natalie’s blog

Home Sweet Home

September 7th, 2007 by natalie

After another 2,000+ miles of traveling I am overjoyed to be home for a while! My friend Alisa and I left last Sunday for Wisconsin, stopping over in St. Louis and Milwaukee along the way to visit and stay with friends. We arrived at Camp Nicolet Tuesday afternoon where we enjoyed a refreshing week of sitting on the beach, playing ultimate Frisbee, soccer, volleyball, eating delicious food, singing, listening to messages from two great speakers, kayaking, canoing, talking, etc. Alisa has been to the camp a number of times before, along with other families from her church who attend annually, and invited me to go with her this year. There is just nothing that compares to walking alone through the woods at night (that was before we found out that they were tracking a bear and we had to walk in groups of at least two…) or sitting out on the dock overlooking the still lake and gazing up at the starlit sky above, contemplating the vastness of the universe and the God who created it and everything in it. It is definitely good to escape the busy hubbub of life every so often and just sit alone in the midst of God’s creation…

Here are a few highlights from the week:

The view from the top of the St. Louis Arch, looking Westward.

Visiting my friend, Virginia, in Milwaukee.

Our cabin for the week. (Be not deceived…it looks much nicer in the picture than in reality! The first night we were visited by a bat. He eventually ~~barely escaped with his life~~ left, no doubt regretting that he had even attempted to lodge with us in the first place.)

The lighting is bad, but this was taken overlooking the lake on which the camp is located.

Gathering with the rest of the group, including our newly arrived cabinmate Wendy, moments before the much-anticipated talent show…

The opening act of the talent show - a spoof on The Twelve Days of Christmas, retitled The Twelve Days of Camp. It was followed by a variety of humorous and serious acts, both entertaining and thoughtful.

The talent show was followed by a special 50th Anniversary celebration for Ken and Nancy White. Their 5 children, all of whom were attending the camp with their families, sang a couple of songs and then a picture presentation of their years of marriage produced by one of their grandchildren was shown. The evening’s planned activities were brought to a close with a brilliant fireworks show on the beach overlooking the lake. A very enjoyable, memorable evening.

Alisa and I left the following morning and began the trek home, stopping in southern Minnesota and Council Bluffs, IA to visit friends. We arrived home Monday afternoon to a houseful of people. I’m thought they were all there to welcome me home, but my family says they were just over for a Labor Day get-together. (Oh well, it was nice to feel special for a few blissfully ignorant moments… )