Hiking Out

Garden Issues

The weeds in my garden have roots in New England that rival the descendants of the Mayflower. My lavender sends shoots up everywhere including right in the middle of my miniature rose plant which is about the size of a softball (decidedly not a bush). My coneflower is, literally, one foot tall. Just when the phlox bloom in their glorious bright pink, their shaky stems decide it’s just too much and they collapse onto the walkway or rest upon the browning yarrow, that I am sure I just deadheaded yesterday.

My garden will clearly never be on a garden tour; it continually confounds me. Yet I love it. Each year in July I tell myself that I really should just uproot the lupine—their brown, crinkly leaves and dried tubular stalks are unappealing, and the phlox behind which I attempted to hide them were taken down by a white powdery fungus. Yet I let the lupine thrive, and the following May as I watch their perfect star shaped leaves hold drops of water after the rain, and their flowers turn from green to pink, top to bottom, I wonder how I could have harbored such destructive thoughts. Then the aphids show up and although I reconsider, I let the lupine alone. Or my Rudbeckia flowers in profusion and within days needs to be deadheaded, leaving its hairy brown stems behind.

Last summer I nurtured my stunted plants along and was rewarded with buds ready to burst into cascades of color. Each morning as I excitedly approached my garden, not a speck of color could be seen. Every bud about to burst had been chomped off by a voracious deer. Then this summer, knock on wood, my buds have all been left alone to unfold into brilliant color. Did the deer take an alternate route? Did it find better grazing grounds where it didn’t have to reach down quite so far to nab a tasty bud?

I would continue to expound about the frustrations and gifts from my garden, but a giant foxtail is creeping in the window and tapping on my shoulder.

Quick Tips for Writing a Camper

The rest bell rings and campers race to the mailboxes to see what awaits. Samantha Saylor arrives first and grabs the stack of envelopes from the S box, quickly reading through the addressee names.

“Santos, Smith, Santos, Strickland, Surrey, Santos, Smith, Shen, finally Saylor!, Santos, Santos, how many friends and family does Santos have?!, Shen, Sargent, another one for Saylor, Santos, Steinberg, Santos”

Samantha hands the stack to the anxiously awaiting Strickland and heads off with her two letters. The high point of mail time has passed—sorting through the envelopes and finding the envelopes with her name on them. Even opening and reading the mail can’t eclipse the excitement of reading through the addressee names.

So take this as your first tip in writing your camper—mail, any mail, is better than no mail. And the contents of the letter or postcard are far less important than the fact that correspondence has been received. Still, writing about your commute to work, or grocery shopping will pale in comparison to a note including a funny story about trying to pick blueberries in the rain or fixing the leaky faucet and getting soaked in the process.

Here are some quick tips for writing your camper this summer:

Write short, frequent letters rather than long occasional notes
Include interesting flat items such as a newspaper comic or a photo
Sprinkle in a few riddles
Take some time to doodle
Include a short, funny story. Nothing happened on your commute to work or in your office? Find a few short jokes to include (there are plenty to be found on-line) or relate a story from your childhood.
Comment on your camper’s most recent letter—great job on learning how to serve in tennis or how cool that her cabin mate is from Montana.
Include a game like hang man, tic tac toe, or 20 questions on a second sheet of paper that the two of you can send back and forth over the summer to play.
Remember to write so your camper can read—many of the under 12 set cannot read cursive and that goes for many teens as well these days. 4 paragraphs of loopy handwriting will quickly be scanned for the signature at the end.

P.S. post scripts and post post scripts are always a big hit!

10 Reasons to Send Your Daughter to Summer Camp

At Summer Camp...

Friendships last a lifetime.

When the heat wave hits there’s a cool lake to dive into!

Campfires can’t be beat when shared.

It’s easy to find a quiet place to read a book,

Or a busy place to play with buddies.

Learning how to live with others is essential.

There’s a great sense of accomplishment in learning a new skill

Or in achieving a goal together.

The nights are as spectacular as the days.

But most importantly, every child should have the opportunity to soar!

Looking for answers to your summer camp questions? Check out the summer camp blog !

The Outer Banks in Two Days

You could easily spend a week or a month or a lifetime in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but if you’re driving from Florida to Maine, don’t drive inland—enjoy the Outer Banks! Here is a two day itinerary, from South to North with one night in Buxton.

Advance Planning:

Book a night in Morehead City, NC. This is the last town with decent lodging before the ferry landing (a one hour drive). The Hampton Inn is good quality and right on the water.
Book ferry reservations on the morning Cedar Island to Ocracoke Ferry http://www.ncdot.org/ferry/
Make hotel/motel reservations in Buxton—not a lot to choose from and they fill fast in the summer
Pack your beach towels and bathing suits!

Day 1: Ferry to Ocracoke, Ferry to Buxton

The drive from Morehead City to the Cedar Island Ferry landing is about 1 hour without traffic. Get to the ferry landing at the time requested or you could lose your spot! The ferry ride itself is about 2 ¼ hours. There are a couple of seats with tables indoors, but these fill immediately. So bring books or games that don’t need much space or spend your time on deck looking for fishing boats.

Ocracoke is a tiny, compact town. Pick up an Ocracoke Island brochure at any North Carolina visitor center (including the one on the island). Stop by the Ocracoke lighthouse. There is only parking for a few cars, so if it’s busy you’ll need to wait. If your kids like pirate stories, they abound in this area. Look for pirate references throughout the islands.

For coffee or cinnamon buns definitely stop by the Ocracoke Coffee Co. Excellent coffee, tasty snacks and comfy indoor and outdoor seating— what more could a coffee shop offer? Pick up sandwiches for a beach picnic at the Sweet Tooth and Fig Tree Bakery or Back Porch Lunchbox.

From Ocracoke drive north to the Ferry to Hatteras, stopping along the way for a picnic and a swim. There are several places to access the beach along route 12, so take a break and enjoy the isolated beaches—few people, lots of sand and surf! There is also the Pony Pens along the drive where you can stop to see descendents of the horses that once roamed the island. The ferry to Hatteras does not require a reservation. It is first come, first serve.

Once in Hatteras you can rent kayaks, head to the beaches or climb the lighthouse. The lighthouse lines can be long. If you go first thing in the morning (tomorrow) you are likely to have less of a wait. If your family enjoys maritime history stop by the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum right by the ferry landing. This very small museum has exhibits on the treacherous waterways along the Outer Banks, shipwrecks and piracy. It also had an exhibit on German subs in World War 2 and the use of air power to sink battleships.

Day 2: Enjoy the National Seashore, Kitty Hawk, Drive North

Start your day early with a visit to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. You can climb the 248 stairs to the top for an excellent view. Stop by the visitor’s center where you can view the binders on moving the light house. Kids and adults will be fascinated by the rail and hydraulic system put in place to move the lighthouse further inland (to protect it from the eroding beach) in 1999.

From the lighthouse continue north on route 12. Again there are plenty of places to stop and enjoy the beaches. For a short walk stop at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. You can and should borrow binoculars from the visitor center there. The bird life is most abundant in the spring and fall migrations and during the cooler morning and evening hours, but you are sure to see egrets even in the middle of the day.

An alternative, or additional, walk takes you to the top of the highest dune east of the Mississippi River in Jockey’s Ridge State Park. The ever shifting sand dunes are great for kite flying, dune jumping and taking in the view. There is also a hang gliding school which offers 3 hour lessons in beginning gliding as well as more advanced lessons.

Just a bit further north on Route 12 is the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Small children will enjoy the Jr. Ranger Program and ALL will enjoy the outstanding talk the rangers give on the first flight. Both the indoor talk which is given frequently and the twice daily outdoor program are thoroughly worth attending.

If you have time for one final stop before leaving the Outer Banks, stop at the visitor center in Kitty Hawk to see the Monument to a Century of Flight. See if your kids can find when Amelia Earhart flew, or the moon landing, or when the U.S. post office established air mail service.

Quite a bit to enjoy in just two days—your family will certainly want to return for a longer visit!

whispers of slavery

"And behind the house is the kitchen and 'slave' quarters," our guide told us, whispering the word 'slave' as if its mere utterance might offend, or worse, in some way impugn the good name of the white descendants of Charleston slave-owners. When I further questioned about the slave quarters and numbers living at the Edmondston-Alston House, it was as if the very white (from the roots of her hair to her pale legs peeking out from below her skirt) docent hadn't heard me.

Then when I asked how a merchant in the 1800s could have 6 children and not even one married, I was met with a cool stare that seemed to say, "we don't talk about that dear," as her lips intoned, "no, none were married. Now notice how the interior shutters could cover the windows to keep out the sunlight."

Her reticence to utter the word slave, let alone discuss the horrendous history of slavery in Charleston stood in sharp contrast to our carriage tour guide, Matt. Matt spoke factually and at length about Charleston's influence on slavery in the United States as one of the first major slave trading ports. He told us how the rich rice merchants made a fortune selling rice to England, then returned to South Carolina via Africa where they loaded their ships with Africans to sell as slaves upon returning to Charleston harbor. He pointed out the barbed ironwork adorning several fences surrounding the majestic entryways to antebellum mansions. Matt claimed that the barbs were there for protection in case of a slave uprising and informed us that the ratio of blacks to whites in Charleston was 2:1 preceding the Civil War. The rice plantation owners, with townhouses in Charleston, lived in constant fear of a slave revolt.

Which historical perspective did each tour guide believe to be an accurate history lesson? Did our historical home tour guide really believe that slavery was an inconsequential element of the town home owned by Charles Alston? It surprises me that nearly 150 years following the Civil War, docents in the south could still have difficulty discussing slavery. For my historical edification, I am thankful that at least some, and possibly most, tour guides are able to honestly present the facts of slavery without resorting to a whisper.

People Watching in Charleston

Where are all the men? That is what we wondered as we enjoy our window-side table at Magnolia's in Charleston, South Carolina. We look around the restaurant and are astounded by the number of groups of women- mostly young women. Then we begin to notice groups of 6 to 8 young women outside the restaurant as well- some strolling by, one group arriving in a limousine, one group departing.

What is particularly striking is that each group has a unifying 'theme'. The 6 women walking on the opposite side of the street are all wearing tight black dresses and dangerously high heels for the uneven sidewalks they are negotiating. The 7 women departing the restaurant are ALL wearing pink, strapless dresses. Pink may be in around here, but it seems more than an odd coincidence that 7 young women going out together would all wear pink! And one is even wearing a pink sash- like a Miss America sash without any text.

As we look, out the window, two identical green cabs pull up. As each passenger steps out one at a time, we can clearly see the group is all young women, but no unifying theme grabs our attention. Then each pulls out an oversized black hat (okay, one is black and white stripe, maybe that was all she had in her closet) and places it smartly on her head. Okay what is up? Our speculation begins...

Could they be debutantes? Well, they do look like they need to learn to walk more confidently (or a least stablly) in heels, but they appear a bit old for debutantes and are decidedly lacking a chaperone. Young women on a treasure hunt? A city-wide treasure hunt for women? None appears to actually be looking for anything. No, they are engaged in animated conversation with one another. Ah ha-- they must be here for a sorority convention! Sorority sisters from colleges across the country have alighted in Charleston, SC for their annual convention. They would likely go out to dinner with sisters from their college and perhaps each school was asked to dress alike as part of the weekend's festivities. My husband and I are feeling pretty confident about our detective work. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection (we have plenty of time for closer inspection as one particularly animated group is giggling, chatting and posing for photos right in front of our window) we see that none is wearing a sorority membership pin. Surely one would be proudly wearing her Greek insignia.

Just as they enter the restaurant, another group of women comes walking down the street, this group each wearing a flowered sundress and one in the middle has her long blonde hair pulled back with a wedding veil! Ah Ha!!! These are bachelorette parties! Guess the bachelors found alternative sources of entertainment. But honestly, if young men in Charleston were in the know, they would take a walk on East Bay Street in Charleston in June. Surely some of these young women are still looking for a date to take to the wedding.

Homeschooling on the Road for Everyone

“You never want to take an RV trip, right?” came somewhere between, “You want to have kids, right?” and “no mushrooms on pizza, right?” in our pre-marriage assessment of our compatibility. We both responded with a resounding, “No, not me, tent camping, great, an RV definitely not.”

Well two kids later and a decade of enjoying mushroom-free pizza and there we were driving on the Mass Pike in a 29 foot RV, starting out on a 7 week journey around the country.2 out of 3, not bad.

In hindsight, our 2 month RV exploration of the U.S. was one of the best experiences we have ever enjoyed as a family—and one we wholeheartedly recommend to anyone seeking time with your family learning about the expansive country we inhabit.

So how did we come to find ourselves debating a drive-through campsite versus a back-in campsite at RV campgrounds around the country? We had often mused about traveling around the country as a family and after talking to friends who had taken similar trips, we broke our vow of no RV trips and started researching the choice between a Class C and a Class A while picking up lingo such as 5^th wheel and 30 amp hookup. Simultaneously we considered the merits of withdrawing our children from elementary and middle school for 2 months and home schooling them on the road, or opting for a summer trip. The summer meant more national parks would be accessible and there would be more amenities at campgrounds. Spring or summer, what better way for all four of us to learn about our country, our culture, our natural resources than first hand. In the end we decided to go in the spring to give us a chance to home school for a short time span as well as be able to spend more time in the desert (although less time in the mountains).

Our next step was to outline a basic route. I bought a large map of the United States, tacked it up on a bulletin board and the whole family had fun adding push pins to destinations of interest—everything from National Parks to friends’ homes, from a cool space museum to an ancestor’s home. I also wanted to incorporate destinations that integrated well with the curriculum I had created including the Civil War, the geology of caves, and regions of the country. Our daughters connected the push pins with a string, mimicking a possible driving route around the country. As the number of push pins escalated beyond 100 and the string started resembling a high frequency sound wave more than a smooth oval, we realized we had selected sufficient potential sites to visit and must narrow them down. Eliminating places like Big Bend National Park (too far off a reasonable route) or Yellowstone (closed in the spring) wasn’t easy, but we knew we had to stay within our time constraint of 7 weeks and create time to experience our destinations, not just drive through them.

By the time March 3, our date to pick up the RV, rolled around, we had a rudimentary route outline, a full home-schooling plan, bags full of AAA maps, and a web site to blog our adventures. At the RV rental agency Wendy, our rental specialist, gave us the full tour of our new home for the next 2 months making sure to emphasis that cruise control is not the equivalent of auto pilot. She showed us the RV systems which my husband noted carefully, while I, on the other hand, entered her 800 number into my cell phone and made a mental note that we wanted to stay at a campground with staff for our first camping experience. We realized we needed to factor in additional time to ‘camp’: time to change the oil, buy septic deodorizers, make campsite reservations and of course, time to de-winterize the RV (after all we were leaving New England in March, we couldn’t have running water until we were far enough south to keep the water from freezing). With the tour of systems over I was beyond excited and equally nervous!

Now it seemed to me it was time for the driving lesson. What? No lesson?! We just hop in and go? You’re kidding, right? Wrong, that’s it; we were set (yeah right). My husband would drive the RV home while I would follow in our car. He got in the cab and was there awhile, I presumed adjusting the seat and mirrors, double checking driving controls etc. Then he got out of cab and went into rental office. When he returned with the serviceman. I stepped out of the car with a quizzical look. “Just learning how to operate the radio,” he called to me. “The radio! I hardly think you should be listening to the radio for your first RV driving experience!” Don’t worry, no problem, … and we were off!

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