9 Days Until I Turn 30

I received really sad news from my Dad that my Great-Aunt Rachel passed away late last night. Many of you have probably heard me tell stories about Rachel's Camp- the cottage on the lake where we spent countless summer weekends- and I spent some full weeks, exploring and being silly with my cousin Meagan. That Camp belonged to my Aunt Rachel and I have a zillion wonderful memories from this cottage on Great East Lake, NH.

So in honor of my Aunt Rachel, here are 30 things I love most about Camp (in no particular order):

1. The queen-sized bunk-beds in the middle bedroom. We'd squeeze as many kids as possible into it and tell stories and even play up there. It was like an indoor clubhouse.
2. Buying bubble gum and lollipops at the Marina.
3. Going for long walks with Rachel and Meagan. We'd walk up the main road as far as the white house with the lilacs. That was always our turn-around point.
4. The dance routines Meagan and I would practice in the boathouse.
5. Telling the same "ghost story" over and over again (thanks to the internet I found the gist of it) There’s this ghost and it haunts this house. And it wakes up the dad, and it says “I am the ghost of the bloody bones and the dirty diapers.” And the dad freaks and runs out. And then the ghost wakes up the mom, and it says “I am the ghost of the bloody bones and the dirty diapers.” And the mom freaks and runs out. And then the ghost wakes up the baby, and it says “I am the ghost of the bloody bones and the dirty diapers.” And the baby says, “You can keep your bloody bones, and I’ll keep my dirty diapers.”
6. Daiquiris on the dock
7. Tuck
8. Canoe rides to the dam
9. Sitting by the fire at night
10. S'mores
11. Peeking out the curtains to see the adults' tv programs when we were supposed to be asleep in bed
12. Doing puzzles on the porch with Rachel.
13. Dad's post-baked-bean explosions and the inevitable jokes about them.
14. Dad's potpourri in the pants invention (inspired by #13), that he didn't patten in time!
15. Homemade blueberry muffins
16. Poor People's Pub- and the sugar lollipops you'd get for free on the way out
17. Playing Mall Madness on the floor with Meagan and Lynnie
18. Painting the flowers on the porch
19. Sleeping on the porch on a hot summer night
20. Picking raspberries from the bush on the way to the beach
21. Finally being old enough to swim all the way out to the dock floating off the shore at the beach! And jumping off!
22. Creating a fort from downed branches up against the camp- and attempting to sleep out there overnight in lawn chairs. I don't think either Meagan or I lasted a whole night but we tried several times.
23. Countless matching outfits
24. Going out on Jake's boat
25. Learning to waterski with Bernie
26. Playing Nintendo in the first bedroom after the bathroom was enlarged- it was tucked under the top bunk! Bomberman!!!
27. Lots of reading time
28. July 4th fireworks across the lake (far enough away that even I could see them)
29. Dad's Charles River Canoe Plans that he hatched on those summer 4th of Julys at Camp.
30. The millions of other memories that I can't even put into words- just the feel of Camp!