Thanksgiving: single mom, with two teens!!!vacation together???and have fun!

"Put away the cell phone! There’s no service here! If you want cell phone service we'll have to climb to the peak of that mountain" Mom states as she pointed her finger toward the sun setting sun in the horizon. A shimmering frosty glow bloomed in the distance as the sun's rays reflected off the mountain top.

Both kids turned simultaneous and squinted into the bright sky to see where their Mom was pointing. Across the road and down a long path a large brown sign with bold white lettering and a bold white arrow directing towards a trail " Mount Monadnock white dot trail."
"Huh, what does that mean, ‘white dot trail' I don't get it?" asked 15 year old Mike as he continued pushing buttons on the keyboard of his cell phone. "What the heck, no bars on my phone, totally no signal at all! I can't believe it! What kind of place is this?" Mike continued with his non stop complaining.

14 year old Allison piped in oblivious to her brother's whoa "Everybody's going out to the mall to hang out tonight. All my best friends are going to be there. Chrissy is breaking up with Adam and Samantha wants Brian to ask her out. I'm stuck here in the wilderness. This is the most important weekend of my life! I can't even get on Facebook!" she whined.

The Mom walked away gathering all the self control she could muster up and tried to ignore her self centered children. The Grassy knoll Inn was decorated with festive fall arrangements. Corn stalks, colorful mums and pumpkins adorned the entryway. She stopped briefly to pet Shiloh, the Boarder Collie who was the self appointed welcome committee. He rested on the top step and waited for incoming caresses. She glanced back to look the solemn faces focused on her every move. A wave of guilt passed over her quickly but immediately brushed it away as the overwhelming smell of fresh baked bread and roast turkey took priority.

A robust woman with strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes greeted the mother with a cheerful smile.” Hello my name is Jenn can I help you?" the woman said as she stood and introduced herself as the head caretaker and cook at the inn. The woman spoke with an Irish brogue and managed a genuine happy image, as the Inn became a bustle of chaos with many families checking in for the long Thanksgiving weekend.
"Oh you most certainly can, I could definitely use a lot of help!" the Mom chuckled at her own humor.

The woman smiled and spied past her as she saw the somber faces back at he car. "Hum, I see the problem. Well, we will just make the best of it. Once they settle in and have a nice hot meal and meet up with some of the other teens, they'll be having a wonderful time." The woman said as she tried to reassure the Mom.

"I do hope so, this is the first year we have ventured out of our cocoon and tried something different for Thanksgiving. I've recently divorced and I don't have family to speak of. I decided family bonding time might be great idea for all of us" the Mom explained.

"Well, I think that's a wonderful idea! I wish you the best. We have plenty of activities here and lots of families also planning on that very same goal. Here is your schedule of events and your table seating times. This is your key, it will be your access into the pool and all of the out buildings. A map to help you find your way around, not that it's all that big here but the barns and trails are spread a good distance apart. Your cabin is around the back of this building, just follow the roadway to the yellow cabin, it's number 5. Enjoy your stay, be sure to let me know if's there's anything you might need" explained Jenn.

Shiloh, the Boarder Collie climbed into the back seat of the little SVU and snuggled across the laps of the two gloomy teens. Within minutes they were laughing at the dog's silly antics.
"OK, lets go check out our cabin. We'd better get Shiloh out of this car before the owner thinks we're stealing him" the Mom said as she joined in laughing with the kids.

"We'll run along side the car so Shiloh will know what cabin we're staying in!" exclaimed Allison.

"Great idea, lets go!" shouted Mike.

The little SUV guided by Shiloh and the two enthusiastic teens launched their weekend full of fun and adventure.