We took a family vacation this year.
The destination was recommended by a co worker, whose wife's family has been going to the same place for several decades now.
It was said to be a great family friendly place - with boat rentals!
I somehow booked a fishing trip.
Bearded Man was THRILLED.
Haha! Let's start at the beginning, I suppose. Cedar Grove, at Black Lake NY was highly recommended by a co worker. He stated his family has been going forever, and that they love it. This co worker, by the way, is NOT your Hunter/fisherman type. So, when I booked a cabin and a pontoon boat way back when snow was on the ground, I never gave it a thought.
Bearded Man packed his fishing stuff, and lots of poles, and I packed what I thought was an adequate amount of food, blankets, towels, clothes, and the kids, and we were off.
After a 4.5 hour drive, I discovered I am able to sync my phone to the sound system in my van, thank the Dear Lord, and play Pandora and also You Tube music requests. During which the kids were all completely quiet and content.
The campground was beautiful! It really was. Our place for the week was way up on a hill, overlooking the lake and a short walk from the boat. The kids picked places to sleep, we unpacked, and took the boat out.
It didn't take long to discover that:
I did not pack enough food. My kids became ravenous beasts and cleaned us all out
The nearest grocery store is 20 miles away
George's sandal and fishing pole broke after 1 day.
George did not have a warm enough blanket
It took three separate trips to the store 20 miles away to keep up.
Bearded Man was crazier than I had ever given him credit for.
There was one coin operated washer, and one coin operated drier. "It's like 'The Hunger Games' for grown ups, Mom!" commented Kaila.
On the last day at Black Lake, by the way, we discovered that a small general store less than a mile from the camp ground carried pretty much everything we had needed. Live and Learn.
Because Black Lake is primarily a fishing lake, it did not matter why we were on a boat. We would cruise along until Bearded Man would suddenly and without warning STOP the boat. Causing most of us to fall over, or off our seats.
This happened frequently and every single time we were on the boat. (Except for twice, when I begged to have a non fishing related boating trip.) Once stopped, we would sit on the boat for 20-30 minutes, while various family members whipped out fishing poles and caught nothing. Ever. We fished in deep water. We fished in shallow water. Swampy water, clear water, thick green water, sea weed water, shore water, rocky water, lily pad covered water, both ends AND the middle of the lake. While the family was together, no fish were ever caught. It did not make a difference. The boat would suddenly stop, we would fall over, and Bearded Man would say "DID YOU SEE HUGE FISH JUMP OUT OF THE WATER?! WE'RE GOING TO STOP HERE!"
Or, if I was driving, we would have to putt along, so he could "troll for fish". By day 3 or 4 the novelty had worn off, and the urge to shove Bearded Man and all the fishing gear off the boat was great.
Most of the other people we met at the camp ground had been coming for decades. A lot of them had brought their fishing boats, and soon Bearded Man was invited to go fishing with the senior campers. Including a Tournament Bass Fisherman. When he wasn't fishing with the regulars, he was fishing off the dock, off the boat while it was docked, or, out in the boat fishing.
There was even a small building dedicated to cleaning and cutting up fish. It was every sportsman's paradise.
There were lots of kids at the campground, and there was generally a large pack of them swarming the place. They would all hang out on the small beach, in the rec hall, or at the playground. My kids completely loved it.
And the rainbows! Nearly every day, there were multiple rainbows! It was just amazing.
While in the area, we headed up to the Thousand Islands, with Bearded Man chaffing about the missed fishing opportunities. While there, we took a ferry to Boldt Castile. It was the highlight of my trip. There are no words for the complete splendor and awe of that place.
One evening, I did go with another camper, (who, I learned lives right around the corner from where I grew up!), and we went to the winery right down the road from the camp ground. Where we discovered peach wine slushies. It made me want to go find a slushy machine immediately, and drink them every day at home. Peach slushies. They are wonderful.
When we came back from the campground, we discovered that our husbands were kicked back and the kids had formed a large and slightly scary group. I actually commented that they were sort of all "Children of the Corn"
It turns out that, had it BEEN Children of the Corn, George would have been Malachi, the lead rotten child. My son, while the youngest kid there, was also nicknamed "The Legend" and was willing to do pretty much anything to hang on to his status. He had to be separated from the group, finally, and kept on a pretty tight leash. When he was GOOD, though, he was the sweetest kid ever.
Everyone we met at the camp was just great. We truly met a lot of wonderful people, and had a good time. Bearded Man even caught a few fish. (One of them was across the lake, in the dark, at night, in choppy waters, while out with someone else, on the other guy's boat, which then decided not to start. They were stranded out there, but thrilled they caught a keeper fish.)
We ended up booking the same thing next year, and the kids can't wait to go back.
I also discovered that:
Dawn
Morning
mid-morning
noon
afternoon
early evening
late evening
dark
rain
dusk
the moon
are all the best times to fish. It was very educational.
During the drive home, which seemed twice as long as the drive to the camp ground, Huckleberry's sound system was once again synced to my phone and utilized for song requests.
Ever the downer here, I discovered that I don't like Brantley Gilbert OR the Crazy Frog. Or, truth be told, Taylor Swift. Hours of them were amusing on the trip TO vacation, but, hours of them on the way HOME from vacation made me want to scream.
Also, while on vacation, as I was unpacking things, I happened to glance up into the bathroom mirror. Where I discovered I had bags under my eyes. Bags large enough to need to be scanned and checked for airline purposes. When did THOSE happen? Bags and dark circles. I had no idea how horrendous good lighting could be.
So, once home, I Googled home remedies for bags under the eyes. And discovered that: It is nearly inevitable with old age. Also: they are fat deposits. One can get them surgically removed by a handy dandy cosmetic doctor.
Like my fat needed more places to manifest itself. Or I needed more signs of aging.
This weekend, Bearded Man and I are headed for our first 5k together. We'll be doing the "Inflatable 5k" with a course full of inflated obstacles. I figure if we can do this together, then, hiking up two mountains should be nothing. Right?
Also, I have decided to start training to actually RUN an entire 5k. I need to find one that I can work toward. The couch to 5k app is downloaded, the arm band and ear buds for my phone are purchased. The urge to get out of bed an hour early is the only thing missing. Unfortunately, there is no "energy app".
Joe has informed me that, according to Science, one can go an entire week without eating, and not die. Things are getting dire, because dinners have been awful this week, and he is already on day three. I suppose I should conclude this post, so I can figure out dinner this evening, before my 10 year old martyr wastes away.
Till next time!
