Vacation Part 2

I realized I forgot to give vacation dates on the first post, so - we left on Sunday Aug. 9 and returned Thursday Aug 13.

Monday morning - Rusty woke up around 6. Not unusual. I did not get much sleep the first night, also not unusual, as the first night of camping you hear every little noise. So Rusty wakes up. I had realized that I forgot to bring his 'good' bottle the night before, but figured, oh well, I have the juice bottle (that he doesn't like AT ALL in the morning I soon found out.) . So up we get to start breakfast and get him something to eat so he doesn't wake up everyone. Went to the car and found a notice from the park ranger about needing to get a second car permit for the camp site. No big deal. Knew we needed one but we got in after the office closed the night before so didn't worry about it. After everyone was up and going, we decided that we were just going to hang around the campground for the day - take the boats out on the lake, spend time at the beach, and finish settling in. Mark and I take the truck up to the office to get the second permits, get gas, and go explore possible canoe routes.

A. In NY second car permits are free....in PA second car permits are $4 per night. Car gets parked in free parking at entrance of campground for the rest of the stay.
B. PA roads are NOT labeled on our map - just rte numbers.
C. PA roads are NOT labeled at intersections...just take a guess and see where you end up!
D. The light at the 4 way just down the road takes about 3 minutes to change, and there is not much traffic.

So off we go to check out creeks. The outlet from the lake is a joke...I think there is more water running down our driveway on a dry day. The creek we were hoping for is a possibility with some portaging. As we try to follow it on the road we encounter the whole no road labeling issue :(and my wonderful, thoughtful, understanding husband once again laughs at the fact that I have to turn the map as the roads turn or I have trouble knowing if we should turn left or right. ) We also realize that there are many roads with the same name in the same area that do not connect to each other at any point.
Back to the campground we go. (what went on while we were gone, no idea.)
Packed everyone off to the beach - Katie, kelly, and Rusty in the car with mom - everyone else to the boat dock to take the boats around the penninsula to the beach. We dropped the kids of at the beach with Grandma. Shawn, Teressa, and Troy took the canoe, Mark and I took the kayaks and off we went across the lake and up the inlet as far as we could go. Beautiful. I didn't have my camera due to not expecting to do all we did. The inlet comes down into a marshy area before coming under the bridge into the lake. There are roosts for bald eagles (which we saw one of gliding overhead) mini docks built for turtles. All sorts of waterlilies and fish swimming around. Up the creek we went. Just a peaceful out of the way place. Teressa and I decided that we had better head back as Mom had been with the kids for quite awhile and it was getting to be a hot day. Mark got in the canoe and Teressa got in his kayak and back we headed as THE MEN continued on. Got back and relieved Mom. Swam all afternoon with the kids, and let the boys take the kayaks for a spin around the area.
The swim area was so nice. The drop off into the lake was really gradual, so it went from wading deep to 5 foot at deepest. Great for Kate and Kelly as they got to play in quite a large area and get confindent in the water.
The awesome thing was : Mark
A. wore shorts (never happens)
B. WENT SWIMMING!!!!!! (REALLY NEVER HAPPENS!)
But the day was hot, and the water was warm and we were on vacation.

All was going well. We headed back to the sites for supper and it was so hot and humid, we decided to pile the kids in the back of the truck for a swim before bed. Timing bad. Mark had just pulled out and headed around the loop when the campground grumpy host came down our way. This guy was an old geezer set out to destroy everyone's fun. Did you know that
A. it is illegal for anyone under 18 to ride in back of truck in PA (last we knew it was still legal)
B. 'these roads are just like being out on state roads. you follow the same laws. seatbelts and all'
so. Anyway, our (Mom's and my) word was not good enough for him. He had to follow Mark all the way to the beach and yell at him there. And not only that, but he had to stay there and make sure we didn't let them ride in the back on the way back to the site (after 1/2 hr he got tired and went to his site, but made sure he was out there when we went by).
Now, not only all this, but there are all sorts of one way roads around. I drove down to the beach and found out that you had better not go the wrong way to the beach. Grrrr. Grumpy old geezer to the front. I'm not exagerating. I'm pretty good at dealing with people like this, but this guy. Never.
Now as all this was going on, our new neighbors were moving in. Loud truck. Starter going bad. Gets up at 4 am to go to work. Yeah.
Stay tuned. :)

(check out picture via facebook - under: day 2 vacation)