Operation: Relaxation

This week, I spent 3 days in St. Simons, GA and 2 days in Jacksonville, FL while on vacation with Brittany and Christina. I think we would all agree that we enjoyed the true beach relaxation experience. We spent 5 days laying on the beach, swimming, eating, drinking and talking about every single subject under the sun. Being true girls. Honest to goodness none of us had a care in the world. I know we were fully relaxed because my biggest concerns were mildly hilarious and not actually concerning at all.

Christina started our vacation off with a happy face donut from Ike and Jane:

And here was my perfect view for 5 days:

And here...is a brief list of what "worried" me most while on my beach vacation:

1) Which useless magazine should I read? People, Vogue or Self? Answer: All.

2) Where should we place our umbrella and chair set-up so that the tide doesn't wash our things away? Answer: On dry sand. Some answers you have to learn the hard way.

3) Do I have on enough sunscreen? Answer: most likely, no.

4) What should I have to drink? Margarita, wine, beer or sangria? Answer: all.

5) Even after washing it, why can't I get the margarita taste out of my Tervis Tumbler? Answer: my Tervis Tumbler is telling me it would rather be filled with margs as opposed to ice water.

6) Should I order crab cakes, crab legs, shrimp or mahi-mahi at dinner? Answer: Order one each night.

7) Should I eat cheese dip, Brittany's bean dip or Rachel's spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer? Answer: Eat them all.

8) Which bathing suit should I wear? Answer: rotation...but ensure that no strap tan lines happen to prepare for Amy's wedding!

9) What book should I read after finishing the fairytale book about wanting to be a princess? Answer: still undecided, but strongly considering reading The Help before the movie comes out.

10) Cheese Puffs or Double Stuffed Oreos for a snack in the car? Answer: both.

And here are the wonderful friends that helped me have these less than worrisome worries for 5 days. We've already decided another version of this vacay will have to happen again.

The second half of Operation: Relaxation took place in Jacksonville, FL while we were visiting my dear friend Rachel. Rachel JUST moved into her new condo the day before we came to visit. Like always, she welcomed us with open arms and we had a great time. Rachel and Noah took us to a fun bar that was right on the beach. We decided that if this magical bar could be transplanted to landlocked areas (aka: Athens and/or Atlanta) it would do great business.

Rachel's new condo is absolutely beautiful. Here was the view from her porch:

Yes, she gets to live here! I L-O-V-E my new apartment in Atlanta, but I am seriously reconsidering where I need to live on a day to day basis.

A funny part about our visit with Rachel was the MASSIVE construction project taking place on the beach below us. Personally, I felt like a 5 year old little boy because I was enamored with the bulldozers, claws and pipes. We couldn't go on the beach Saturday morning because they were busy "dredging" (aka: getting sand from a mile offshore in the ocean, digging a giant hole on the beach, connecting giant pipes to shoot the sand into the hole and then filling in the hole). Saturday afternoon they opened up the beach, but there were still large pieces of construction equipment moving around even larger pipes. If you look closely in the picture, you can see the bulldozer behind Rachel. Nonetheless, the construction provided additional entertainment for our trip.

I can honestly say that I am still in 100% relaxation mode and I hope to continue this mode for my remaining 2 weeks of summertime. I am so thankful for wonderful friends to travel with and to visit. I am so excited to finally officially embark on my new adventure of living with Kate (now that she is finally moved in) in Atlanta. Apparently, she and Dennis have already started making new friends, so I think it's going to be a great year.

Here's to living everyday like it's summertime....

Camp

My Dad, Nancy and I just got back from our annual trip/trek to Vermont. A lot of years ago (I have no clue how many years, can you tell?), my grandparents had the foresight to buy a camp on Lake Champlain in Vermont. When you say "camp" to people in the south, they usually assume that it is an overnight camp for kids. Legitimate assumption, but a camp on the lake in Vermont would be what people in GA call a cabin. And I use the term cabin verrrry loosely because our camp is a (little) more rustic than a cabin on one of GA's lakes. The camp is equally owned by my dad and his four siblings, making it our common spot in VT to spend time with family.

And here it is:

There is just something special about pulling down the gravel road and walking up the dirt path to camp. Maybe it is the fact that our Atlanta family is only able to make it up to camp once a year. Despite the fact that it always rains when we are there, every year I always find myself looking forward to our trek (19.5 hours in the car) to camp. Camp is unique in many ways. One way is that there is ALWAYS a plethora of projects to be completed. Our family that lives in Vermont does so, so, so much to keep the camp up and running. When we go to visit, we try to do as much "patchwork" as we can in the short week that we are there. This year, we painted the porch, scrubbed the deck, repainted a sign and spray painted rocking chairs. This is all so minor in comparison to what the VT family does, but we do what we can!

Some of my favorite memories of camp are contained within all of those projects. Before I was even thought of, my parents painted the entire exterior of the camp a lovely army green color that still exists today. Talk about a big project. My mom used to refer to our family as "The Atlanta Painting Crew" because we always seem to find ourselves painting something when we are at camp. The year Melissa came with us, we painted the deck. The year Anna came with us, we painted the kitchen.

When there aren't projects being done, there are certainly a lot of other things to do (except of course, when it rains). A trip to camp isn't complete without a walk around the point. We always like to go on these walks to check out all of the other camps in the area. After a yummy dinner in your tummy, dusk falling and mosquitos entering attack mode, there is just something special about walking around the point as nighttime creeps in.

I snagged this picture this summer on a walk towards the end of the point:

There is also a lot of time to spend out on the water....weather permitting, of course, which always seems to be our issue. We are VERY grateful for family that let us use their boats with them :)

This picture if from a Fourth of July fireworks trip a LONG time ago. I think this was the night I dropped Allison's cell phone in the water and ended up getting in the water in my clothes to retrieve the submerged phone.

The magic cell phone revived itself after 3 days in front of a hair dryer.

Learned how to ski on one ski in VT...

In addition to walks and time on the water, there is always lots of time spent sitting on the deck or on the porch telling (or listening, in my case) to hilarious and ridiculous stories. If you've ever spent time around my dad or any of his 4 siblings, you know that there are hilarious, make your belly-ache from laughing so hard, stories about the days of them growing up.

My grandparents were smart in thinking that it would be great to have a place people WANT to go visit. Camp has the power of bringing a family spread out all over the country together to one place. If it weren't for camp, I know Nancy and I would not have been able to spend as much time with our extended family as we have been able to. One memory that sticks out in my mind is sitting on the porch with Gramps. At sunset, he would take bets on who could get closest to guessing the exact time the sun would fully disappear behind the New York mountains.

And here is that perfect sunset (that earned Gramps lots of $$, I'm sure):

Living at camp in and of itself is a unique experience. The drinking water became drinkable just a few years ago. Before that, it was off to the spicket in town to fill up jugs of water. Showering and sleeping at camp also prove to be unique experiences. Showering consists of "water on, water off." As in, turn the water on, get yourself wet, turn the water off. Get soapy, turn the water on, rinse off, turn the water off. And sleeping....well.....once you choose your bed (rock bed, mosquito bed, old mosquito bed, bunk bed, back room, front room, etc., etc) make sure you have ear plugs and/or bug spray nearby. The old walls, lack of insulation and open/"airy" feel make it like one giant slumber party with your closest family members. So, keep those ear plugs handy. When I was little I vividly remember sleeping in the back room and screaming, "DADDYYY!!! There's a biwdy (I couldn't pronounce my R's- should have been 'birdie') in my room!!!!" Only recently did I learn that it wasn't a bird. It was a bat. If you are willing to sleep and shower at camp you have to be at least slightly prepared to rough it for a few days.

I know our entire family is thankful that my grandparents bought camp. Yes, it is often more than a struggle to maintain. Yes, every year when the snow melts we wonder if it is still standing. But what a wonderfully unique place filled with loads and loads of family memories and beautiful sunsets that none of us forget.

Thanks Gram and Gramps, for another adventurous week at camp :)

Love,

A