Doug, CJ and Frank come back to the cabin and report that all three caught a fish, but all three were too small to keep. This is documented by photos with the digital camera this time.
We have lunch and evidently Doug and CJ have an attack of guilty consciences. Now that they’ve REALLY caught a fish, they can confess that yesterday, when they SAID they each caught a fish, it was really a DEAD fish that they took out of the water, put on a hook and then took turns taking a photos. Wow. That was some overwhelming desire to prove they could really catch fish. Didn’t want to look bad for Frank. Didn’t want Frank to think they couldn’t catch a fish. How funny. (What's funnier are the photos. We got the disposable camera developed after we got home. These are the photos of them catching the dead fish. No these don't look staged at all. I think I would've known even if they hadn't told me.)
After the lunchtime confession, we decide to go over to Rock Creek and explore and fish. It’s such a beautiful place. We enjoy the afternoon very much. I don’t think anyone caught anymore fish, but it didn’t really matter. Rain, thunder and lightening come and we go back to the cabin.After dinner of hot dogs (and onions for CJ and Doug), we pack everything up so Tuesday morning’s departure is quick and easy. Later, after Frank and Beck are asleep, Doug and CJ break into the tequila (we wouldn’t have wanted to bring it all that way and not drink any of it). We talk about how great the trip has been, and how none of us are ready to go home. If Doug didn’t have a regular job, where he has to report to someone, we might’ve extended our stay. We talk about more camping trips, and other stuff we can all do together once CJ and Janel’s baby is born. They will join the ranks of people with kids as opposed to kids themselves, their social lives will change greatly. Mainly because they will want it to. There are plenty of parents whose social life doesn’t change at all, but I think CJ and Janel will make the needs of their baby a priority and live a reasonably traditional family lifestyle. By the amount of time they spend with us, it seems as though that is what they crave anyway.
Beck is up at 5:00am and so am I. We get the last minute stuff ready to go, wake Frank, Doug and CJ, and we all pile in the Suburban for the ride home. We drop the keys off at the store and get on the road. We stop at Tom’s Place for coffee and agree to have breakfast in Lone Pine. Doug starts making jokes that I have some cowboy connections in Lone Pine and that’s why I want to eat there. Hmmm, I think CJ may be in trouble.
I drive as far as the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, where we stop to let Beck have some fun. He does. It’s a beautiful hatchery, built in 1916, and very kid-friendly.
Doug drives us into Lone Pine, we have breakfast and the continue on with our cranky drive home. Everyone is cranky; tired, hot, don’t want to be going home, don’t want to sit in the car for six hours, etc.
We make it home by 1:30. Doug and CJ unload the truck and I start the process of unpacking and doing laundry. I give CJ Wednesday off. He was getting impatient with the boys on the ride home so I figure he needs a break from them for at least twenty-four hours. I also think CJ and I could use a twenty-four hour break ourselves. It’s good to sleep in my own bed. It’s better to have Beck asleep in his own. I finally get a good night’s sleep, the first in seven days.
No comments:
Post a Comment