.....Back from camping

We arrived back from camping in the NH White Mountains with the Fishers Sunday night. Despite the normal irritations that occur naturally from time spent with Don, we all had a wonderful weekend and wish we had gone two nights instead of one. I had been in charge of finding a location and I chose Moose Hillock Campground, which none of us had ever been to. Although a large campground, it has extremely wooded, secluded sites. Tenting out in the open grass with another family 20 feet away is not my idea of an enjoyable camping experience. I'm quite sure what the kids enjoyed the most was the heated pool area. It contained two waterslides, a waterfall, and a pirate ship which shot water from its cannons. As a balance to the hype and excitement it also bordered the White Mountains National Forest and had three quiet trails to explore. One was very short, only a ten minute walk that meandered next to Batchelder Brook. Tell and I discovered this one together, Saturday morning, as we took the long way back from the playground. On Sunday morning my back was bothering me when I woke. I thought that a walk might loosen things up and so I wound my way through the campground, finally arriving at the second trail which would have taken about a half hour to hike. Let me stop here for a moment and make a recommendation. Do not wear flip flops while hiking. I am not unfamiliar with the activity of traversing a mountain trail, even climbing Mt. Washington in my younger years, and normally I would have at least had sneakers on but I forgot to pack any shoes for the weekend and flip flops were it. Not one to be deterred by the little things I pressed on down the winding wooded path and was doing very well until about 10 minutes later when I found myself facing a mud pit with no way around. Not willing to have my only shoes sucked into the miry well, I admitted defeat and turned around. My back felt better after the walk although both mornings since our return it has taken a long hot shower to get me mobile. I'm thinking that the addition of cots to our camping gear may not be a bad investment.

Content

Sea Fever by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
I took this photo while visiting with Carla and Ollie at Two Lights State Park the other day. The company of a friend, the crashing of the waves on the granite Maine coast and a dash of sea salt is the perfect recipe for contentment.

Higher Ground

It happens frequently in life. A song, a smell, a sound, or a visual trigger will walk your mind back to a memory that you've tucked away. This happened to me today during the hymn-singing at the Hill House Assisted Living facility. We were singing through the book and came to the hymn Higher Ground. In an instant, I was 11 years old again, and it was summer in Eastport. I was at an evening service in the downstairs of Washington St. Baptist Church. I was standing in the second row from the back, with familiar people and voices surrounding me, each one singing this song. Most memories relate to important events or strong emotions but this one has always intrigued me because it involves neither. It's just a day in my wonderful childhood.
Back in the present, Jim and I have been watching the Tour de France for the past couple weeks. I've enjoyed learning more about the sport of cycling. Jim has the answer to all my many questions about the subject. He rode competetively on the amateur level in his younger years and was actually quite good. His mum took many of his race banners and put them together as a wall hanging a few years ago. I didn't understand how long, technical and strategic this race is. Today was stage 17, the last of the high hill climbs of the Alps. The endurance of these althletes is amazing. My half hour struggle on the elliptical was quite pathetic in contrast, but we all have our hills to climb.

Buxton Crowd Beach Days

We finally made it to the ocean this summer! Each year when the warm weather hits, Heather Pendleton and I attempt a beach day at least once every couple weeks. For those of you not familiar with Maine summers, beach weather means that your feet are normally not numb after exiting the Atlantic Ocean. Generally, on these excursions, we are joined by mutual friends from Buxton, where Heather lives. Because the grouping varies for each event and it's too time consuming to list them all, I just refer to them as the Buxton Crowd. Today we met at Crescent Beach State Park and the crowd consisted of Cuzannah (Annah Brunk), Heather, Alisa Raymond, Heidi Faulkner and myself. Oh yes, and don't forget the 18 kids....(yes,18.) And today was a relatively small crowd. These beach days are a highlight of every summer and I'm so glad the cool, rainy weather seems to be past us so we can start fitting a few of them in. September will be here before we know it!

Foiled

The plan was for Jim to wake me up at 6 this morning, be leisurely driving to Buxton by 7:15 and arrive at Nicki's an hour later. She would highlight my hair with red and blonde foils and by 10 :30 (allowing time for gabbing and coffee, of course) we would be ready to meet the rest of the Buxton crowd at Kiwanis Beach in Standish for a day of sun and sand.

That was the plan.

What really happened was Jim overslept and woke me up at 6:40 and Tell crabbed from the moment I woke him up. Jim checked the oil for me and discovered it was low. (He takes good care of me). The low fuel light decided to light up as well and I forgot to get my cash out at the ATM for Kiwanis yesterday. Thankfully, one stop at New Meadows Market just up the road took care of all three, so I was only down one fifteen minute stop. Except for the fact that I needed coffee, with no time to make it at home while rushing around. Make that another 5 minute stop. Just before Freeport I call Nicki to tell her I would not be there until 9:15. (She, of course, was completely shocked at my tardiness, as I'm sure those of you reading this are as well.) I arrive at 9:15 exactly as O Great Garmin predicted. The foils go on and the gabbing commences. We discuss that the weather is not as lovely as the forecast indicated it would be and Plan B, the playground, is put into place. Complaints from each child ensue, as we expected. A phone call from Cuzannah, who decided to brave the beach anyway, interrupts to inform us that Kiwanis is unexpectedly closed for the day. We like this. We are no longer the bad mothers who bar their children from the beach, it's just closed. Even with all the commotion, hair is done and the caravan departs for a couple hours of hanging out with friends, at the original time of 10:30! Before heading home I stop at my grandparents for a quick visit and we land home around 3:00. It was not the day we had planned but a good one nonetheless!

Singing in the Rain

Last night in the midst of a thunder and lightning infused rainstorm, I was at Matt Barnard's home studio singing away. He wanted a female voice for one of the songs he had written and asked me to help out. It was so much fun! After singing the melody, I recorded three harmonies, each of them twice, to be overlayed onto the song. In his words, "What's better than one Rachelle?....six Rachelles!" It sounded fabulous, but it's a shame all they could do was sing....I could use help with the cooking and cleaning.

Wash Me Whiter Than Snow

Recovery and preparation have been the name of the game this week. I am relaxing after the physical and mental work of VBS last week. There was the lesson prep of course, but I also had to completely redecorate my room for each day's new story. I LOVE this kind of artistic work so I'm not really complaining but it was very time consuming. Special mention goes to Matt Brown who was fabulous as Pharaoh. What would I do without his special effects and audio help these past few years? God's Word was shared with kids who had a fantastically fun week. It doesn't get better than that.
My relaxing is also mixed with the preparation and packing for next week at Camp Good News. I'm very thankful for the arrival of my new washing machine to help in that process. Ours quit about two months ago and we've been saving for a new one. Special mention goes to my Mom and the Fishers who have let me use them as a laundry mat. I've never been more excited to wash clothes! (and it's red, so it washes faster.... :)