Human life, where ever it might be, often settles into a routine–and routines can be both comforting and stifling. Even up here at camp, it can sometimes be hard to see the forest for the trees (see what I did there?) Allison works very hard for IA/FA, often driving long hours to Boston or Portland to transport campers and staff to and from the airport, and doing many other miscellaneous things that are requested of her... and I have to do my real job Monday through Friday as well. Plus, it involves a great deal of work to relocate a family of 5 for over two months.
(Now, before you Texas friends start sending the daggers my way, hear me out... I'm going somewhere with this)
The point is, it's easy sometimes to get wrapped up in the day-to-day, and to forget to count your blessings. That's true whether it is in Maine, Texas, or any other spot on this celestial orb. But one of the magical things about this place is that I find it a lot easier to do that refocusing.. that "retraining of the mind", so that I can truly absorb the goodness that God has placed all around me, for me to enjoy. I don't know whether it's the "slowing down of time" that one feels here (I literally had to remind about 4 people the other day that it was, indeed, Friday), or just the natural beauty of a place where the predominant substrata element is not concrete... but all I have to do is get out from behind my work desk, step out the cabin... and if I give it any effort at all on my part... the vacation is there.
To feel like you're taking a vacation when, technically, you are not. How cool is that?
On the other hand, the week before camp starts is (for me) a true vacation-vacation. I often take the whole week off when we are traveling, and have several days up here before I need to resume work. The boys are also milling around, having nothing to do until camp starts, so we go play. And all the camp staff get a day off right before camp starts, so there is a family vacation day in there as well. And we used it. And used it well.
For Logan, a perennial request is to go to coast, so we packed up and headed to Old Orchard Beach. OOB might not be everyone's cup of tea–it is sort of the Coney Island of Maine, but the boys love it and there is a lot of culture there. It is a favorite "weekender" spot for many French Canadiens... so much so that it is not uncommon to see street signs (deep in the interior of Maine, including here in Fryeburg) that point visitors from up north to OOB.
If you keep your ears open, you will hear plenty of French being spoken on the streets and the sand... and then there are crepes...and poutine–a rather unique dish of french fries, brown gravy and cheese curds...and Ryan likes to get some every time we go.
I like poutine... but this time Logan and I went after the fried dough. For my Texas buddies, this is basically a funnel cake without the gaps. :)
The only thing about coming to the coast this early in the summer season is the water temps...who am I kidding, it's cold all year in the North Atlantic... but even the few degrees difference that a month or so makes is significant. This water is COLD. In mid-June, the historical average is about 54F. So, I sit on the beach and read. :) So does Matthew. The only one of the boys who does not care is Logan, which is why he is the one who requests the beach trip each year. He cavorts in this frigid water almost non-stop. I swear that boy is part seal.
After the beach visit, we rushed back to camp just in time for the first campfire of the year. This one is always special because it is the pre-camp version, made up of counselors and staff from both camps, and incorporates special traditions from both the girl's side and the boy's side. I would consider my year grossly incomplete if I did not get to hear "My Mom Was A Lifeguard" and "Illinois Song" by the FA ladies– I wouldn't miss this campfire for anything.
A couple of days later, the whole family bugged out for some fun. For the first time, the boys got to enjoy my favorite breakfast spot in North Conway, Priscilla's. Three teenage boys in a place with good breakfast food and large combo plates? They went to town, both on Priscilla's food and my pocketbook! Afterwards, we stopped by to get Ryan a haircut to last him for the summer (and he put me in deep kimchi with several Friends-Who-Will-Remain-Anonymous back in Texas), then headed out to Echo Lake State Park on the west side of North Conway.
This idyllic spot is a great way to spend the day here. With only a $4 entry fee to the park, lots of shaded picnic tables and a great sandy beach, this is a wonderful place to while away the afternoon swimming, reading, or doing art at one of the tables. Unlike the sea coast, which is at the mercy of the Labrador Current, the water here is merely spring-fed, and thus is a more tolerable temperature in the mid-60s. Just right for cooking yourself in the sun, jumping in, rinse, repeat, etc.
After a full day there, we went up to Cathedral Ledge, which is a lookout point at the top of that there sheer cliff overlooking Echo Lake. This is pretty much a standard-canon visit if you are up here. One must go to Cathedral Ledge. We chose to use the road and drive, but when we got there, we met a couple of guys who misunderstood "rope" for "road"... they came up the hard way. Looks like they were having fun.
Then we traveled just a few minutes south of Conway to visit the Madison Boulder. I had read about this in one of my "northeast" magazines. This is a huge... and I mean huge... glacial erratic. It was breathtaking standing next to this monstrosity, a 5,000-ton oddity so out of place in the surrounding woods. This truly is a wondrously beautiful world with so much designed in it for our enjoyment.
Talk about enjoyment.. our final stops of the evening were for food. First, when the rains came and washed out our first choice of restaurant (with it's outdoor seating), we tried a new place that had just opened in North Conway. And the burgers were indeed, Wicked Good. We will be returning to this place.
To cap it all off, we stopped at our favorite Fryeburg ice cream place, Froagies. According to the boys, we waited far too long to make our appearance here. The ice cream was really good and the bugs were pretty much non-existent. Always a nice combination.
And with that, thus ended the pre-camp vacation. The following day promised a long Boston trip for Allison to pick up some international campers; for myself it was my computer job and a night of Abuse-The-Umpire at the annual pre-camp counselor softball game.
But while I am here, the vacation is not far away. In the fantasy series The Wheel of Time, those who can use magic can always feel saidar and saidin (the male/female sources of power), just waiting to be drawn in and used, and doing so makes life more vibrant and complete for them.
Up here, vacation is like my saidar. All I have to do is relax for a second, find my center, and it rushes in to fill me. This place truly is magical.
Where ever you are this fine morning... take some time... find your center, and see if you can't find a little vacation in your day.
(Now, before you Texas friends start sending the daggers my way, hear me out... I'm going somewhere with this)
The point is, it's easy sometimes to get wrapped up in the day-to-day, and to forget to count your blessings. That's true whether it is in Maine, Texas, or any other spot on this celestial orb. But one of the magical things about this place is that I find it a lot easier to do that refocusing.. that "retraining of the mind", so that I can truly absorb the goodness that God has placed all around me, for me to enjoy. I don't know whether it's the "slowing down of time" that one feels here (I literally had to remind about 4 people the other day that it was, indeed, Friday), or just the natural beauty of a place where the predominant substrata element is not concrete... but all I have to do is get out from behind my work desk, step out the cabin... and if I give it any effort at all on my part... the vacation is there.
To feel like you're taking a vacation when, technically, you are not. How cool is that?
On the other hand, the week before camp starts is (for me) a true vacation-vacation. I often take the whole week off when we are traveling, and have several days up here before I need to resume work. The boys are also milling around, having nothing to do until camp starts, so we go play. And all the camp staff get a day off right before camp starts, so there is a family vacation day in there as well. And we used it. And used it well.
 |
| Down East Coney Island |
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| Partaking o' poutine |
I like poutine... but this time Logan and I went after the fried dough. For my Texas buddies, this is basically a funnel cake without the gaps. :)
 |
| Doesn't that look healthy!?! |
The only thing about coming to the coast this early in the summer season is the water temps...who am I kidding, it's cold all year in the North Atlantic... but even the few degrees difference that a month or so makes is significant. This water is COLD. In mid-June, the historical average is about 54F. So, I sit on the beach and read. :) So does Matthew. The only one of the boys who does not care is Logan, which is why he is the one who requests the beach trip each year. He cavorts in this frigid water almost non-stop. I swear that boy is part seal.
 |
| Da Boys on Da Beach |
After the beach visit, we rushed back to camp just in time for the first campfire of the year. This one is always special because it is the pre-camp version, made up of counselors and staff from both camps, and incorporates special traditions from both the girl's side and the boy's side. I would consider my year grossly incomplete if I did not get to hear "My Mom Was A Lifeguard" and "Illinois Song" by the FA ladies– I wouldn't miss this campfire for anything.
A couple of days later, the whole family bugged out for some fun. For the first time, the boys got to enjoy my favorite breakfast spot in North Conway, Priscilla's. Three teenage boys in a place with good breakfast food and large combo plates? They went to town, both on Priscilla's food and my pocketbook! Afterwards, we stopped by to get Ryan a haircut to last him for the summer (and he put me in deep kimchi with several Friends-Who-Will-Remain-Anonymous back in Texas), then headed out to Echo Lake State Park on the west side of North Conway.
 |
| Could you spend a day here? |
This idyllic spot is a great way to spend the day here. With only a $4 entry fee to the park, lots of shaded picnic tables and a great sandy beach, this is a wonderful place to while away the afternoon swimming, reading, or doing art at one of the tables. Unlike the sea coast, which is at the mercy of the Labrador Current, the water here is merely spring-fed, and thus is a more tolerable temperature in the mid-60s. Just right for cooking yourself in the sun, jumping in, rinse, repeat, etc.
 |
| A picture might be worth a 1000 words, but the words that went with this picture were Allison's... "Ryan!!!! Don't go so close to the edge!!! |
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| I think Matthew has always been part-aborigine |
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| That is one big rock |
Talk about enjoyment.. our final stops of the evening were for food. First, when the rains came and washed out our first choice of restaurant (with it's outdoor seating), we tried a new place that had just opened in North Conway. And the burgers were indeed, Wicked Good. We will be returning to this place.
 |
| More healthy food |
And with that, thus ended the pre-camp vacation. The following day promised a long Boston trip for Allison to pick up some international campers; for myself it was my computer job and a night of Abuse-The-Umpire at the annual pre-camp counselor softball game.
But while I am here, the vacation is not far away. In the fantasy series The Wheel of Time, those who can use magic can always feel saidar and saidin (the male/female sources of power), just waiting to be drawn in and used, and doing so makes life more vibrant and complete for them.
Up here, vacation is like my saidar. All I have to do is relax for a second, find my center, and it rushes in to fill me. This place truly is magical.
Where ever you are this fine morning... take some time... find your center, and see if you can't find a little vacation in your day.
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