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We had 5 amazing trips in 2009 - Trip #1 - New Hampshire's Highs & Lows - June 30 to July 2, 2009 The camper crew of 6, comprised of 3 sibling groups, began the trip with a hike to Arethusa Falls outside of North Conway, NH. This hike proved to be a great start providing a bit of challenge and a terrific reward at the top. From there we headed to the Twin Mountain, NH KOA for the night. This summer has not afforded the Northeast much dry weather but this would end up being one of a couple of dry nights camping this summer.
Day 2 took us to the top of Mt. Washington aboard the famous Mt. Washington Cog Railroad. We were lucky enough to ride aboard one of the last noon time coal fired trains. Although we agree the coal fired trains are not environmentally friendly and are excited for the switch to bio-diesel powered engines, it was an experience to chug up the mountain by steam. After the road trip to the top and back we continued through beautiful Franconia notch to Lee, NH where the rain began its attack.
Day 3 was wet...Water Country Water Park called at 8:00 am to inform us that they would be closed. Plan B involved enjoying the campground and its game room in the morning and then heading to New England's newest and largest laser-tag entertainment center Lazer Craze in Andover, MA. Having never played Lazer Tag we did not know what to expect but had an exciting time. » Click Here to View Pictures
Trip #2 - New England Fun - July 6 to 10, 2009 The camper crew of 7 had a big first day of travel as we drove to Barre, VT for our first activity of horseback riding. Horseback riding was a huge success. Everyone loved it, especially when the horses trotted. We needed to divide into two groups and while one group rode the other played kickball and ate popsicles. From TNT Stables we went to Stowe, VT and Goldbrook Campground where the rain began...great night though with a campfire, s'mores and stories.
Day 2 - After a wonderful breakfast it was on to the Ben & Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, VT. The story of B & J's success is a real inspiration and fits well with the spirit of SWA (and don't forget the GREAT ICE CREAM.) The tour was very interesting and who would think the Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream could be so tasty. After a good lunch and a treat we went to Burlington, VT to take a boat cruise on Lake Champlain. The Ethan Allen III is a large boat and provided an interesting vantage point of Lake Champlain and Burlington. (We did not see Champ, the lake's Loch Ness monster.) As we disembarked from the boat we were met by the darkest clouds we have ever seen and the warning that an extremely strong storm was eminent. As we got closer to the bus I said jokingly, " Where is the car?" We had parked the car directly in front of the bus in a designated parking spot for the boat, but it had been towed. For the first time in my life I had a car towed and the sky was getting darker. We got the campers back into the bus and turned on a movie (sometimes they are really nice) and I proceeded to locate the car, talk them into not charging us, and arranged a ride to retrieve the lost car 20 minutes away. When I arrived at the impound lot the sky opened and large hail began pelting the tow truck making it near impossible to even get the gate open to the lot. After becoming soaked, I headed back to the bus through the worst storm I have ever experienced which was making actual rivers in the road. But upon arriving back I was greeted by a group shouting "Pura Vida" (our camp slogan) which reminded me of our camp mission which is to have fun. However, upon rejoining the bus and group it became evident that a new car had parked us in while I was fetching the towed car. Gerry had attempted to ask the driver of the car to find a different parking place but the driver was uncooperative.With some creative driving we scraped....I mean snuck out. Finally at camp we were met by more rain but made delicious english muffin pizzas and played at the game room.
Day 3 - This was a travel day south with some fun stops. Our first stop was at Quechee Gorge in Vermont. This is a beautiful place to picnic and hike up and down the gorge. From the gorge our next stop was to view some dinosaur tracks in Holyoke, MA. At Sodom Mountain Campground we got a break in the weather and quickly hung several ropes to make an attempt at drying things out.
Day 4 - Six Flags Theme Park...Lots of big rides and a great water park, what more can I say?
Day 5 - This was our travel day back to Maine from Agawam, MA. We made a stop at Walden Pond State Park for lunch and a pristine swim.
Trip #3 - Canobie Lake Excursion - July 14 & 15, 2009 The camper crew of 5 went directly to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH. When we first arrived the weather was good so we took advantage and went for the wet rides and waterpark first. The "Boston Tea Party" is always a favorite. After a fun time we went to Angle Pond Campground. Camp included activities like swimming, campfire building, s'mores, slack line walking and ice cream making to mention a few
Trip #4 - New England Fun #2 July 20 to 24, 2009 This trip with a camper crew of 5 followed a similar itinerary to the New England Fun trip outlined above. A few trips specific events though....Due to a last minute participant change our last pick-up location was in Auburn, ME and the group made the decision to take the back route through the mountains over Route 2. This was an adventurous decision on the bus but proved to be good. This trip also included the introduction of Hydrogen fuel (from separating water) in which we gained power. (More about the Hydrogen supplementation on the "Water Power" page. The weather gave us a good day for horseback riding and camp. The crew also got involved in a bit of "fundraising" Squeaky Wheel Adventures' style at Ben & Jerry's as we attempted to make a contact to speak with a representative about sponsorship. After getting three employees at the factory to view the bus, it was suggested that we stop by the headquarters in Burlington where "Jerry will come out and see it." "When you say Jerry, do you mean Jerry as in Ben & Jerry, Jerry?", I replied. We were informed that Jerry had been at the office and if he was still there they felt he would come out. The group decided this was perhaps another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity both personally and for SWA and we stopped by after our boat ride. I do not get flustered very often but I was actually shaking a little at this thought. (I have always been a huge fan of Ben & Jerry's, apart from their delicious ice cream, but for what their company has always stood for and would be grateful to be associated with them as a support of SWA.) Alas, once we arrived we were informed that everyone had left for the day and that you really shouldn't just show up, but hey how else do you get things done. I personally have always looked for opportunities for our campers to get involved in other aspects of SWA and to see how to find opportunities, solutions and the gumption to move forward.
We had a camper randomly pull a muscle in their neck as they turned their head on day 3. This became another opportunity however for the group see how we can deal with an incident (in this case two trips to a doctor), work together as a group to adapt to the groups needs, for the staff to be challenged to give the camper the opportunity to still have a fun time, and the camper the opportunity to rise above and find the good. All of which got accomplished
Trip #5 - New Hampshire's Highs & Lows #2- Aug. 4 to 6, 2009 This trip with a camper crew of 5 followed a similar itinerary to the New Hampshire's Highs & Lows trip outlined above. Arethusa Falls was again a great time with some extend time in the water at the falls. We also saw a black bear and it's cub - don't worry we waited for them to leave before continuing. It is only a short drive from the falls to our campground, but there is a monster hill in between which we instituted another fuel - Paddle Power (see video below).
The trip on the cog was another first as we rode one of the new bio-diesel engines. Instead of a ton of coal and 1,000 gallons of water per trip, the engine only uses 16 gallons of fuel! It was a huge difference in feel as well and speed. We got a great view of a fox beside the track as well.
We had nice weather for Water Country Waterpark! Great time at the park before heading home.
We have been asked many times, "How far will the SWA engine go?" Well, until mile marker 115 on I-95 just north of Augusta, Me on August 6, 2009. That is right, the engine blew unexpectedly and quickly. Lucky we tow a car and were able to easily deliver the 3 remaining campers to Bangor almost on time. We however remained on the side of the road for 10 hours before finally reaching a garage at 4:15 am by tow truck. Yes, we did get an hour of sleep in the bus while it was being towed. The bus did great getting us through the summer and after the engine rebuild the bus will be truly ready for the great program we have developed. Read more about the engine on our News page » Click Here
