We woke up on Saturday to a gloomy day. I had my coffee and toast out on our little covered porch, admired the trees and watched the fish jump in the lake. Despite the cloud cover it was unseasonably warm for October - I didn't even need a sweater.
When everybody was up, we debated what to do with our free time before the wedding a 2. We piled into the truck and drove half an hour through the rain to Point Breeze on Lake Ontario. Babygirl has done a lot of travel through Pennsylvania because of her kidney transplant, but she hasn't seen much of New York State!
The lighthouse was open (thank God it wasn't a federal park!), so we got to climb to the top and admire the view. It was eye-opening for Babygirl to see a body of water so ocean-like, so big that we couldn't see the other side. We walked out to the end of the harbor jetty in the rain, wind lashing and waves splashing over the rocks. Between the spray and rain we were soaked to the skin, but the simple adventure of it was SO worth it! Babygirl came to understand the purpose of the jetties when she saw how calm the river mouth was compared to the open lake.
We drove back to camp, enjoying the scenery. We crossed the Erie Canal several times on several different types of bridges - some that were high enough to allow for the boats, some drawbridges, and one swivel bridge. The Erie Canal song is still stuck in my head ("I got an old mule and her name is Sal, fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.....Low bridge! Everybody down! Low bridge, for we're comin' to a town..."). Yes, I know the whole song. There's a lot of music in my cerebral MP3 player.
We bought produce from local farm markets, defying the 'never eat anything larger than your own head' rule. We shopped for shoes - odd, yes, I know. And naturally, we were running late when we got back to camp.
But one of the advantages of being in a camp is that there are camp showers. Hubby took the cabin bath over and Babygirl and I hiked (about 30 feet I think LOL) to the camp showers, and we were all ready on time.
The wedding was lovely, the bride and her maids beautiful, the groom and his men handsome, the flower girls sweet as angels (good disguise, by the way) and the ring bearer adorable and entertaining.
The reception was awesome. Good food, good friends, good music. All the old dances were played - the Macarena, the Electric Slide, and so on. Hubby and I got to dance some slow ones, and Babygirl danced and danced and danced. And danced some more. It was hysterical to watch Babygirl and Hubby do the Harlem Shake and Gangnum Style.
We came to our Kabin laughing and exhausted, Hubby and I knowing we were going to be a bit stiff in the morning. But it was worth it all to see Babygirl so happy and free and energetic. She's pretty self-contained and reserved, but we all let go and danced as if no one else was watching.
These are the moments that make memories. The moments where you are fully present, fully engaged, and fully joyous in the celebration of the birth of a new family.
Congrats, Ryan. Congrats, Jess. "May all your troubles be little ones."
DeeDee
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