Sharon, Vermont

First things first. This is actually my 100th post! I never, ever thought I would blog - let alone reach 100 of these. I still have a lot of cities to cover - I've only been able to keep up with my current travel schedule (which will get crazy over the next two months). I've still got Malmo, Vegas, London, New Orleans, Paris, Atlanta, Hong Kong...well, enough to get to 200 pretty fast ; )

Today, I'm in Sharon, Vermont. This is a very special place. In fact, it's sacred ground. This is the birthplace of Joseph Smith - the man who organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For any member of my Church, it's a very spiritual location. It's hard to convey just how peaceful the area actually is.

In addition, there is a campground near the Joseph Smith Memorial, called Camp Joseph, appropriately. It's a beautiful campground:

The leaves are already starting to turn colors...

Each Labor Day, our congregation holds their annual Ward Campout at Camp Joseph. Each family stays in a tent, or one of the tiny cabins:

Our little campsite

Basically, the cabin contains two bunk-beds, with about 3 ft. in between them. It's cozy and just for sleeping ; ) We had a BLAST on this particular Ward outing. There were lots of activities. However, the best part was just getting the chance to talk with friends in the Ward. I love having the kind of conversations that don't take place in Church hallways.

There's a pond at Camp Joseph - some call it a "lake", which is a real stretch. G-Man loved the water, and wanted to go in - even though we didn't have his bathing suit with us at the time:

G-Man showing some skin...click to enlarge

However, we soon discovered that G-Man's diaper was capable of absorbing most of the pond. The funniest thing was watching him try to walk back to camp:

The most fun - at least for me - was a GIANT Slip 'n Slide. Here's a shot of the slide in the middle of construction:

It ended up between 50 and 75 ft. long. Perfect for adults and kids. I had a duty to embarrass myself in public, and upheld that responsibility:

This is just a part of an intricate move...the judges loved it.

G-Man had a wonderful time. He hung out with his "gang" - a cute little group that LOVE to play together in Nursery:

On Saturday afternoon, we participated in a competition. My "team" was made up of 10 girls, age 6-9. To be blunt, we weren't strong in any of the "athletic" events. However, we had a lot of fun:

We built a quality fire...it just didn't burn high enough

I try to "coach" my girls in the three-legged race

At the end of the campout, I had a moment to take a nice picture with my young friends. G-Man kept them entertained, particularly when he talked about his "poopy diaper".

On Sunday, we hiked over to the Joseph Smith Memorial and watched a wonderful movie about the life of the Prophet. I put G-Man in a kid backpack and he loved talking during the whole trip over:

As you can see - we had an absolutely wonderful time this Labor Day. Good food, great friends and a unique spiritual experience while in this sacred area. Can't wait until next year!