Out in the woods/Or in the
city/It's all the same to me
When I'm drivin' free, the world's
my home/When I'm mobile
Hee, hoo!/beep beep!...The Who, Goin' Mobile
Summer has officially arrived, marked by the solstice and the first road trip of the season.
I love a road trip. Setting out early, before the
sun is officially awake, singing along to radio tunes, stopping to eat at a
rest stop on the highway. Eeeeewwww, I don’t think so!
Trying to eat while on the road is not easy. I
have heard many people say they would rather starve than eat from a fast food
joint at Exit 19, and I agree with them. But eat you must…so how?
When leaving from home, I pack a cooler full of
food and snacks. Whole-wheat bagels with organic cream cheese, dried mangoes,
tamari almonds and few apples can get you quite a ways. Sometimes I’ll split and
freeze the bagels the night before so that they act as ice packs in the cooler
for the first few hours.
We’ve had a few travel-food bombs over the years and have learned that packing bananas ensures that everything in the cooler smells like bananas, and yogurt explosions seem to occur for the back seat passengers with alarming frequency. So we now opt for sandwiches and wraps... things that are easily eaten out of hand and that keep well. If there is time for a picnic: cheese, bread, grapes and a nice pate can turn a ho-hum drive into a beautiful day.
This past weekend we drove our boys to their
summer camp in Vermont. It was a momentous occasion because this is Number
Two’s first time away and he has been looking forward to it all year.
Farm and Wilderness Camp is as groovy as it is green: Composting toilets, organic food—much of which is grown at the camp—and no electricity. It is a true cooperative community with values that support and reinforce the way we are trying to raise our children. As a Quaker camp, there is Silent Meeting time, which is used for contemplation, reflection and meditation. I have heard again and again that this time of quiet observance is really respected by the children… quite a joy in this age of ADD and the Wii.
After setting up Number Two in his open-air cabin
(three-sided and open to the lake), and visiting Number One—who is old hat and happy to be back at camp—we gave our many hugs and left as two, not four.
We decided to try a different route on the way
home and as I was performing the all-consuming jobs of talking, knitting and
(oh, right) navigating, we missed a turn and found ourselves in one of those
quintessential Vermont towns with exactly the right mix of clapboard buildings,
cows and funk.
Just when I was about to get a talking to about
slackin’ on the navigating job, I spied this place. We jumped out of the car
like Starsky and Hutch to check it out.
The shop was chock-full of good food, cool folks and local vibe. We took our time, admired the soulful design, got a few delicious smoothies and some healthy snacks and set off knowing we had experienced the true magic of a road trip.
So with the food dilemma for the drive home solved, the rest of the trip could be spent enjoying the beautiful scenery and wondering how the boys were adjusting to camp life...
Hey Denise,
Thanks for the lunch stop idea on our trip to Stowe this week. Looks wonderful!
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa | June 24, 2008 at 05:23 PM
Hey, thanks from the Moon Dog! We are so happy to be mentioned on your blog.
Be sure to stop back again!
Jacki and the Moon Dog crew
Posted by: Moon Dog Cafe | June 24, 2008 at 05:55 PM