How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I spent a week with Karen and the girls at The Tyler Place, at Highgate Springs, Vermont. The Tyler Place is about two miles south of the Canadian Border, on Missisquoi Bay in Lake Champlain.


One can spend much of the week by the pool, sitting in the shade or floating in the sun. We also love to swim in the Lake.

The Tyler Place is set up as a combination of summer camp and family resort. The kids have organized activities, by age group and with very talented counselors. They are with their groups from breakfast through lunch. There is family time in the afternoon and they go back into their groups for dinner and evening activities.

The adults have activities too. For Karen and I there are freelance volleyball (Karen) and golfing (me). We also took part in a bike ride around Isle La Motte and a kayak float down the Missisquoi River.

We did a few things on our own, too. Karen took advantage of a chance for a facial and joined in a tennis round-robin. I indulged in some massage therapy and a hike up a mountain.

The mountain hike is a personal favorite. It's a moderately difficult walk up Burnt Mountain. I spent part of the walk up chatting with an older gentleman who had worked at the Tyler Place in the 1960's and met his wife there. They named their eldest son Tyler. Two of their kids have worked there too; one also met his wife on staff at the Tyler Place. The hike ends at Window Rock, featuring this view.

The descent is followed by a plunge into The Three Holes at Montgomery, Vermont.


The Three Holes is a town Natural Area; it's a favorite swimming hole and a lovely site. Vermonters love their swimming holes; they should, they are great.

There's also plenty to do at the waterfront. We slid down the lake-slide. We bounced on the lake-tramp. We went for a Banana Boat ride. We took rank-beginner water-skiing lessons one afternoon.


The waterfront staff were most helpful. We all four managed to get up on the skis and ride for at least a short way. We all also took some spectacular face-plants.

That's just a few of the things we did on vacation. We had fine food, and fine friends. We saw mountains, rivers and lakes. We had sunshine, and sunsets.