After a wonderful evening with Jen and Austin and their girls, Caroline and Ella, we had a good night’s rest before heading north to the camp. In the morning we packed up and got on the road. Along the way, we stopped in Lincoln at the Lincoln House of Pizza for a pizza to go, which we enjoyed at a park by a lakeside—beautiful scenery and excellent pizza.
When we arrived at camp, it was clear the loggers were busy in new areas of the adjoining property. We drove our new driveway all the way to its end at the marsh and crossed over, though not without difficulty. The bumps and sticks from the marsh shrubs made it rough going, especially for the girls. But we got there, and Bailey and Harley immediately began tearing around, exploring everywhere at once. To our surprise, they even went into the water—quite a change from their usual dislike of it.
This was Trudy’s first look at the cabin, and she confirmed that everything I’d described was true. The cabin was small and dark but the location was beautiful. She noted a few surprises: the cabin was closer to the water than she expected; the island itself was longer and narrower than she had pictured; and the land around the cabin sat about six feet higher than the lake, which gave it a more prominent perch. She also thought the marsh was a little longer than expected, and that the outhouse was much farther from the cabin than she had imagined—making her all the more glad for the composting toilet inside.
We brought the big Gorilla Cart I had purchased earlier across the marsh, but it proved awkward—too large and difficult to maneuver across the bumps and hills. Once inside, we realized we had forgotten sheets for the beds. Since we planned to pull two twin beds together to make a king, we needed king-size sheets, which we didn’t have. That meant a 40-minute drive to Walmart in Calais. The upside was that Trudy got to see the towns of Princeton, Baileyville, and a bit of Calais along the way.
We hurried back as the sun set, crossing the marsh about twenty minutes after sunset. Dinner was leftover pizza, followed by the Phillies game. The day was tiring, but the cabin felt cozy—cold, but comfortable. By night’s end we had both dogs on the bed with us. While they are not normally allowed on the bed, the cold temperatures warranted an exception for the night. You could say it was truly a two-dog night.
