Summer 2011 Part II

After driving down to the cottage (Holland) we settled into the rhythms of Castle Park. The usual day included sleeping in late, a run or bike after breakfast, some pleasant reading (the paper or a novel);lunch, maybe a nap, then the beach, returning in time to fix a dinner eaten on the porch. The night is often capped with a walk to the "dance dune" to watch the sun set over Lake Michigan. None of this is exotic or adventurous, but it's a relaxing deviation from the normal routine...even if it is a new one. During a couple rainy days I took Patrick and Nathan to movies (Harry Potter; that last one - and Captain America). This year I was also terribly self-indulgent; rarely looking at my e-mail and going through four books (at right) that were nothing more than cotton candy.

During the first few days Jamie and his girlfriend, Mimi, drove out, Martha's sister, Betsy, came up from Chicago, as did her daughters, Allison and Carolyn, for a family luncheon to celebrate a "significant" birthday for their mother; the kids' 'grammy.' The kids were asked to say something special for their grandmother and I was especially proud of Jamie's thoughtful tribute to her.

Usually one of my favorite experiences is to thrash through and body-surf in the Lake Michigan waves with my sons. But with Chris still in Wisconsin, Jamie in and out and a combination of weather and diversions, it didn't happen. Sadly, those events may become rarer in the future.

During the weekend in the middle of our trip, I drove over to Chicago to practice with the "picnic group." I visited with Danny the night before and went over some of the ten tunes I'm playing on, which was enormously helpful. But nothing could prevent the anxiety and jitters of the next day. While I muddled through, my friends were keenly aware of my reluctance and were kindly reassuring. At the end of the day, I'm enormously grateful for their continued patience.

Now it's back to D.C. and the grind, with some big new responsibilities, trials and headaches.....but that's for another blog!

Summer Drill

The summer of 2011 is already half over with a slew of developments. In early June we put Christopher on a flight to be a 'counselor in training' at Camp Highlands in northern Wisconsin. A week later we put Patrick and Nathan on a flight to go up there as campers. Then Martha and I looked at each other; alone without kids for the first time in some 20 years. Fortunately, Marth lined up some distractions. The evening we dropped them off we went to a play in Winchester; "Curtains," that starred Dotty Stevens, Patrick's drama coach. A great show and facility. For the July 4th weekend, Martha booked us at Pipestem Resort in West Virginia, with a quirky little tram system that transported us down into a gorge with our room and a wonderful restaurant. We hiked, rode our bikes, I played golf and went to the pool. West Virginia is a weird state,though - a study in contrasts. The facilities were "adequate", and it's amazing that the state supports an extensive park/resort system. On the other hand - or maybe because of it -- we were constantly amazed by the people. At the risk of being a snob, most of them are overweight and crude. It made us more grateful for what we have.

During the workweek, my friend Ray McCurdy came into D.C. with his son, Dan, and I drove them around; visiting Ford's Theater, Arlington Cemetery and tried Mt. Vernon - eventually winding up with some beers outside the Hawk & Dove.

After making a trip up to New York for an LLS management meeting, we set out on July 12th for an extended vacation. First stop was Tom & Joan Smith's place in Indiana for a wonderful stay and where, coincidently, Martha was able to visit a supplier for Tailored Living. Our next drive was up to Camp Highlands to pick up Patrick & Nathan. We so looked forward to this. Not just to see them; but also to visit one our favorite spots on earth. There's something about both the northwoods and the atmosphere of Camp that is so refreshing. And Camp is such a growing experience for them. We were struck by their both their character development and support for one another. Chris -- who had helped lead an overnight trip with Patrick's cabin - made a point of telling us how proud we should be of them. Patrick carried more than his fair share, and Nathan "graduated" basketball; quite an achievement. And before we left he was voted most "Honored" camper by his peers. Really jawdropping for us. We let Chris know that we were actually very proud of him. He was clearly enjoying his freedom; but was also fulfilling his responsibilities. He was clearly vigilant about his duties and we had numerous comments from the owners and counselors that he was doing a great job. It is a great atmosphere and experience for him and we were gratified to hear he was happy to stay there with the second term.

But we could only stay two precious nights. We left Chris behind to work the second session of camp and took the other two boys to Manitowac to board a carferry across Lake Michigan. The owner of the S.S. Badger is also a Castle Parker, so we were given a stateroom with a couple beds and tour of the bridge. Very cool.