That's How You Get Your Name on The Nightly News

I went back to visit the kids at camp on Wednesday.  It was a beautiful day, although kind of windy.  Paula had brought what has become known as "The Wheel of Death" but thankfully, no one died.  It's name is technically Treadmill.

It's actually a pretty cool water toy, which allows you to propel yourself across the water by walking inside the wheel.

It looks harmless, but when the wind is blowing, it's pretty difficult to get it to go where you want it to go.  Wendy and Ella were inside the wheel attempting to go toward the cove, but the wind was blowing them out into the middle of the lake.  I was sitting on the beach, watching them get farther and farther away and getting more and more nervous. All I could think was..."this is how you get your name on the nightly news" and that's not a good thing!

Greg took the canoe, paddled out to them and attached a rope to the wheel, trying to drag it back to shore.  He wasn't having much success and I couldn't sit there any longer, so I huffed and puffed my way into the water with one of the kayaks, promptly tipping myself out and into the water.  GRRRRR.  I finally reached the wheel, and along with Greg, we were able to drag it back to shore.  Thankfully the wind didn't pick up the whole damn thing, with Greg and I attached and drop us all off in the woods somewhere on the opposite shore.  I was super happy to have everyone back on the beach and they decided not to use the wheel again when it was windy.  Good thinking!

Wendy and Jane went paddling, much safer.

She and Ella had fun at the float.  I love this photo.

And this one, too.

I'm pretty sure Greg took the two photos above and this great photo of Jane.

I had a fun afternoon with my family and I'm so relieved no one was injured or worse.  I'm a worrier, what can I say.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Fun at Camp 2017

Saturday, 8/5...Left the house around noon under a light rain and a temp of 72*.  Stopped by Wendy and Dan's to pick up some fresh eggs and say "hi" after being away in Quebec for the past few days.  Arrived at camp around 1:45 - 72* and overcast. 

We unpacked the car and I swept the floor, which was covered in sand!  We headed to No. Conway, mostly because it wasn't great beach weather.  We stopped to buy camp wood, then to Sherman's Farm Stand for veggies and bread.

We ate a late lunch at Pizza Hut and completed our shopping at Hannaford.  It started raining when we went in but was POURING when we came out!  Thankfully, by the time we got back to camp around 5:45, it wasn't raining.  

Put the groceries away, got organized and finally sat down around 7:00 with beverages, pretzels and pub cheese.  We enjoyed a good thunderstorm (because it's not camp without rain).  There was a decent sunset and a nice fireworks display across the pond.

Sunday, 8/6...Partly cloudy when I got up at 7:50.  The deck was too wet to sit on at first but was dry enough by 9:00 and we saw four loons in the cove! We ate bagels at the picnic table and got onto the beach by 11:00, when the sky cleared off nicely.  

We sat and read till 1:00, ate lunch, then did more reading until my iPad battery died.  Moved to the deck and took a nap.  Took an outdoor shower.  It clouded over so we sat inside and watched the Red Sox.  I finished by last book in The Outlander series "Written in my Own Hearts Blood".  Can't wait till the next one comes out, although I expect it will be quite awhile because the books are very large.  

There was a beautiful moonrise over the pond!

Monday, 8/7...It was chilly overnight, probably around 50*.  We ate breakfast and were on the beach by 10:30.  

We kept expecting it to cloud over, but it didn't.  We ate lunch, cleaned up a little and headed into No. Conway around 2:00.  We shopped at Bootleggers and Synergy, where we each got a new t-shirt.  We had Kahlua cake and lattes at The Met,

then went to Zebs for dark chocolate nonpareils (thanks Wendy!).  We sat in the car and downloaded books onto our iPads.  We went to L.L. Bean and EMS but didn't buy anything.  We bought ground coffee at AJ's and coffee filters at Shaws so we can have iced coffees.  

Bill made a fire after dinner and although it was a little cloudy, we could still see the moonrise. 

We finally went in around 9:00.  We expected it to rain on us all day and although it was all around us, we never got wet.

Tuesday, 8/8...It was overcast and wet when we got up.  Did some reading and played two games of cribbage (we each won one).  We heard two loons making a lot of noise so went outside to watch them.  Did more reading while we awaited the sun.  Still cloudy at 1:30.  

We ate lunch, then drove into Cornish to look around.  It appears Cornish is CLOSED on Tuesday!  Stopped in one shop and bought two new dish towels.  

Returned to camp, picked up the t-shirt Bill bought yesterday, which turned out to be a woman's!  That explains why it fit so tightly ;o)  We exchanged it, then returned home to lots of sunshine!  Yay!!!  

How cute is this?  Makes one feel, well...welcome ;o)

Sat on the deck with homemade iced coffees and Keeping' it Local cookies.  Took a nap, watched the news at 6:00, ate dinner on the deck.  Cleaned the kitchen, then sat on the deck till 8:30 watching the pond.  It was super calm.

Another beautiful moon tonight.

Wednesday, 8/9...Fantastic day today!

We enjoyed a lazy day...sat in the sun, floated, had lunch on the deck, more floating.

6:26 am

Made iced coffees around 3:00 and sat in the shade on the deck.

I love it when the clouds are reflected so perfectly in the water.

After showers, we ate tacos on the deck, then cooked marshmallows over the fire.  Instead of chocolate, we used Rollo candy along with the marshmallows and graham crackers.  It was really good!

7:57 pm

Last Wednesday in Quebec, I walked more than 20,000 steps; today...2200!  I would call that a lazy day and after all, that's what being at camp is about.

Thursday, 8/10...I woke up at 8:15 after sleeping the entire night, until 6:00.  Woohoo!  That has't happened in I don't know how long.  There was a milky sky this morning but it cleared off nicely and warmed right up.

10:57 am

Wendy and Jane arrived around 11:00 for a visit and she brought iced coffees.  Thanks Wendy.  Jane isn't as fond of the water as Ginger was but she was a good sport.

We enjoyed our afternoon...sat on the beach, sat in the shade, ate lunch, Wendy and I floated while Bill kept Jane company, sat in the shade some more.  They left around 4:00.  We sat on the deck in the shade, then took naps in the late afternoon sun using the new lounge chairs.  

After dinner we had a fire and made s'mores using Hershey's dark chocolate.  We watched the Patriot's pre season game against the Jaguars.  

We didn't hear the loons today ;o(

Friday, 8/11...Our last full day!  How does one week go by so quickly?  Another milky sky this morning.  The lake was very calm so after breakfast, we took advantage of it and went for a canoe ride around the lake.  We were the only ones on the water.

When we got back, Bill ran to the little store and I swept the deck, stairs and floors.  We sat in the weak sun till about 1:00, then ate lunch.  

It was windy but we managed to paddle our way to the float, where we bounced around in choppy water until it got really windy and dark storm clouds were getting closer.  It must not have rained because I got a great photo of Bill enjoying the life of leisure with an iPad book and an iced coffee.  

We both did some reading on the deck before dinner.  I mopped the floors after dinner; we sat by a fire till about 9:00, then we did some packing.

It was mostly cloudy all day but the wind died down and the sun tried hard to break through.

Saturday, 8/12...Got up around 8:00 to gray skies and evidence of rain overnight.  Did some packing, ate breakfast, finished cleaning and packing.  Bill went to the dump and I ran the vacuum.  Had everything cleaned and packed by 11:15, Wendy and Dan arrived around 11:35.

We sat on the deck, Bill did some reading and I stretched out on one of the lounge chairs. We helped them unload, visited and had lunch.  Greg and Ella arrived around 1:15.

The loon was back today!

Greg tried out his new scuba mask while wearing his traditional "Welcome to Camp, Life is Good" t-shirt.

Jane wore her "Pretty in Pink" life jacket

and Ella swam to the float and got some sun.

Jane prefers the sand to the water.

We visited till 3:30 when everyone went to the Amish Store and we stayed with Jane.  We took the annual dock photos when they returned.

Photo by Greg

We headed home about 4:40, stopped at Dunkin Donuts for iced coffees and picked up a pizza for dinner at Wal-Mart.

At home, we unpacked, did laundry, ran the dishwasher, took a shower and finally sat down around 10:00.

Another Fun at Camp week in the books.  Looking forward to next year!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Quebec 2017...Day Three

Thursday, August 3...

Up around 8:00 and headed to breakfast at the Creperie by 9:30.  We walked out of the old city toward the condo we used to stay in down by the river, coming across some super cool petunias and awesome art work...

This is four (I think) trash containers, turned upside down and the inside was pretty amazing.

"Celestial Rubbish"

There were holes drilled in the bottoms, now tops, of the containers, the sides were covered with mirrors and lengths of chain were hanging from the, now, ceilings.  Very cool effect!

"Invitation to Travel"

We came across this awesome feline cafe!

Cats roam freely throughout this cafe (not in the kitchen) and you can sit and read or snack with the cats cuddling up to you.  I have read about these but never come across one.  Unfortunately, you had to remove your shoes and I didn't have socks on, so we didn't stay but it was fun to check out.  Next time...

We walked through the train/bus station and the farmer's market, then along the marina and more art.

"Migration Pathway #2"

This next piece is supposed to evoke  "the feeling of sailing under heavy wind".

"10 on Beaufort Scale"

There are  holes in the large cylinders and they vibrate when the breeze blows through them, giving off a low, humming sound if you are standing close enough.  

We walked past a cruise ship that had just docked and past this bar, where you could sit with your feet in the water.  We didn't stop but promised ourselves we would next time!

Farther along our walk, we came across another splash pad, very popular here in Quebec.

Back into the Old City.  We walked along La Petit Champlain to the funicular and rode it to the top with passes given to us by our friends Archer and Karen Ann.  The fee was $3 each to ride, a large increase from the 50 cents when we were here ten years ago and it was like an oven inside!  We took another afternoon break at La Maisson Smith.  We lucked out today and got to sit outside, watching tons of people in the square, many with a 3' selfie stick...accidents waiting to happen!  This used to be one of my favorite places but it's super crowded now and that pretty much ruins the atmosphere.

After our break, we walked along the boardwalk and up a hill to an area surrounding The Citadel and overlooking the Chateau and the river.

Then and now...

"2007" 

"2017"

Apparently it's always windy up there and I'm thankful I'm not wearing the same outfit; I still have that blouse from 2007!  And...I like the roof better when it was new and bright green.

We decided to take a tour of The Citadel.  It's an old fortress and is still in operation as an active military base.  The tour lasted about an hour and it was nearly 4:00 when we finished.

An example of one of the buildings.  It was originally used to store ammunition but now it's a small museum, one of the few buildings we were allowed to enter.

One of the reasons for The Citadel was to protect the city and you can see that there was a good view of the area from inside.

This was a nice area located next to the Chapel.

Je Me Souviens translates roughly to We Will Never Forget.

More walking took us along the Grande Allee, which is lined with restaurants, art galleries and small shops.  We enjoy looking at the architecture.

We ate at a pretty fancy restaurant called Bella, although it was a pizza place last time we were here.  We ordered pizza, which was very good but was $28.00 and Bill had a $4.00 coke!!!

Back to the boardwalk where we sat and watched the ferries while our dinner settled, then to La Maisson Smith for gelato.  We returned to our hotel, sat on our little deck for awhile and enjoyed another perfect evening. We logged another 22,000 steps today!

Home tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)