We intended to leave around 5, and managed to be driving away at 5:15, a record of timeliness for Seth and I. (That's how much we needed a vacation!) We were both in very high spirits and the 4 hour drive into the wilds of Maine seemed to pass in no time at all! We were having such a good time we didn't even notice that we hadn't eaten, and only when we walked in the door and saw Mom's delicious looking left-over beef stew on the stove did we realize that we were actually rather hungry. Lucky for us Mom had made extra, intending the left overs for lunch the following day. (Whoops. Sorry Mom!) This is Seth and I after two delicious bowls of beef stew each. Thunder appears as a ghost in this picture.
Ann's camp is so relaxing. Mom had a fire going, and we sat around in the living room in front of the fire and visited. Aaaahhhhh. Sighs of relief after what was a seemingly long short work week. Thunder was not so relaxed though. He was in a new place, and he was on a mission to find every different smell there was as soon as possible. His nails clicked the floor everywhere he went, so we could always hear where he was. Click click click click. (sniff sniff sniff sniff) click click click click click (sniff sniff sniff sniff) was the background to our conversation! Ann's little cabin is on East Pond (a large lake, in southern vernacular) and there are a lot of loons on her lake. They make such a pretty sound! Pretty soon we stopped talking and listened to the loons. When the loons were calling, even Thunder stopped his shenanigans and stood by the window silently sniffing the air that came in.
In the morning we made Popeyes, a sailors' delicacy introduced to us by Rick, Mom's friend and Ann's brother-in-law. Seth made fun of me for taking pictures. He said I was sentimental for documenting everything, but then I told him I was practicing my photography, which made it not sentimental and excusable. (he he he)
After breakfast we went for a spin around the lake in the kayaks. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, because I was afraid I would drop my camera in the drink. Poor Thunder didn't fit in any of the kayaks, so Mom locked him on the porch while we were gone. His cries and barks echoed across the lake for an unbearably long time. I think the highlight of our kayak adventure was stalking a loon so that Mom could take a picture. We saw it in the distance and it started calling. We could hear its call echoing all over the lake and it was so cool. Everything was silent except for the loon's call. In order to stalk it, we had to paddle as quietly as possible and wait when it dove underwater to see where it came up again. Seth got the closest. Every time it went underwater he paddled to the place it disappeared, hoping to be closer when it reappeared. He looked like a little boy who couldn't help but go see what was going on, and get his hands involved in something. It made me laugh. He got pretty close to it! Seth is really good at silent paddling. He is like an Indian. He kept sneaking up and ramming the back of my boat, and then giggling. "He he he he he he he" he would laugh with a big grin on his face.
When we got back from our lake adventure and freed Thunder from his imprisonment on the porch, Seth took a fishing pole and Thunder down to the dock. Thunder sat on the dock for a while, and then played in the water, making sure Seth wouldn't catch any fish. The lure on the pole Seth was using was way to big for the fish that would be biting around the dock. The water is pretty clear, and he said he could see one poor little fish trying to bite the lure, but it just couldn't get its mouth around the hook! Lucky fish! I think between the over-sized lure and Thunder, Seth was guaranteed not to catch anything. That's ok though, he had fun.
Later Ann and her husband Mike came over for dinner. We sat on the dock until the sun was setting and then had a delightful dinner. Ann has a golden retriever named Lucy. She and Thunder got along pretty well, but she was more interested in laying on the dock with us, and Thunder was more interested in raisin' a ruckus! [On a sidenote, Thunder is just like Seth. It is so funny to me, because it reminds me of 101 Dalmations (the original cartoon) where all the dogs and their people match. The skinny dog with long legs had a really tall and skinny person, and the shaggy haired dog had a shaggy haired owner, the prissy dog had a well-to-do lady owner, etc.] Before we got there we weren't sure how Thunder would feel about the water, but he took right to it, as you can see.
When there was nothing better to do he just walked around lapping up the water. Thunder is such an oddity. (Another resemblance to his people, perhaps?)
Pretty sunset over the lake!
Mom and Seth watching the sunset, thinking "Golly! I wonder when Joanna's going to stop practicing her photography!" Do you see Seth's face? You know that is what he's thinking. :-)
Instead of giving him a break, I commissioned mom to take our picture.
None of the adults wanted the dogs bothering us during dinner, so they were once again locked on the porch. Thunder was not amused. He stared at us through an open window connecting the dining area to the porch, and cried very quietly (and consistently) the whole time. I felt bad that I couldn't make him stop, but I also felt bad for him because he is accustomed to sitting at our feet during dinner. There is nothing Thunder dislikes more than being left out. Eventually he gathered enough nerve to jump through the window, and Lucy promptly started barking with displeasure. It was funny, but I felt like a mother with an out of control child.
Mom left early the next morning with a LONG drive ahead of her, home to Kentucky. Thunder and I saw her off, and then went back to sleep. When we finally woke up the light was shining at such a cunning angle through the kitchen windows. It reminded me of the Emily Dickenson line "A certain slant of light" and so I took a picture. I took a better picture where you can see the sun on the floor, so you can actually see the slant of light, but that one didn't turn out as well. (I must need a lot of practice!)
Seth and I had breakfast and coffee on the dock,and soaked in the beautiful morning. Thunder played in the water again and got soaking wet for the ride home. I'm surprised how much he enjoyed the water! He is afraid of lots of things, and we've never taken him swimming before. He treated it kind of like snow though, so maybe it wasn't so unknown as we thought.
Morning view from the dock
Thunder walking around in the water.
Thunder trying to shake off. I'm not sure, but I think he was only successful in spreading the water, not getting rid of it. ;-) I love this picture though, because his ears are so in motion they look like propellers, and you can see his face at several different angles. Laughing, When I look at this picture I can hear the sound of ears and lips flapping as he shakes off.
So wet!
A little more practice before we leave.
These are the White Mountains in New Hampshire, on the way home. This is one of the only shots that doesn't have our lovely antenna in it.
