Picnic

Today, instead of our driving in to Tyler, the Tyler folks came to visit us. Dick and Carol came in Carol’s Prius, and the Friths arrived in their car just before 4 p.m. The campground was pretty quiet by then, since most of the weekend campers had left. The arrival of Christine and Robby definitely livened things up.

Robert, Debby, and Dick at the picnic table

I made a big pot of veggie chili, Ken fixed some coleslaw, and there were raw veggies and grapes. Carol supplied brown bread and butter. For dessert we had homemade applesauce. Afterwards we walked over to the lake and watched the ducks and the paddleboats. Robby was concerned that one duck was all alone, but later we saw that duck and another heading towards each other until they met in the middle of the lake. Christine skipped stones.

Fun by the lake

Ken built a nice fire, and I went to get the makings for s’mores—only to find that we didn’t have any marshmallows, drat! So we had popcorn around the fire instead. Everyone enjoyed just gathering around and looking at the fire.

Carol snaps a shot of her favorite subjects

Dick and Carol made their goodbyes and left before it got totally dark, but Robert and Debby and the kids stayed for a while. Robby ran around with a flashlight, shining it on everything. Christine gathered leaves and pine straw to thrown on the fire, which was burning down. When they left, it had been solidly dark for some time, so I was surprised to see that it wasn’t even 7 p.m.!