What did we do there? We hiked a couple of trails, picking enough wild blueberries to make excellent pancakes one morning. We swam every day, even though it never got above the mid 70s. We canoed around the lake and did some fishing. We had our yearly cards tournament, playing spades every evening before our campfires. And we did plenty of reading!
Before vacation my son, who has become a vegetarian encouraged me to read Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. Sigh. I wish I hadn't, but I can't un-read it. Not only do I understand why he's now off meat entirely, I'm trying to be a mostly-vegetarian also. But there's some comfort foods I just can't give up, like when I miss my Mom and I make something she used to love, and eating it makes me feel closer to her. But the meat industry is out of control, and I'll pay the extra to buy meat from animals that had a more humane, natural life.
During the vacation I read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. I've always avoided McDonalds because their food tastes bad. Now I'm even more determined to avoid any fast food places. Bleah.
I also read Parasite by Mira Grant. This is a very interesting beginning to a series about a time in the future when people discover that our immune systems are no longer functioning because we try to create such a sterile environment to live in (note: not a problem with my kids, who we took camping a lot, and who ate more than their share of dirt and sand while playing outside all the time.) A special pill is created that delivers a genetically-altered tapeworm that provides protection from a variety of diseases caused by immune system problems. The trouble begins when the tapeworms decide they're tired of being slaves to their hosts. Weird? You betcha! But a great story and I'll be looking out for the next book.
*****
And I can't forget to rave about the movie we saw the night after we got home: Guardians Of The Galaxy! This movie is funny and exciting. We are huge Marvel Comics fans, since they've been making so many great movies starring their characters. And there's always a scene with Stan Lee in it, which is fun to watch for. And the after-credits shots either refer to one of the upcoming movies, or like this one, are just a cute in-joke for their fans. If you want to see Vin Diesel play the role he was born for (a talking tree), and enjoy the antics of a talking, clothes-wearing raccoon who can mastermind better plans than anyone around him, along with many explosions, good guys winning over the bad guys, and just some plain zany escapades, then run, don't walk, to the nearest theater to see this movie! (Note: Doctor Who fans won't recognize Amelia Pond!)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/?ref_=nv_sr_1
*****
So now it's back to normal life. I've got a couple of books I'm working on, and one coming out later this year. Later, gentle readers.