Center Pond

Yesterday I mentioned briefly that I had spent a most wonderful day with a dear friend from my high school days, Sandy Stocker, and she had taken me off to go kayaking. (Where “taken me off” might equal “here put on these shorts and hauled my butt out into the wilderness and only asked if I could swim when we had been out on the water for five minutes.” I can swim. Sort of.

Today let me briefly share some pictures from that most interesting day.

That’s a really, really calm lake. Or pond. (What are the parameters that define the difference between a lake and a pond?) This is Center Pond in Newark, Vermont.

When they refer to the water as being “glass like,” this is the picture you’ll find in the dictionary.

Sandy led the way around the lake, having established that, in a pinch, I could backstroke my way to Hawaii. Thankfully, she never asked how I planned to do that from a pond twenty miles from the Canadian border.

The loon which popped up about twenty feet from us. This is what you get from sitting still. (Very, very zen!) We had stopped at a spot where there are rocks sticking up out of the water, then ate lunch and chatted while staying in contact with the rock. Since we were being still and quiet, our presence didn’t spook the loon, so she came to us.

It’s not that big of a lake (or pond) – but follow Sandy anyway. There are many good reasons to do this (the first of which is Sandy), but the fact that I have no wallet, no keys, and no cellphone also make good reasons.

Wait. Back up. “OH MY GOD, PAUL WAS WITHOUT HIS CELL PHONE?!!”. Yes, and I didn’t have my “good” cameras, either. Just my waterproof point-and shoot camera. And, yes, me being without either cameras or cellphone for an extended period while on vacation is one of the Seven Signs of the Apocalypse.

Many areas of the pond are very shallow, waist-deep or less. Here’s the remains of an old rowboat, rotting away on the bottom.

This! This is not a bad way to spend a couple of hours or a couple of days or a couple of months.

See, I can go have fun on a spontaneous adventure! (I apparently can’t remember to bring my sunglasses, but that’s a different issue.)

The Long-Suffering Wife noted that it couldn’t have been a “real” adventure since I wasn’t wearing my “adventure hat.” She has a point, but I contend that a NASA hat can always be a de facto adventure hat at any time and without any prior notice. Because, you know, NASA!!