Be it ever so humble ...

... there's no place like home.

Although Rock Island comes awfully close.

If I was a real geek I'd have photos to post today. (That photo above is from Google.) But I'm a Luddite and I still use film. Remember film? In fact, I'm the worst kind of photographer who only takes film in to be processed about twice a year. So look for vacation photos on my blog next January.

The week was wonderful. As always.

The company was delightful -- 50 people, mostly Quakers, ranging in age from 13 months to 80+ years old. Lots of kids (though they seem to grow bigger every year, fancy that) and 4 dogs. Communal dinners every evening are riotous affairs.

The weather was great. We could have used some rain to sleep by, but that's a minor complaint.

High points of the week:

* Looking for and finding a cave.

* Naked baby birds in a nest in our campsite. They were in a low thimbleberry bush, so we had a good view of them. If you made a noise their beaks would snap open to reveal gaping maws, waiting for something wiggly to be stuffed in. Very cute.

* Thimbleberries. They look like raspberries but taste slightly more sour and kind of spicy. Yum.

* Cheeky acrobatic red squirrels. I'm especially fond of these guys. When we encountered them at the Bay of Fundy a few years ago we dubbed them "cheeky squeakies." They steal your food from right under your nose and then sit nearby to give you the squirrelly equivalent of "Nyah-nyah!"

* Gorgeous sunsets every single evening (so consistently beautiful that you are in danger of becoming blasé about them. "Ho hum, another breathtaking sunset.")

* Standing out on a narrow rocky point to watch the sun set, then turning 180˚ to watch a luminous pink full moon rise 15 minutes later.

* Laying on the beach after dark looking for shooting stars and being able to see the Milky Way. We city dwellers are seriously bereft of dark skies.

* Spending lots of time with 3 great 11 and 12 year olds (who thought that marshmallows could be improved if you inserted a sour gummy worm into the middle before roasting.)

* The adult treasure hunt (set up by the kids) that had us singing like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, making alphabet letters with our bodies, wading into Lake Michigan up to our chests to retrieve a clue that was floating inside of a milk jug, and talking like pirates before we dug up the booty (a bottle of wine, what else?)

The one low point was the discovery that our beloved corgi, Georgia, seems to be going blind. At home where she knows her way around it was not as obvious. Away from home she spent a couple of days confused and somewhat demoralized, but she actually seems to be adapting quite well. She navigates with her ears and nose. One of our camping companions is a veterinarian, who was also suggested we get Georgia tested for Cushing's disease. She is displaying many of the classic symptoms. Sigh. We have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow, so we'll find out.

We were able to beg a spot in the rangers' refrigerator for the insulin, so that worked out OK.

Anyway, I confess I hardly missed the computer at all, although it is good to be back.

Blogging: Slim to None

Well, actually more on the none side.

We leave tomorrow for an annual week-long camping adventure on a little island in Lake Michigan accessible only by boat, where only the tallest people (and that ain't me) can get a cell phone signal ...

I like to describe the wonder of this experience as Club Med, except no one serves you drinks in coconut shells with little paper umbrellas (unless we were to pack in our own and bribe the children to do the serving.) We go with a group, so we are on a cooking team responsible for dinner (faux pad Thai) for 50 on one night. Otherwise we show up with our dinnerware every evening, and food miraculously appears.

It's rustic: pit toilets, bathe in the lake, haul your water ... but once camp is set up, it is amazingly relaxing. And amazing sky-watching. Last year we watched the sunset and the moonrise simultaneously, and the Perseids meteor showers. Every clear night the Milky Way is breathtaking. These are things that I am so distanced from in my everyday life.

Essential gear for the week: good books, knitting, guitar, and hammock. Plus swimsuit, sunscreen, and shoes for hiking.

The big challenge this year will be keeping Georgia's (the dog) insulin cold all week. Still working on that one.

I'm sad that our eldest is choosing not to come this year, although she assures me that she will next year. And we're bringing our youngest's best friend, so that will be interesting.

I'm at the point in packing-procrastination where I look at the list and say, "I don't really want to go. Let's just stay home for a week." But that's not what I really want. This week is truly one of the highlights of every year; I can't believe it's almost here!

Truth In Advertising

This just struck me as funny and oh, so Quakerly: At the children's performance of "The Neighbor" on Wednesday night, someone was circulating through the crowd with a pump bottle of DEET-free, all natural insect repellent and a hand-lettered sign that read "It's supposed to work."

Can you imagine what the world would be like if all marketing was done in that spirit? "Crest Toothpaste: We think it might make your teeth a little whiter."

Home tomorrow, with maybe a stop at the Norske Nook in Osseo, where the Pie Queen used to practice her craft ... Yah hey der, I love up nort' in Wisconsin!

Almost Heaven

Heading out tomorrow for spring break in the green and rolling hills of West Virginia, and Pittsburgh. Leaving behind all of the animals (I just dropped the diabetic doggie off at my in-laws tonight, and I'm already worrying about her) AND my blog (I'll probably miss it too, but Bloggie doesn't need insulin injections.)

The weather is supposed to be rotten. It's always rotten over spring break. If I went someplace tropical there would probably be a typhoon ... or a blizzard.

I got pretty excited when I learned that Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood really exists at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. My kids are way past children's museum ages, but we may have to make a special visit, just for Mr. Rogers. He's one of my heroes -- right up there with Captain Kangaroo and the Friendly Giant.

So long. Back in a week.