back from "the rock" - vol.3

I was so in love with the idea of "not driving" that for the first day I was in Botwood, I was doing some serious vegetating...pure relaxation and loving every second of it. Steph, however, decided to take Ernie for a stroll and explore the trails at the end of the lane. She later returned with news that there were blueberries and raspberries...but she also had samples (my favorite part!). I then accompanied her to the trails, Ernie randomly roaming about and loving it. There were quite a lot of blueberries. Many had been picked over and still more were yet to ripen, but we picked about a gallon with ease and headed back to the house.

In the exploring mood still, I decided that we should later go to Botwood's local park. Having been closed this year, with no one to take care if it, the park was a lot more run-down than I remember. It was a favorite location for Sunday School picnics and the sort in the past, but everything was pretty grown-in now and most wooden structures were in need of repair..case in point: the playground area. In fact, there used to be a bridge across the river but it has since collapsed!
But this didn't ruin our fun. It was a beautiful day and the river and trees were all so lush and refreshing just to look at. Ernie was a little warm and felt obliged to flop down in the shallow water near the shore. I later dipped him in some more--that put a spring in his step. I remembered swimming deep into this river, named Swanee's, as a teenager and coming face-to-face with an eel. Let's just say I swam back to the surface a little quicker than I had originally submerged.

Later that evening, not wanting the beautiful weather to go to waste, Stephanie's dad Ivan asked if we wanted to drive to a nearby lake to go fishing. We were game, of course, and within a 1/2-hour we were all piled into the car and on the road: Ivan, Sylvia, Steph, Ernie and me.

We arrived there to find the site of an old abandoned Boys and Girls Club campground. The dock and nearby shoreline were convenient places to both fly fish and launch the canoe. Stephanie and her father popped in the canoe and headed out to the middle of the lake to try for a fish. In the meantime, Sylvia and I stayed on shore to take photos and video while Ernie searched for mischief (and nearly found it in the form of an old fire pit!). I later went for a short row in the canoe, accompanied by Ernie, while Ivan continued to try his luck with the fly rod from the dock.

The fish weren't biting that evening but we had a great time...and besides, we were all in the mood for squares, pie and a cup of tea anyway!