Flyin' Over Camp.

In case you weren't aware, I've been in Maine for the summer where The Canadian and I spend our time working at camp. In this line of work we get a lot of perks and meet some pretty awesome people. Case in point: our good friend Hilary (remember her from the Airhead Challenge?), her dad and his float plane. 

That's right. You heard correctly.

One evening Hilary's dad, David, decided to hop in his plane and head on down to Maine from the great province of Nova Scotia. Ya know, because its no big deal to fly across international borders to come visit your daughter and her buddies. No. Big. Deal.

He cruised into camp flying a 1946 Piper float plane and landed on our sailing beach like it was totally normal. Meanwhile the rest of us are standing in total awe watching this Charlie Brown colored plane float right up on our shores.

After we all picked our jaws up off the ground we greeted David and acted as nonchalantly as possible. Inside everyone I was dying to ask for a ride in the plane but trying to play it cool on the outside. I'm sure he didn't notice.

David took The Canadian up in the plane first. He didn't have much time before sunset but since TC had helped him beach the plane he offered him a quick ride. 

Starting this thing is no easy task. The propeller has to be cranked manually to get it going...while standing outside the plane on the pontoons. Again, no biggie. Totally normal and non-scary.

 

As David floats away he keeps cranking the prop until it starts. 

Just so we're clear, this is a running plane whose pilot is standing outside of the vehicle. Are you with me, here?

He did eventually get in the plane, but not before I had a small heart attack and said a quick prayer that my wonderful husband would be able to learn how to pilot the plane in the event that David fell in the water.

They eventually landed safely and my heart rate returned to normal. The Canadian proceeded to jump out of the plane and announce that the flight was the coolest thing he had ever experienced. And he decided right then and there that he is going to need to obtain his own pilot license and immediately purchase a float plane of his own. Gee, David, have I thanked you for inspiring my husband??

The next morning David was planning to take one of our camp photographers up in the plane for a quick buzz over camp. I decided to show up also just to grab some photos of the take off and landing. Why? So I could write a blog. Obviously.

When the plane returned and pulled up on the beach David hopped out and offered me a ride. He explained that it would not be fair to my marriage if The Canadian and I didn't have equal life experiences and I therefore needed to go up for a quick trip to grab some photos. Grudgingly (not), I agreed and climbed in the plane. 

David performed the same ritual as before; he manually spun the prop and had me hold the cables to steer the rudder. He finally hopped in the plane and we were on our way to fly over camp.  

As we ascended from the lake camp immediately sprawled out below us. David left the door open so I could get photos.

Camp from that level was truly unbelievable.

The tennis courts looked so impressive. You can see one of our soccer fields at one end and all the girls cabins surrounding the courts. The pond you see is lovingly referred to as Frog Pond due to the astronomical amounts of bullfrogs that inhabit it.

And the surrounding lakes were amazing.

I was so proud of how the waterfront appeared. The swim lanes are strait, the canoes and kayaks are stacked, the crew boat was in place, the sail boats are moored, and further down where you can't see the ski boats are in their slips....all was well in my world.





I could have flown over it one hundred times and never gotten sick of the aerial view of our ponds, fields, and buildings.

I have to admit, when we landed I was feeling a little inspired to become a pilot also. Maybe not as inspired as The Canadian was, but I had a better understanding. Actually, maybe I'll just become an aerial photographer and The Canadian can be my pilot. That might work...

Either way, it was definitely a highlight of my summer and I am forever thankful to David and Hilary for taking The Canadian and I up in the plane. 

And I am thankful that none of us fell out. Amen.

The Airhead Challenge.

So, I'm finishing up camp for the summer and I finally have time to get a little writing done. I'm sorry I haven't been forthcoming with all my stories, but trust me...there are plenty. Keep in mind that all of these stories (for the next couple of weeks, at least) occurred throughout the summer and are therefore a few weeks old. My apologies.

I love my husband for many reasons. One of them is that he is easily entertained. One of his favorite things to do every summer is host his annual Airhead Challenge.

The Airhead Challenge is simple. He takes 7 Airheads and rolls them into a gigantic ball of stickiness. The ball contains strawberry, cherry, watermelon, blue raspberry, mystery flavor, and 2 green apple Airheads. Are you disgusted yet? 

He makes the ball and then finds some poor unsuspecting counselor to coerce into eating the entire thing in one sitting...without removing it from their mouth. The record is somewhere around 6 minutes.

This year's victim is Hilary. Dear sweet Hilary. She had no idea what was in store for her. Poor thing.

She starts off strong. She makes major progress in the first few minutes...but sort of looks like a monkey.

But then the drooling started and the minutes began to creep by. The napkin was no match for the amount of drool that was pouring out. I think we are around 15 minutes at this point....and still not done.

But then she got into a groove and polished that Airhead off like nobody's business.

I'm pretty sure her tongue was blue for a solid 5 days following.

And she didn't feel very well afterward. Shocking, I know.

But after she finished picking the goo out of her blue teeth she felt pretty good about completing the 2011 Airhead Challenge. Yup, that is 21 minutes of her life that she'll never get back. 

Please email me if you want to participate in the 2012 Airhead Challenge. 

We are taking applications now.

How To Make a Wakeboard Bench.

Ever seen one of these? Maybe at the lake? Or maybe at the ski hill, but made out of snowboards? 

Pretty cool, right?

I decided it was high time to put some of our old wakeboards to use and make a comfy sitting area for our ski dock here at camp. While I am the creative brains behind this plan I had to enlist the help of my best bud, Gene Bean, for some carpentry skills. That wood working thing just isn't my forte.

Behold. The 10 steps of wakeboard bench construction. 

You're welcome.

1. We Gene started by cutting some 2x4's for the legs, back and seat. The front leg is 14 inches high, it's 17 inches deep and the back rises 34 inches, just in case you care. Oh, and it leans at a 20 degree angle.

2. I did the painting because I'm helpful like that. Please ignore the fact that I am wearing two different colored flip-flops. It was dark when I got dressed that day.

3. Once the paint was dry we held up the pieces to make sure it would all work out. At that point Gene decided we were going to need some support through the center and that our plan had been too simple.

4. So we he went back to the shop to cut up some center lengths. I supervised to make sure he didn't loose a finger or anything.

5. A few minutes and a couple of screws later the frame of the bench was ready. 

6. But then we realized there was one small problem - it was going to tip over backwards should anyone actually lean back on it. Seeing as that is what benches are for we decided to add some extra extra support. I don't want to be responsible for anyone's cracked skull, you know.

7. So, I finished painting and we were finally in business. For real, this time.

Kind of looks like a ski lift chair, don't ya think?

8. Gene went about screwing in brass finishing screws while I continued to supervise. I'm getting really good at this supervising thing.

Seriously, how many people does it take to screw down a wakeboard? I told you my supervision was necessary.

9. Finally, we were done. Pretty cool, right? 

Just wait until you see it in its natural habitat.

Wait for it.....

10. Okay, now it look it looks a little better. Meet Casey. Hi Casey! 

Go ahead. Try it. You too can make the bench of your dreams. I can't promise Casey will act as your model...but you can try.