Farm + Camp = Best Summer Ever

Farm Camp Summer 2015

Farm Camp Summer 2015

Every summer I sign up my kids for camp. They’ve done hockey camp, horse camp, art camp, clay camp, theater camp, cooking camp, and camping camp. This summer, I packed them off to farm camp at Angelic Organics. I signed up through the Rock Valley College Whiz Kids Program which made the camp more affordable for us. Only then did I realize I’d committed myself to a 50 minute drive there and back, twice a day, every day, for fifteen days. Since chauffeuring is not my favorite summer activity, I wasn’t sure I’d made the best choice. I’m taxi-mama during the school year after all!

Once camp started I completely changed my mind. My daughters started teaching me about sustainable, organic farming. Plus they learned new skills, like how to:

  • milk goats
  • make butter and ice-cream
  • hold a chicken
  • collect eggs
  • clean coops
  • bake zucchini bread
  • feed livestock
  • can pickles
  • groom a horse
  • water the cows
  • harvest vegetables

They came home smelling like they’d rolled in manure all day, their clothes covered in everything from chicken pee to horse slobber. In short: they had the time of their lives.

Goats love to eat burdock.

Goats love to eat burdock.

Kids love to hold chickens.

Kids love to hold chickens.

The best part? They went to bed early and exhausted.

The drive? Well that’s what audio books are for.

 

The Annual Road Trip

The open road. North Carolina. Photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

The open road. North Carolina. Photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

Summers are made for road trips. My family and I embarked on our annual road trip to South Carolina in early June. The northern Illinois deep freeze had ended and the ice had finally melted off the highways. Gas prices were at an all time low. Our van hadn’t entirely succumbed to the rust spreading along its once sleek exterior. Why not load up and head out?

Funny how six states seem smaller when looking at them on a map.

Observations (by state) along the way:

  1. Illinois has two road conditions: icy or construction.
  2. Indiana is a very tall state. Driving from the top to the bottom takes ALL DAY.
  3. Kentucky bluegrass is green in June (and not native to Kentucky or even North America BTW)
  4. Tennessee is pretty.
  5. North Carolina is pretty too. And a fun drive. Hills, turns, tunnels, and falling rock.
  6. South Carolinians drive fastest in the rain. Not kidding. Sunshine=fast driving; cloudy=faster driving; raining=fastest driving ever. 90 MPH and they can dodge the drops.

Three days later we arrived at our destination.

North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Photo © Karin Blaski June 2015

Thank you SIRI. Sand, surf, and smorgasboard awaited. We partook. A good time was had by all.

Oh and before I forget, while we were in Myrtle Beach we did this with the kids:

Aargh Ye Matey "Tis A Pirate Ship I See

“Aargh Ye Matey ‘Tis A Pirate Ship I See.” Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show, Myrtle Beach, SC, photo © Karin Blaski June 2015

Which was “incredible fun for the whole family” and highly recommended. If you have a ten year old daughter, be sure to splurge on the Pirate Makeover (there’s a Mermaid Makeover if she’d rather not get the five o’clock shadow).

Then, on the way back home, we went here:

The Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC; photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

The Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC; photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

Which was amazing enough for its own blog post for a later date.

So another successful road trip came to a close. Three cheers to the 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan which continues to carry us safely from point A to point B and every point between. The only thing that raised a few eyebrows on our trip was this:

SW stands for Sweltering, Photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

SW stands for Sweltering, Photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

It was worth it though when the view looked like this:

North Carolina mountains, Photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

North Carolina mountains, Photo © Nic Blaski June 2015

The Great American Road Trip

Partially packed, but ready to go.

Partially packed, but ready to go.

This month my family and I returned from our LONGEST ROAD TRIP EVER. Longest in duration (one month), if not in miles (3,033).

We started from our home base in Rockford, IL and drove through eight states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, stopping in various towns along the way. What were some of the biggest differences between all these states? Well the gas price for one thing: varying by 60 cents, and the temperature: a high of 104 ° F in Georgia and a low 48 ° F in Illinois. Our journey looked like this:

The long and winding road.

The long and winding road.

Did I mention there are five of us? By the time we were done, as you can imagine, we pretty much had had enough “family time”. There is a phenomenon known as too much vacation. When we finally got home we didn’t even unpack. Instead we separated to our individual rooms.

madcatAlthough we were glad our trip was over, we did accumulate some great memories along the way. Like when we went to the Driftwood Beach at Jekyl Island. Very hot day, very cool views.

Driftwood Beach, Jekyl Island, GA

Driftwood Beach, Jekyl Island, GA

And walking the beach while the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico. Phenomenal. I’d honestly never seen sand turn pink before.

Sunset at the beach, St. Petersburg, FL

Sunset at the beach, St. Petersburg, FL

And of course a trip to Florida is never complete without a jump over to Orlando. For . . . you know . . . Harry.

Hogwarts castle, World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios, Orlando, FL

Hogwarts castle, World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios, Orlando, FL

My enthusiasm at World of Harry Potter easily trumped my kids’. One of my favorite memories was having a woman’s portrait in the Hall of Portraits blink when I took her photograph using my flash.

Hall of Portraits, Hogwarts Castle, World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios, Orlando, FL

Hall of Portraits, Hogwarts Castle, World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios, Orlando, FL

On the other hand, one of my youngest daughter’s favorite recollections wasn’t eating at great local restaurants, swimming in dozens of different swimming pools, or exploring southern architecture. Nope. It was rescuing someone’s Barbie from a perilous fate.

Tortured Barbie left at the beach, owner unknown

Tortured Barbie left at the beach, owner unknown

She (Barbie) is currently in quarantine.

Mad cat photo © Nikolai Nikonov, text added; all other photos © Karin Blaski; route map © mapquest