Vacation Pictures

The promised vacation pictures:




Sam, Abby, and me canoeing across the lake



Building a sand castle



Trying to catch a whopper



The whopper



The turtle (in my hand)

Somehow there are no pictures of Cindy.

Remember that time I caught a turtle?

One aspect of the rather mild weather we've enjoyed this summer is that, well, everything has been rather mild. Which in and of itself hasn't been too bad--we've been able to run the A/C less than usual, we've needed to water the lawn and plants less, and certainly we've been able to spend more time outside than usual. However, if you happen to be a 7 year-old girl or a 4 year-old boy cooler than usual temperatures means less chance of swimming. If you don't like swimming or water all that much, then it's no big deal. If you happen to be Sammy or Abby and you're at a lake with a great beach then cool temperatures and frequent rain can prove to be something of a challenge, especially when the power goes out.

Vacation 2009 started off innocuously enough. For the second year in a row we rented a cabin at Pike Lake State Park in south central Ohio. As you may recall we went there for vacation last year and had a great time, and could have, and maybe should have, stayed for a day or 2 more. So when we made our reservations in March we decided to stay an extra night in order to maximize our fun. In hindsight that was a good move.

After making the trek down route 23 through Chillicothe and over route 50 to Bainbridge we arrived at Pike Lake under very sunny skies. Our cabin wasn't ready yet, so we ventured over to the lake so the kids and I could go swimming while Cindy sat on the beach and waited on word that we could move our stuff in. Those who read this blog may remember that in June the water was cold; the condition hadn't much improved much in the intervening 2 months. I felt somewhat like George Costanza but the kids were (like in June) blithely unconcerned about the water temperature. For about an hour they splashed, swam, had water fights, and built sand castles and sand forts, each complete with a moat. They were a bit perturbed when we got the ok to go into the cabin.

The cabin itself was pretty much the same as it was the previous year, which is good since it was the exact same cabin. We quickly moved our stuff in and I set about the task of building a fire in the grill that came with the cottage for our dinner. As I was gathering twigs and wood (lighter fluid is for wimps!) one of our neighbors from the cabin nearby came over to invite us to the campfire they were going to have that night. Evidently his wife, their family and a slew of her friends from her days at Miami and their families gather annually, or at least semi-annually, for a reunion. This year they decided on Pike Lake which was interesting because none of them had ever been to the park before.

So that night after Abby and I went fishing (we got several bites but didn't catch anything) and Sammy's impromptu nap, we gathered up some twigs and firewood and went over to the communal firering in the cabin area. It was a little awkward since, technically, it wasn't supposed to be our fire, but it was getting late and the kids REALLY wanted to roast marshmallows. So off we went to the firering where I set out to build a pretty big fire. Luckily, our new friends didn't mind too much and my new found buddy (who's name I can't recall) even helped build it. After about 20 minutes we had a pretty good size blaze going which eventually settled down into some smoldering coals perfect for roasting marshmallows. Abby set about to roasting the perfect one, Sam set about to burning a goodly number of them, and a generally good time was had by all. The only damper on the evening were the 8 year-old boys, who for reasons unknown, kept trying to make the fire bigger but wound up putting it out, several times. grrrrr....

The next morning was cold and a bit wet, so we opted to go canoeing. On our previous trip the kids decided that they didn't care much for pedal boating, but they really liked “paddling” a canoe—though their definition of paddling and mine are somewhat different. For the most part the excursion was uneventful. We did see a number of turtles sunning themselves little realizing one of them would eventually become Sam's mortal enemy.

Shortly after canoeing rain set in and forced us inside our cabin. After lunch the rain came down harder pretty much ruling out any trip to the beach. To pass the time away we decided to bake a dump cake. For those not familiar a dump cake is one of the true delights of camping cooking, and consists of pie filling topped with yellow cake mix and butter. You can also add pecans or walnuts to the topping if you like. Traditionally this dish is made in a Dutch oven and placed in a camp fire for about 1/2 hour to an hour. Not having a Dutch oven nor a viable campfire (we were inside and it was raining) we baked ours in the oven.

The kids watched Finding Nemo while the concoction baked, but unfortunately they couldn't finish the movie because shortly after we pulled the dump cake from the oven the power went out. You may, or may not, recall that the power also went out on us last year. Unlike last year when the power went out this time it was too cold and rainy to venture down to the lake to pass the time away. So until the rain let-up we read books, played games, and did various other things to pass the time away.

Eventually the rain subsided a bit so we went fishing again, this time with a bit more success. While Abby, much to her dismay, still didn't catch anything, Sam, as is always the case seemingly, caught what I believe was a small pike. It was no bigger than my palm, but when I went to remove the hook, I saw it had a couple rows of teeth. Sam was quite pleased with himself and for the last several weeks has asked "Remember that fish with teeth I caught?" Abby, poor thing, was getting quite frustrated with fishing.

After a ho-hum dinner that night, we went down to the nature center to see the naturalist give a program on snakes. (How many of you are aware that there are rattle snakes in Ohio?) During the presentation, which was well attended, the power came back much to everyone's relief.

That night there was another campfire at which Abby again sought to roast the perfect marshmallow, Sam sought to burn as many as he could, and 8 year-old boys killed a fire in order to "save" it. Our new friends were quite generous with the beer and wine brought with them as well the numerous other snacks and desserts. A good time was had by all.

The next day our new friends departed and all was fairly quiet. It was still too cold for swimming but the rain let up, so we went hiking and canoeing in the morning. Last year Abby and I took a trail that frankly should have come with a warning about its difficulty. It went up a hill, sometimes at a steep slope, and wasn't always clearly marked (the consequences of which Abby has not let me forget for the past year--you may infer that however you wish). This year we took a much easier path around the lake. For the most part she is a remarkably good hiker and I’d like to take her to the Hocking Hills sometime this fall. There was however one part of the path, that wasn't entirely suitable for Sam, so he and Cindy opted for another path.

After hiking and canoeing it still wasn't warm enough for swimming so we went fishing again, and this time Abby had more luck. She was able to land a fairly good sized bluegill which she referred to as a "whopper" and I won't dissuade her from that view. In the midst of her joy and relief Sam somehow managed to catch a snapping turtle. While fish are generally relieved to have hooks removed from their mouths, this particular turtle didn't want to let go. I'd get the hook partly out and the blasted thing would try to swallow it again! It was about a 5 minute struggle to get the hook out of it and at one point I started to wonder what turtle soup tastes like. Nonetheless, Sam found it quite amusing that he caught a turtle and kept asking "Remember that time I caught a turtle?"

The next day, which was our last, was a lot warmer and sunnier than the previous 2. After packing the van we checked out of the cabin and then Abby and I went canoeing again, while Cindy and Sam stayed on shore (Sam REALLY wanted to go fishing). Again Abby and I saw dozens of turtles one of whom I'd swear gave us a dirty look. After canoeing it was time for lunch and Sam and I went fishing again. We got lots of little bites and Sam did manage to catch a baby turtle, but no fish this time. After our fill of fishing we went over to the beach where the kids swam and played and had a lot of fun. In some regards this day was the cruelest of them all since it was our last. Above all else the kids like to swim and play in the water which we didn't get to do until the very last day in the park. But at least the kids got to do it which is better than not doing it all.

A few other odds and ends:

• Cell phones don't work in the park. I think they should advertise this fact more heavily.


• Every so often at the park you can hear sonic booms and see F-18's or F-22's flying overhead on training missions out of Wright Patt. That's pretty cool.


• I'm still amazed at the number of people who have tattoos and where they have them. In fact among the people at the beach I'd say Cindy and I were in the minority of men and women because we don't have any.

I'll add pictures later.