How to squeeze a week’s worth of vacation into a day and a half

1.) Attend wedding of husband’s dear childhood friend

 

2.) Notice that the little five-year-old who was the ring bearer at your own wedding (the son of today’s groom) has grown up to be a charming 33 year-old with a wife and child of his own.  Feel old.  Take photo of him, your apparently also now-old husband, the groom’s sister, and the groom:

 

3.) Notice that, thank goodness, best childhood friends never really grow up:

 

4.) Immediately after said wedding, head northward to Lake Pend Oreille, where said husband’s sister has a glorious cabin on Bottle Bay, a place that immediately brings about a feel of peace and tranquility.

5.) Marvel at how your husband manages to have two vacations at once: 

6.) In the morning, cook breakfast (including bacon – which should only ever be eaten when camping… wonder if this counts as camping) and eat it on the deck, overlooking Bottle Bay.  Have reading material and old-people glasses at the ready.

7.) Welcome extended family, owners of said cabin, who come to join you for the day.  Enjoy speedboat ride around Lake Pend Oreille:

8.) Adore your goofball of a niece…

9.) Decide that you really should play the lottery more often.

…that this is a place of childhood dreams (and nursery rhymes)…

…where the cow really does jump over the moon…

 

…and princesses do get rescued from the castle tower.  (Or might, once the whole castle is built?!?!)

10.) Decide that reality dictates that you will be swimming an open water leg of a triathlon soon and you really do need to practice.

11.) Feel fairly confident… at the beginning.

…glad that your prince will accompany you on in his white  blue steed kayak.

12.) Swim occasional spurts, between “Ewwww, seaweed!  I hear motor boats!” freak-outs.

13.) Be glad that’s over for the day (note to self: must try again tomorrow) and decide to enjoy time with family instead.

14.) Adore sweetheart of a nephew… who, at 17, would probably hate being called a sweetheart.  (But he really is…)

15.) Spend some solitary time just floating.

16.) Remember that we’re cooking dinner tonight.  Tom made “the best ribs on earth”!

  

17.) Attempt to take photos of the sunset.  Realize I can’t do it justice…

  18.) …so turn my attention to taking more photos of goofy and adorable niece…

…and her goofy friend…

…and sweetheart of a nephew, with a sweetheart of his own.

19.) On the morning of our departure (still only a day and a half after arrival), take a canoe ride with hubby, to the end of Bottle Bay, where there are pussy willows…

…and turtles…

…and, unfortunately, litter.

20.) Marvel at the For Sale sign, advertising about 100 feet of shoreline property.  Completely and utterly unusable property, as there’s about 4 feet of “shoreline,” a road above it, and cliffs above that.

Oh, another For Sale sign, with no hope for building anything!

(And the only current resident, insistent that really, you don’t want this place…)

21.) Enjoy the silly side of your brother-in-law as you both create an off-color game with the ant salt and pepper shakers.

   

22.) About 36 hours after arriving in Idaho, just as you were beginning to relax and feel all vacationy, pack your bags, get back in the car, and head back west, into the very hazy sunset.

23.) Look forward to the arrival of your father and his new wife tomorrow – the first time you’ve seen them since attending their wedding via Skype last November!