Visiting with relatives...

Sunday, September 2, 2012

I was up by six and looking for something to do.  It was light enough for pictures, so I began hiking around Round Pond hoping for a decent sunrise and maybe catch some animals stirring.  I hadn’t gone a hundred yards through the woods when I spotted another tent.  It turned out that there was a tent site a short hike from ours that was right on the water and with spectacular views.  When John and I return in three weeks, I plan to make it our home.

I gathered more firewood and returned to our site and coaxed the fire back to life.  By the time I’d taken my tent down and repacked my pack, it was eight o’clock so I went around and woke the weary hikers.  By 9:30, we were loaded up and hiking back to the van.  It took another 30 minutes to repack the van and then we drove north to Massena and a visit with my cousins, who owned places on the Grasse River.

We arrived at Donnie’s around 1 p.m. and Jack was practically catatonic with hunger.  I whipped up some french toast for everyone, but half an hour after that, he was eating again.  He finished lunch at three and would be eating dinner at five.  There was no staying ahead of his hunger, really.

By seven we were again on the road and heading for my Aunt and Uncle’s camp in Cape Vincent on the St. Lawrence River near Alex Bay.  They live off State Route 12, which is a road with a 55 mph speed limit and no street lights.  I’d never been there before and had no clue what to look for…not that I could see anything in the dark of the night.  It was darker than the inside of my shoe.  I decided it was time to call.

“Hi John!  I’m out on the drive that leads to our trailer.  Look for the white station wagon parked near the road,” my Aunt said.

I’d seen a white minivan when I’d passed what was near their address and where our GPS unit had suggested we turn and when I questioned her about the differences between a minivan and a station wagon, she seemed confused.  We turned around and I could see a form moving in the dark, but illuminated by a full moon.  I pulled in, stopped the van and she threw open the sliding door and climbed in on Savannah’s lap.  She was holding a glass of wine and rather giddy.

“Aunt Eunice…THIS is a minivan.  That white ‘station wagon’ over there is also a minivan.  They’ve been making them for about twenty years now.  YOU used to have one.  They are NOT station wagons,” I said.

“Oh John…you knew what I meant,” she replied.

Actually, I didn’t…but I should have.  We unpacked again with the girls and Kyle taking beds in the trailer while Jack and I set a tarp on the ground and planned to sleep under the stars.  Their place is right on the St. Lawrence and they had a fire going in the yard.  We sat on their deck and visited for the next hour before folks started drifting off to bed.  I stayed up and talked to my Uncle for another hour before letting him off the hook, too, and made my way to my sleeping bag and a night trying to avoid Jack’s bumping and wiggling.

Hike workout: 25 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 90 bpm.
Calories burned: 125.