Fourth of July weekend, 2009. Theresa, New York. Moon Lake. This is the setting. The characters: Mom and Dad and I, Jay and Hallie, Hallie's brother Matt and his girlfriend Kim, and Kim's sister Audra with husband Nathan. The event: a cabin retreat with boating, skiing, campfires, outdoor movies, fireworks, games, flame-kissed chicken and s'mores, and plenty of beer.
There lies concealed within each of us a carnal propensity towards explosive destruction. When manifested, we find ourselves surprised at the force required to retain the mask of empathetic civility, as the thinly veiled smile of satisfaction threatens to fracture the façade. Even more surprising can be the momentary pang of disappointment in the face of an explosion that fails to live up to a suddenly defined expectation. Shows like “Moment of Impact” and “Seconds from Disaster” inexplicably draw us in despite our outward protestations, claiming that “this sort of thing does nothing for me.” All the while, our pitter-pattering hearts make a quiet wish for the channel to remain stationary, even if only for the first clip of an air-show disaster. But how joyous for us all that a holiday exists that allows us the indulgence – celebrates it even – of birthing crackling, whistling, thunderous, and blinding explosions in the sky! My country ‘tis of thee, indeed! I may still be unborn, but Mom said she could tell I was fully enraptured with the ear-splitting hammer-blows of Thor they call fireworks. And maybe just a bit scared, too. But that comes after. First is the before.
We arrived at the cabin after a lengthy drive on the evening of July 2, during which we stopped at the state line for some fireworks. Mom helped with the firework shopping by recommending the mortar shells that produced V-shaped bursts of pretty colors from the tube and bottle rockets with pretty wrapping. Dad called them the "girl" fireworks, but in the end guess which ones were the crowd-pleasers? Girls rule! After arriving at the cabin, unloading the car, and generally making ourselves at home, we went out to the back porch overlooking the lake to get caught up with our new weekend housemates.
The next morning, Dad was invited to go on the daily "big beer" run with the guys. Dad is talented in a couple of regards, but he has still never quite gotten the hang of getting up early in the morning, so he respectfully declined. 
They still brought him a big beer, which he enjoyed with his morning cup of coffee. He said you know you are on vacation when you can't decide whether you'd rather drink beer or coffee first thing in the morning, and you especially know you're on vacation when you decide not to choose between the two. The morning continued the homebuilding process as the deck was cleaned off, the fire was built, and the movie screen was installed. Yeah - Mom and Dad can't seem to go too long in the summer without their outdoor movies,
so Dad brought a roll of white plastic from work to use for a screen at the cabin. They wrapped the film between two trees and hoped it would be good enough when darkness fell. In the meantime, they took the boat out for a morning ski session, where Dad found out that he can still get up on the first try and even drop a ski for some slalom action. He also found out that he gets worn out about 4 times faster than he used to and cut his session off after a few times crossing the wake on one ski. Getting worn out might have also had something to do with being attacked by Swamp Thing when he fell in the shallow weeds. "Like fighting off an aggressive mop" Dad said. I've attached pictures of Mom and Hallie in the boat and the view of the cabin from the lake.
They still brought him a big beer, which he enjoyed with his morning cup of coffee. He said you know you are on vacation when you can't decide whether you'd rather drink beer or coffee first thing in the morning, and you especially know you're on vacation when you decide not to choose between the two. The morning continued the homebuilding process as the deck was cleaned off, the fire was built, and the movie screen was installed. Yeah - Mom and Dad can't seem to go too long in the summer without their outdoor movies,
so Dad brought a roll of white plastic from work to use for a screen at the cabin. They wrapped the film between two trees and hoped it would be good enough when darkness fell. In the meantime, they took the boat out for a morning ski session, where Dad found out that he can still get up on the first try and even drop a ski for some slalom action. He also found out that he gets worn out about 4 times faster than he used to and cut his session off after a few times crossing the wake on one ski. Getting worn out might have also had something to do with being attacked by Swamp Thing when he fell in the shallow weeds. "Like fighting off an aggressive mop" Dad said. I've attached pictures of Mom and Hallie in the boat and the view of the cabin from the lake.Later
in the day, Mom and Dad took a little trip with Hallie and Jay to a winery, where Dad got a wine slushy 
(doesn't sound right to me, but then again I don't really know much about wine or slushies). They also went to Wal-Mart to stock up on the things they'd need throughout their stay. At this point Dad and Hallie came to the realization that they 'got their drink on' a bit too early, and they were not quite in the correct state of mind for grocery shopping. Perhaps it was the wine slushies. Dad did a pretty good job of faking it, however, and for his reward he was finally able to purchase one of the highly coveted 'big beers' of Theresa, NY. Look at how happy he is! Also during the day, Dad was able to get some good wildlife photography including some loons (which make the coolest noises), a frog (which kind of sounds like 'burmp, burmp'), and the dragonfly pictured here. The one animal of which he didn't get a picture was the silly crow that screamed like a girl every morning to wake us all up. Seriously, it was really loud and human-sounding and on repeat. Scaredy Crow, the silly bird that screams about everything.
in the day, Mom and Dad took a little trip with Hallie and Jay to a winery, where Dad got a wine slushy 
(doesn't sound right to me, but then again I don't really know much about wine or slushies). They also went to Wal-Mart to stock up on the things they'd need throughout their stay. At this point Dad and Hallie came to the realization that they 'got their drink on' a bit too early, and they were not quite in the correct state of mind for grocery shopping. Perhaps it was the wine slushies. Dad did a pretty good job of faking it, however, and for his reward he was finally able to purchase one of the highly coveted 'big beers' of Theresa, NY. Look at how happy he is! Also during the day, Dad was able to get some good wildlife photography including some loons (which make the coolest noises), a frog (which kind of sounds like 'burmp, burmp'), and the dragonfly pictured here. The one animal of which he didn't get a picture was the silly crow that screamed like a girl every morning to wake us all up. Seriously, it was really loud and human-sounding and on repeat. Scaredy Crow, the silly bird that screams about everything.So the outdoor movie theater worked out pretty well. While tuning the system, Dad threw in one of his favorite movies to watch while at a cabin in the woods: Evil Dead 2. A couple of the girls claimed they couldn't watch those kinds of movies, but guess 
what happened when Dad went to switch to Raiders of the Lost Ark? Everyone had already been sucked in by the B-movie charm and wit of the legendary Bruce Campbell. Oh yeah, the magic of Evil Dead 2 had delicately woven a net of compulsion upon the captivated audience, and we stayed for the whole presentation (even while a small group tested out a few of the fireworks in the big tubes). After Evil Dead 2 came Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it got rained out before Indy made it back to his classroom. So we all went inside for some Cranium, which was one of the craziest games I've ever heard. It sounded like a tornado of cacophonous chatter just pirouetting and crashing down upon the cabin dining room.
what happened when Dad went to switch to Raiders of the Lost Ark? Everyone had already been sucked in by the B-movie charm and wit of the legendary Bruce Campbell. Oh yeah, the magic of Evil Dead 2 had delicately woven a net of compulsion upon the captivated audience, and we stayed for the whole presentation (even while a small group tested out a few of the fireworks in the big tubes). After Evil Dead 2 came Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it got rained out before Indy made it back to his classroom. So we all went inside for some Cranium, which was one of the craziest games I've ever heard. It sounded like a tornado of cacophonous chatter just pirouetting and crashing down upon the cabin dining room.The 
next day (this would be the 4th of July) Dad once again slept through the 'big beer' run. Poor guy just can't seem to wake up before 8 on a Saturday (or Friday). He subscribes to the lesser known mantra "late to bed and late to rise makes a man kind of healthy, moderately wealthy, and wise-ish". 
But they still brought him back his beer to enjoy with coffee again. It was a beautiful cloudy morning, and the geese were enjoying our part of the lake. So Matt hopped in the kayak to put a stop to that. He completely separated the flock into two madly honking factions and left them discombobulated and disorganized for a rough start to the afternoon. But to the non-goose onlookers it was nothing short of hilarious. Then to make the outdoorsman morning complete, Jay caught a pike! It was quite exciting, especially considering it was right off the cabin's dock and these fish weren't the most common in the lake.
next day (this would be the 4th of July) Dad once again slept through the 'big beer' run. Poor guy just can't seem to wake up before 8 on a Saturday (or Friday). He subscribes to the lesser known mantra "late to bed and late to rise makes a man kind of healthy, moderately wealthy, and wise-ish". 
But they still brought him back his beer to enjoy with coffee again. It was a beautiful cloudy morning, and the geese were enjoying our part of the lake. So Matt hopped in the kayak to put a stop to that. He completely separated the flock into two madly honking factions and left them discombobulated and disorganized for a rough start to the afternoon. But to the non-goose onlookers it was nothing short of hilarious. Then to make the outdoorsman morning complete, Jay caught a pike! It was quite exciting, especially considering it was right off the cabin's dock and these fish weren't the most common in the lake.This
day turned out to be rainy and overcast for much of the afternoon. The gang found a variety of distractions to carry them through the afternoon until their big trip to the bay. 
Kim and Audra found an old-school Gameboy to Tetris out on, Nathan created a make-shift grill on which to cook some mouth-watering chicken,
and there was a mean game of poker out on the deck. And after one of Dad's many bottle rocket barrages the gang piled in their vehicles and made for the bay, Alexandria Bay. This was the section of the St. Lawrence river (that separates New York from Canada) 
that contained the Thousand Islands (where the salad dressing originated - there are actually more than a thousand islands). 
There, we were able to hop on a double-decker guided boat tour of the bay (and Mom and Dad travelled to Canada for the first time). There were aparantly a lot of interesting things to see like big bridges, small bridges (the world's shortest international bridge), 
beautiful mansions, castles, and islands. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any of it, so Mom and Dad took a lot of pictures for me to see someday, including a great shot of them on the boat. 
After the tour, they went into town to see some beautiful and expensive boats and eat some delicious pizza. Well, Mom and Dad said it was delicious - I just felt the satisfaction of not being hungry. 
Oh, I almost forgot the best part about that trip - the sun finally came out! Which meant that it would be a clear night for fireworks, and that made everyone happy. It had been getting rather cold with all the rain lately, and this tends to dampen spirits in the middle of summer. Just look at the heavy clothes everyone was wearing in the completely candid, not at all posed, shot on the cabin dock. 
Those aren't summer clothes! So the sun was definitely a welcome guest by this point. 
And as they arrived back at the cabin, the sun was getting low in the sky, creating the most beautiful scene on the lake.
day turned out to be rainy and overcast for much of the afternoon. The gang found a variety of distractions to carry them through the afternoon until their big trip to the bay. 
Kim and Audra found an old-school Gameboy to Tetris out on, Nathan created a make-shift grill on which to cook some mouth-watering chicken,
and there was a mean game of poker out on the deck. And after one of Dad's many bottle rocket barrages the gang piled in their vehicles and made for the bay, Alexandria Bay. This was the section of the St. Lawrence river (that separates New York from Canada) 
that contained the Thousand Islands (where the salad dressing originated - there are actually more than a thousand islands). 
There, we were able to hop on a double-decker guided boat tour of the bay (and Mom and Dad travelled to Canada for the first time). There were aparantly a lot of interesting things to see like big bridges, small bridges (the world's shortest international bridge), 
beautiful mansions, castles, and islands. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any of it, so Mom and Dad took a lot of pictures for me to see someday, including a great shot of them on the boat. 
After the tour, they went into town to see some beautiful and expensive boats and eat some delicious pizza. Well, Mom and Dad said it was delicious - I just felt the satisfaction of not being hungry. 
Oh, I almost forgot the best part about that trip - the sun finally came out! Which meant that it would be a clear night for fireworks, and that made everyone happy. It had been getting rather cold with all the rain lately, and this tends to dampen spirits in the middle of summer. Just look at the heavy clothes everyone was wearing in the completely candid, not at all posed, shot on the cabin dock. 
Those aren't summer clothes! So the sun was definitely a welcome guest by this point. 
And as they arrived back at the cabin, the sun was getting low in the sky, creating the most beautiful scene on the lake.Well, 
now it was time to prepare for the festivities of the night. 
The guys had a lot of fireworks to sort out, so they went to work opening all the packages, 
collecting all the shells, and arranging all the tubes. 
Jay found a way to get rid of the empty boxes, and in doing so inadvertantly unleashed a fire demon from its smoldering slumber. Don't believe me? Check out the picture Dad got - Dad said you can even see the demon 'flipping the bird', whatever that means. It must have been angry because it about knocked Jay over. At that point we knew we'd have ourselves an amazing fireworks display in the dark hours ahead - we had a fire demon loose at the cabin! So let me tell you about these fireworks. The guys would light them off usually two or three at a time and I would feel the THOOM THOOM .... POW POW through Mom's belly! Then I'd hear the occassional CRACKLE CRACKLE and the follow up cheers of the crowd, and I'd do a little dance. I may not have been able to see the colors that Mom said were so pretty,
but I still enjoyed the explosion-rific excitement of the display. And we weren't the only ones with fireworks. Other cabins around the lake were firing theirs off, 
as well, so we got a total surround sound show. What a great way to celebrate the Chinese ownership of our country - blasting Chinese made colored explosions
into the night sky! I love the 4th of July! We finished off the evening watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Mom and I couldn't stay awake to finish it, so everyone but Audra and Dad retired for the evening while they stayed to watch the Nazis' faces melt off - DON'T LOOK INTO THE ARK!
The next morning Dad got up early
enough to go into town for a big beer. I'm just kidding! He slept in again. Oh Dad, when will you ever learn - snooze isn't the answer! He did decide to do 
some skiing again this morning, though, as it was our last at the cabin. He even tried the kneeboard and found that he still had the ability to pull a 360, even with a view partially obscured by his stylish Kanye West/Trent Reznor
80's shutter-shades. Everyone was in a gaming mood this fine Sunday morning, and they quickly progressed through a card game with crazy rules about when to consume your beverage to a dice game called 3-Man.
It turns out that 3-Man is actually just 1 man (or woman), and you don't want it to be you. It didn't sound too bad to be the 3-Man, however, as everyone was laughing and carrying on no matter who was wearing the 3-Man hat (Mom tried it on, but she did not partake of the typical 3-Man drink of choice). After the games, it was time for another boat ride. This time Jay and Hallie
wanted to show Mom and Dad 'the island'. There is a small island in the lake where you can be dropped off for a picnic. Mom and Dad brought the iPod and spe
akers, and the gang had a little island getaway for a couple hours. Jay and Hallie swam
to shore at one point to practice their diving off an elevated rock. 
Dad said they got some pretty
good hang-time. The island also gave them a good view of skiers cruising around the lake. At one point Matt brought the boat in between the island and the closest shore landing so we could get a closer look at Nate's kneeboarding abilities. Mostly, we all just hung out, relaxed, and enjoyed some time in the sun before Mom and Dad called it a day. As the boat taxied us back to the cabin, we got one last view of the lake-side of our weekend retreat. I may never directly remember the experience, but at least I'll someday be able to relive it as you have experienced it now. I got some good sleep on the drive home. I was able to dream about fire-flowers in the sky, fire-demons in the woods, giant bridges over waves, and tiny 3-Men playing Gameboys. And it took me a long time to sort out how much of it all was really a dream and how much was real (which is why it took me so long to post the story). It still surprises me how much of it was real.
Or maybe it actually was all just a dream. After all, can there really be a lake on the moon?
now it was time to prepare for the festivities of the night. 
The guys had a lot of fireworks to sort out, so they went to work opening all the packages, 
collecting all the shells, and arranging all the tubes. 
Jay found a way to get rid of the empty boxes, and in doing so inadvertantly unleashed a fire demon from its smoldering slumber. Don't believe me? Check out the picture Dad got - Dad said you can even see the demon 'flipping the bird', whatever that means. It must have been angry because it about knocked Jay over. At that point we knew we'd have ourselves an amazing fireworks display in the dark hours ahead - we had a fire demon loose at the cabin! So let me tell you about these fireworks. The guys would light them off usually two or three at a time and I would feel the THOOM THOOM .... POW POW through Mom's belly! Then I'd hear the occassional CRACKLE CRACKLE and the follow up cheers of the crowd, and I'd do a little dance. I may not have been able to see the colors that Mom said were so pretty,
but I still enjoyed the explosion-rific excitement of the display. And we weren't the only ones with fireworks. Other cabins around the lake were firing theirs off, 
as well, so we got a total surround sound show. What a great way to celebrate the Chinese ownership of our country - blasting Chinese made colored explosions
into the night sky! I love the 4th of July! We finished off the evening watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Mom and I couldn't stay awake to finish it, so everyone but Audra and Dad retired for the evening while they stayed to watch the Nazis' faces melt off - DON'T LOOK INTO THE ARK!The next morning Dad got up early
enough to go into town for a big beer. I'm just kidding! He slept in again. Oh Dad, when will you ever learn - snooze isn't the answer! He did decide to do 
some skiing again this morning, though, as it was our last at the cabin. He even tried the kneeboard and found that he still had the ability to pull a 360, even with a view partially obscured by his stylish Kanye West/Trent Reznor
80's shutter-shades. Everyone was in a gaming mood this fine Sunday morning, and they quickly progressed through a card game with crazy rules about when to consume your beverage to a dice game called 3-Man.
It turns out that 3-Man is actually just 1 man (or woman), and you don't want it to be you. It didn't sound too bad to be the 3-Man, however, as everyone was laughing and carrying on no matter who was wearing the 3-Man hat (Mom tried it on, but she did not partake of the typical 3-Man drink of choice). After the games, it was time for another boat ride. This time Jay and Hallie
wanted to show Mom and Dad 'the island'. There is a small island in the lake where you can be dropped off for a picnic. Mom and Dad brought the iPod and spe
akers, and the gang had a little island getaway for a couple hours. Jay and Hallie swam
to shore at one point to practice their diving off an elevated rock. 
Dad said they got some pretty
good hang-time. The island also gave them a good view of skiers cruising around the lake. At one point Matt brought the boat in between the island and the closest shore landing so we could get a closer look at Nate's kneeboarding abilities. Mostly, we all just hung out, relaxed, and enjoyed some time in the sun before Mom and Dad called it a day. As the boat taxied us back to the cabin, we got one last view of the lake-side of our weekend retreat. I may never directly remember the experience, but at least I'll someday be able to relive it as you have experienced it now. I got some good sleep on the drive home. I was able to dream about fire-flowers in the sky, fire-demons in the woods, giant bridges over waves, and tiny 3-Men playing Gameboys. And it took me a long time to sort out how much of it all was really a dream and how much was real (which is why it took me so long to post the story). It still surprises me how much of it was real.
Or maybe it actually was all just a dream. After all, can there really be a lake on the moon?See you in less than a month,
Azja
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