camping 2013, day 1: long-ago adventures
seaside seclusion
One reason I haven't written any blog posts in a couple weeks is illness: we were all pretty sick most of last week. At one point I was cuddling on the couch with Harvey as he moaned with fever and suffered through bouts of intense coughing; in between hacks he repeated, "I really love camping". To cheer him up we looked through some old camping blog posts and soaked in the beautiful, summery pictures. When we came to the end I remembered that I'd never finished writing about last year's camping trip and I promised him I'd do that. He told me he'd look forward to the posts, and then he threw up all over the iPad.
the set-up
We're all better now. So here's the story of our first full day up in Maine last July (for the story of our trip up, go here). After our traditional breakfast at the cafe we decided to do something hiking-eque that everyone young and old could participate in and headed out to Compass Harbor, a wonderfully secluded cove five minutes from town by car and ten or fifteen minutes by foot from the road. Once we got there the Archibalds all wanted to change into swimsuits.
the fruits of the coast
Not that wearing his swimsuit tempted Zion into the water: he mainly wanted to throw rocks, eat rocks, and be carried around. Harvey and I were more interested in a submerged pathway leading out to a large rock—well, I was interested and he was interested and terrified. As the tide went out—you can see the stepping stones fully exposed in the second photo above—he summoned up his courage and we all crossed over to be photographed triumphantly.
we're on vacation!
Well, I say all; Rascal was there too but he was concerned with other things.
he doesn't always have time for us
Rascal obviously went swimming, which he does; I also took to the water, but only briefly, since it was very cold. No one took a picture of me, I don't think, which is too bad. I'm sure I looked fine, brave, and blue.
on the homeward trail
Then it was some more hiking, first—led by Andrew and Washington Raccoon— around the promontory for some fine views of the ocean, and then—Harvey and Rascal in the lead—back through the woods to the car. Zion was worn out from all the exertion.
hiking is hard work
Back at the campsite with plenty of daylight left, we worked on getting everything organized to our satisfaction, and then we played and cooked. The Archibalds made dinner, but I don't even remember what it was: we were totally upstaged by the dutch oven pineapple upside-down cake that Andrew and Becca made for desert.
more impressive campfire cookery
Now that's camping at its finest.