Yesterday, we packed-up the kayaks and headed to Waterbury Center State Park. It’s a bit of a chore, packing three kayaks on our Focus sedan, but we’re getting it down to a system. The three of us paddled out onto the very smooth water and it was gorgeous!

In fact, almost immediately we saw a Blue Heron in the brush along shore. Then we watched a loon as it dove under the surfaceand wated for it to reappear. They stay under for a long time. On the way back, we saw a dear in the distance come down to the water’s edge to drink and then scamper back to the forest.

We swam for a bit, then had a nice picnic lunch. Then BW and NatureBoy went to swim more, and I took a kayak out to explore a bit further. It was really beautiful.

During the hot weather we’ve been having, BW and I have been slipping in episodes of Battlestar Galactica Season 2. It was her birthday present to me, but she really loves the show, too. 😀 NatureBoy has been occupied with Mario Sunshine on the GameCube — in the air conditioned upstairs — during our viewings. It takes us a while to get through “grown-up shows,” though so we’ll be enjoying this for weeks. She got me (us) series 2.5, too!

Today, we were planning to have our usual Friday night beach cookout, but the thunderstorm warning and radar images changed our minds. Instead, I took NatureBoy to a local coffee shop where a friend and parent of GeekKids had offered to facilitate some games of Settlers of Cattan. We and one other boy showed up. We had never played before, and my friend and the other boy helped us get going. I found it quite enjoyable and full of possibilities. In the end, my friend offered to lend her game (and a copy of Start of Darkness!) to us. Thanks so much, C!