Last year we launched this “Favorite Things” series as a way to highlight some of the fun things going on behind the scenes here at The Touring Camper. We try to post daily over on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but a lot of what we post on social media we never get a chance to share on the blog. So here are some of our favorite moments from April:
1. Mini getaway
At the beginning of the month Jarrett had a conference to attend in State College, Pa. With the grandparents at home watching the kiddos, I was able to tag along so we could do some exploring before the conference started. The first stop was the American Philatelic Center–a fancy word for the American stamp collecting society’s headquarters. As a kid I dabbled in stamp collecting after my father introduced the hobby to my siblings and me.
The kind folks at the center gave us a tour and introduced us to the many services they provide. If you are a teacher, homeschooler, or involved in a scout program, the center offers some great educational resources for students.
After grabbing some lunch, we pulled out our Purple Lizard Map and started driving the backroads of Bald Eagle State Forest. We found some amazing spots to take in sweeping views of the central Pennsylvania mountains. We’ll have more details about all our fun in State College in a post next month.
2. Backyard campfires and s’mores
With our next campout still a few weeks away, we decided to have an impromptu campfire dinner with the kids. Hotdogs always taste better after roasting them over a campfire! And we experimented with a new gluten-free s’more using the yummy double chocolate chip cookies from Tate’s Bake Shop. It was a winner!
And clearly we need to work on rebuilding our fire ring–it’s looking a bit worn down!
3. Pennsylvania’s State Park Passport Program
Back in 2011 the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation started offering a passport program similar to the National Park Service passport. Frequent TTC readers will know by now that we are a bit addicted to getting NPS cancellation stamps. And that passion has extended to collecting Pennsylvania state park stamps as well. So after our mini getaway I added up all the places we’ve been in recent years and I was pleased to discover we had qualified for five out of six champion tags, which you can earn by visiting at least 10 parks in each category. After mailing in a form, the folks over at the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation sent the tags our way. That was a fun mail day. 🙂
4. Home projects
Although home projects might not be Jarrett’s favorite thing, I love home remodeling and decorating projects that bring new life to our nearly 100-year-old home. So painting our exterior doors to match our new metal roof and then sprucing up a yard-sale find for my office were definitely two of my favorite things this month. And don’t worry: I didn’t throw this project all on Jarrett. I am a very effective project manager 🙂 … but I also stayed busy pulling my weight in weeds while he manned the paint gun.
How about you: What were your favorite things of April? You can share in the comment section below.
Did you enjoy this peek into our month at home and on the road? To get more weekly updates like these, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter where we share glimpses into our everyday life.
A kidless weekend + s’mores in the backyard?! favorite things indeed! 🙂