I traveled to Gilmanton, Ironworks, New Hampshire this past weekend. Two of my four children are attending camp there. My husband and I traveled six hours from East Rockaway, NY to visit the kids. It was not easy getting out of the house and remembering to bring everything! Change of sheets for the kids, fresh clothes, and tons of snacks! I forgot a bunch of important items - of course! Like my kids change of clothes for the weekend! Traveling on I95 through Connecticut was a total crawl on a Friday Summer afternoon. Stop and go traffic for hours. My husband likes to drive and get there without stopping. I was really nervous to tell him I had to use the bathroom (for the third time). We arrived at our hotel six hours later. Still in city work mode, I noticed a change in my surroundings. We started off looking at suburban houses. Onto the Cross Island Parkway we passed buildings and smelled hot traffic. We ventured over the Throgs Neck Bridge into the heart of traffic. Once through Connecticut, things started to calm down. I noticed the huge pine trees and ferns all over the place, wild orange and yellow flowers. There were horses and deer around. The houses and barns were so far apart. As we pulled into the Camp in New Hampshire, I heard the crunch of the leaves under the car tires. We hopped out to take some photos and I smelled the forest. It smelled so good, like fresh sweet pine. You could hear birds chirping and really feel the peace. Rays of sun glimmered through the leaves; I saw a stream of water through the trees. It really was a good place, and I was happy to be there. What a great weekend! Now in the car - head home to the hot city! The memories of the forest will inspire my art.