Acres of Wildlife. Maine

I remember sitting under the canopy of trees in the northern forest, darkness swallowing us. We have a campfire blazing, sending light to highlight the underside of the trees and our faces. Shadowy figures pass by on the road outside the camp. In the distance we hear the muffled sound of conversations and laughter, of car doors slamming, of the high pitched banging of hammer on stake. Mesmerized by the dancing light and crackling of the fire I'm pulled out of my bliss by the sizzle of water on fire. Rain is beginning to fall. We'd spent the day in the sun, boating, fishing & swimming in the moss green waters of the camp lake. Warm and full of tan bodies we swam to the rafts, all sitting on one side trying to tip them over and over. Laughter and water filled our mouths and hearts.

As the rain sent steam to mix with the smoke we folded our chairs and decided to head for the restaurant & pub. Yes, a campground with a restaurant & pub. Thank you God. In the darkness we made our way, flashlights illuminating the mini explosions of water meeting ground.

Inside the pub we smell burgers, pizza & beer. We order thick crusted chewy pizza and cold, cold beer. Pitchers of beer. We move through the crowds of families to sit outside. Under a covered deck at picnic tables we mingle with about 60 other folks. Warm & dry we enjoy the rainfall and the patter on the roof of the deck. Fabulous Phil starts to entertain the crowd. Phil plays an acoustic guitar and familiar songs that we all sing along to. Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" is the standout with all of us singing along full voiced in the moist summer heat.

We order another round of drinks, this time mixed. My brother takes a pull and balks at the strength of the drink. He goes back to the bar and tells the bartender that the drink is too strong. The barkeep looks steely eyed at Dan and says "This is Maine, drink it!". What can you say to that? We drink up. Must have been sleeping potion, within an hour we're out for the night. Happy camping. :)

Acres of Wildlife.

Fond memories.