Vacationing with friends is a wonderful thing – if everybody “gets it.” You can make meals together or separately; you can do activities together or separately; you definitely need a rhythm to get the bathroom thing done efficiently.

Week two of our NH adventure is going swimmingly. The four boys are enjoying canoeing together and seem to be sharing their bunk room well – though I will not go in there. (I can only imagine what it’s like in a room with four teen-aged boys.) The grownups are a hoot. The day revolves around what activity to get to next here at the lovely Moultonborough house. The lake called us – so we went boating. Doug followed the Lake Winnipesaukee

Andrew leaps into the lake

map and we got to what used to be called “Girl Scout Island.” There we found a huge rock formation that was OK for leaping 15-20 feet into the lake below. We had docked our boat around

The rocks with training wheels for the less brave souls

the other side of this small island. Other boaters anchored just off the rocks so they could watch the crazy guys hurl themselves off the rock and into the lake. Doug was the only grownup in our group to attempt this feat. Adam and Andrew made the jump several times. I was the official photographer (are you out of your mind???? ME jump??). We motored over to another smaller rock formation in the same cove area. Everyone but me got up the nerve to jump the 6 feet or so into the lake. I was thinking too much (Don’t think – just jump).

Mealtime is a real test of how you are all getting along. We almost never run into each other in the kitchen area and the prepping, cooking and cleanup routines go extremely smoothly. It’s great having teen-aged boys who will empty the dish washer, take care of the pans in the sink and take out the trash – all with little or no whining.

The trip about 15 miles to the remote Sandwich Creamery in Sandwich, NH was the highlight of the day. The dairy is open 24/7 for ice cream, cheese,

Donna and her friends enjoy Sandwich Creamery

eggs and bread. But the shop during non-business hours is a small cabin with a screened door. The ice cream refrigerator has three different sizes of

Exploring a tiny island off our vacation house

ice cream and about 10-12 different flavors. The upright refrigerator has a selection of cheeses and eggs. It’s the honor system for paying. You slip your dollar bills into a mail slot, grab a wooden spoon and enjoy! Outside, the calves come up to the fence and enjoy handfuls of grass from Donna while we all marveled at how she adored these animals.

Even today, which is a bit damp and gray, we’ll have a day filled with heading to town, checking out a movie and trying candle-pin bowling (a very New England thing).

Adventures await.