Here are a few lessons we've learned over the last few days of our vacation:
Eating outside on a beautiful summer night is about the awesomest feeling ever. WE've eaten our lunches and dinners outside for the last couple of days and love the flair of exoticism it adds to our otherwise pretty humble culinary experiences (like when we're just eating pb&j's).
Don't give up on something until you've seen it through to the end. We toured a place (Wild Gardens of Acadia) that the kids quickly deemed rather boring, but then at the very last exhibit on the trail when they were racing back to the car, Adam discovered these cute little froggies in a small pond filled with lily pads. It was the first time we'd actually ever seen a frog on an actual lily pad before and the entire family was enamored!
Going to church is good. ....even when you don't know anyone there, you show up 10 minutes late, and half the family forgot to pack their Sunday shoes.
Don't drive by a store just because it has a cutesy name. We discovered that "Udder Heaven" makes some udderly delicious ice cream, which after a day of sightseeing and driving was an udderly perfect way to end the day. Sorry for the udder cheesiness.
Last but not least, don't underestimate the power of what can be accomplished while being trapped together in a car for hours a day. I decided that my kids needed to be introduced to the Anne of Green Gables movies before we went to Prince Edward Island and I knew that I'd be hard-pressed to get everyone to sit down long enough to watch all 6 hours of them at home. So I decided to take advantage of our time in the car and show them during our drive. My family is now as enamored as I am (with the possible exception of Spence) and I couldn't help but smile whenever I heard them yelling at the movie screen, "No! You can't marry him! You're supposed to marry Gil!" My girls were particularly smitten with Anne, but when I even heard Adam quoting a line from the movie today I knew that my methods were a success. Perhaps next vacation we'll work on memorizing scripture verses.
Eating outside on a beautiful summer night is about the awesomest feeling ever. WE've eaten our lunches and dinners outside for the last couple of days and love the flair of exoticism it adds to our otherwise pretty humble culinary experiences (like when we're just eating pb&j's).
Don't give up on something until you've seen it through to the end. We toured a place (Wild Gardens of Acadia) that the kids quickly deemed rather boring, but then at the very last exhibit on the trail when they were racing back to the car, Adam discovered these cute little froggies in a small pond filled with lily pads. It was the first time we'd actually ever seen a frog on an actual lily pad before and the entire family was enamored!
Going to church is good. ....even when you don't know anyone there, you show up 10 minutes late, and half the family forgot to pack their Sunday shoes.
Don't drive by a store just because it has a cutesy name. We discovered that "Udder Heaven" makes some udderly delicious ice cream, which after a day of sightseeing and driving was an udderly perfect way to end the day. Sorry for the udder cheesiness.
Don't be discouraged just because something isn't working out quite the way you wanted it to. Although I was initially disappointed when my family poo-poo'ed my idea of waking everyone up early enough (which would've been about 3:30am) to catch a sunrise on Cadillac Mountain (the first place in the US to see the sun rise each day), turns out that sunsets in Acadia NP are pretty darn spectacular too!
Last but not least, don't underestimate the power of what can be accomplished while being trapped together in a car for hours a day. I decided that my kids needed to be introduced to the Anne of Green Gables movies before we went to Prince Edward Island and I knew that I'd be hard-pressed to get everyone to sit down long enough to watch all 6 hours of them at home. So I decided to take advantage of our time in the car and show them during our drive. My family is now as enamored as I am (with the possible exception of Spence) and I couldn't help but smile whenever I heard them yelling at the movie screen, "No! You can't marry him! You're supposed to marry Gil!" My girls were particularly smitten with Anne, but when I even heard Adam quoting a line from the movie today I knew that my methods were a success. Perhaps next vacation we'll work on memorizing scripture verses.
We are amazed with your vacation planning skills and how much you pack into an ordinary day of travel. Although we traveled a lot and saw lots of the world, our family trips were boring compared to yours. We passed all those cutsey little places or anything that cost anything.
ReplyDeleteNow udderly regret passing all those little hidden jewels along the highways of America and Europe.
Thanks for sharing all these delightful pictures and memories.