Mom and I headed out for a nice long walk through the woods, and when we returned, Drew and Terri were in the building. They arrived just in time to celebrate his birthday with us. After the meet-and-greet and tours, Lance and I took a few hours for ourselves. We took Mary Anne up the road to find a place with (relatively) easy access as a swimming hole, and enjoyed some quiet time and skinny dipping on the hot day. But no matter how hot – that water is C.O.L.D. Not that you need proof, but(t):
A wonderful spot that we will def visit again.
We headed back home to get dinner started. Cranberry/vodka/mint slushies (notice a pattern here?) kicked off cocktail hour, then we moved on to ribs and icebox cake. After cleanup,
we had a small campfire (we are now under stage II fire restrictions which explicitly forbids outdoor fires of any kind, and even smoking outside) and then Lance hauled the telescope out to the meadow behind the garden. I hauled beach towels and a large tarp, which I spread on the ground. It is one of the two peak nights of the Perseid meteor showers, so we’re all prepared to see lights streaking across the sky. Mom lays down to watch and then Lance gets Saturn into the viewfinder of the telescope. I have to scoot her up, because it moves across the lens in about 45 seconds. He repositions it constantly so everyone has a chance to see the planet and its rings. I drive mom back to the lodge in Mary Anne, and then return and lay down, and we all take turns exclaiming “Oh” in a long an exaggerated manner, that coincides with the size and length of the meteor. Once even saw two simultaneously! It’s getting late, so we head back. Drew, with a hankering for camping, decides to lay out on the patio to watch for more showers (who’s he kidding?) and promptly falls asleep:
He enjoys the night air so much (it is pretty wonderful) that he does the same thing the next night. Pleasant dreams!