In this life we are not given very many perfect days. There is always something mucking up the works, bad weather, aches and pains…idiots. But yesterday was awfully close to being a perfect day. It started well, advanced beautifully, then ended with the Red Sox eliminating Darth Vader’s New York Yankees from the playoffs.
The morning dawned bright and clear with a lake that looked like polished silver. Pam woke early to take advantage with a morning paddle. My sister Paula, who is famous for not being a morning person, was greeted in an especially warm and affectionate way by her new best friend Lucy, who pounced on her bed at an unGodly hour to welcome her to consciousness…I is awake, you wake up too, hooman!! Thus began a day where the two of them would compete for space on the one sofa in the living room. Lucy is quite particular about her, uh…sofa space. At home, she is allowed on only two pieces of furniture, our bed and the sofa downstairs that has her blanket draped across it. So, at camp we do the same thing. We place a blanket on one of the sofas which tells her that it is ok to sit. Unfortunately, Lucy sometimes interprets this to mean that the entire sofa belongs to her exclusively. Instead of sitting to one side or the other, she plants herself directly in the center. When anyone else decides to sit down, she insists that they don’t get too close. Lucy, being psychotic, requires her own personal space, except on the occasions when she very much wants to get all up in everyone else’s space! After a day of this dance, Paula decided while watching the game that she wanted to stretch out. Ron sat down at one end, Lucy was dispatched to the floor, and Paula got herself comfortable, stretching out her full length. Lucy was about to teach Aunt Paula what having a dog was all about. She walked over to the sofa and began her work. She just stood there, mouth opened, pink tongue out, a devious smile on her face and started staring, her mesmerizing brown eyes locked on to Paula’s. This was going to be no contest. It might take a while, but Lucy was not going to be denied. After several uncomfortable minutes of this Mexican standoff, Lucy pounced, launching herself up on the sofa, on Paula’s legs, then burrowed and shifted back and forth until room was made, then curled up in a tight ball in between them…mission accomplished! Lucy is living her best life.
Once Pam got back from her paddle, we all headed in to Camden for breakfast at the Deli and some shopping. Dropped over a hundred bucks at the Smiling Cow which is actually better than average. Meg, the owner gave all four of us free pieces of a fresh batch of pumpkin fudge, probably because she feels guilty for taking all of our money. Then we walked up and down Main Street for an hour or so, popping in and out of all our favorite shops. More money changed hands…it ain’t cheap being on vacation in Maine.
When we arrived back at camp, we all swore off lunch because of the ridiculous amount of calories we had consumed at breakfast, what with three ginormous blueberry pancakes the size of hubcaps drenched in maple syrup. So, with no lunch to fix that meant that it was time for fishing. I caught six nice sized fish and had a blast touring the lake while doing so. Eventually I hooked up with Ron who was out on his own fishing adventure. His kayak pulls up to mine and he says…I need some help! He had hooked his lure onto the tie rope at the front of the kayak and couldn’t get it loose. My delicate touch resulted in destroying the lure with a pair of pliers then sending him on his way!
Meanwhile, back at the dock, Lucy was entertaining Paula and Pam with her swimming skills, fetching her frisbee out of 60 degree water like it was nothing.
After fishing, a nap was enjoyed.
Then Pam made a delicious salmon dinner. You might be asking yourselves why Pam would be cooking dinner. After all, we invited Ron and Paula to come up here to stay with us…for free. Shouldn’t that fact warrant some sort of payback which might involve preparing meals? Well, here’s the thing. Paula made a pot of chili before she left Short Pump, froze it and kept it on ice. When they arrived Monday afternoon she warmed it up for our dinner that evening. Apparently that has served as the sum total of her physical labor for the week. She is determined to dethrone my daughter Kaitlin as the LVV…(least valuable vacationer).
After dinner we all had a glorious time watching the $230,000,000 Yankees swing and miss their way to ignominious defeat on national television.
I’m telling you people, it just doesn’t get any better than this.
And now for some pics…
