August 4

[Love going down to the lake early on sunshiny days.  The Sunfish provide great photo ops.]

[It was regatta day, so The Biddies went to check out a paddle boat so they could keep an eye events, to see that nobody was missing their checkpoints!  Actually, I think they just wanted to visit with the hunky shore staff on the dock.]

[The regatta rules are explained to the contestants . . . ]

[The shoreline is awash with spectators, the usual yacht club crowd . . . ]

[The competition tacks for starting position, and – they’re off!]

[The Biddies are keeping an eye on things.]

[Here comes our winner.]

[Here comes Jack, the geologist from Austin Peay.]

[The Biddies work is thus done.]

[The contestants arrive in the landing zone, then Jack and Phyllis (also a geologist at Austin Peay) take off in the doubles.]

[Dinner, the Super catching Jack and Phyllis at the end of our dinner table.  This was the “adult” dinner, with wine, and stuff like prime rib and fish.]

[Part of “our” group, after THE dinner – the DOM in the rocking chair holding court.]

August 5

[The morning was the lake walk, meeting at what next year will be the new camp office.]

[The flag raising and birdie song precede our departure.]

[Then we were off, and soon were looking at camp from across the bay.]

[At times through rugged forests, then with The Biddies leading us on the lake shore path (well, actually I guess we were following everybody else).]

[Hi, camp!  We’re waaaaayyyy over here!]

[Then we came upon my longtime favorite sculpture (for reasons incomprehensible to me) along the path in front of the Johnsonville Brat family house.]

[This was something new for me?  🙂  ]

Now before we enter the town of Elkhart Lake, we’re going to back track a bit for the Super’s much more comprehensive coverage of the hike.

Now we enter town at the big Victorian Village Resort.

[These are my contributions through town.  We walked back the way we came, but on the road, something I’ve never done before.  We had to go back this way because there’s a bit of an issue among the homeowners on the lake.  Their lake association by-laws have long required that the property around the lake be made accessible to people who want to walk around the lake.  Who’da thunk it?  But they do.  Well, now there’s a homeowner, don’t know if he’s new, who has put a locked gate across the lakeshore path, denying hiking access.  We hear other homeowners are quite upset about this.  As of this date, we are not aware of any resolutions.]

[And these are the signs you see on the road back to camp.]

Now the Super’s turn again.

And I’ll finish the hike.

[Hi, Mom, we’re home!]

[The afternoon gives way to games.  Starting here with cornhole, we’re covering our longtime camp buddy, the DOM, on the far right.]

[Two longtime campers pitching shoes – a physics professor at IU on the left and an environmentalist with his own company on the right.]

[And the big event, my two fellow Medicare guys, the DOM, and on his right, Ed, the father of our nephew Chris, also at the camp.  I did not participate because as the cub reporter I needed to provide coverage and sit in the shade with cold beer.  We all gave Ed “10’s” for style points (he was every elegant in his delivery), while the DOM used the quick wrist flip – they proved to be equally effective.  I did not shoot many family pictures this year because . . . well, I already know what they look like.]

[Resting up before dinner, Ed on our porch.]

[The euchre tournament – The Biddies were merciless against the DOM and Vick.]

[Niece Beth, Reetz’s daughter and Chris’s wife, catching up on stuff.  Every morning she either ran, walked, or kayaked around the lake.]

[Down for dinner, the clean-up crew was there and ready for the outdoor diners.]

Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs.  ~  Susan Sontage

Up next:  Time to leave.  Discussions began this morning for the monster trip.