Tuesday: Guides and Families Arrival

There's an excavator in my backyard, digging a long, deep trench to replace a 100 year old busted sewer line. Right next to the excavator is our trampoline, filled with our children and others from the far reaches of the neighborhood, aged roughly two to ten. The house is filled with boxes, as we recently moved here, and I can't find a t-shirt. I need to get my hair cut because it's in my eyes and all puffy around my ears. The water supply to the house is shut off. It's about noon and the kids are hungry and now a thunderstorm is approaching. The men digging the trench flee when lighting strikes less than a mile away. Utter chaos. Hop in the minivan, everyone, it's time for Maine Lakes SwimVacation!

Leaving the Utopia of our domestic existence behind, we head north, to the Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine. This is our second season running a trip here at Taconnet, an island ringed with cottages and anchored by a traditional lodge. The water is clean and clear, the scenery stunning, the delicious food cooked and the pots washed by someone other than me.

Our guides this week are me, my wife Cortney, and Heather Perry and her husband Dick Weafer. We brought our kids again this year. Liv (8) and Gaffney (5) are mine and Cortney's. Finn (6) belongs to Dick and Heather. One of the great things about arrival here is that you and your bags are delivered separately to your dock by boat. I volunteered to ride with the cargo. We were up to the gunwhales, the motorboat filled with cases of beer, wine, and snacks as well as the normal luggage. Dinner in the lodge tonight was seafood risotto, absolutely delicious.

SwimVacation guests arrive tomorrow after 3:00. I can't wait to show them this island and to swim around it with them. The loons are calling over the lake now as i begin to nod off. More prep for our guests tomorrow, and the guides will get in a big warmup swim.

Hopper

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Out of the chaos, into the woods...

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