Another college sent-off

Ian left today to prepare to begin his senior year at UNH. This year he is moving into a on-campus apartment that he'll share with three other guys. One of the best perks is parking right nearby the building. He had the car packed to the hilt with practically everything he'll need and then some. Meanwhile it's been raining quite steady most of the night and throughout the day. Besides getting ready to leave we gave him his birthday gifts, a little early as his birthday is Wednesday. Here's the cool card we got him:

Front of card.
Inside of card - this is especially funny to us as our Airedale, E'owyn has several jaunts to her credit under those circumstances.

Here Ian is looking over one of the gifts we gave him.

Shortly after Ian left Carol and I took a ride to pick up a few items at the grand opening of a new location of the grocery store chain we frequent, Hannaford's. This one is in neighboring town of Gray, all of a 15 minute drive from our house. Coming and going to work we drive right by it several times a week.

Home again

Finished packing up the car this morning and said good bye to Madawaska Lake for now, I may be back in October to help Lois and Jim close it up for the winter. Given the recent weather conditions I consider ourselves fortunate that it was real nice here this week.

The last look across the lake.

"Let's get this rocket fired up and get out of here - WOOF"

Stopped at the I-95 southbound reststop to eat the lunch I packed.

Once home and somewhat unpacked Carol and I went out to eat and are now going to settle in to watch a DVD from Netflix, "Inkheart".

There's a disturbance in the Force

Woof... woof woof, 3:30am, woof, "Patches?!? what the...", CLANG, CRASH "Patches stay". Best night sleep I've had in a while and the dog gets riled up. I grab a flashlight and head for the kitchen door onto the camp's porch, shine the light through the glass... nothing. I go to the living room door onto the porch, shine the light through the glass - freakin' raccoon eating one of Patches' Milkbones. I rattle the doorknob and he takes off like a bat out of hell to the screen door at the other end of the porch and out through a section of the screen that had already been ripped. That's the most exciting thing going on here today, at least I fell back asleep afterwards. Once I was awake (when I wanted to be) it's been a very successful day. The weather was beautiful again. I finished another book. Helped out my mother-in-law with her computer. Bought a T-bone steak that for grilling to go with some rice pilaf and corn-on-the-cob. Packed some things preparing to head for home tomorrow. So that's how I ended this year's vacation at the the camp. Ready to go home.

Early morning...

...to the final sunset of this year's vacation.

From three amigos to two

Not a lot happening today. Once I dropped Ian off at the bus stop Patches and I were back at the camp. A little strange not having Ian around to talk to. A little one sided with Patch, though he constantly tries his little mind control games - what else is new. During the day I took care of several tasks including finishing up the blog about yesterday and there in lies the rub. I've (we've) become so accustomed to broadband internet that when I'm up at the camp trying quickly to take care of some things online with dial-up I could almost crawl up the walls waiting for a page to finish loading. Webpages now-a-days are loaded with so much extraneous background code and features that dial-up can barely function. I work and recreate online, get most of my news and music, on and on with my expectations when I navigate around the web. I spent an hour and a half this morning doing what I could do in fifteen minutes at home. Yeah, I know, what am I doing on the computer while away on a relaxing vacation. Just the way it is folks. On another note I finished up Peter Hamilton's "Judas Unchained" last night. Wow, what a finish to the two book story which began with "Pandora's Star". Both those books took me several weeks to work my way through. Today I started Neal Asher's "Prador Moon", I'm half way through that one now. It's apple and oranges, word count being the difference. Hamilton has created a saga, among several others, with so many characters and shifting storylines and then bringing it all together for a fabulous ending followed with wrap-ups to many of the major characters lives after the story's conclusion. Having Asher's book ready to go is just the ticket to close out my vacation. I may have been at the camp for vacation but a lot of the time has been spent a couple of hundreds of years in the future and light years away with the Commonwealth and then the Polity.

Ian's chariot to Portland

Boaters make their way pass the camp.


Patches is insistent, throw the damn stick!

Ducks enjoy sunsets also.

Aroostook State Park revisited

Yesterday we drove to Aroostook State Park to hike the twin peaks, North and South of Quaggy Jo Mountain. As some regular readers may remember two years ago while here at the camp with only Patches with me I visited the park as part of what I refer to as adventure day on vacations here each year. With Ian joining us this year I wanted to take him there and he was happy to come. We proceeded along the same loop route, first the South Peak, to tackle the rock slide approach straight up. Easier than coming down it, then taking the saddle trail to the North Peak which has a view whereas the South does not. We had packed a lunch to eat while enjoying the view at the North Peak. The rock slide though short is quite steep and somewhat difficult for me and Patches made it obvious that he's not fond of it. Approaching his tenth birthday, two years older that our last climb he was showing his age but he made it to the top in fine shape and finished the hike in good spirits. On the way back to the camp we stopped to pick up some marinade for the chicken breast I bought Wednesday to grill for last night's supper. Once back at the camp there was time to relax lakeside for awhile before Margaret arrived to eat with us. I managed to not cause the chicken to become unrecognizable and it actually was very tasty. Cooked up some red potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob then finished it off with apple pie that Margaret had made for us. She left before dessert. Patches had spent the remainder of the afternoon sprawled out on the lawn in front of the camp recovering from the hiking excursion. When picking up the marinade I had bought him a rawhide bone as reward for making in through the hike. Once at the camp he accepted what I expected to consume him for the rest of the afternoon. That was not to be as he retreated to a shady spot on yard with the rawhide, nibble it a bit then just kept it nearby as he relaxed as best he knew how. Once supper was over he was up and showing his expectation for one of to throw the stick into the for him. Ian must have thrown it 30 or 40 times and Patches seemed to have limitless energy before we finally told him that was enough - and he was still wound up for more, standing on the rampway to the lake with an intense stare of purpose. As dusk approached the sky was clearer than I can remember in a long time with barely a trace of any clouds, another beautiful evening. The evenings game Ian and I settled on was Yahtzee. It took three rounds, Ian won the first and third to capture the week's gaming championship. I knew I should have insisted on another game of cribbage. This concluded Ian's time at the camp for the week, I dropped him off in Caribou early this morning to take the bus to Portland where Carol will pick him. He has other fish to fry beginning with an OA meeting tonight followed tomorrow with a trip to Mount Katahdin as one of the Assistant Scoutmasters with the Boy Scout Troop to hike to up that mile high peak on Saturday. It was a lot of fun for me that he had the time to come up to camp and that he was able to chill for a bit after maintaining a busy schedule from his studies and activities at college, six weeks of his research project, time on call as an EMT and the trip to Indiana. I'll see him at home when he returns on Sunday. For the remainder of the week old Patches and I will be here at the camp for most of the time in our semi-solitude relaxation mode.

This is the view from near the top of of the South Peak approach.

The view to the north from the North Peak.

Great to be on top.

Tranquil evening sunset.

An "A" for weather

A gorgeous day from dawn to dusk yesterday so Ian and I took advantage of it - we went golfing. The links at the Caribou Country Club were in the best shape we'd seen over the last four years we've visited there. In spite of the view I completely forgot to snap a few pictures with my cellphone. We both reduced our scores from last month's visit and as a bonus Patches hadn't chewed anything up while he was left behind at the camp. The rest of the day was taken up with hanging around outdoors. Me reading, Ian went running, Margaret stopped by with some cake. We had a spaghetti supper out on the front porch then hung out by the lake until dusk. The evening game competition was cribbage. I won two games, champ for a day. Tonight's game will be a card game we may not have ever played or maybe forgot how to,that we'll choose from a book of card games. Nothing earth shattering, just a textbook day at the camp.

This is rough.

This part of an evening at camp is a must... or else Patches will drive us completely nuts.

The sun "is" behind these clouds so no "event horizon" happening here, maybe it will peek out tonight. Stay tuned.

Damp start, enlightened finish

Yesterday's weather at Madawaska Lake began as expected with scattered showers. A break from the overnight rain provided an opportunity before breakfast to take my daily walk. I grabbed Patches' leash and the two of us headed out while Ian slept in. Cloudy and strangely cool with a hint of humidity we kept a brisk pace north along Shore Road the continued north along Route 161 until cresting Carlstrom Hill before reversing course to return to camp sticking to 161. Rounding a bend and presented with high ground view to the south I was able to pick up a cell phone service (unlike at the camp) so I call Carol at her office and for most of the last half of my walk talked caught up on what was happening back home. The rest of the morning was kicking back on the porch or inside the camp as the rain began then hung around for the remainder of the morning. After running a couple of errands and returning to camp Margaret stopped by for a visit. The weather was still cloudy but we were able to note a brief appearance to the south of blue sky. For supper I resorted to my beer brats recipe cooked on the gas grill. As Ian and I were sitting out on the porch eating, the sky began to open up to the southwest and the potential for catching the sun setting on the shore of the lake seemed certain. We kept Patches busy fetching a stick thrown aways out in the water and I kept an eye on the progress of the sun making it's way to the horizon. As I had hoped the remaining clouds to the south and scattered remnants to the west made for a interesting sunset. Dusk settled in with an increase of mosquitoes and no-see-ems followed soon afterwards by bats swooping through the front yard and out over the lake feeding on the pesky bugs. As far as I was concerned the bugs won the day and we moved ourselves into the camp for the evening. Tonight's game was Rummiqub, Ian won the round and remains the champ for another day.

Patches, forging ahead on our morning walk.

Ian has the full attention of Patches as long as that stick may go flying out into the lake.

The day's visual payoff.

Vacation North

Alright now, Day 1 of Ian and my vacations at the camp on Madawaska Lake. Real nice weather to set out with, clear sailing as we talked our way north, time flew by. We stopped at a restaurant in Medway, I forget the name but Ian had been here before with friends last summer and discovered they had poutine so we made it part of the plan to stop in and split an order of this French-Acadian delicacy. We got the order as a takeout then drove across the street to a road that led to the town landing/picnic area on the river that passes through the town.

As we approached Caribou the skies began to cloud up and after a stop there to add some additional groceries to our supply we finally arrived at the camp, unloaded, relaxed a bit, made some supper, sausage burgers and potatoes. It was a bit chilly in the camp so I started up fireplace and finished the evening with a father-son Texas Hold-em Poker Championship - Ian won so he's the reigning champ until tomorrow.

Carol sees Ian and I off with this photo as we head out to the Camp at Madawaska Lake.

This is poutine, french fries covered in cheese and gravy - not good for you but it sure tastes great.

Here is Ian and Patches as we prepare to continue our way to the camp.

A welcome site of the camp as viewed from the lake.

A determined flower has made it's way through the deck.

No sunset this evening, a heavy rain set in as it began to get dark.

Another project off our list

Today Carol and I tackled the walkway project between the deck and dog kennel. We used concrete pavers we'd saved from the previous front yard and back yard patios. I've given a bunch of the pavers away, some we had other uses and now this walkway and we still have 60 or more left. I even have a pile of bricks from a masonry stove we use to heat the house with. We have a couple of project ideas to re-use those as well. After cleaning up the work area and putting away our tools I started packing and staging my stuff to take on vacation to the camp. I'm sure I have more than I need but I have the space. I think Ian and I will even be able to squeeze Patches in somewhere.

Vacation redux

I'm on vacation again. Not my usual routine but I'll take it. Ian, Patches and I will be leaving for Madawaska Lake on Sunday, all the "guys". We may do a little hiking on one day, then on another day Ian and I will play a round of golf. Most of the rest of the time will involve hanging around the camp and lakeside. I really need to forget about work. I've had a lot of good stuff to do at the office but several things going on at the same time - feeling brain fried. Maybe it's my age though I'd still rather be too busy than not busy enough. After work today I stopped into Borders and bought Neal Asher's "Prador Moon". That will cover my reading time if I finish "Judas Unchained". I'm also toting up some magazines I'm behind on, several of which are making a second trip to the camp as I had brought them with me a month ago and didn't read then.

Ian drove to New York state today to visit a friend who is working at a summer camp. He'll be coming back tomorrow evening which leaves him time to get a night's sleep before we leave for camp. Carol and I will be doing yard work tomorrow that includes building a walkway between the deck and the dog kennel.

The day has it's ways on the way to vacation

Soon after getting to work today I found myself caught in an administrative Chinese fire drill. The office business manager started questioning the graphics software licensing which had gone through an audit last spring and I had thought everything had been resolved. After several rounds of email exchanges I finally sent an email suggesting all involved meet and work this out because the constant round of emails was very disruptive to getting anything done to which she sent an email saying everything was resolved. I had the feeling she was a little ticked off with my reason for meeting but I found out later that as it turned out the work that had been done in the spring had taken care of the problem and she had been a Johnny-come-lately to the situation. Otherwise I didn't have any projects to work on so I was busy entering my involvement in the system that keeps track of past proposals to use in searches for participants in future proposals. Sounds like fun? After lunch all that changed and I found myself up to my neck with work to do which will take me though tomorrow. Then it's off to a weeks vacation.

Ian came home from NOAC today. He had a good time, during supper he told us about the happenings there followed this evening by going to the pictures on the event's website and viewing a couple of videos that had been posted on YouTube.Ian came home from NOAC today. He had a good time, during supper he told us about the happenings there followed this evening by going to the pictures on the event's website and viewing a couple of videos that had been posted on YouTube.

Used bookstore visit

Today's noontime walk took me by Annie's Book Stop, as I'm going on vacation I felt I should pay a visit to the shelves of previously viewed books. There were three Peter Hamilton novels lined up, that's the author I'm reading now. Timely as I think I might finish "Judas Unchained" early during next week's vacation then I could start one of the others. The exception may be if I get a chance to stop into Borders and find another Neal Asher book. I like to switch up the authors from book to book.

Gorgeous weather

For the last couple of days the weather has been perfect. A strange sight while walking at noontime today along Portland Harbor - a fog bank was lingering upon the water almost immediately off the shoreline hiding hundreds of moored boats under it's blanket while the area of the walkway though hazy was sunny while receiving a cool, moist breeze from the sea. Curiously refreshing.

He's there and we're here

Things are going well for Ian at NOAC in Bloomington. In addition to the camaraderie of his fellow OA'ers and the subject sessions he's attending his ceremony team has been rather proficient at what they do and have received three honor medals for pre-Ordeal (white) pre-Vigil (blue ribbon) and Brotherhood (red) ceremonies. Not bad for three day's work.

Weekend at home

My wish from the last blog came true - I was very active around home this weekend and probably lost a few of those calories I gained Friday. Saturday was warm and sunny and I was able to make some inroads on the yard work but the day began in the early light of day as Carol and I gave drove Ian to the airport to catch his 5:45am flight to Indianapolis to attend NOAC (National Order of the Arrow Conference) being held at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. He'll be back on Thursday. After returning home I made breakfast then after eating, Carol prepared and left to meet Lois to attend a seminar type event on genealogy and I started to work on the yard. Carol was home by mid-afternoon and we left to workout at our fitness center. Before that we did a little shopping and picked up a GPS system, the Garmin Nuvi 255w. So that will be something interesting to try out. I think it's the same model that Lois and Jim have, lovingly known as "the bitch in the box", for it's insistent driving directions. After Ian returns he'll be making an overnight and back trip to New York state so that will be it's official first use for travel. We haven't settled on an endearing name for the device but I'm sure something will come to us. At least now when I'm told to "get lost" I'll know how to get there.

Today was more of the same on the yard work, the goal is to recover the overgrown areas of the lawn that hadn't been mowed this year because of all the rain we've had. We took care of a couple of places, there's more to be done.

Onward into the coming week, another vacation at the lake is on the other end of this week.