I love vacations! They’re the only times when I can forget about everything going on and just focus on having fun. One of my favorite trips we take is when we go to New England to Sherwood Forest every year. First, we drive the twelve hours up to Maine to get a pop-up camper. A pop-up camper is basically like a tiny house with beds that come out of the sides. They usually have a sink, fridge, and sometimes a stove. Then, we tow our camper to Sherwood Forest. Sherwood Forest is a pretty, forested campground. It’s right next to the beach, so at night, if you listen carefully, you can hear the ocean. When we get there, we get our camper situated so it’s comfortable and livable. We leave for New England during the night, so by the time we get there, we’re ready to collapse on our beds. The next day, we stop at an old grocery store that makes delicious hot chocolate, coffee, muffins, whoopie pies, and donuts. New Englanders are very stuck in their old, quaint ways so even the gas station looks charming. It’s the same with this grocery store. The store isn’t very large and doesn’t have self checkouts or anything flashy like most stores. The people that work there are always very friendly. After getting a hot, morning breakfast, we go to our favorite light house. We know every rock on the shore of Pemiquid Point lighthouse. We hike around for a bit and by then, we look for a nice place to eat lunch. My favorite part of any New England vacation is the food! When we get to a restaurant, I’m faced with the difficult decision of getting either some clam chowder, a lobster roll, or a plate of fried seafood. After lunch, we head to Rockport and go souvenir shopping at the thousands of tiny shops. We usually go into a Christmas store to look for an ornament as a gift for my grandma for dog-sitting our dog, Frodo. We also have to stop for some salt water taffy to enjoy as we shop. The first time I went to New England I was so excited to get a lobster stuffed animal at Rockport! Now, when I go souvenir shopping, I usually look for a T-shirt or scarf.
Sometimes, we go on a whale watch or climb a very hard hike up a mountain. Other times, when it’s raining, we stay in our camper, drink hot cocoa, and play board games or drive along the winding roads of Maine, looking at the old white churches. I will always remember and be grateful for the time we were able to spend as a family there.
Title is from “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” by Darrel Scott