Minute Mysteries

I have been quite busy lately, with work, for certain, but I have been lucky enough to take some time off with the family over the last couple of weeks. We went to the Poconos and the Jersey Shore last week, and then I headed to Tahoe for a few days with just the kids.

Our high-light of the Poconos was spending time on the Hutchinson Family Farm and seeing Great Aunt Dorothy. The Farm isn't much of a farm anymore, but it sure is a great place to hang out for a couple of days - there's a crick running through it, a pond, a row boat, and a golf cart! Aunt Dorothy is a spry 96 and in Aunt Dorothy fashion, she made us dessert for every meal we enjoyed with her:

• Lunch on day one: banana-orange pudding with meringue on top
• Dinner on day one: apple pie
• Breakfast on day two: blue berry muffins
• Lunch on day two: oatmeal raisin cookies

Aunt Dorothy is famous out here in California as she made pies (10!) for Kim and my wedding and brought out the crusts from the East Coast before filling the homemade dough out here.

Anyhow, while in Tahoe, I reconnected with some friends, the Waxmans, and Bernadette, the matriarch of the Waxman clan, reminded me of "Minute Mysteries."

Minute Mysteries are a great way to get the kids thinking on a long road trip (and taking their minds off of the long road trip). You start out giving some basic information about a mystery (most often some type of accident) and then the participants can ask as many yes or no questions until they figure out the answer to the mystery. Good stuff. Here's a list of over 100 of them for your next road trip.