Summer of Excitement: Back to the Adirondacks! - [a case of the summer]

I'm rather exhausted right now, so I apologize if this is brief (although it never is with me).  I also apologize for not posting a Throwback Thursday this past week, but it's because I was on my Summer of Excitement adventure!  Similar to how this year and last year's Summer of Excitement series began with a wedding, I'm lifting from last year and once again using my family camping in the Adirondacks as this week's feature (photos will be added when I get around to putting them on my computer.  I'm beat).

While last year was the 10 year anniversary of our first trip, this year was the 10th time we've been there (we missed a year).  And after last year was one of the smallest groups we've ever had attend (four people and one dog), this year was one of the largest (six people and one dog).  After a multi-year sabbatical, my brother-in-law's brother Chris returned to the island, and their neighborhood friend Steven joined us for the first time.  Having these extra people there helped make it an even greater time.  It also meant that Chris and I did daily beer shotguns.  So there's that.

It was a great, long weekend.  We arrived early Thursday afternoon (it's about a six hour drive) and we left Sunday morning (in what ends up being a longer than six hour drive).  The weather was perfect, which is very fortunate.  Apparently there was a hellacious storm the night before, and based on the excitement of the meteorologists on the radio over how great the forecast would be this weekend, you could tell it's been a REALLY rough season.

Of course, the weekend wasn't without drama and excitement.  Like I explained last year, grabbing the island that we always stay at is pure luck.  The beauty of it is that it's large enough that you have an entire island to spread out your things, but it's small enough that only one group could stay there.  It's a gift and a curse.  There are no reservations, of course, so you just have to paddle there and hope you get it (that also means you have to exhaust yourself by paddling all the way over there despite the fact that it might already be occupied).  So we sent one car ahead to get to the launch point early and we sent Chris in a kayak with a tent and chair.  He gets there and it's available.  So he sets up the one chair and leaves the tent.  He returns and I make my way there.  As I'm heading there, I see two canoes stationed there and an entire family on the island.  I hate confrontation, so I'm just waiting on the water for somebody else to arrive to help me "fight" for the island we had already claimed.  Thankfully, they turned out to be really nice and they were just taking a break from their paddle.  But I was very nervous for a while there.

As always, it was a great time and it felt great to relax and get away from everything (including my phone and the temptation of the Internet).  I wish I could talk more about it, but I'm absolutely exhausted and I need to eat.  Anyway, check back later this evening for my Money in the Bank LIVE thoughts.