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7.18.2014

TEN DATES // 10 DAY AT THE LAKE


Greetings from Camp Anawanna

If I think about it hard enough I can still conjure up exactly the scent of pine and sunshine and warmed wet earth that followed us around all weekend upstate. I'm already starting to over-romanticize it. Warning! Once I start to over-romanticize things it's really hard to stop, and pretty soon I'm researching real estate options and plotting out things like where I'd keep my llama and what she'd like to eat. I'd been gunning for a summer lake trip for whatever reason for, like, four years, and it was one of those instances where somehow it managed to live up to the hype I had pumped into it and how often does that happen? Beach house smeach house. As for me and my house, we will choose the lake.

And so it was that on Sunday we drove through Bethel (Woodstock! Party on, Garth!) to Lake Superior for a swim and the best BLT experience this planet has ever given me. (The waitress, a kind older woman, ruffled Huck's hair as he asked for a glass of milk and it was so lovely I could cry.) 

Huck had been experiencing the kind of jonesing for a swimming day that only a three-year-old can produce, it was nothing short of spectacular. From the moment we crossed the threshold into New Jersey on the George Washington bridge it was all he could talk about. He insisted on carrying his swim trunks in one fist all day, every day, everywhere. Just in case we happened to pass a swimming hole, the man was going to be prepared. After exploring a bit and scoping out the swimming situation, we were finally able to find the perfect spot for a three-year-old who sometimes believes he's an octopus. We were relieved, if we didn't deliver on that swim day we were going to have to live forever with our shame.  On first glance when I got out of the car I swear to you the lake winked at us. It sparkled! I think the clouds may have parted too and I'm pretty sure I heard a choir of voices from somewhere in the distance. And if there were ever any sound I wish I could play on repeat it would be the sound Huck made as he giggled through a very high-pitched Woo-hooooo! as he raced down the hill.

Do you know what I want to remember about this weekend, and why I think it was such a wonderful escape, is just how long it took for the last of the city chaos to work its way out of our systems, and just how intensely good it felt once it had. I forget sometimes that the amount of work it takes for even the simplest things out here, like grabbing a gallon of milk, or getting to the post office before they close, is bordering on stupid, and I should give myself more credit. But by Sunday we had acclimated perfectly to the slower pace and I was able to sit there at the water's edge, lake water lapping at my legs, thinking absolutely zero things while I watched Huck splash about and explore in the shallow end of the lake. Far from the hustle of Manhattan there's a heart rate better suited to chirping birds and open skies and tiny towns built on dirt roads. It was good to remember I could get there, and it was good to remember what it felt like. 

Lake swimming is gross and fantastic. Mud! Weird creatures! The soundtrack to Pocahontas stuck in my head!

Here come the photos, aren't you excited?



Please to appreciate Brandon Holbrook, always fully dressed in the least appropriate places to be fully dressed.


Huck schmoozing the hot lifeguard. He knows what he's doing. 

21 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 18, 2014

    That head clearing vacation is just the reason why I love to visit my fiance's mother's summer place in Maine. There's no TV- well actually there is one but no cable, or even antena, it's only for VHS tapes, and dailup internet that is so slow it hurts to even try. And cell service only just barely works while leaning over the fence in front. I just can't wait to get there this Thursday for a long weekend!!!!

    Nicole @ I am a Honey Bee

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  2. This looks amazing! And I love the glass of milk and ruffled hair. What an awesome childhood Huck is having :).

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  3. Your comment about your husband made me laugh out loud. I'm married to one of those! Why take your shirt off if you ABSOLUTELY DON'T HAVE TO?

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  4. I can't wait until I can show my son adventures like this! :)

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  5. Adorable. Where is your swimsuit from? I love it. xo

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  6. I love this line: Beach house smeach house. As for me and my house, we will choose the lake. :):) I feel the same way!

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  7. That last photo!... that deserves to be hung on a wall somewhere <3

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  8. Looks like a blast! I'm more of a lake girl myself. Love your and Huck's suits.

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  9. I loved reading this! The first photo reminds me of a summer camp in PA that I once worked at for a summer. I laughed at your comment about your husband being fully dressed....and that last photo of Huck is gorgeous!

    Loved your description of getting out of the city and how you feeling it finally leaving you....you described that perfectly & beautifully.

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  10. AnonymousJuly 19, 2014

    I have been a closet follower of yours for some time now and this is precisely the reason why. The way you romanticize moments in an "I could ramble on all day about this beautiful vision in my head — the way it looks and smells and feels against your skin and describe to you details you never even bothered to notice because we were too caught up in the big picture of life and can't you see this beautiful moment that I see?!...well you can at least come along on the ride for a little while" kind of way is pulled right out of my heart. Kindred spirits, girl. Maybe it's because I just finished watching "Sleepless in Seattle" and our shared love for Meg Ryan (a.k.a. Kathleen Kelly) is one of the many reasons I return to this space, but I took one look at these photos and thought one day Huck is going to look back on these and think, "Man, my mom sure was beautiful."

    Thanks for making these moments real. I can't wait to get my hands on that book of yours!

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  11. Having a pretty tough day, but your blog gave me a little peace. Thank you!

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  12. Huck is such a cutie!

    Also, that comment about your husband was too die for. hilarious!

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  13. Haaaahahahahahaha I laughed my head off at that last one of Huck. Sensational!!!!

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  14. Perfect final date! Apartment in Brooklyn.. next stop Lake Cabin!! xx

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  15. Cute pictures. I would love to be next to a lake right now! I've never been to Lake Superior. I may put that on my list of things to do this summer. :)

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  16. That last picture is perfect!

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  17. The last photo of Huck may be my favorite photo of him you've ever posted, what a ham!

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  18. Oh this reminds me of Walden Pond! Take me back to the East! Lake swimming is some kind of glorious in all it's grossness :) We took my little girl up to a lake this weekend too and if it wasn't just quintessential summer I don't know what is! Forget the beach!

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  19. WHERE is that stunning bathing suit from??

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