Lou's Cabin: Front and Center
Lou's Cabin: From the Rear
Livin' on Park Avenue
The rock that let's you know you're there!
Foraging for berries...
LOL!
Fish Chair
Kody
Louie and Jim on the patio
Monday, June 25, 2012
Photos from the week at Fat Camp :)
Lou's Cabin: Front and CenterForaging for berries...Fish ChairKody
Fat Camp 2012!
I don't know if anyone has a sister like mine.
A few months ago my sister decided that we should go to Fat Camp. At that time "Fat Camp" was to be an exclusive camping trip to Lake Michigan when school got out and the weather was warm, etc. Things changed and evolved and our 2012 version of Fat Camp went something like this:
Day one: leave for Connie and Doug's cabin in Frederick as early as possible. Actual time of departure: 9:30 a.m.
First stop, 3 minutes after ATD, McDonald's for a sausage biscuit with cheese and a coke (for me) and an egg McMuffin with sausage and cheese and a diet coke (for her).
On the road. Chit-chat, chit -hat, yadda-yadda. Gotta stop to pee. Coffee apparently goes right through one...and coke isn't far behind...back on the road...planning what to eat. It seems that our focus was always on what to eat next. :) Traffic is easy, the construction in Lansing is no where to be seen, so life is good...did I mention that coffee goes right through a person...and I guess Coke does too. ...better switch to water. :) We decide to stop in Grayling on our way through to - you guessed it - get food...but not to eat in the car...groceries. Chit-chat, chit-chat...hey!, that was our exit to Grayling. Should we turn around? nope let's just get to the cabin and make a list for....yep...food.
Now, Federick is not far from Grayling but at the thought of almost getting to a place to pee, the urge to empty the bladder becomes, let's say URGENT! So we get to Frederick and have to decide how to get to the cabin. I have been there once and Constance has been there twice. We did not arrive from the same direction. So the conversation became one of going north or south and trying to identify which identically marked side road was the right side road. And the urgent urge is extreme! We turn around and go back, turn around and go back, turn down a side road and turn around and go back, turn around a different side road and turn around and go back, turn down a different side road - nope this is the same one we already tried- turn around and go back - um, urgency has returned. I turned down a little side road (knowing it was wrong, duh, I'm not stupid...) and had to PEE. Up north is secluded enough, right? Well, I felt better anyway! A little tissue and a little wet wipe (splatters) and we are narrowing in on the correct side road.
We arrive. We get inside. We open windows - oh, I think we were told to leave the windows shut because it would be cooler. It is 90ยบ outside...
Focus: food - go figure! We make a list with very little "menu" planning and head to Grayling to get FOOD. It is already past lunch. After spending (each!) over $50 we head back to the cabin to make lunch. Now, how did we get to Old 27? Turn around and go back...you know the routine...
Taco salad is the choice for our first actual Fat Camp meal - and no, you can't count breakfast - we were not far enough from home! We had a very yummy taco salad that would have fed at least 4 more people, had they been there, but they weren't and we were. What now? Let's figure out what we are going to eat for supper! Are you kidding? um, no.
After that our meals, although still a major focus, became pretty routine: vegetables. We ate very well at Fat Camp. We had whole grain toast with chocolate and hazlenut spread for breakfast, a little yogurt here and there, egg salad sandwiches, veggie stir fry with turkey sausage, fried rice with chicken and VEGETABLES, chili, fish, and we even had snacks of chocolate covered granola squares. We drank LOTS of water - LOTS of water.
For a real treat we make "special" brownies. LOL We thought we had died and gone to heavens to betsy what is in those brownies!?? Let's make a trip to town...we need more TP and water.
So to recap the week:
Day one: ride up, check. find cabin, check. get food, check. EAT food, check. drink water, check. Pee often, check. Sweat, sweat, sweat, check. Upstairs to check out the sleeping quarters, check. So, upstairs sleeping quarters are VERY hot. We looked for a fan, found none, and were too tired to care. I have not sweated that much doing nothing in, well, maybe ever. Extra excitement for the evening was Anthony calling to tell his mom that he had to walk up 10 flights of stairs to his apartment in the blackout in Detroit. Good karma prevails and he had no further issues. We, however, worried all night that he was being mugged or worse. He can call his mom to tell her he's in a black out at 11:00, but can't call at 12:30 to tell her the power came back on! KIDS! (all's well that ends well)
Day 2 we awoke at the crack of 7:30ish in a state of yuck. We vow to sleep on the futon and couch for the rest of the trip. Putz, putz here, putz-putz there...Climb into the shower - without a ladder, I might add!...Breakfast, or maybe brunch, and then outside to catch some sunshine. Connie set the timer because fat burns. Lunch (even if you have brunch you can fit a lunch in - it keeps your metabolism running). What shall we do....Let's paint. We began with trying out water color colored pencils, moved to acrylics, and then on to painting rocks. Every time I sit on my - yes, MY stool, we hear what sounds like a bottle rocket taking to the air (minus the POP) and crack up. When Connie sit, she has no fireworks...hmmm....Several strawberries, a butterfly and a lady bug, a bee, a snail and a fish, and even a serpent's head later we realize we are HUNGRY!! There is no haphazard snacking at Fat Camp - so we "plan" one in. Yummy! It is HOT! There has to be a breeze somewhere so we open the door and the slider...and discover the CEILING FAN!!! Ah....much better. Hot air that is moving trumps hot air that is not. We fix supper and eat it and then opt for a rousing game or 5 of Scrabble - it's so much cooler with the ceiling fan!... Bottle rockets, more bottle rockets! Let's sit on the funiture - no bottle rockets there! After Scrabble we pick our couches and hit the hay. No covers required because even with the ceiling fan it is still hot! I might pause to mention here that drinking a lot of water and eating a lot of veggies causes one to, um, requires one to stay near a bathroom facility. Toot-toot here, toot-toot there, and off to dreamland...much less sweaty than the previous night.
Day 3 we awoke at the crack of 8:30ish. What day is this? Well, we left on a Monday, or wait, I think it was a Tuesday and we have been here....I think it is Thursday, yes we will say Thursday. Breakfast, what-to-do, what-to-do, we decide to NOT lay in the sun today. what-to-do, what-to-do...let's have lunch!...and then a nap. And we did. :)
Our mother calls....she might be joining us. We wait...we have supper that is not chili because Lou probably won't come anyway, blah-blah-blah...We play Bananagrams....we go to bed.
Day 4 we awake at the crack of 9:30ish...bad pattern developing here....wonder if we should call mom. We do. She's on her way. Whatever! We have breakfast, read a mazagine, etc....Mom arrives...
We have lunch and decide to lay in the sun. Mother balks, but gives in...she gets fried. We decide to take a day trip to Atlanta to visit the place where grandpa and grandma Hersha once lived. After checking out Otsego Lake we jouney on. Gas! The kind for the car this time. Connie pays. The cabin looks nothing like when we were younger, but it is nice to go back anyway. Connie has to pee. Then we see an interesting sign on a church - turn around and go back, take a picture, and then decide to check out the Dollar Store to stretch our legs. A few unnecessary purchases later... Onward ho! While going through Gaylord mom offers to buy us supper. We are afraid. We are trying to find Old 27 again. Turn around and go back....Connie fails to make a decision in time and we head home. We hear from Connie - other Connie - I know, it's confusing as all get out - and she is almost to the cabin! She arrives with a fast food bag!! THIS IS FAT CAMP!! Unauthorized fast food is forbidden! LOL it's her cabin, so I guess we will just have to live with it! She didn't share. Cody loves my sister - my sister sister, not my sister-in-law sister. She doesn't much care for animals in the house...or in her face! lol
We eat a marvelous supper - yes, veggies can be quite marvelous - and then decide what-to-do, what-to-do is Euchre! We laughed so hard we about peed ourselves all night long (laughed, no peed...mostly). Around 2:00 a.m. we decide to go to bed. Three up, and me down. I am not going up there again...wait...that means I'm down here with Virgil all by myself! ...sleep...
Day 5 we wander into morning again. Connie-in-law (easier) is having second thoughts about attending Fat Camp. Her fast food is gone. We feed her and she is fine. We continue to wander (now) through morning and mom has to go back to Harrison. Let's see it is now Saturday. We consider following mom, but don't. Mom wants to know if we'll eat supper in Harrison and we decide to eat at the cabin in Frederick with Connie. We do offer to bring supper down, but she declined the offer. hmmm. So, we'll head down to Harrison and spend the night at Lou's cabin and then go on home from there. Unfortunately, that will leave Connie-in-law alone in her cabin, but I think she is fine with it. We have some lunch and then decide to lay in the sun again. (camp activities are supposed to be outside!) It is hot. I lay in the shade. We all take naps outside. I love up north! We go inside and I begin warming up the left over food that we plan to eat for supper: egg salad, macaroni salad, chili, skillet supper...Yikes we have a lot of food to eat yet! We eat what we can and pack up to head to Harrison with the map that mom drew for us. Hugs and a jump for Connie-in-law and we are on our way. How far? 'Bout an hour. We get a call from mom as we are nearing the off ramp for M-55 to Houghton Lake - I forgot that whole Old 27 thing I was going to do. It's raining. Connie tells mom where we are. She and Lou drive to where we should be going (had we take the off ramp for that whole Old 27 thing I was going to do) and we don't arrive. Mom calls again. We are not lost we are following her directions. She confesses to getting lost, which does give us a moment of YIKES! because she drew OUR map, but we are good. The sign says we are 4 miles from our destination. We arrive in Harrison. DQ on your right!!!! Spaz attack and back in control. (Connie wouldn't let me stop yet.) We find the road to Lou's cabin after a turn here and turn there and drive by it. We know how to turn around and go back. We do. We talk mom and Lou into a game of Garbage, followed by a few rounds of Euchre and it is once again 2:00 a.m. This is NOT a good habit. We retire to the guest room and begin snoring. Yes, I've left that out so far, but apparently I snore a bit...so does sister Connie. :) Day 6: Morning comes early with the sound of a cell phone, roll over and go back to sleep, followed by a second cell phone ring, get up and use the bathroom, followed by Polka music. Breakfast is not doughnuts, but will suffice. As we are packing up to leave, friends from Litchfield drive in. Small world up north....I take some photos of the cabin and then we give hugs and kisses and head to the car. We follow Deb and Jim to their cabin, which is NOT a mile and a half away or just around the corner, but about 5 miles away. Deb's cabin is cute - very cute! Okay, back on our way...ICE CREAM!!! It is all part of the plan...don't panic. We do have to stop to, yep, pee a fee times, but beyond that we followed the plan nicely. We had one small little indulgence at Burger King, but it was only a few hundred cals, so life is good.
Finally, I drive by where I would turn to go home so that I can take my sister home. No need for a turn around and go back this time! She is back to life on Boone Road and I am headed to life on Sterling Road...after a trip to WalMart. Back to the grind.
If you ever get an invitation to Fat Camp from your sister...take her up on it. It was fun, therapeutic, and worth every flatulent moment! I'm glad she invited me!
A few months ago my sister decided that we should go to Fat Camp. At that time "Fat Camp" was to be an exclusive camping trip to Lake Michigan when school got out and the weather was warm, etc. Things changed and evolved and our 2012 version of Fat Camp went something like this:
Day one: leave for Connie and Doug's cabin in Frederick as early as possible. Actual time of departure: 9:30 a.m.
First stop, 3 minutes after ATD, McDonald's for a sausage biscuit with cheese and a coke (for me) and an egg McMuffin with sausage and cheese and a diet coke (for her).
On the road. Chit-chat, chit -hat, yadda-yadda. Gotta stop to pee. Coffee apparently goes right through one...and coke isn't far behind...back on the road...planning what to eat. It seems that our focus was always on what to eat next. :) Traffic is easy, the construction in Lansing is no where to be seen, so life is good...did I mention that coffee goes right through a person...and I guess Coke does too. ...better switch to water. :) We decide to stop in Grayling on our way through to - you guessed it - get food...but not to eat in the car...groceries. Chit-chat, chit-chat...hey!, that was our exit to Grayling. Should we turn around? nope let's just get to the cabin and make a list for....yep...food.
Now, Federick is not far from Grayling but at the thought of almost getting to a place to pee, the urge to empty the bladder becomes, let's say URGENT! So we get to Frederick and have to decide how to get to the cabin. I have been there once and Constance has been there twice. We did not arrive from the same direction. So the conversation became one of going north or south and trying to identify which identically marked side road was the right side road. And the urgent urge is extreme! We turn around and go back, turn around and go back, turn down a side road and turn around and go back, turn around a different side road and turn around and go back, turn down a different side road - nope this is the same one we already tried- turn around and go back - um, urgency has returned. I turned down a little side road (knowing it was wrong, duh, I'm not stupid...) and had to PEE. Up north is secluded enough, right? Well, I felt better anyway! A little tissue and a little wet wipe (splatters) and we are narrowing in on the correct side road.
We arrive. We get inside. We open windows - oh, I think we were told to leave the windows shut because it would be cooler. It is 90ยบ outside...
Focus: food - go figure! We make a list with very little "menu" planning and head to Grayling to get FOOD. It is already past lunch. After spending (each!) over $50 we head back to the cabin to make lunch. Now, how did we get to Old 27? Turn around and go back...you know the routine...
Taco salad is the choice for our first actual Fat Camp meal - and no, you can't count breakfast - we were not far enough from home! We had a very yummy taco salad that would have fed at least 4 more people, had they been there, but they weren't and we were. What now? Let's figure out what we are going to eat for supper! Are you kidding? um, no.
After that our meals, although still a major focus, became pretty routine: vegetables. We ate very well at Fat Camp. We had whole grain toast with chocolate and hazlenut spread for breakfast, a little yogurt here and there, egg salad sandwiches, veggie stir fry with turkey sausage, fried rice with chicken and VEGETABLES, chili, fish, and we even had snacks of chocolate covered granola squares. We drank LOTS of water - LOTS of water.
For a real treat we make "special" brownies. LOL We thought we had died and gone to heavens to betsy what is in those brownies!?? Let's make a trip to town...we need more TP and water.
So to recap the week:
Day one: ride up, check. find cabin, check. get food, check. EAT food, check. drink water, check. Pee often, check. Sweat, sweat, sweat, check. Upstairs to check out the sleeping quarters, check. So, upstairs sleeping quarters are VERY hot. We looked for a fan, found none, and were too tired to care. I have not sweated that much doing nothing in, well, maybe ever. Extra excitement for the evening was Anthony calling to tell his mom that he had to walk up 10 flights of stairs to his apartment in the blackout in Detroit. Good karma prevails and he had no further issues. We, however, worried all night that he was being mugged or worse. He can call his mom to tell her he's in a black out at 11:00, but can't call at 12:30 to tell her the power came back on! KIDS! (all's well that ends well)
Day 2 we awoke at the crack of 7:30ish in a state of yuck. We vow to sleep on the futon and couch for the rest of the trip. Putz, putz here, putz-putz there...Climb into the shower - without a ladder, I might add!...Breakfast, or maybe brunch, and then outside to catch some sunshine. Connie set the timer because fat burns. Lunch (even if you have brunch you can fit a lunch in - it keeps your metabolism running). What shall we do....Let's paint. We began with trying out water color colored pencils, moved to acrylics, and then on to painting rocks. Every time I sit on my - yes, MY stool, we hear what sounds like a bottle rocket taking to the air (minus the POP) and crack up. When Connie sit, she has no fireworks...hmmm....Several strawberries, a butterfly and a lady bug, a bee, a snail and a fish, and even a serpent's head later we realize we are HUNGRY!! There is no haphazard snacking at Fat Camp - so we "plan" one in. Yummy! It is HOT! There has to be a breeze somewhere so we open the door and the slider...and discover the CEILING FAN!!! Ah....much better. Hot air that is moving trumps hot air that is not. We fix supper and eat it and then opt for a rousing game or 5 of Scrabble - it's so much cooler with the ceiling fan!... Bottle rockets, more bottle rockets! Let's sit on the funiture - no bottle rockets there! After Scrabble we pick our couches and hit the hay. No covers required because even with the ceiling fan it is still hot! I might pause to mention here that drinking a lot of water and eating a lot of veggies causes one to, um, requires one to stay near a bathroom facility. Toot-toot here, toot-toot there, and off to dreamland...much less sweaty than the previous night.
Day 3 we awoke at the crack of 8:30ish. What day is this? Well, we left on a Monday, or wait, I think it was a Tuesday and we have been here....I think it is Thursday, yes we will say Thursday. Breakfast, what-to-do, what-to-do, we decide to NOT lay in the sun today. what-to-do, what-to-do...let's have lunch!...and then a nap. And we did. :)
Our mother calls....she might be joining us. We wait...we have supper that is not chili because Lou probably won't come anyway, blah-blah-blah...We play Bananagrams....we go to bed.
Day 4 we awake at the crack of 9:30ish...bad pattern developing here....wonder if we should call mom. We do. She's on her way. Whatever! We have breakfast, read a mazagine, etc....Mom arrives...
We have lunch and decide to lay in the sun. Mother balks, but gives in...she gets fried. We decide to take a day trip to Atlanta to visit the place where grandpa and grandma Hersha once lived. After checking out Otsego Lake we jouney on. Gas! The kind for the car this time. Connie pays. The cabin looks nothing like when we were younger, but it is nice to go back anyway. Connie has to pee. Then we see an interesting sign on a church - turn around and go back, take a picture, and then decide to check out the Dollar Store to stretch our legs. A few unnecessary purchases later... Onward ho! While going through Gaylord mom offers to buy us supper. We are afraid. We are trying to find Old 27 again. Turn around and go back....Connie fails to make a decision in time and we head home. We hear from Connie - other Connie - I know, it's confusing as all get out - and she is almost to the cabin! She arrives with a fast food bag!! THIS IS FAT CAMP!! Unauthorized fast food is forbidden! LOL it's her cabin, so I guess we will just have to live with it! She didn't share. Cody loves my sister - my sister sister, not my sister-in-law sister. She doesn't much care for animals in the house...or in her face! lol
We eat a marvelous supper - yes, veggies can be quite marvelous - and then decide what-to-do, what-to-do is Euchre! We laughed so hard we about peed ourselves all night long (laughed, no peed...mostly). Around 2:00 a.m. we decide to go to bed. Three up, and me down. I am not going up there again...wait...that means I'm down here with Virgil all by myself! ...sleep...
Day 5 we wander into morning again. Connie-in-law (easier) is having second thoughts about attending Fat Camp. Her fast food is gone. We feed her and she is fine. We continue to wander (now) through morning and mom has to go back to Harrison. Let's see it is now Saturday. We consider following mom, but don't. Mom wants to know if we'll eat supper in Harrison and we decide to eat at the cabin in Frederick with Connie. We do offer to bring supper down, but she declined the offer. hmmm. So, we'll head down to Harrison and spend the night at Lou's cabin and then go on home from there. Unfortunately, that will leave Connie-in-law alone in her cabin, but I think she is fine with it. We have some lunch and then decide to lay in the sun again. (camp activities are supposed to be outside!) It is hot. I lay in the shade. We all take naps outside. I love up north! We go inside and I begin warming up the left over food that we plan to eat for supper: egg salad, macaroni salad, chili, skillet supper...Yikes we have a lot of food to eat yet! We eat what we can and pack up to head to Harrison with the map that mom drew for us. Hugs and a jump for Connie-in-law and we are on our way. How far? 'Bout an hour. We get a call from mom as we are nearing the off ramp for M-55 to Houghton Lake - I forgot that whole Old 27 thing I was going to do. It's raining. Connie tells mom where we are. She and Lou drive to where we should be going (had we take the off ramp for that whole Old 27 thing I was going to do) and we don't arrive. Mom calls again. We are not lost we are following her directions. She confesses to getting lost, which does give us a moment of YIKES! because she drew OUR map, but we are good. The sign says we are 4 miles from our destination. We arrive in Harrison. DQ on your right!!!! Spaz attack and back in control. (Connie wouldn't let me stop yet.) We find the road to Lou's cabin after a turn here and turn there and drive by it. We know how to turn around and go back. We do. We talk mom and Lou into a game of Garbage, followed by a few rounds of Euchre and it is once again 2:00 a.m. This is NOT a good habit. We retire to the guest room and begin snoring. Yes, I've left that out so far, but apparently I snore a bit...so does sister Connie. :) Day 6: Morning comes early with the sound of a cell phone, roll over and go back to sleep, followed by a second cell phone ring, get up and use the bathroom, followed by Polka music. Breakfast is not doughnuts, but will suffice. As we are packing up to leave, friends from Litchfield drive in. Small world up north....I take some photos of the cabin and then we give hugs and kisses and head to the car. We follow Deb and Jim to their cabin, which is NOT a mile and a half away or just around the corner, but about 5 miles away. Deb's cabin is cute - very cute! Okay, back on our way...ICE CREAM!!! It is all part of the plan...don't panic. We do have to stop to, yep, pee a fee times, but beyond that we followed the plan nicely. We had one small little indulgence at Burger King, but it was only a few hundred cals, so life is good.
Finally, I drive by where I would turn to go home so that I can take my sister home. No need for a turn around and go back this time! She is back to life on Boone Road and I am headed to life on Sterling Road...after a trip to WalMart. Back to the grind.
If you ever get an invitation to Fat Camp from your sister...take her up on it. It was fun, therapeutic, and worth every flatulent moment! I'm glad she invited me!
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