Camp with Champ

Over Memorial Day weekend we went camping on Knight Island in Lake Champlain with our friends Bruce and Jeanne and Beckett and Bruce's brother Ken and his family. And, if Lucy is to be believed, with "Champ" the Lake Champlain Monster.

We hitched a ride on a motor boat out to the island so we wouldn't have to take all our gear in our canoe. So we got to bring our big family camping tent, our super-cushy air mattress, and plenty of food and snacks. All the advantages of car camping, but we were practically the only ones on the island!

Gavin thought that sleeping in the tent was great, especially with his new sleeping bag. It was so cozy he couldn't even stay awake to read a whole book at rest time. In our tent, after the flashlights went off at night, Lucy came up with some great bedtime stories about lake monsters starring Champ, Nessie (of Loch Ness) and Larry the Lake Monster.

The water was surprisingly warm. Lucy even jumped off the boat dock a few times, Champ or no Champ!

There was lots of shale on the island, which means lots of great skipping rocks. Bruce, Jeanne, and Bruce's nephews were all excellent rock skippers but Austin was the best. Maybe it's all that practice skipping on our river? Or maybe it's that Gavin brought him all the best skipping rocks?

Gavin was so happy to be in the water, hanging out with his friend Beckett.

Lucy loved being a passenger in Jeanne's kayak. She begged Jeanne to take her out. I went for a nice paddle with Jeanne, too. (Jeanne's great fun to talk with, and she did most of the paddling!)

Lucy was a happy camper the whole weekend, except when we tried to "murder" a bass and eat it for lunch. Much to her relief and delight, the fish flopped out of its holding tank and swam away. I think we have a vegetarian on our hands.

Sunset, campfire, and a good book to read. That's what I call a good vacation.



It was fun and relaxing, and nice to spend the weekend with family and friends. Thanks, Bairds, for letting us come along.