We just got back from a quickie vacation in New England. We started out on Monday the 18th. Getting up before dawn, we hit the road to to Dave's parents house in Massachusetts. It was just a one night layover stop, but it was the first time Cameron had seen their "real" house! Every other trip up since she's been born has been to their beach cottage. Needless to say, she was happy to check out her grandparents digs, and we all caught up a little bit.
Tuesday morning we left for Maine. To me, this was the highlight of the trip. My father owns a small summer house there we call "camp". When I was little and lived in New Hampshire we'd spend a lot of time there each summer. Most of my fondest childhood memories revolve around our summers at camp. I'm not sure of the exact number but as near as I can tell, I haven't been there in close to 30 years. I would have been in my early teens (I think) the last time I was there.
Although my parents have made some minor improvements on the old place (potable water, a shower, a dishwasher & a washer & dryer - along with cable tv) I found it to be pretty much the same.
We arrived early afternoon, got the car unpacked and explored our surroundings a bit. Honestly, I'm not sure at this point what my family was thinking but for me, it was overwhelming to be there again. The weather when we arrived was a bit chilly. I'm not sure it was much more than 60 degrees, if that. There was a bit of a breeze and the kids were freezing after only a few minutes. That didn't stop Cameron from wanting to go swimming though.
After we explored the house a bit, Dummy & Daughter (Jordan & I) decided to go out in the canoe. Jordan has only been in a canoe once in her life and I haven't steered one in well... 30 years. It was chilly outside with a slight breeze was blowing. The pond was choppy, but nothing much to worry about. We left the dock heading to our left, which was towards the inlet. We paddled up with no problems even though were were going against the wind. After we'd had our fill of paddling around the inlet and checking out all the other houses on our way, we turned back towards home. We overshot our dock by a few so we could check out the house my Aunt Susan used to rent with her family. That's were we got in to trouble... By this time the wind had picked up a bit. We were headed for home when a couple of big gusts of wind stopped us from making any forward progress. We were able to keep the canoe from going backwards but that was about it. Just as the gusts died down and we started moving forward again, another huge gust came along and SPLASH! Dummy & daughter were in the water. Shoes, jeans & fluffy warm coats and all. After checking to ensure Jordan was ok, the giggles ensued. There were more than feathered loons on the pond that day. I'm sure the way voices carry there, EVERYONE came to the windows to see what was so darn funny. After re-gaining some composure we started swimming our now upside down canoe over towards the dock at Beanie Richardsons place. A woman had seen the whole embarrassing episode (which she deemed really, really scary!) and came out with towels and life jackets for us. We righted the canoe and opted to tie up there and walk home. Unfortunately in my cold, dripping, embarrassed state I neglected to get her name. All I know is she was renting Beanie Richardson's place but her maiden name was Whiting and she'd had a crush on one of my brothers growing up. I got out of there at that point wanting only warm, dry clothes for Jordan & me! The rest of that first day passed uneventfully I'm happy to say. Between the clothes line, the some what pathetic dryer and the gas fireplace we managed to get warm & dry.
Day two dawned another somewhat chilly, windy day. Dave & I wandered down to get the canoe & return the laundered towels we'd used mid morning. No one was home so I still don't have the name of the woman who watched us go over. We took a walk along the main road that runs along the south shore of the pond. I noticed lots of building on the far side where they'd have no view or water access. I couldn't help but wonder who owns that land anyway?!
The girls stopped to strike a pose on a really large boulder we saw along the side of the road. After our walk we had some lunch and since it was still too cold outside to go swimming, the girls & I decided to get in the van & drive along the north shore road and explore over there a bit. Normally I'd have taken the canoe over to the little "beach" over there but Cameron was afraid after the capsizing incident the day before. Since it was still windy & choppy we just drove. We parked and spent a few minutes on the rocks at the beach area. The wind wasn't as bad as it had been on our side of the pond. Then we decided to climb "Woodsmans Peake". My mother had requested her ashes be sprinkled up there and over the pond, so the climb was something I really wanted to make. When I was a kid, I can remember practically running up. Now that I'm an over weight, out of shape adult, running was not in the cards. I near about died with the first steep part of the climb but then it evened out a bit & the bulk of the climb wasn't bad at all. The view from the top is amazing. We enjoyed the steady heat of the sun and complete lack of wind while catching our breath after the climb.
Jordan was especially taken with the view & the peace on top of Woodsmans Peak. I didn't think I was going to get her to climb back down again! We both wished we'd had the foresight to realize it would have been the perfect place to try to take her senior pictures. Although I did take some shots of her, none were what I'd want for that occasion. I have lots of notes and pose ideas here at home. I might have been able to pull it off if I'd thought to bring them with me. Oh well...
