Years ago, I was boarding a plane from New York to Orlando when I spotted a woman wrangling three young children. She wore a t-shirt that said “I’m a SAHM. This is not vacation, this is my job.”
For years, I’ve believed that there are family vacations and there are vacations that give parents a chance to relax and reconnect, but that you can’t have both. Until I visited Tyler Place.
Tyler Place is an authentic family camp located on Lake Champlain in the northern reaches of Vermont. Owned and operated by the Tyler family for more than 70 years, the accommodations are rustic, the electronics non-existent and the primary method of transportation are the many hundreds of ancient bikes that are available for guest use. There is water-skiing and wake-boarding, kayaking, sailing and stand-up paddleboarding on the lake. Arts and crafts, pick up kickball games, tennis courts, basketball courts, climbing walls, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, archery and literally more than a dozen more traditional camp activities.
It is the best that summer camp has to offer and the backdrop for an awesome family vacation.
So what the heck is Tyler Place doing in Macaroni Kid’s annual “travel just for mom and dad” issue? Read on.
We arrived late Saturday afternoon and were directed to our accommodations, a two-bedroom, lakeside cottage with a screened porch and spectacular lake views. We dropped our things, encouraged the kids to unpack quickly and headed up to the Inn where the kids were delivered to their individual groups and we joined the adults in the lounge for a welcome cocktail party. We were greeted by Chad Tyler who, with a warm warm handshake, said “welcome to Tyler Place, 21 meals without your children.”
Wait, 21 meals without the kids? 21 meals without hearing “I don’t want that?” 21 meals during which I never have to say the word’s “no phones at the table?” 21 meals to talk with my husband?
I love my kids and family dinner is a huge part of our family dynamic. We are one of those families that has dinner together pretty much every single night. But this is vacation and a perfect time to do things differently.
So off we went for the week. Each morning, the kids joined their groups, divided by age and overseen by a fantastic staff of counselors. Between 8:30 and 1:30, they explored every activity Tyler Place has to offer, they learned archery with Jean, swam in the pool and the lake, tried their hand at ultimate Frisbee, played basketball, newcomb and mini-golf, made buttons, built rafts and learned to sail and water ski. Even the teens had a ball -- “Be sure to put in the article that you do a lot of stuff” my son advised. For the toddlers, Tyler Place delivers enough action to burn off all that toddler energy and an introduction to the fun and community of summer camp … but with mom and dad nearby. And, unlike most resorts, Tyler Place welcomes kids of all ages -- even the very, very youngest -- and provides each baby with close, loving supervision and lots of engaging activities.
What did my husband and I get up to each morning? We hiked to the top of Jay Peak, hit the gym, dangled our feet over the side of a sailboat, sat by the lake and read actual books and went bike riding. But mostly, we talked. And held hands.
Afternoons are family time and after lunch we picked up the kids. They returned to us bubbling with stories from the morning and together we made a plan for the afternoon. We swam together almost every day, visited the arts & crafts studio once or twice and headed out to explore a nearby pond plentiful with tadpoles and the brightest green caterpillar I’ve ever seen.
The kids returned to their groups for dinner while we shared dinner with new friends. It was easy to make friends here. Perhaps it is the common interest of everyone having kids, or maybe it is a certain kind of couple who would choose to spend their vacation at a rustic family camp in northern Vermont. The kind of couple who loves their family and their kids, but who relishes having several hours to just be themselves.
Over a glass of wine toward the end of the week, Pixley Tyler reminisced about her mother, the matriarch of Tyler Place, affectionately known as Mrs. T. “She was really a woman before her time,” Pixley said. “And she used to say that one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is the gift of happy parents.”
Relationships take work. But they also take space and time and shared experiences. Tyler Place provides precisely that, all while your kids are having the time of their lives.
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The writer and her family were guests of Tyler Place for a week for the purpose of facilitating this review. Meals, accommodations and most activities were included. No other compensation was received and all opinions are her own.
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The writer and her family were guests of Tyler Place for a week for the purpose of facilitating this review. Meals, accommodations and most activities were included. No other compensation was received and all opinions are her own.
