Camping Pics: 3rd and 4th days

Tuesday was downright cold. See-your-breath-cold! Like an October morning! So, rather than take the kayaks out we headed to town (Indian Lake Village) to get some food items we needed to replenish and to browse the town bookstore. I kid you not. The town bookstore is pictured here:


It is an "old-timer's" house/garage. And...the prices are anywhere from $.50-$12.00 depending on the genre and condition. It is a used bookstore and the old man came out of his house when we pulled up to say Howdy and ask if we wanted help with anything. We said we were just browsing and maybe buying one book per person. And get this: there was a cute basket hanging from the door that connects this garage to his house and you just leave your cash there! Unbelievable. How refreshing for us to experience this. We are so suburban: we spend lots of money on books, plus tax, and let me tell ya: the employees at our local bookstores are not as friendly as this "old-timer, mountain man"! My oldest really had a blast browsing books! She is an avid reader like moi. I ended up buying a book about teaching that I've seen in regular stores but have never treated my self to. It sells for about $9.99. I got it for $1.50. Dave bought a science fiction book for like $3.00. Courtney bought a mystery for $2.50 and Claire got a mystery for $1.50. It was so much fun. And warm. AND....the sun came out in full force although it stayed cold. We decided to just have a day to hang out and relax at the campsite. We all enjoyed our books and we did some straightening, took showers, chatted with neighbors, and just relaxed with plenty of layers!

Dave started a cooking fire for our chicken dinner. The girls were getting restless from an afternoon of reading so pulled up their chairs to warm their toes. This was the one day where we all wore jeans and hoodies! At least it only rained the nite before! All of our days were dry and sunny and warm after Wed a.m. We were thanking God the storm the nite before was just a nite one!

Dave and I spent most of Wednesday morning on Lake Abenakee, which is a remote lake just outside the village. Just behind us and down about 1/4 mile are rapids (a small brook flows out of the lake) which we avoided. Dave would be ok to paddle rapids. Me? No. I'll stick to the quiet waters or waters that get minimal motorboats. While we paddled past the beach area, my oldest daughter snapped a few shots. It was so peaceful and quiet on that lake.

It was downright chilly the morning we spent at Lake Abenakee. That lake has a free town beach but we were the only people at the beach! It is located just outside of the village of Indian Lake. The lake is clean, clear and does not get motorized boats (yeah!!). We only saw one other kayaker: a man who was quietly paddling the entire length of the lake. Here I am doing one of my favorite things: reading a novel, for pleasure, in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, the sun was in and out all day and there was a stiff, cool breeze. It really did feel like fall which is why my beach towel is wrapped around my legs. Plus I was a bit wet from kayaking. I read, my hubby dozed, my oldest had her i-pod and book, and my youngest played in the sand making sand castles. A wonderful, relaxing morning!

After spending the morning and a picnic lunch at Lake Abenakee, we decided to head back to where it was warmer: the campground beach at Lewey Lake (the sun was out and it turned out to be a gorgeous day...it even finally warmed up!). Claire has always really been into playing on the sand. She really gets into it as you can see! The boat next to her is one you can rent for the day from the office staff. We didn't need to as we had our kayaks...but it is a nice perk of this campground for people who don't own boats and want to take a paddle.

Even my 15 year old still will play with her sister on the beach. She was helping Claire make some kind of "path" going from the lake up to Claire's "castle". There were only about 3 families on the beach that day. We met another couple from our area and a family from western NY. They were all kayakers, too!

Claire decided she wanted to go out again in the kayaks. We thought her arms might be tired from her time on Lake Abenakee that morning (Dave had taken her out before I went). She really loves this new sport! She is very determined to do well with her paddling. Courtney and I also went out that afternoon but Dave didn't take any pics of us. We all enjoyed the paddle and were tired that evening!
This was the early evening when Claire and Dave saw the 2 loons up close. I only saw one from a distance...but hey....I finally got to see one!

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