Thursday, August 14, 2008

What I Did On My Summer Vacation.....


It’s been five days since we returned home, and already the memories are starting to fade a little as everyday life ramps back up to normal. But the ‘battery recharged’ feeling really lives on. What a great time we had this year, the three of us and the dog!

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Memories:

Still mornings, with a hot sun, cool mountain air, and a lake so clear you could see the fish on the bottom at 15 feet or deeper.

Waking up at whatever time we wanted to, no schedule all day long.

Floating around on the water, cozily ensconced in my river tube.

My two best guys out in the raft, our dog sometimes with them, exploring the lake.

Sitting in my chair on shore watching storm clouds roll up through the valley.

Seeing the Bald Eagle fly overhead, bringing home a fish.

Watching the Ospreys fly back and forth along the valley wall (often in pairs), hunting for their next meal.

Visiting with our good friends, Tom and Marilee.

Evening movie marathons in our camper, the three of us huddled around a little 7-inch screen.

No cell phone service and no internet access.

Driving 20 miles one day to get internet access so I could complete a proposal on deadline (bleah! but I had the consolation of knowing that my project director had to do the very same thing: drive 20 miles from her own lake vacation for the same unexpected deadline.)

Warm days and cool nights.

A summer thunderstorm that poured rain over the valley one afternoon.

The gentle sunshine and crystal clear air after the thunderstorm, as if the earth had been cleansed just for us.

Crawdad hunting, and then (yuck) crawdad cooking!

A renewed and welcome sense of the wonder (and fun) of raising a child to adulthood.

The “Black Dog Convention” that seemed to be taking place at the campground while we were there (no less than a half-dozen black lab or lab-type dogs were in the campground by Friday).

Prowling the lakeshore in search of beautiful wildflowers to photograph.

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Our photos are at http://picasaweb.google.com/cathering/SummerVacation2008 . Can't wait for next summer!!!

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