It's This Place.. It Puts A Smile on My Face..

Terrible, terrible amount of Blogging has been happening but just you wait... It's-a-comin.

So let's back way way up..

A few days after Jenna and Jesse's nuptials occurred I decided to take a little Solo Road Trip to Maine.  It was "mid-session", meaning that the first session campers had left and camp was preparing for the second session campers to come. So it's a perfect time to get in to visit camp, and especially because I could take advantage of the fact that my good pal M-Jones was visiting Camp at the same time to throw a fantastic Mid-Session shin-dig for all the counsellors.

I'm not sure if I've expressed fully in the past, or am really able to express how much I truly LOVE and well... NEED camp in my life. This summer was very tough having been the first summer since 2007 that I wasn't at Laurel South. I had a great summer don't get me wrong, and love spending so much time with friends, family and Kyle and there were reasons I wanted to stay home this summer and I'm glad I did but I would be lying if I said I wasn't seriously considering (and trying to figure out if I could) go back to Camp next summer.

So I drove the 7ish hours to Camp from NB and I had to get all the essentials before heading out. Coffee, Water, Breakfast Sandwich and Beef Jerky. Because what's a Road Trip without Beef Jerky?

There are so many reason why I absolutely love camp, which I have expressed before but I also just love Maine. It's incredible. Last summer in particular I took many Solo days off and spent a large amount of time in Portland so on this trip I took the opportunity to head there again.

There's this song at camp from way before my day that goes a little something like.. "It's this place, it's this place it puts a smile on my face.." etc etc.. and it's all about how there's just something so amazing about this Camp, you can barely explain it but it warms you up a little bit.


I arrived and one of the biggest reasons of visiting was to see the Owners whom I love and they were amazing and gracious enough to invite me to stay with them in their cabin while I was there. And then they fed me this amazing meal... it was too much.

Where all of camp meets every night before dinner and do cheers, and announcements and sing songs about things on your face like smiles..

The Big Tree where Anything Goes and Where D Staff Plans... If Only Those Adirondack could talk..

It's on the most beautiful lake and has been a place I've found peace many many times...

The stillness in the morning is incredible...

I spent one summer when I was a cabin counsellor teaching Canoeing and Kayaking off this beach between the Swimmers and the Sailers... Not too shabby, eh?

It's the kind of place that takes the old canoes and turns them into flower pots... just cause that's Awesome and Beautiful.. 

Portland is the kind of city where multiple business use Moose as their mascot...

Or where their downtown water front still has cobble stone street..

Or a place that has tiny little sandwich shops that sell Moxie and make incredible enough wraps and sandwiches they're on The Food Network and make me so get one even when I already ate at my other favourite sandwich place outside of camp only 45 minutes prior...

And Maine is a place that can have a very discrete turn off off the high way where you can view Mt. Katahdin as you are about to leave the State and enter Canada... No Biggie..

It is a place I love so much that when Kyle has his vacation later in September I'm taking him on a tour of the state (and hopefully of camp) directed by some sites, a lot of stories, beer and food...

More to come..

*A