I had one blog post that I wrote a couple of years ago and for some reason never published. It's just been sitting here in draft form, waiting for this particular challenge. The theme for today is "Where Are You Happiest?"Where we live, a cabin on a lake is not called a cabin on a lake. It is called a "camp," which I believe is in reference to the place where loggers used to live when they were away from home. When I say that we spent the fourth of July weekend at camp, your mental image would be completely wrong if you picture a tent or an RV. It's more like a cottage--not quite all the amenities of home, but with oh, so many perks that more than make up for the lack of a dishwasher.
Yesterday, we were squishing our toes through the sand when my 6 year old said, "Mom, this is the best place in the whole world." I think maybe he is right.
When my husband's parents decided to buy this camp about ten years ago, I was less than thrilled. I can't even remember all the reasons I thought it was a bad idea. Something about feeling tied to that spot for our vacations when I wanted to travel the world. Or maybe I knew they'd spend all their time there and I'd be back to not having a babysitter. Who knows.
At the time, I'd been down the road to the camp once before, and I remembered it as the most rutted, rustic road I had ever been on. Yeah, it still is. But the camp is situated on a little peninsula on a quiet lake. They've got their own tiny beach on both sides, plus a little section of woods to explore on the other side.
We fish (well OK, everyone except me fishes. Ew.) We kayak, swim, jump of the floating dock, make fires and roast s'mores and hot dogs. The kids go into the woods and build forts and who knows what else. We spend time with family, and watch movies. We play games--we scare away the wildlife playing PIT, and we play scrabble, boggle, triominoes, skip-bo, Dutch Blitz and sequence.
J went kayaking yesterday and saw a moose--the first one we've ever seen there. 7 loons came to visit us while she was gone. Last year we accidentally disturbed a loon's nest when we stopped at a small island. My youngest son picked up one of the eggs and brought it to me. It was larger than a chicken's egg and speckled green. We set it back where he'd found it and hopped back in the motor boat and sped away before beginning our lecture about not disturbing bird's nests. Thank heavens, all seems to be well though. Through binoculars, people spotted the loon sitting on her eggs a few days later. Loons are among my favorite creatures on Earth, and their numbers are declining. Hopefully the egg he picked up last year is the loon we saw last week.
I've spent my share of time at camps too, so I get what you're talking about. Like you, I think all the natural beauty far outweighs not having every comfort of home. Sounds like you and your family are making some precious memories there. :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful place!! Glad you all are having a great time.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds amazing to me! I would love something like that too!
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds amazing! x
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