Sunday, July 12, 2009
Glendalough State Park
The night went well. Once we were able to get Dane to stop crying about sleeping on a different bed than Mama he passed out, only to awake two times during the night just to check if he could sleep with Mama Now.
We started the morning with kayaking on the creek between Annie Battle Lake and Blanche Lake. The width of the creek varies dramatically from as narrow as the width of the kayak paddles to wide enough to allow for the kayak to drift sideways with ease. Ava sat snuggled in front of my seat, fingers gently tapping the surface of the water. It is easy to forget how difficult the paddle back up stream can be with the swift water propelling us to Blanche Lake. The glimmer of the mother-of-pearl from inside of clam shells caught my eye as we navigated along. Fish of all sizes cruised past us. Common sense took hold and we turned around to check how strong the current really was. I realized I hadn't paddled much in the last couple of years and that Ava is no longer a little passenger - upstream was not easy! Returning to Annie Battle we paddled through the reeds, observed fish and talked about what it would be like to be a fish. Are the plants observable from above seemingly reaching for the surface of the water, similiar to our trees? In fish world do they have roads that they follow between the trees?
We parked the boats and Daddy returned to camp to pack up a lunch and get swimsuits. The natural progression of things we went from, "Can we take off our shoes and walk on the sand" to "can we roll up our pants and walk in the shallow water" to "can we roll up our pants a little higher" to swimming in jeans and sweatshirts. The temp outside couldn't have been more than 65 and it was 9 in the morning. We ended up swimming, picnicking and sunning until early afternoon. The lakes at Glendalough only allow non-motorized boats so the only sounds to be heard are kids enjoying themselves and the thunk of paddles hitting the side of old aluminum canoes.
Dane decided we should swim in the "lazy river" we had earlier kayaked. Life jackets in tow we allowed ourselves to drift from Annie Battle, under the road bridge and down the mouth of the creek where Daddy waited to pluck us from the water. The kids nervous laughter as we passed under the bridge was as breathtaking as the water temp. I couldn't help but think "this is the kind of stuff every kid wants to do but has parents that are smart enough to say no." We took this ride so many times I lost count. Finally we talked the kids into a return to our shady camp as Dane's cheeks were getting suspiciously crimson. Without even noticing it the temp had reached 75 dgs.
Back at the camp Dane begged to go hiking (which really only involves him sitting on his Daddy's shoulders while the rest of us hike. A couple of yards into the hike Ava received a call on her cell phone a pink Barbie toy phone that, upon answering the phone, yells "Don't ya just love being a princess?". Ava took the call. It was Dane. He wanted to talk "business" but didn't he know she was busy camping and hiking with her family? Sheesh. Dane called every 200 yards or so until I advised Ava to tell the caller that she was on vacation and any calls could really wait until she was back in her office. Before we were advise the caller of such, Daddy told us to look at Dane. He had fallen asleep on top of Daddy's shoulders his head resting on top of Daddy's head his arms hanging slack at his sides.
We rounded out the day by feeding seeds and graham crackers to the many chipmunks ("chippies") in our camp, finishing our hike to a different creek system for another swim, and a long campfire discussion over marshmellows. A kid stopped by to show us his huge wounds from pulling leeches off of his body. Where did he get leeches? Oh, only on the very creek we had just returned from. Showers were not in the plan, but it did not take long to convince the kids it was a good idea.
Bedtime came easy for all of us and we were relieved to wake up to an overcast sky and a cold breeze to cool our sunburns.
We started the morning with kayaking on the creek between Annie Battle Lake and Blanche Lake. The width of the creek varies dramatically from as narrow as the width of the kayak paddles to wide enough to allow for the kayak to drift sideways with ease. Ava sat snuggled in front of my seat, fingers gently tapping the surface of the water. It is easy to forget how difficult the paddle back up stream can be with the swift water propelling us to Blanche Lake. The glimmer of the mother-of-pearl from inside of clam shells caught my eye as we navigated along. Fish of all sizes cruised past us. Common sense took hold and we turned around to check how strong the current really was. I realized I hadn't paddled much in the last couple of years and that Ava is no longer a little passenger - upstream was not easy! Returning to Annie Battle we paddled through the reeds, observed fish and talked about what it would be like to be a fish. Are the plants observable from above seemingly reaching for the surface of the water, similiar to our trees? In fish world do they have roads that they follow between the trees?
We parked the boats and Daddy returned to camp to pack up a lunch and get swimsuits. The natural progression of things we went from, "Can we take off our shoes and walk on the sand" to "can we roll up our pants and walk in the shallow water" to "can we roll up our pants a little higher" to swimming in jeans and sweatshirts. The temp outside couldn't have been more than 65 and it was 9 in the morning. We ended up swimming, picnicking and sunning until early afternoon. The lakes at Glendalough only allow non-motorized boats so the only sounds to be heard are kids enjoying themselves and the thunk of paddles hitting the side of old aluminum canoes.
Dane decided we should swim in the "lazy river" we had earlier kayaked. Life jackets in tow we allowed ourselves to drift from Annie Battle, under the road bridge and down the mouth of the creek where Daddy waited to pluck us from the water. The kids nervous laughter as we passed under the bridge was as breathtaking as the water temp. I couldn't help but think "this is the kind of stuff every kid wants to do but has parents that are smart enough to say no." We took this ride so many times I lost count. Finally we talked the kids into a return to our shady camp as Dane's cheeks were getting suspiciously crimson. Without even noticing it the temp had reached 75 dgs.
Back at the camp Dane begged to go hiking (which really only involves him sitting on his Daddy's shoulders while the rest of us hike. A couple of yards into the hike Ava received a call on her cell phone a pink Barbie toy phone that, upon answering the phone, yells "Don't ya just love being a princess?". Ava took the call. It was Dane. He wanted to talk "business" but didn't he know she was busy camping and hiking with her family? Sheesh. Dane called every 200 yards or so until I advised Ava to tell the caller that she was on vacation and any calls could really wait until she was back in her office. Before we were advise the caller of such, Daddy told us to look at Dane. He had fallen asleep on top of Daddy's shoulders his head resting on top of Daddy's head his arms hanging slack at his sides.
We rounded out the day by feeding seeds and graham crackers to the many chipmunks ("chippies") in our camp, finishing our hike to a different creek system for another swim, and a long campfire discussion over marshmellows. A kid stopped by to show us his huge wounds from pulling leeches off of his body. Where did he get leeches? Oh, only on the very creek we had just returned from. Showers were not in the plan, but it did not take long to convince the kids it was a good idea.
Bedtime came easy for all of us and we were relieved to wake up to an overcast sky and a cold breeze to cool our sunburns.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
