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We came home from Vermont over two weeks ago, but part of me still feels like Im there.   It was one of my favorite road trips of all time--and Ive been on a few.  Here are my top ten reasons for still wanting to say thank you to Vermont:

1.  For your family friendly hikes and swims filled with beauty and adventure.

2.  For your underrated roadside barbecue joints.  Vermont, the South has nothing on you!

3.  For making me feel like Wordsworth ambling around the Lake District on golden summer days.  Ill take Stephanie, Ami, Max, Theo, and Wes as hiking companions over Samuel Taylor Coleridge every time.

4.  For the the Vermont Coffee Company and "Simons Blend," available only at the Simon Pierce Glass Factory in Quechee.  The good people of Vermont like their coffee strong and hardy.

5.  For your "American Made" consumer products such as Darn Tough Socks.  The rugged individuals of Vermont still make stuff and sell it in their cozy wood-planked general stores.

6.  For the lovely owners of the Quechee/Pine Valley KOA, and the Brattleboro North KOA for welcoming our family and helping us find our way to mountains, and rivers, and gorges oh my!

7.  For your towering pines and magical forests.

8. For your splendid and lush green quiet.

9. For your cool summer nights, perfect for campfires and restful slumbers.

10. For finally making me understand why we call it "New England."

It was messy and it was fabulous.



We were lucky enough to get some off-season inspiration from a reader, who urged us to head down to the nature center at Island Beach State Park the next time we were hit with some winter wanderlust.


This morning, citing a 45 degree forecast as sufficient reason for playing hooky from church, we went to the place that we love in the summer but have never explored in the winter.


It is always the simple things that grab the fancy of the young, and the boys could have played hopscotch all day from painted sea creature to painted sea creature. They jumped from animal to animal naming each one in unison, only stopping to argue with me about whether one was a whale or shark.



The nature center was educational in a not so precious way. Fragile and amazing stuffed hawks, gulls, and owls from the collection of the College of New Jersey were sitting out on a table, begging to be touched.



Stickers, crayons, clam shells, garbage. We learned to differentiate between a black fish and a bass.



And then we went walking.


First to the bay.






Then back to the ocean.



We remembered how big the sky is in the winter and how little we look at it because we are so often hunched down, chin in scarf.



Not today, though. Today the sun was warm and Theos shoe got stuck in the mud. He didnt even mind a bit.



Lunch in the car with the tailgate open.


New Jersey State Park pass purchased for the year.

It looks like we will be sledding again tomorrow. Building more snowman, drinking more hot cocoa. It will be fun and the best that winter has to offer. But today was like a deep breathe. A smile. A running leap. A spin. A giddy, squishy stomp in the mud. This is warm sun in February.



Thanks Island Beach State Park.

Lets get the important part out of the way first. You need to go to the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. Immediately. And then you should go back many, many times like we are planning on doing with our new, sweet membership.

I had thought quite a few times over the past two years about visiting the grounds with our rowdy crew, but something about it made me nervous. Maybe the pictures on the website looked a bit too peaceful, like there was a respectful hush cast over the place that we would immediately destroy upon arrival. I know that I have brought my boys into a glass factory and all, but sculptures out in the open with no barriers or cranky guards to scare them straight seemed like a recipe for family discord.





I am so grateful that we decided to throw caution to the wind and visit this past weekend. There was absolutely nothing precious about the Grounds for Sculpture. The whole place was child-friendly without being childish. From the guard at the gate who gave us a friendly run down of the daily events, to Patricia in the Visitors Center who helped us pick out the right membership for our family, there was a welcoming, down to earth beauty that infused the grounds.





We spent hours there even though it was January and at times the wind seemed to pass through our warm layers.



There were other visitors, but it seemed we had the whole place to ourselves.


I had never considered before how perfect large-scale sculptures are as an introductory form of art for young children. The three dimensional and large scale nature of the pieces forced my mini tornadoes to stop and take note. At times they would stop in their tracks and just stare at a piece and I could only wonder what was passing through their minds and hearts.






All of the works of art are labeled with green or red tags depending on whether visitors may touch them or not. This was an easy system for our boys to embrace, and in no time they were running up to a sculpture, looking for the tag, and then announcing to us if they had permission to experience the art.





We had a warm, delicious lunch at the Peacock Cafe (Wes approved heartily of the chicken pot pie), and then we watched the ice sculpting that was taking place at various places around the grounds.



A bit of hopscotch around the water elements, and we were ready to head home.


I know we will be going back throughout the winter. I will be watching the weather religiously looking for those 50 degree days, now designated for the Grounds of Sculpture. Even better, I know that it will be stunning in the spring, summer, and fall as well.

We love to travel, but we love our home at the Jersey Shore as well. It is always exciting when you find a new favorite spot in your own backyard.




Now go.