This week Jake got his first taste of roughing it in the great outdoors. We spent three days at beautiful Pinecrest Lake, about 30 miles above Sonora. We arrived and set up camp, preparing to brave the elements and live off of the land. So we set up the tent, complete with aero-bed and florescent lantern. We unloaded the food, wine, snacks, camp chairs, etc.--you know roughing it. We had time to make some burgers, grilled over our camp fire, with a salad and a little wine. We then headed over to the outdoor amphitheater to have some popcorn and watch Wall-E with a bunch of other campers. Jake only made it through about the first half of the movie, but it did start at 8:30 pm. On Wednesday as we were headed over to the lake we realized we had made a serious error packing the car and arrived without a camera. Sorry but this entry will be sans photos. I know this is a serious faux pas during the times of HD Video blogs and such so please forgive my sloppy prose. We went to the lake and Jake got to play in the shallow area of the lake. The water felt a little cool to Meg but Jake didn't seem to mind. Jake had fun splashing around and socializing with some of the other kids. I was really kicking myself for leaving the cameras at home. The next day we went on a nice hike around the lake, part of which Jake slept through. After coming back to camp for lunch, and another nap for Jake, we went down to the Marina for some soft-serve ice cream. We went out for Pizza in Cold Springs (Population 100) and headed back to the campsite. We made it back to civilization today after a few rough days in the wild. Pinecrest Lake is a place with fond childhood memories for both Meg and me. We both spent many summer vacations there as kids and we may very well have been there at the same time but not meeting until later. It was a yearly tradition in my family and we always took friends with us. It was so much fun to have a big group there enjoying the lake. We decided this would be a good tradition for Jake as well but we would love to have a bigger group join us next year so keep a few days open next summer.
Jake has a buddy named Baxter. Baxter is always in his crib with him along with his blanket. I love the way he sleeps with his little but in the air and snuggling with Baxter. Many times when we have put Jake down to sleep we will hear talking coming from the other room. It seems as though Jake likes to have chats with Baxter. The only thing we can really recognize is Maggie's name. So, Jake has a lot to say about her. I can only imagine that he is describing to Baxter how Maggie has chewed up the latest toy or licked him one time to many.
