Where in the world are Gayle and Jim?: Mt. Snow, VT - August 5

This was my grandson Kirk's third annual visit to Mt. Snow--and we had a full agenda of activities planned! The first morning (Monday) we went to the Sitzmark Golf Club; it's a par-3, 18-hole course; however, a number of the holes are full length par 4's.

Here's Kirk chipping...

...putting

...teeing off

..and feeling really good after chipping into the hole from the fairway!

Have to have a picture of Kirk on the
bridge as we cross the stream to the
next hole!

And one of Gayle--same bridge, same lovely stream!

Another bridge, another picture of Kirk--and, yes,
we did golf --not just take pictures!

Kirk wanted to be sure that I was included in the pictures!!

After golf, we went to the Sports Center at Seasons so Kirk could practice swimming. This was in preparation for the swimming test he had to take at Johns Hopkins University in order to participate in their Freshmen Pre-orientation kayak program the last week in August.

He's very comfortable in the water now and will
have no problem meeting the swimming requirement
at JHU.

The next day (Tuesday) was to be our kayaking trip on the Battenkill River near Arlington, VT. We had kayaked this stretch of the river last year and had had a fantastic time with a little bit of white water.

Here's Kirk shortly after we got put in; water is a
good depth and quite calm--no problem!

This was the first time I'd taken my good camera on a kayak so I was a little nervous!

Kirk proceeding under the first of four bridges...

Still no problem--and a beautiful day!

The only covered bridge--typical Vermont!

Kirk kayaks under with bathers watching us!

A view of the covered bridge, the Battenkill River, and the surrounding mountains--after we got through it. The current was too swift to stop any sooner; in the preceding pictures of the covered bridge, a bather was holding my kayak near the shore.

Ducks were the only wildlife we saw..

This guy is watching me take his picture!

This river was much more difficult than it had been last year. Because of Hurricane Irene a year ago, there were many more fallen trees and considerably more debris in the river. In many cases, there was enough debris that it had created an island that we had to navigate around. This year, because of the lack of snow pack and little rain, there wasn't a lot of water in the river in many, many places. As a result, there were so many more rocks through which we had to maneuver. Both of us kept getting stuck on a rock and even had to get out of the kayak to free it so we could continue.

It was shortly after we passed the ducks that the real problem occurred! Somehow, Kirk managed to flood his kayak to the point where, if he sat in it, it would totally sink. At this spot on the river, there was not a beach--just high walls. Kirk walked his kayak down the river to me and we proceeded to bail it out. I was beyond concerned because the last pick-up was at 4:30; it was now 3:00 and I had no idea how long it would take us to paddle to the take-out point--and we had to bail out the kayak! Fortunately, Kirk had a liter jug with him, which we used; and, after 30 minutes of bailing, we were back on the river at 3:30. We paddled like crazy and reached our destination at 4:00--well ahead of the last pick-up time. So there was no need to panic, Grandmom!!

Arriving at the picnic area well ahead of time, we had time to relax, drink plenty of water and finish eating our lunch. For a while back on the river, Kirk and I were both wondering if this was such a great trip. But, having now completed it, we both agreed it was a great trip and will always be very, very memorable!!

That evening we went out to dinner in West Dover....

Kirk and Gayle (aka Grandmom) at the Dover Forge Inn, which has been newly renovated

Kirk was in no hurry to take the long drive home on Wednesday and asked if we could go bowling down in Wilmington. And that was another experience! I walked in with my bowling ball and shoes, not realizing this is 10-pin bowling! I had never played this--certainly had no use for my large ball here but could use my shoes.