The hotel stay in Bar Harbor was scheduled to begin on Sunday, though we were picking up the boys from camp on the Friday morning before the trip. There were several reasons we didn’t want to go directly to the hotel from camp, but we mainly wanted to reconnect with them before going on a trip.
Camp Manitou Pickup
It had been 5 weeks since we had last hugged the boys. We definitely missed them and had only had a few chances to talk to them on the phone and one zoom call that replaced the traditional parent visiting day.
The camp set up fantastic procedures for dealing with COVID-19 and provides a much needed camp experience for the boys. We couldn’t have been happier how it went, though we of course were excited to finally see the boys again.
The camp had scheduled a pickup time window to limit crowds and contact. We had a 9:45 pickup time and were at the camp right on time. I’m still amazed that this camp is in my hometown and I never knew it was there. Growing up in central Maine, I knew there were lots of summer camps but they were for out of state kids whose families could afford it. I’m fortunate enough that we are now one of those families who can afford to send them to this type of camp. We hoped it would be a good experience for both of them to grow and mature.
When we arrived at our window pickup, the boys were right there. We were given strict instructions to stay in the car while the counselors loaded their luggage into the back and the boys hopped in. They (rightly) wanted to limit contact as much as possible. The boys said their goodbyes to the counselors and we were off!
For the next hour and a half we got a firehose of camp stories higlighting their favorite activities, stories about their new friends, and everything in between. We were surprised at how confident and mature they seemed. It was awesome.
Back to the Lake
While we live in Massachusetts, we weren’t driving back there. We have what’s referred to locally as a “camp” on a lake in southern Maine. In Maine it’s called a camp, even on the property taxes, but people from “away” would call it a cabin or lake houes. At around 450 square feet, it’s the size of moderate sized hotel room so I find it laughable to call it a lake house. It’s bee in my family for years. My grandfather build it on land that he inherited after WWII and all 8 of his siblings alsoinherited ajoining plots of land. They were a very close group and over the years many of them build their own camps (sorry, cabins!) next door and spent many summers up there.
That means that whenever we go up there, we are surrounded by family in every direction. It’s quite peaceful and relaxing and my wife and I had spent several weeks up there during the summer to comply with Maine’s quarantine requirements.
In addition, my cousins next door have girls close in age to our boys and they all got along flowingly. The girls had been eagerly awaiting the day the boys were getting back from camp and the boys were excited to see them as well.
Once we got to the lake they all played together nearly nonstop for the next day and a half. They played on the paddleboard, swam in the lake, played basketball, street hockey, card games, and generally did lake things.
And of course there are the sunsets, which are legendary. If only I was a good photographer!
Getting Ready for the Trip
We picked the boys up on Friday morning and they got Friday afternoon and Saturday to play with their cousins. We also used the time to get some laundry done as they had a few things that weren’t washed before they came home from camp. Luckily there is a wash and fold service that only cost $1 per pound!
We’d be getting up relatively early on Sunday so we could make it up to Bar Harbor with enough time to take advantage of the day. The boys were sad to say bye to the girls but we’d be back at the lake after our Bar Harbor trip.
Tomatico Travels 
You must be logged in to post a comment.