Happy National S'mores Day!

It's true - August 10 is National S'mores Day. It's one of the best things about a summer camping trip or a winter visit to Okemo Mountain Resort's Coleman Brook Tavern. It's so much fun to see families taking a break from skiing and gathered around a table-top "campfire" on a winter day. Of course it's even more fun to be the one toasting a marshmallow to golden-brown perfection and smashing the gooey gob of stickiness between two graham crackers ... and don't forget the slab of milk chocolate! Mmmmmmm ... can't you just taste it? We have the Girl Scouts to thank for the first recorded version of the s'mores recipe, found in the Girl Scout handbook of 1927.

So build yourself a campfire or just make a marshmallow mess of yourself at Okemo.

The Jackson Gore Outdoor Music Series continues tonight with a free concert by The Brightwings. The Brightwings, a Boston-based band, consists of three singer/songwriters: Matt Rafal, Dave Dombroski and Dan Holden. Jayme Tardiff rounds out the line-up on drums. Their name is taken from an episode of the television show "The Wonder Years," which was set in the late '60s and early '70s. The Brightwings are influenced by that same era, hinting at the honest and simple sounds of The Eagles, CSNY, Tom Petty and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band incorporates this nostalgic vibe into their songwriting, creating modern songs with a classic rock feel. Three part vocal harmonies, acoustic guitars and heartfelt lyrics are all key elements of the Brightwings sound. On Friday nights throughout the summer season, the lawn in the courtyard at Okemo’s Jackson Gore Inn is transformed into an outdoor concert venue featuring renowned local and regional entertainers. Admission to the Jackson Gore Outdoor Music Series is free and the grounds open at 5 p.m. Concerts are slated to begin at 6 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. Families are welcome and all attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. In case of rain, the concerts will move undercover. An outdoor barbecue is available, as well as dining in Jackson Gore’s Coleman Brook Tavern. Cheers!

Only 4 weeks left until school starts......

Hard to believe that summer has gone by so fast. If you didn't get outside this weekend, you missed a fantastic 3-days. Oh, did I say 3-days! Yup. I played hooky on Friday and went over to Lake George, NY. Met up with longtime friends and spent the weekend in the water.

Now, keep in mind, winter is less than 90 days away(assuming the season starts at the beginning of November), so the weekend was not all lounging and drinking. I went running on Sat and Sun morning...after the humidity broke. Saturday afternoon I hopped on my Laser and sailed all afternoon....the wind was fantastic..... and the water was warm, warm, warm. What a perfect afternoon.

Which brings up the topic of sunscreen. No matter how diligent you might be when applying sunscreen.....Mother Nature and the sun god always find the one spot that you missed. The back of my right arm....needless to say....it was crispy on Saturday night. I thought I'd slathered every piece of exposed skin.....even my feet were covered. I'm blaming the burn in "life vest rub". It simply wore off the sunscreen.

And lastly.....I can't believe there's only 4 weeks until the kids go back to school.....and for some towns it's even earlier. Oh well, all good things must come to an end. I hope they enjoyed summer camp, soccer camp, sailing camp, lacrosse camp, hockey camp, horseback riding camp, etc. Whatever happened to the daily rec department program and swimming at the local lake......everyone is so programmed these days.

So remember, get out there and exercise. Winter is coming fast and you want to be in good shape for your first turns of the winter.

-Dex