Little Sink

We've been talking about adding some sort of little sink for tooth-brushing before bed for some time now. Sometimes the bath house is just so far away after a nice glass of wine or beer around the campfire ;) 

So after noodling on different options we finally came up with a solution - a mixing bowl that drains into a small, portable gray water container and a soap/lotion pump for the water source.  We have our Cabela's camp kitchen for dishes, so this literally is just for brushing teeth and rinsing my fingers before handling my contacts...so a tiny amount of water is perfect.  I'd say the pump container holds about 16-18 oz.  And if we need to refill it every day, so be it...but during our prototype trial in the bathroom at home we were all three able to brush our teeth for two nights with the amount in the full bottle.

Viola!  No winterizing or anything to mess with, but the convenience of a little spit sink!

VT - Silver Lake State Park

We were on site #36.  A nice long site above a tight curve in the loop, so it gave Morgan a nice perspective to see everything. The sites are all pretty much terraced in this pretty campground.  A babbling brook runs between many of the sites (great for catching crayfish and salamanders.)

Another view of the site - from the road. 

This park has a great day use area with a nice swimming beach.

Yes, Theo is climbing UP the pole - feats of strength!

Morgan was allowed everywhere in the park except the sand beach.  And she really was getting around well!

We visited Sugarbush Farm for some agritainment.  We took a maple walk and learned how they tap trees with hoses, tasted different grades of maple syrup, and tasted a bunch of different cheeses.  Theo also fed some animals and met this calf named Paul.  Morgan was allowed everywhere here as well, except of course the tasting room and shop!

VT - Woodford State Park

We were on site #40, which was a small but comfy waterfront site. We turned the camper sideways for better use of the site.

The access to the water was pretty steep and a bit muddy by the shore, but still a great site!

A view of the lake from the camper's beach. The day use beach is on the left in the distance. Our site was somewhere on the right tucked in the trees.

Theo enjoyed the climber near the camper's beach. I think we'll look for a site closer to this area next time. Nice field for frisbee and a basketball hoop here too.

We drove into Bennington and visited the Battle of Bennington Monument.

Here's the view from up in the monument. You can see three states from up there - VT, NY, and MA!

NY - Fish Creek Pond

We had a great site - #217, on the shore of Square Pond. The shores of Square Pond and Fish Creek Pond (connected by a small narrows area) are all edged with campsites at this big campground. As we biked around we decided we had one of the best sites (thanks to the help of fishcreekpond.com, I chose a good one when booking 9 months out!), although with almost all of them on the water you can't go wrong if you like boating and swimming.

We had a perfect little nook near the water to hang a hammock. Theo fell asleep in it two of the nights!


Take a look at this...now we're talking! A nightly ice cream truck - with real ice cream! Yeah, we'll be back to this campground for sure!

The boys enjoying their ice creams...and Morgan looking for any drips.

We enjoyed some nice sunsets, and the frequent visits by the ducks.

At night fellow campers all around the lake sing/shout "Yoo Hoo" across the lake...pretty cool tradition! While we were there we also heard live music across the lake - one night was a fife and drum and another night was a harmonica. Then at 10:00 when quiet hours started we heard taps on a trumpet every night...not sure if that's the park doing that or fellow campers, but it was neat.

Theo about to do a cannonball off of the kayak.

Morgan and Dad and Theo playing frisbee in the lake (Theo's on his hands...that's how shallow the lake was pretty far out)

On the way home we stopped in Tupper Lake at the Wild Center, a natural history museum. It was a beautiful museum! We enjoyed both the indoor exhibits and the outdoor paths and natural playground. We even did some geocaching here.

Theo's favorite exhibit was the glaciers and touching the big tower of ice.

While we were in the museum Morgan took a nap in the camper...we just popped up, put the fan on, and tucked her in...we were reminded of how much we love our Aliner!

CT - New London "Grape Escape"

Another great visit with great friends in New London, this year we got to park our "turtle shell" near to Steve's beautiful garden.

Theo had a great time hanging out with his older buddy, Kent...and with Megan and Stephanie too!

Theo's out on the boardwalk checking out the "pirate ship" going by...after scrutiny with binoculars he decreed that it was not real since there were no cannons :)

CT - West Thompson Lake Campground

We had a great weekend at West Thompson - the weather was spectacular! Site #5 this time for the electricity for my dad's CPAP. Yes, we let them have the camper (with Theo and Morgan) while Kevin and I tented it.

Theo and Grandma on the trail.

We have started Geocaching...here's Theo sifting through some treasures in one of the caches.

Hitchin' a ride in the park's firewood wheelbarrow.

Great weekend for some paddling!

Theo and Grandpa doing a little fishing.

The crew played lots of games, including Cookin' Cookies.

NH - Moose Hillock Campground

We had a great time here! What a great balance between woodsy, rustic, and natural mixed with amenities and meticulous grounds! We were on site #45, which was really convenient to get to the pool and playground (and near a bathhouse too.)

As far as we could tell, all of the sites had these great stone fireplaces.

Theo had a blast at the pool and waterslides...

Well, we all had fun at the pool and waterslides!

Morgan enjoyed lots of R and R. That AC in the camper felt nice! (our site had water and electricity)

Theo got picked to help out in Juggling Jim's show on Saturday night.

No caption required ;)

MA - Harold Parker State Forest

Wow, the sites here are big! We were on #71, which was waterfront (about 100 feet or so to the water). This site was small compared to the neighboring site #69...definitely didn't feel packed in like sardines here!

The boys caught a few fish - among them this catfish.

Theo climbing trees.

The boys fishing - note the "scum" on the surface of the water - that was pollen. Definitely a benadryl and zyrtec weekend for us!

One of the times Theo "fell in" from the kayak.

He's starting to get the hang of paddling too.

But he also likes being chauffered around.

The park hosted a snake program that was wonderful. Here we are with an albino corn snake.

And here's Thebes with a boa constrictor.