Two weeks is a long time to be gone with 2 kids in tow.  I’ll be happy to sleep in my own bed tomorrow, but I’ve had a great time.  Traveling always has many adventures especially with children.

Here’s just a few of our travel related experiences during this trip.  It’s not always rosy, but we make a lot of memories along the way.

Sally got sick in the car on our trip from Ohio to Baltimore.  It’s hard to believe that was 13 days ago.  As a result, I learned how to take the new car seat apart, wash it and put it back together.  For the last 4.5 years, that has always been Stephen’s job, but he was still in Ohio.  I won’t be sad if I never had to do that again.  The next day, I found a car detail shop that would come to my sister’s house and detail the car while it was in the driveway.  It was the easier way to get the odor out of the car.  I’m probably the only one to have the inside of a car detailed the week before a beach trip, but it was necessary.  I think that a good vacuum to remove some sand, and it will still look great.

As a result of the car detail, one or more of the lights were left on in the car.  It was very hot and sunny and we didn’t notice.  My sister went to move the car so she could go to work the next day and it was dead.  We’re talking the car needed to be unlocked manually it was so dead.  So, I called AAA and they came out to jump the car.  Long story straight, they had to borrow some juice from their truck to even test the battery.  So, my newly detailed car received a new battery.

When we left Baltimore to drive to Dover, it was 100 degrees outside.  Our newly charged air conditioning didn’t work very well.  We had a hot and grumpy ride.  We bought frozen drinks as we entered Dover, even though were were only 5 minutes away from our destination.  I joked with my father in law that if their air conditioning went out in the house, we were going to a hotel.  After a few minutes playing in the air conditioning at the house, we were all fine again.

Later that night, Nick got sick.  That resulted in immediate needs for laundry that included my mother in law’s brand new bathroom rug.  A little medicine and he was all better by morning.  It’s a good thing that my mother in law had kids.  She took it all in stride and the rug was good as new after it’s cycle in the wash.

Today, our 4 hour and 20 minute drive from Dover to our half-way-home hotel, took us almost 8 hours.  We stopped for gas on our way out of town.  The first station had system problems and after Stephen waited in line a few minutes, he found out that they couldn’t sell us any gas.  So, we headed to another station.  Not too long after that, we hit some traffic.  In between, we still have air conditioning issues and it’s 90+ degrees outside.  We took a couple of more breaks than normal to keep us hydrated and happy.  It’s much easier to travel with kids if you aren’t in any hurry.  Around Allentown PA, we hit traffic again.  We decided to eat dinner at a service plaza in hopes that the traffic would clear while we stopped.  It did and we were glad.  A bit later, Nick announced that he had to go to the bathroom, just seconds after we passed a rest area.  Luckily, there was a McDonald’s at the next exit, just two miles down the highway.  Stephen was putting the kids back in the car and I was getting a drink.  When I came back outside, this weird guy came over to the car and told us we were in the wrong state.  He walked around to my side of the car and then walked away.  It was very creepy.  I had seem him inside and all I can think is that maybe he was looking for a hookup until he saw that I was with my family.  After 50 or 60 “how much longer to the hotel” pleas from Nick, we finally arrived and got settled.

Life isn’t perfect and vacations won’t be either.  No one was hurt, we had power the whole trip, and we didn’t have any storm damage.  We had a few inconveniences sprinkled among lots of fun and family time.  I can’t wait to share our adventures with you over the next couple of weeks.

 Posted by at 10:27 PM
 

This is the last night at the beach house.  My sister Holly really wanted to play Reverse Charades.  She touted it as the best group party game ever.  She has a huge closet full of games at home.  She likes to entertain and plays games often.  As soon as we got the kids to bed, all of the parents and grandparents played 3 rounds of male vs. female.

It was awesome.  I’ll be adding this game to our collection soon.  Just imagine 4 guys trying to act our c-section or garter while one of them guesses.  We laughed and laughed.  My smile muscles are sore and I can’t think of a better way to end vacation.

One last sunrise on the beach and then we’re packing up.

 Posted by at 10:37 PM
 

At the end of May, we had the opportunity to attend a birthday party at Euclid Creek Reservation.  It was raining cats and dogs the night before.  But, when party time came, it was a beautiful day.

Nick and Sally loved checking out the outdoor gym.

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Soon, they tired of the gym and traded it in for play dough.

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After play dough, they tried their hand at skipping rocks in the creek.  Since we don’t let them throw rocks on a regular basis, they were thrilled.

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They also enjoyed the playground.  Nick has no fear and slid down the pole several times.

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Sally skipped the pole, but loved the slide.

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The playground didn’t last long before it was time to skip more rocks.

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After enjoying cupcakes and snacks, it was back to playtime.

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By the time we left, the kids were worn out.  That’s a sure sign of a successful outing.

 Posted by at 8:00 PM
 

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We are having a great time on vacation.  Tonight, we remembered to take a few pictures while everyone was at the house at the same time.  We followed this up with a great home made Jeopardy game.  I’ll have more to say about that later.

 Posted by at 10:17 PM
 

Hello Life Lyn Style readers!  My name is Kelly and I am the lucky locavore girl who had the pleasure of picking up Lyn’s Geauga Family Farms CSA share today while she is on vacation.  This is me-

 

Being a goof on my own recent vaca

I don’t currently have a blog of my own, but maybe someday soon you’ll see me sharing stories of parenting, running, and my adventures in local eating.

I know Lyn because she is a fellow Fresh Fork Market CSA customer/part-time employee.  We’ve worked the Spring Fabulous Food show together, noshed on the best local breakfast in CLE at Lucky’s Cafe, and had an interesting time attempting the pain-in-the-butt delicate art of pierogi making.

I’ve heard wonderful things about the GFF CSA, but so far my only experience with it has been right here on Lyn’s little slice o’ internet.  The pick up at Whole Foods was super easy and at first glance the produce looked terrific.  Picking up my FF share always feels a bit like Christmas but this time I had no clue what was going to be in the bag!  So fun:)  Here is the surprise I received-

Doesn't it look amazing?!?!

Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green Onions, Pickling Cukes, 1 Slicing Cuke, Leaf Lettuce, 1 Yellow Squash, Sugar Snap Peas, Cherry Tomatoes, and 1 Slicing Tomato

Everything seems to be extremely fresh and it all looks so tasty.  Lyn usually shares her well thought out plans for the produce in her bags, but I am a bit of a slacker, and honestly most of this stuff is going to be eaten raw in salads and as snacks.  The main exception will be the Swiss Chard.  I’m going to take a recipe from my fav book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle , along with local carrots and eggs from my Fresh Fork bag, and turn them into Eggs in a Nest.

Bag Highlights (In my humble opinion)-

 

These have no chance of becoming pickles! My little bean and I have already demolished the bag:)

 

More snack food. I love that the cherry tom container is #1 plastic so it can either be reused or recycled in our community.

 

Give peas a chance. Best. Snack. Ever.

Big thanks go out to Lyn and her family for sharing their bounty with me while they are enjoying some time off in Delaware.  I hope that they have a lovely and relaxing vacation.  Thanks also to the peeps in Geauga County who put together a fantastic bag of Ohio goodness that does not contain Kohlrabi:)

What?!?!  Kohlrabi in next week’s FFM bag?  Freecycle here I come………

 

 Posted by at 10:14 PM
 

I’m having a great time on vacation.  Being away has been very nice.  After a week without Stephen we met up with him at the beach house in Delaware on Saturday.  We had a great day at the ocean with the kids yesterday followed by a rain day today.  We are looking forward to another great day at the beach tomorrow.

My sister has done a great job organizing meals and food and it’s been a very nice environment for everyone.  The house is big enough that folks can spread out as desired. Although it’s only Monday, people were already talking about next time we get a beach house.

 

 

 

 

 

 Posted by at 8:47 PM
 

While I was in Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend, we decided to go to Patapsco Valley State Park.  It was early on Monday morning.  We thought it was be a nice place to let the kids play.  Apparently, lots of other people had the same idea since there was a line of cars at the entrance.  We were expecting to pay a per vehicle charge, but it turned out to be a per person charge for the holiday.  The kids were still free, so it was ok.

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It was getting hot quickly, but the kids still enjoyed some playground time.  We watch car after car unload for day long picnics.  We could tell that many of them were planning on grilling lunch and dinner.

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Turns out the playground was really close to the river, so I took a short walk down to check it out.

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We drove down the road a bit and ended up taking a short hike across this suspension bridge.  It was pretty cool.  There used to be a mill across the river and workers walked across this bridge to get to work.

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I talked my niece and nephew into a photo before we headed back to the car.

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We had a great morning and enjoyed our outside time.  But, soon it was time to hang at the pool so we headed home.

 Posted by at 9:00 PM
 

Normally, I would have picked up our large CSA yesterday in Mayfield.  But, I’m on vacation.  After a few days in Baltimore and Dover, we are all checked in at our beach house.  My friend Kelly was kind enough to send me a photo of the large share.  It looks amazing and I’m sad to miss it.  But, I’m super happy that Fresh Fork has an awesome vacation policy.

 

Here’s the artistic photo from Kelly:

 

 

Here’s the list of contents that Fresh Fork sent us earlier in the week.  Squash was subbed for the napa cabbage.

 

Small CSA Share

  • 1 package boneless loin chops, 2 per pack
  • 2 lbs spelt berries
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • 1 head white stem bok choy
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 1 bunch swiss chard or 1 head baby bok choy (depending on route)
  • 1 bunch beets with tops
  • 1 lb snow peas
  • 1 head chinese napa cabbage

 

Large CSA Share Small contents above plus:

  • 1 bunch carrots
  • 1 lb shelled peas
  • 1 head leaf lettuce
  • 1 extra bunch spinach
  • 2 bunches red bulb green onions

 

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get some pork chops when I return.  It’s one of the best Fresh Fork items that we’ll get all summer.  If I was in town, I’d be trying out the dry container on my new Vitamix.  I like spelt berries, but I’m really anxious to try out making flour.  For now, I’m going to try my best to eat some good local food while I’m on vacation.  I visited a local market yesterday and have 2 Farmers’ markets on the schedule for the week.

 

 

 

 

Last week, we were almost out of oatmeal.  We had tried it from the End of the Commons General Store a few months back and decided to stock up.  It’s not local (and I do have a lead on a bulk local quanity), but the timing was right for Sally and I to make a trip while Nick was in camp last week.

This is what a 50 pound bag of oats looks like.  It was $26.00.

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2 or 3 of us eat oatmeal for breakfast everyday.  We also use it in some of our muffin recipes.  I’m not exactly sure how long this will last, but I don’t suspect to need oats for a while.

We bought a couple of containers from Dean’s Supply and bagged the rest.  I’m hoping it stores well in Nick’s closest where the humidity isn’t too bad.

 

 

 Posted by at 9:55 PM
 

A couple of weeks ago, we were strawberry picking in Hiram.  On the way home, we stopped at Sirna’s Farm Market.  I had always wanted to stop in, but usually we finish picking before they are open.  The kids like the windmill.

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There was a nice market building with great decor inside.

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They carried lots of canning supplies.  This time if year, there wasn’t much produce.  We were hoping for some sugar snap peas.  The kids were hungry for a snack.

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We asked the clerk about peas and she checked in the back.  They didn’t have any, but offered to go pick some for us.  That was awesome customer service.  While we waited, I picked out a few frozen meat items to try out.

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Most of the peas were consumed on the way home.  We also picked up sausage patties, burgers and ground beef.  All of these were local products.  The ground beef was great, but the sausage had too much gristle for my taste.  We haven’t tried the burgers yet.

I’d be interested in stopping in again sometime during the peak of the growing season to see what the produce selection is like.  They are located on route 44, not too far from our favorite blueberry farm, so maybe we’ll be able to check it out again in July.

 Posted by at 1:35 PM