Labor Day in China (ME), Part I: Planning

We plan to spend the long weekend at China Lake at Keryn’s family's compound.

South China area is not exactly ripe with activity, located as it is on Route 3 between Augusta and Belfast. The nearest “city” is Waterville, home of Colby College, an outlet of Keryn’s favorite haberdasher, Maurice’s, and pretty much nothing else. There aren’t any “sites” in the conventional sense of the word, no vistas of the ocean, no famous or partly famous lobster eateries. It is a working class place with a very pretty lake.

(Digression Alert: I was surprised to learn this summer that Winslow, about fifteen minutes’ drive from Keryn’s camp, puts on a very impressive July 4th fireworks show. Not merely impressive by Maine standards, but impressive even compared to those I’ve seen in July Fourths past. If you happen to be in Maine next summer, check it out.)

It is unfortunate that our already-too-brief New England summer has dissolved into autumn before August is out. This reality pains me for many reasons, including the fact we probably won’t want to take the Jet Ski on the chilly lake.

Thank God camp has plenty to offer in the way of indoor pleasures…

• Playing Atari – Yes, a real ATARI. For more on that, please check out Breaking Out The Atari.
• Spinning LPs – Through a combination of chance and targeted acquisition, the house has what one could call an “eclectic” set of records. I’ll be posting some details (probably tomorrow) over at my personal blog.
• Cribbage and Gin – We traded old-school games a few weeks back: I taught Keryn to play cribbage and she taught me to play Gin. This descent into games typically played in senior citizen centers began when I found an old cribbage board tucked beneath the staircase, how-to libretto dated 1934.

Despite the potential weather issues (the Weather.com 10-day Forecast for South China says 67 and rain on Sunday), we are looking to have an exciting trip. But as for any travel we undertake, first we have to define our Trip Goals.

Three days = six goals.

Admittedly, this voyage is a tad fuzzier than most. I want to short-cut this and say our goal is “to have fun,” but that’s way too gray for me. So here goes:

1. Catch at least one fish (or die tryin’)
2. Procure pre-ordered aquamarine ring from shop in Bar Harbor (long story!)
3. Eat kettle corn and doughboys at the Windsor Fair (Also: an excellent people-watching opportunity. Many mullets-in-the-wild sightings.)
4. Buy scratch tickets in South China mini-mart (another long story for another time)
5. Play the new Atari games Keryn ordered from eBay (MouseTrap, Othello, Pinball)
6. Fight through the cold, ride the Jet Ski one last time because we’re not willing to let summer go until at least September 10th...

I hope everyone out there is planning their own exciting long weekend. Come back again next week to hear how we did with our ambitious goals…

- Jason