Went up to Camp a few weeks ago to open things up and get the place cleaned. It was a working vacation for me cause I had to get some weddings edited and finish a new marketing piece. No internet cause I’m too cheap to pay $ 70 a month for an air card so I had to book it to the little coffee shop in the village every morning to get my mail and upload some galleries. One morning I just couldn’t make it so when I got there they were closed! Went on a rather hilarious venture into Amsterdam (the city in NY…not the one in The Netherlands) and quickly learned that this is a city far behind in the times. No coffee shops, not even a Starbucks which is utterly amazing.

So I stopped at a little computer store whose owner told me that he had heard if you sit in the parking lot at the old Best Western you can sometimes get a signal. I went fishing there for some broadband and did indeed stumble upon a spot where I got enough for a five minute download/upload session and was outa there.

Of course the highlight of the trip was watching Jack explore Camp for the first time. Needless to say, he was in doggie heaven with the woods, the lake, and a field full of tall grass and lots of smells all within a few feet of the front door. In order to prepare him for the water, I had been taking him down to the river for a month before the trip, having him fetch sticks from the deep part. He caught on fast, so by the time he got to Camp he was an expert paddler with no fear. He could easily swim out about 25 yards with us and stay out there with no assistance. But most of all I think he enjoyed digging in the beach where he made ample progress turning over all of the sand so that it looked fresh and new.

By the time we left to come back to Roanoke, Jack was tuckered out and slept the entire 10 hour trip. He is a joy. The best $129 I ever spent.