Vacation Elation

In case you might have been wondering why my blogs stopped so abruptly last Friday, it's because I was away on vacation. Every year my husband and I try to make it up to the Adirondacks with his family for a week of relaxation, fun, laughs, and the unexpected surprise. This year held many surprises for us: Two people from our "party" got engaged on a hike, the cabin we stay in is now under new ownership and management (this will forever be know as 'The Year of Rod' - I'll explain later!), and we sort of witnessed a shipwreck if you count a large speed boat crashing into a giant gaggle of sharp rocks as such. Other things happened in between, so I'm gonna do my best to break it down for ya.

Day one was pretty uneventful, so we'll categorize it as being on the more relaxing side of vacation. We spent the afternoon lounging on Adirondack chairs down by the beach with our books and some bologna sandwiches. There was a breeze blowing off the lake, so it was a good thing I remembered to pack my Snuggie (well, it's really a leopard print Cozee, but same idea). As the sun set behind the mountains on the far end of the lake we cuddled against our Cozees and snapped pictures. A loon popped out of the water in front of the dock and and then swam about a quarter mile underwater before popping up again. These birds are so amazing! Could you imagine swimming and running into a loon underwater? I would jump right out of my bathing suit!

Day two also began with a lazy day at the beach, bikini on and book in hand. Jay kayaked out to Fifth Lake and back to Rocky Point and the far islands with his mom. Ballerina Island looked deserted so he jumped out and took a peek at the seemingly abandoned cottage, only to find it occupied the following day! Good thing he wasn't caught... Our friends Brett and Raea arrived from Boston in the early evening, just in time for some delicious camping dinner of I can't remember what! But it was good.

Day three started with a yoga session on the beach with Raea as our instructor. (Thank you, Raea!) What a relaxing as well as invigorating way to begin a day! I felt awake, refreshed, and peaceful all at once. After a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, fruit, Raea's delicious muffins, and other assorted pastries, the eight of us headed out to hike up Bald Mountain. Once at the top, Jay and Raea impressed us (and scared us!) with risky yoga poses on cliff sides and a rock that is perched ever so carefully on the edge of the mountain. After a brief stay at the summit, we headed back down. The gang in front of Raea and I headed off on the wrong trail, so Jay came back to get us and we were glad to meet everyone back at the car. The trails are not always clearly marked, and since some people blaze their own trails you really have to keep your eye out for the tree markers. I would NOT want to get lost in the Adirondacks for several reasons including bears, mountain lions, and hillbillies, but also because you might make your way to Canada before finding your way out. And I am seriously afraid of dark woods and scary noises. Have you seen The Village? Anyway, we got back to the cottage safely and shoveled homemade black bean salsa (divine!) into our hungry mouths and headed out to Buck Hollow on Seventh Lake for some beach time. The boys swam and snorkeled while the girls chilled on the beach with books, magazine, and gossip. Later, after our BBQ-style dinner we joined the beach campfire and met a lovely family from Rochester. I love meeting new people (as long as they're nice!)!

Day four started with a too-early wake-up, followed by another hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast, as well as fruit and homemade pastries. Then six of us headed out in kayaks to explore the boat channel, fifth lake, and outlet to sixth lake. We encountered what we thought was a family of baby loons, only to find out later that they were probably mergansers. It was Raea's first time in a kayak and she was still getting the hang of paddling, so when she drifted in the direction of the birds, they started running on water and continued like that for about 100 yards. It was a riot to see! At the creek we found crayfish everywhere, so we made it a short stop and headed back. Once back on Fourth Lake the guys headed out to the islands and us girls headed back to camp. The lake was windy and choppy at this point and paddling was becoming more challenging against the wind. Plus I have this irrational and unfounded fear of deep, dark water so I was glad that others wanted to go back. Once back at the beach we laid towels out, stripped down to our bathing suits, and read and talked while the boys played and snorkeled in the the lake just as if they were ten again! Later, Jay and Raea entertained us with challenging yoga poses, like the crow and crane, on the beach. We ate dinner at the Red Dog (formerly Kirsty's) and said goodbye to Brett and Raea since they were leaving to go visit family in Syracuse. I spent a relaxing night inside the camp curled up on a couch with a cup of hot tea and a book. Life really doesn't get much better than that!

Day five introduced us to the riotously funny world of Rod, the new manager at the camp. While our morning was spent lazily soaking in the early rays of sun on the deck and beach, our friends Devon and Mike got engaged at the top of Rocky Mountain! That was so exciting. However, the joy didn't last long as Devon was later called with orders from the Air Force to report back to base in California ASAP for a potential deployment to Pakistan. (Today I found out she was not deployed.) Dinner was spent out on the picnic table again, lake in background, with Rod as entertainer! He made reference to the fact that he's never felt like a white person, made mention of the movie The Jerk, and told us he didn't really perceive us as white people.We went with the flow and learned a lot about his upbringing on Saranac Lake, especially references to his father. One of my favorites was when my father-in-law apologized for the pork loin being a little on the tough side and Rod responded that when he was a kid and someone would complain about tough meat, his father would say something like, "Well it'd be a whole lot g-damn tougher if you didn't have any." I almost laughed myself right off the picnic bench and SWORE that I would find some way to use that again. This time doesn't count. There were other quick stories of drinking whiskey as an altar boy before mass and forgetting to ring the bells with Patty O'Brien. I especially liked when he said he came home after being away for awhile and he was wearing a nice, clean white shirt (he had always had hand-me-downs as a kid) and his family looked at him and said, "What's yer deal?" Cracked me right up! He also told a completely crass joke about how to tell if a girl from Virginia is a virgin, but I don't feel comfortable typing that on here. Then he said his sister was so tough she'd have a chain saw in one hand and beat your ass with the other! Loved it! Who needs television when you're around a funny person?

Day six entailed a drive in to Old Forge followed by shopping, lunch at Tony Harper's pizza and clam shack (I had a turkey sandwich), and a visit to The Strand for the movie Inception (an entry all by itself, I'm afraid!). We had dinner with Rod again out on the picnic tables and enjoyed some homemade pie from Screamen Eagle. I was so full and tired that all I could bring myself to do was plop down on the couch and read for the rest of the evening before turning in.

Our last full day of vacation was cold and windy! There were white caps on the lake so we couldn't kayak. Instead we opted for a hike up Rocky Mountain, which was beautiful with period of strong, cold winds and some drizzly rain. Jay did his yoga poses at the top for a potential Christmas card picture. Mountain air can really make you tired, and we sure were when we got back from our hike! Several of us napped until dinner, which ended up being at The Red Dog again. Jay of course ordered nachos, but at least he split them with his dad. Trav, on the other hand, came very close to finishing the entire platter on his own. I later heard talk of flatulence down by the lake, but didn't ask for clarification. My thoughts were with his girlfriend Bethany that night. Some of us walked to Northern Lights for an ice cream treat, and then it was back to the cabin for some serious crocheting and rewriting of the lyrics to Piano Man. We pinned completely inappropriate things to Rod's clothesline, all in good fun of course, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset of dark blue, purple, and magenta! I've never seen anything like it before. A raccoon got into one of the garbage cans and there was a drunken mother-daughter fight in the cabin next door. It was a challenge running back and forth to observe both events, but both were well worth it. Jerry Springer LIVE and Man vs. Wild all rolled into one night!



On day eight we mass-cleaned the cabin and read/gave the new lyrics to Rod. I think I saw a tear or two in his eye before he dished out hugs. He really was a nice guy and we hope to see him next year. We ate a quick buffet breakfast at The Woods Inn, said our goodbyes, and headed for home. We did, however, manage to sneak in a stop at the Moose River to sun our legs and recap the week's events. Some guys were swimming in their undies, so we were entertained as well!

I LOVE SUMMER!