It's also driving-light, which I definitely like. Some supplies to bring for next time: gloves for poking around in the dirt and underbrush for the box, hand wipes and/or sanitizer and perhaps some extra Ziplocs to reinforce boxes that have sustained damage.

We also went "apple picking." Apple picking the past couple of years has basically involved driving to Chapin Orchard, buying a couple bags of apples, then finding a nice place to sit with our cider and doughnuts: perfect.




Finally, we stopped by the Jericho village green to see the new sculpture display by Our Girl's after school arts program. This is her section of the larger whole which follows:




Overall, it was a great, adventurous weekend. The equinox is near!