Deception Pass - - Day Two

Stephanie, Katie, Sophia, Lilyanna & Nick showed up last night. Stephanie is amazing at how quickly she can set up her camp. In no time at all, the camp took shape with a nice very large tent and a kitchen area.
The evening meal, one of my favorites, was pepperoni pizza. We use these little pie irons to make them. You put two pieces of bread inside the iron with pepperoni, cheese and pizza squeeze sandwiched between the bread. Sophia was first to make one. It turned out perfectly toasted.
After a meal of pizza, we had to have something for a snack. We make popcorn over the fire. It also turned out very good.
Thursday morning we had a hot breakfast and went letterboxing by Oak Harbor. We had a fantastic time. The view out over the Sound was a little foggy, but very beautiful. We grabbed some needed supplies and returned to camp just as Jenny, Greg, Dylan and Claire showed up. Our family is now complete. Steph made a delicious Spaghetti. And, the toasted garlic rolls were perfect. She also served Zuchinni. Yum!
It is now almost dark and we are about to have S'Mores and popcorn. I thought I would write a quick note tonight and hopefully write more tomorrow.
Kayak Bandit

Walking to Work

When you walk a familiar path, where do you look? Do you look for the spot to land your next footstep? Do you look at something far ahead? Or do you stare at nothing special as you think deep thoughts?
When I walk to the bus stop en route to work, there are lots of interesting things to look for. I see the work a neighbor has done to build a retaining wall. I see the new addition that another neighbor is building. I see that a neighbor has brought some fence material home. Now I need to watch to see how quickly he moves forward with the project.
Some times I notice the cracks in the sidewalk and remember back to when we chanted the line "don't step on a crack, cause it will break your mama's back." Boy, would we walk gingerly to avoid stepping on a crack for this cause. But if the cracks got too close together, someone would change the chant to "don't step on a crack, cause it will break your teacher's back." When that was the chant, we were eager to step on a crack if our teacher was perceived to be mean.
Some times you must stop all progress to marvel at the way a tree leaf emerges. Recently, I noticed that a laceleaf maple tree leaf grows to full length before it starts to unfurl. Then each day you notice that the leaf grows broader and broader somewhat like a fan stretching out. You know, the fans like the elegant people used at the theater before air conditioning.
But some times you notice things that gnaw at you. There is this duplex where the people come outside only to smoke and talk on the phone. The yard has a birch tree that was broken at Christmas when someone must have tried to climb up the scrawny thing to put Christmas lights on it. Well, the partially strung lights are still in the tree and after six months no one has removed the lights or the broken tree. The yard has not been moved, no weeds have been pulled, the sidewalk is almost overgrown like the jungle and bear cans where they landed.
I was told by a friend that I need to let things go. I take too many things too seriously.
But then there are the times that you no more have started toward the bus that you are already there. Those days I have been thinking ahead to when I will be riding bicycle with my grandkids at the beach. Or sharing popcorn over the campfire. Or tutoring the next generation how to carefully heat up graham crackers and chocolate on a flat rock by the same fire that you are toasting the marshmallow.
And then there are the times I compose, in my head, good stories to tell my grandkids at bedtime. I always try to think up stories that can have characters with the same names as the grandkids that need their rest for another day of bicycles, dogs, popcorn and s'mores.
Kayak Bandit '(*!*)'