We are so grateful to call N. Truro home for a few weeks every year!

We'd love to hear from you... it's easy to call camp and ask them to leave us a note on the camp message board. (They don't mind, truly.) 

That number (good from July 10th through the 20th or so) is 508/ 487-1191, and office hours are pretty much all day with the exception of meal breaks from noon-1pm and again from 6-7pm.

Even if you don't have a chance to send a message our way, we know we can count on you to send warm wishes and healing thoughts... right? And a special thanks to our fabulous neighbors, who are keeping watch on our little house until we get back.

(For a glimpse at previous years' adventures, 

see post-camp posts from 

2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006.)

Lessons from Camp, 2015

We're back from another fabulous two weeks in one of our favorite spots in the world. Here are some of our takeaways from this year's trip:

Surfers have more fun.

BYOL. (Bring your own library.)

Friendship bracelets will never go out of style.

Appreciate the little things.

Go ahead, splurge a little.

If you hear the dunes calling, listen.

Home is where the tents are!

Thanks to the neighbors who helped keep our little house safe in our absence, 

and to all the friends and loved ones who sent their happy wishes and good weather vibes our way.

A special thanks to the families whose generosity made this version of our annual adventure possible.

For more photos, see the album on Flickr.

If you want to jump into the wayback machine

you can do so by checking out the posts 

from 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006.)

Freedom By the Ocean

Yes, it's that time of year again... we hear the ocean (and, in my case, a giant stack of library books) calling our names, and we are outta here! 

We would love it if you sent us snailmail at camp! (Last year we got a bunch of mail and it was SO GREAT.) If you're reading this between July 4th and July 12th or so, this is your big chance to make our day at camp.

Send a little note to:
Riendeau-Krause campers, site 35-C
c/o North of Highland Campground
52 Head of the Meadow Road
P.O. Box 297
North Truro, MA 02652-0297

If you'd prefer, you can call the camp and ask them to leave us a note on the camp message board, which is also a big thrill. That number (good from July 6th through the 17th or so) is 508/ 487-1191, and office hours are pretty much all day with the exception of meal breaks from noon-1pm and again from 6-7pm.

Even if you don't have a chance to send a message our way, we know we can count on you to send warm and sunny thoughts... right? And a special thanks to the excellent neighbors who are keeping watch on our little house until we get back.

Lessons From Camp 2013

When we tell people that our annual vacation tradition consists of two weeks of camping in the duneside scrub pine forests of Cape Cod, they sometimes have a difficult time imagining how truly decadent that ends up feeling. 

So here, once again, is our post-camp photo journal, along with some related lessons we learned (or, in some cases, re-learned) at camp this year. (Clicking on pictures will give you access to a larger version of the same image.) It certainly felt luxurious to us!

Live it up!

(Just because you're roughing it,

doesn't mean you can't splurge.)

No hands. Definitely.

Design your own golf course.

Bring a friend.

Rain brings new opportunities.

Honor your traditions.

Use your imagination.

(There wasn't any rope, but most cars slowed.)

Look up.

Look down.

Change your perspective.

Find great teachers.

Ride the waves all the way in.

Bring books, and a head lamp.

(Thanks so much to our camping partners Sassafras Mama + JT, 

and our camping neighbors Kathia, Marc, + Kosma,

as well as to Aunt Chelle, Mickie, Grammy + Grampy, Grandpa + Nana, 

Ryan Garcia, Steve Erickson, the Pattons, the Rawleys,

Lorraine, Mike, Ray, Deborah,

and everyone else who conspired to make

our time at camp especially wonderful this year.

More great pics are available over at Sassafras Mama

(in this post and in this one!)

and if you have the time, treat yourself to a look 

at how these boys have GROWN

by checking out the posts 

from 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006.)

On the Road

Yes, it's that time of year again... we are heeding the call of the great outdoors! You can leave us messages in the comments below (although we probably won't read them until we get back), or, even better...

Please send us snailmail at camp! Most years we got a lot of mail and it is SO GREAT! Plus, I will of course happily send you a postcard in return. If you're reading this between July 6th and July 19th, here's your big chance to make our day at camp!

Send a little note (and/or dark chocolate!) to:
Riendeau-Krause campers, site 35-C
c/o North of Highland Campground
52 Head of the Meadow Road
P.O. Box 297
North Truro, MA 02652-0297

If you'd prefer, you can call the camp office and ask the very nice folks there to leave us a note on the camp message board, which is also a big thrill. That number (good from July 7th through the 19th or so) is 508/ 487-1191, and office hours are pretty much all day with the exception of meal breaks from noon-1pm and again from 6-7pm.

(The message board at camp on a good day)

Even if you don't have a chance to send a message our way, we know we can count on you to send warm and sunny thoughts... right? And a special thanks to the excellent neighbors who are keeping watch on our little house until we get back.

(I'll still be writing at least one haiku each day,

but won't be able to post them while we're gone.

Watch this space for "haiku-palooza" 

once we return!)

Games For Change Festival 2013

Did we have a good time? Take a look at this and tell me what YOU think:

(Here's Miss T play-testing Privilege, the only tabletop game 

at the screen-dominated Festival.)

Miss T and I spent two days in NYC hobnobbing with folks who live at the intersection of games and learning... we had a GREAT time.

There were thought-provoking presentations 

about coordinated transmedia campaigns like Half the Sky.

Here's Miss T playing the extremely creepy Nevermind, which includes a biofeedback element as well as a faceless cat... she had to step away!

We loved Lindsay Grace's talk on the verbs of games.

Here's Miss T explaining some of the finer points of Quandary,

one of the demonstration games we liked the best.

The first night we caught the final preview performance

of Bureau of Missing Persons, which we really enjoyed.

Thanks to AirBnB, we were able to crash in the Village!

Day Two found Miss T checking out the amazing Blindside, a game which depends entirely on audio cues and motion-sensors for its game play. (Thus her closed eyes.) Later in the festival, Miss T had a lovely conversation with the co-creators of the game.

Jesse Schell's closing keynote, here featuring
a Dorothy Parker quote, was entitled
"Sheep, Goats, and the Future of Learning" (link is to his slidedeck);
it was one of my favorites.

No Special Day is complete without ice cream.

And here are your victorious travelers on the train ride home!

(If you're curious about the festival,

check out their site.)

Even Better Than Expected

We had a fantastic honeymoon/ 20th anniversary (depending on how you count) trip to CA and Hawai'i! Here are just a few glimpses into The Oahu portion of our trip (all photos mine unless otherwise noted).

 In the jacuzzi at the Aqua Bamboo.

 The beginning of the path to Manoa Falls.

 Manoa Falls

Looking back at the mountains (photo by DRK!).

Mr. D got some lessons on reading waves at Waikiki...

... and then proceeded to ride some! (Thanks, Kris!)

Former volcanic crater now turned coral reef...

...aka snorkeling heaven Hanauma Bay.

(Thanks to Flickr user Bemep for this photo.)

 Moonrise over Diamond Head

This trip really re-ignited my travel urge... we were just awestruck by the gorgeous scenery, perfect weather, and friendly people of Hawai'i.

Macklemore

Mary Lambert and Macklemore

Macklemore is a Seattle-based rapper who first came to my attention because he made a significant and public commitment to support the movement for marriage equality in his home state of Washington. Prior to the release of his new album on Oct. 9th, he released a song that addresses the issue, called "Same Love," and promised to dedicate all the proceeds from the sale of the single to the marriage equality cause. I bought the song and promptly listened to it on repeat loop for several days.

When Macklemore announced his fall tour, we purchased three tickets to the concert at the TLA in Philly, which was scheduled for November 14th. I didn't think at the time about the fact that this would be very close to the election in which marriage equality would be voted on in Washington and several other states.

As the concert date approached, we were disappointed to learn that the guest artist on "Same Love," another Seattle-based singer name Mary Lambert and whose music we love, wouldn't be joining Macklemore for the entire tour, and that Philadelphia was on the "cities I'll be sad to miss" list. "How will he DO that song?" we wondered, but we were excited for the concert all the same. When we got to Philly, we talked briefly with opening act Dee-1, who took a liking to Mr. D.

(Dee-1 & Mr. D in a long hair bonding moment)

Dee-1 led off with a positive and inclusive set (he even invited a member of the audience up on stage for a little mic time, which was really cool), and then Macklemore's portion of concert began. The energy of the crowd - mostly college-aged students - was fantastic, and at one point Macklemore crowd surfed, somehow managing to actually stand upright on the hands of his fans.

A few songs in, the opening chords of "Same Love" rang out, and the crowd revved up, ripples of awareness spreading through as everyone realized the freshly celebratory feel of the song in the wake of the passage of marriage equality in Washington. Then Macklemore held his hand up to make an announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, fresh from the Philadelphia airport... Mary Lambert!"

The crowd - including three people in the back who had driven all the way down from Central New Jersey - went completely insane, and the song was beautiful. Mary Lambert hadn't realized that this would be her first time singing the song in public since the vote the week before... she ended the song in tears, crying out, "I can get married!" (Mary Lambert is gay, while Macklemore is straight.) Macklemore hugged her, saying, "I love this woman!"

It was a pretty great night.

(Voters also approved measures related

to marriage equality in three other states

on November 6th. The Supreme Court
will decide whether to rule on gay marriage soon.)

Life Without Electricity

We were without power for most of this past week.

Candles definitely came in handy...

... as did our decks of playing cards.

Mornings started with some quality time 

in the local gas line --

we were running a generator

to keep our sump and fridge going.

Most nights Mr. D treated us 

to piano practice by Petzl-light.

And when we finally fled to Bala Cynwyd

in search of heat and comfort 

(thank you, Feldinis!),

we were thrilled to return to THIS 

beautiful sight:

(As of this writing, almost a third of NJ residences

remain without power, including over 10K

here in Mercer County. Gas restrictions have been imposed

in twelve NJ counties. And many NJ voters will need to vote

via emergency procedures. It's going to be a long road.)