Camp was lovely. It was beautiful and relaxing, full of sun and bugs and dirt and trees, and yes, we missed our friends-- it's never going to be the same without them-- but we made do pretty well. Besides, it's not like nowadays I spend all my time at Camp with Spense and Zach anyway... it was really in the evenings that I missed them, cause there was no one to play cards with or to make fun of the staff shows with. During the Golden Revue (the camper talent show) these teenagers did this godawful slow accoustic guitar version of Hey Ya! and I had no one to roll my eyes at, because Mom and Dad had never heard of it. So I missed them at times like that, but during the days I was happy reading by the pool, or hiking down the creek to Camp Blue (although I pulled a muscle in my left leg climbing over a gigantic boulder, so I wasn't too happy walking back...), or kayaking at the lake with Mom and Dad. Dad fell in the lake getting out of his kayak and there was no ladder, so two of the kids who work at the dock had to pull him out. At that moment, I was really sad that I hadn't brought my camera for fear of it getting wet- I really wish Taylor had been there.
Perhaps the strangest thing about Camp was that Russell Miller was on staff this year. I know none of you know who Russell Miller is, so I shall tell you: Russell was a little kid when we were younger, when we were about 10 or so. I guess he's probably 19 now so he's 6 years younger than me, but he always seemed even younger. We used to babysit for him and his brothers Nathan and Stewart, and they completely idolized the boys, especially Spense for whatever reason. I guess Taylor and Jake and Jarrod really did more of the babysitting, at least for the older two, but I do have a very clear memory of Spense and I being left in charge of baby Stewart, playing with him on a bed in one of the tents, and both of us diving to catch him as he almost rolled off. Strange how those things stick in your mind. Anyway, it was really weird to see Russell all grown up, or at least partially grown up, as he's just about the skinniest person in the whole world:
(That's him, in the wig, beating the trash can. It's a long story.)
Dad and I played first Bonnie and Mike Forbes in Trivial Pursuit and beat them pretty quickly. Mike was pretty smart, but Bonnie had never played before, so she was pretty useless. Then we played Nicola and her dad, Bean Guy, who I don't like at all but hey, he's not as uptight as he used to be, so that's a plus. And I like Nicola a lot. It was a really close game- we got all our wedges first, but then we missed our question in the middle (about how many people were guillotined during the Reign of Terror) and so they got to the middle and then won on a question about Flashdance, of all things. I'm not as good a partner for Dad as Laury is, but I think I'm a decent substitute.
Laury and Jarrod did come up for a day, bringin Jarrod's girlfriend Amelia with them:
They were there from around lunch until right before the show, and it was nice- like the good old days. Well, if it had really been like the good old days, Jarrod and I would have been running around The Log with squirt guns instead of reading Science News and talking about dark matter, but you take what you can get. Everyone else went to the Forbes/Warren/Volker clan's Mai Tai party, but I stayed up at our campsite... I don't really have any desire to socialize with people who have known me for 24 years but can't remember my name.
Mom and Dad and I hiked around the lake one day, or at least partway around it. I was going to go the whole way, but turned back when they did because the air quality was so awful due to the fires in Yosemite. You could barely see across the lake, which meant it wasn't much of a day for scenic picture taking as I was planning. I will add more pictures soon, but right now, I need to go to bed...
Because tomorrow (or rather, in about 5 hours) I am driving to Oregon with Aunt Kris, Tobin, and Jonah (two of my cousins, for those who don't know). I'm excited about it- I haven't driven to Oregon since I was a kid. I remember going past Mt. Shasta very clearly, and stopping at some truck stop for food, and spending the night at the Pollaczek's house in Roseburg, but I don't remember much else. So it should be a semi-new experience, and I'm glad I get to do it with two of my favorite (oops, am I supposed to say that?) cousins.
More from Manzanita Beach, Oregon =)
Geez, you'd think you're a professional photographer or something...
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