Mini-Vacation Pictures

We just got back from a long weekend away - a little mini-vacation - and I am looking through photos to see what might print well, and what I could post here for a little re-creation of our experience.

So far I'm having a little trouble.

We had a great time - it's not that at all - but we did have more photography 'misses' than 'hits' this time. We went out to the Olympic Peninsula (certainly a photogenic spot) but it was very foggy on the coast when we were at the beach, and then a little too sunny in the interior when we were at the lake. And I kept getting sidetracked by odd stuff, just being a little too lazy to look for that perfect shot. (I realize this now after looking back at the Lodge's own website, with their perfect views of things. Alas. I need a redo!)

So - you'll just have to imagine a foggy coast, sea stacks barely visible through the mist. Or a beautiful blue lake with brightly colored canoes overturned on its banks - just waiting for the next ambitious boater. And sailboats drifting by. And an old stately lodge sitting on the hillside, a beautiful lawn laid out between it and the lake - Adirondack chairs spread out and people playing cards, sipping wine, tossing horseshoes, walking dogs, getting tans. Hydrangeas blooming. Beach umbrellas shading lazy vacationers sitting around reading. (As opposed to, for example, getting good photos to bring home. Ahem.)

Honestly, we felt like we were in the Poconos. Or the Catskills. Like they were going to be giving dance lessons after dinner. Like in the movie.*

We did hike though - a wonderful hike through the rain forest with berries and waterfalls and ancient ferns, and a walk along the lake and another one down the road to see the cottages, camp grounds, little stores and such. We hiked to the biggest-unless-you-count-the-one-in-Oregon Spruce Tree in the world. We sat on our balcony and watched the sunset. We sat under the beach umbrellas down at the lake and read our books. We sat on the lawn and watched people... OK - we did a lot of sitting around on this trip. What can I say?

I will admit that the people-watching was spectacular. And that is sort of what got the picture-taking off track. You see, we were sitting on the beach at the lake when a 'nanny' and her two charges came down to swim. The two boys went right in the water but the nanny - in an appropriately prim beach dress of some sort - had a little trouble getting settled. She had a puppy with her on a leash, and another dog was having a bit of a fuss about the puppy. The 'owners' all decided that the dogs should just get acquainted, and once they sorted out the ensuing dog fight the nanny seemed to feel that her puppy should also have the chance to maul all the little children on the beach and in the water as well.

(Since this was all happening within reach of our toes, we were sort of paying attention. We started attending to things a little closer when one of the boys yelled out to the nanny "I don't suppose you were smart enough to bring a towel for the dog?" The whole "I don't suppose you were smart enough to..." gig is one of Mark's favorites.)

Anyway, shortly after most of the children were done shrieking about the puppy, the nanny decided to shed her prim beach dress and get down to the business of tanning - and again, not to put too fine a point on it, but really to pre-establish our defense for poor conduct, she was just right in front of us. And I'm sorry - but we almost didn't manage to keep our 'gasps' to an inaudible level when the dress came off and displayed a very inadequate swimsuit 'bottom' which was almost-but-not-really covering the most spectacularly huge set of 'saddlebags' I'd ever seen up close - complete with a rash on the 'upper-inside of the leg area' (as a sportscaster would describe a portion of athlete anatomy which needed some indelicate discussion.) We know this because the whole time she was getting settled, she was also slowly backing up toward us, bent all the way over at the waist - I don't make this stuff up - to disentangle the dress from her sandals.

We were afraid.

I know what you're thinking. We should have concentrated on our books. Averted our eyes. Pretended she wasn't about to fall backwards into our laps...

… we certainly shouldn't have been taking pictures, I know, but...

Oh well. It was that sort of weekend.


* "Dirty Dancing" if you don't already know...

A few of the 'better sort' of pictures anyway: