Day 2 of My Vacation in Maine

The start of our late morning, we drove up the hill to Sky Farm to say "Good Morning" to our family. Grandma was still sitting at the table looking at the gorgeous view of the mountains garbed in her robe. She was going to be pampered by a caregiver that was coming to spruce her up! I asked if her if she knew the location of the nearest LDS church. She lit up and said, I'm LDS ! We had a fun discussion comparing our Wards and conversion stories.
After our short visit we went down to the White Elephant Country Store to check email and have a hearty breakfast.

Next a trip to Super Walmart where we picked up burgers for the big cookout at Tracy's place, the Bigelow camp! By the time we reached camp it was nearly 93F and hot! Matt was feeling very anxious about seeing Maryann (11) because he didn't feel like they had anything in common. What would he say? As we pulled in, everyone was already in the water or on the dock! They greeted each other with these hope you like me; you kinda look familiar eyes. Maryann broke the silence "Hey Matt, I remember you with blonde hair!" Matt just smiled and cooly said, "Yeah, I've kinda grown out of that look." He walked down to the dock and sat on a chair. He wasn't interested in swimming but everyone else was. I comfortably walked into the pond. It was perfect! Robert (9) didn't say much and I asked him if he remembered Matt. He just shook his head. I was amazed at how fast and how grownup these kids looked. How could I have let six years pass without returning to the place that holds my heart? Such good and wonderful memories were now being created again!

The last time Matt was on the dock was when he first swam in a lake. He watched all his cousins jump in before he would. Matt is always very cautious. Finally, after the last person was in the water, he took off his black rocker t-shirt and jumped in. After that, there was no anxiety. He was comfortable teasing, splashing, and swimming with his cousins. He had fun finding his balance in a plastic kayak as he paddled near the shoreline. He didn't stray, but kept watching as his cousins were confident in the water.


I have so many memories of Porter Pond of water skiing, diving with Grammy, swimming lessons, beanhole suppers, the loons, dad skiing backwards, clamping the motorboat to the dock, sailboatting with Grampy Big, canoeing to the beaver cove, watching the water plane take off in the mornings, fishing for sunnies, and laying on the float in the sun. I can close my eyes wherever I am and hear the water glugging from the float, a boat rubbing up against the dock, the loons cooing in the evening, sounds of children laughing, and even the waves lapping against the rocky edges.

As the day progressed into dinner time, we all got out and dried off for dinner. Hal had come home from hauling logs on his big rig truck up and down the mountain roads. He started the grill and burgers and dogs ready for plates. In no time, we were sitting on the deck watching the sunset. Molly (19) joined us with her homemade casserole. As the sun set, we were swatting the mosquitoes and making our way indoors. Finally in the darkness, you could only see the camp lights along the lake.
You can hear the conversation of another camp from one mile across the lake as if it was in another room of the cottage. The heat of the day quickly diminished. We said our good nights and then drove back up to Herrick Mountain road.

Definately A Good Swimming Day!