The Value of Family Traditions

Hikers at the top of Mt. Washington

Our family continued a half-century tradition of gathering in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to hike, swim, picnic, and spend time together. There's only so much you can plan for, and the rest relies on the weather and the good ideas and adventures that arise throughout the multi-day trip.

As I think of this year's iteration, I felt the following actions served us well:

• Finding a beautiful place where we could rent a number of large houses to accommodate the families that came.
• Planning one main adventure (hike up Mt. Washington) and one main dinner (an Italian dinner at the house that could accommodate that)
• Planning ahead of time so everyone could come - we started planning in December.
• Planning a loose-tight timeline--tight for the start of the climb, loose for all the events outside of the climb and dinner.
• Researching what's happening in that area at that time. For example we were able to partake in the beautiful, small town fireworks on the Town Green.
• Lots of healthy, home cooked meals and a bit of dining out too.

I know this tradition will continue. It's a good one, and this beautiful mountain spot and wonderful mountain air has something for people of all ages.