So, that little bug of camping light got into my head. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. But Maine … it’s just so far from Connecticut. Is that really the best place to go with two kids four and under for our first outdoor adventure? Probably not. So I stuffed the idea back into the depths of my mind.

… and there it stayed until someone I know announced they were going camping. And, Oh! Someone else mentioned cabins near the beach. I started hunting and pecking and chose a campground with cabins, but I hesititated on booking (can we really afford this?). When I finally made the decision to just do it, that campground was booked … back to the drawing board. I quickly located another campsite with cabins close to home and didn’t even blink as I booked one for two nights and three days.

It’s a short getaway, but it’s also the first real family vacation we’ve taken since having kids. So this is a big thing for us. The kids are psyched. The dogs are checked into the kennel and happily being tickled and played with. And the car? My tiny Civic is packed to the brim.

Yes, folks, we are taking my little Honda Civic camping.

So away we go for a few days. When I return, there will be lots to tell you about — camp food, outdoor fun and this family-run campground that is giving us our first real vacation in years.

See you in a few days!

So, I am pulling together all my resources and planning at-home trips. (Psst! I just wrote about staycation ideas for families with toddlers at SheKnows, where I am a columnist. Check it out.)

Here are a few local ideas (in Connecticut) that I’ve come up with:

• The Connecticut Children’s Museum: This is a great hands-on place for kids three and up. They have all sorts of activities geared toward the younger set.
• Stepping Stones Museum for Children: This has activities both for toddlers and older kids. They can play with water, learn about rain forests, make bubbles and more.
• Walking with Dinosaurs: This is an awesome and breathtaking show that will be at the Arena at Harbor Yard later this month (it’s also going to be at Madison Square Garden in New York). Realistic looking dinosaurs take center stage . . . (In the interest of full disclosure, I learned about this one after being offered tickets to check it out . . .).
• Mystic Seaport: If you are in Connecticut, you can’t miss Mystic Seaport. There are tall ships, a museum, an aquarium and more to have a fun day . . . And rumor has it one of the ships is very haunted (but don’t tell my husband . . . he won’t want to check it out then).
• Discovery Museum: This one is more for older kids. There’s a planetarium and lots of space geared activities. Lots of fun — I went there as a kid and loved it.
• Earthplace: A coworker told me about this place in Westport. Apparently they do bonfires on Fridays and have lots of fun activities. It’s all geared toward nature education.
• Stamford Museum: With animals galore, this is a great place for kids. There’s even storytelling on Saturday’s at the museum farm.

I checked out a number of recipes before writing this one. Thank goodness everyone in the blogosphere is busy with tomato cooking now (and a lot are making gazpacho too) because it gave me a good selection of recipes to learn from. I also checked out a bunch of recipes from books in my personal library. As usual, I couldn’t find one that met all of my needs so I just started from scratch.

Anyway, here’s the skinny on gazpacho: it’s really refreshing. I wish I would have made it sooner as it would have been a perfect hot-summer-night dinner on the porch. Next year! The texture is somewhat like salsa, without the bite. Definitely good. Definitely worth it. Definitely a keeper.

The best part? It’s super healthy – it’s practically all raw vegetables (and fruits, I guess) so it’s just a powerhouse of nutrients. Yay for healthiness!

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt (I used a sea salt/lavender blend from Williams-Sonoma)
4 ripe red tomatoes, diced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 shakes Louisiana hot sauce
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Pour balsamic vinegar in to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of your food processor, combine the sea salt and garlic. Pulse for 5-10 seconds. Add tomatoes (I did this in two batches since I use a mini food processor.). Pulse to desired consistency. Pour tomatoes into the bowl with the vinegar.

Combine the cucumber and red onion in the food processor (no need to clean between uses). Pulse to desired consistency. Pour cucumbers and red onion into the reserved bowl.

Combine the red and green pepper in the food processor. Pulse to the desired consistency. Add to the reserved bowl.

Pour Italian seasonings, olive oil, lemon juice, hot sauce and pepper into the bowl. Mix well.

Place the gazpacho in a sealed container and refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

When we would go, it would be hot, because we only would go on nice sunny days with bright blue skies. And every year, we’d pick as many of the delectable, fresh, sweet berries as we could. Besides the big box of strawberries, I’d also leave with red-stained clothes, hands, you name it. Eating just picked strawberries is one of life’s most simple pleasures.

I still love strawberries as much as I did as a little girl. I particularly love those bright red ones that are perfectly sweet and just picked. With any luck, Will and I will begin our own strawberry picking tradition this year at a pick-your-own farm not far from where we live. I hope he enjoys the experience as much as I do.

It’s almost strawberry picking time! Just a few more weeks . . .