It was really great to be back on the lake in New Hampshire with family. Other than some smoke, the weather was great. The green trees were a welcome contrast to California dry sumer. We swam, kayaked to the island, picked blueberries, played chess, ate ice cream, and slept in. When I wasn’t busy hanging out with my sister’s 3 kids I listened to some audiobooks and worked on fun projects on my website tracking books and posting a bunch of stuff I’d been hoping to get around to.

It was also fun to see camp again. I almost got pulled in to participate in a triathlon but I think I would have slowed my brother-in-law down. It did get me to bike around the lake which was nice, even if the bike felt like it was falling apart. It was fun watching my brother and sister drain 3-pointers at the camp basketball exhibition game. Dad and I ran some baseball drills with my nephew and we watched the all-star game together. I even ran into some college friends.

Every day we saw the family of loons out on the lake. Sometimes they would come close to shore or we’d hear them call out to each other over the water. I also spent a little time birding, adding birds to my lists in New Hampshire and Vermont along the Connecticut River. I finally added a Black-and-white Warbler to my life list which felt like an accomplishment while I hobbled around on a sprained foot. But honestly, it’s hard to imagine a better week than that.