In this family vlog, the narrator (Papa) documents day three of a summer staycation. The family drives 2.5 hours to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, described as an underrated, virgin forest on the East Coast. While traveling they listen to the audiobook version of The Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers). Upon arrival they note the solitude of the site, explore the massive old‑growth trees, and recite Joyce Kilmer’s famous poem “Trees,” reflecting on the spiritual and ecological significance of the forest. The children (Henry, Lily, Gideon) and Becca engage in playful banter, measure the size of the trees, encounter insects and berries, and share reactions. The vlog ends with a preview of the next day’s activities—wall climbing at Riveter and a mountain‑bike jump course—wrapping up the staycation series with a cheerful sign‑off.
Chapters
Happy vacation day— staycation day number 3 on this cool summer morning. I'm gonna do a little lunch shopping. Perfect. Today is— it's a pilgrimage for any outdoor lover. We are going to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Totally unrated, underrated. It's a virgin forest. It's what it would be like had none of these forests ever been logged. It's incredible. Mom's got her Suzuki. We've got an audiobook we're gonna listen to as family, finishing up The Lord of the Rings. We're on The Two Towers, second book. Look at the 2.5-hour drive as like opportunity to see the sights, listen to a book together. Yeah, just noticed something because I'm like, is something wrong with the air conditioning? She's got the heat on with a blanket on her side. I'm just over here running the air conditioning, wondering if everything's gonna be okay.
Your heat's coming over to this side, honey. No.
You gotta put a wall up.
Turn it down a little bit.
Thank you.
I'm feeling warm.
There's nobody here.
There were people here when we came. Look at this. It's like abandoned almost.
2 and a half hours later, we have arrived. Purely lonesome here. There's not one other person here. The most underrated outdoor feature on the East Coast. Ready to see some big trees? They don't believe me. You think they're gonna be dead? I think this is just a hike in the woods.
Maybe small like these trees.
I think they're gonna just be normal trees like these trees.
I believe you, Papa.
You do? How big do you think the trees are gonna be? Really big, huge. Do you think we'll be able to put our arms around him as a family? Maybe.
Oh, I know I'm not saying that.
He said, he said, I think I will be able to put my arms around him without the family.
And we drove 2 and a half hours for what? We live in this.
Boy, we better not let them down, huh? Becca and I came here in the gray age. We came 20 years ago. We came here before we were married, so over 23 years ago, probably 25 years ago. Oh, here comes somebody.
That makes me feel better.
He's one of America's best-known poets.
The poem Trees has been read and memorized by millions of schoolchildren.
Wow.
I did memorize this.
Maybe Trees.
I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed against the earth's sweet flowing breast. A tree that looks at God all day and lifts her leafy arms to pray. A tree that may in summer wear a nest of robins in her hair, upon whose bosom snow has lain, who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.
That's good.
Is it a bug? Yeah.
All right, let's get our hands around it. I'm sorry, this wide-angle lens does not do these guys justice. Makes them look smaller.
So it's 6 of us.
6 of us.
It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Can you do it without me? Hang tight. Hang tight, Henry. Hang tight. You did it. Yeah, they did it.
Wow.
Do not eat them. They're not blueberries.
Are they not?
See them on all the dead plants? Those are not blueberry plants.
Boy, they're deceiving. Whoa, huge centipede!
Ew, we did it pretty easy.
I think I found the biggest one. Let's see, can we put our arms around this one? We even got Henry. We did it! That was the biggest one. Henry, what have you done to my seat? How am I gonna drive? Lily, Gideon, was it worth it?
Yeah!
Yeah, you guys liked it?
Yeah.
All right, this was my activity today. We did swimming-ish activities for them. Tomorrow's gonna be good. It's gonna be a town day. We're going to the Riveter wall climbing. You can try your mountain bikes on their mountain bike course. Well, it's more like a jump course. It's another day for them tomorrow. Last day of staycation. Thanks Thanks for joining us on these. Hope you've had fun with us. Happy day!
