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Pipistrelle of Simmer
Aug. 4th, 2019 10:21 pmArriving early turned out to mean that we spent hours and hours waiting for people. It should have been obvious to me that this would happen. Instead, I got antsy because what's the PLAN? Where IS everybody? Duh, they're not here yet, because you're early. They all showed up eventually, and they were all exhausted, so it was way better that we had spent our time hanging out in the grand waiting room of the lodge and on its terrace, chatting and taking a little stroll down to the banks of the mighty Illinois (very hot! very sunny!) rather than still rushing to get here. No one has phone reception, which is what i remembered from last time. We're here among the bluffs and hollows of the river country, where it's hard for the waves to go in a straight line without bouncing off something.
This lodge was built by the CCC during the Depression, and it is massive. The stone fireplace was built from stone quarried locally, and it weighs 70,000 tons. The beams are cypress and Douglas fir. Raptor thought it was very grand, and exclaimed rapturously (or raptorously) to his dad, "Isn't it beautiful! Doesn't it just make you cry!" The accommodations, however, are well-worn and not up to date. It's just the price you pay for the river vistas and the shady trees and sitting around with your family in large baronial chairs.
I feel very pleased that I brought the cooler. First of all, I made sandwiches for the Sparrowhawk and me for breakfast, because the so-called breakfast in the Super8 was pathetic. Then when the Raptor and his dad, the Nipper, arrived, they were very hungry, but Raptor didn't want any of the food on the menu. I had the kind of bread and peanut butter he likes, so I lured him up to our room and he had a peanut butter sandwich, several slices of salami, and some cookies, and he was a happy boy. He showed me how he could do backward somersaults on the bed while the Nipper made himself a couple of large sandwiches. The Philosopher was the last to arrive, at 9 pm after the restaurant closed, and he was also able to refresh himself with a sandwich and some fruit before going to bed. So I got to feed my kids, and I'm very happy about that.
This lodge was built by the CCC during the Depression, and it is massive. The stone fireplace was built from stone quarried locally, and it weighs 70,000 tons. The beams are cypress and Douglas fir. Raptor thought it was very grand, and exclaimed rapturously (or raptorously) to his dad, "Isn't it beautiful! Doesn't it just make you cry!" The accommodations, however, are well-worn and not up to date. It's just the price you pay for the river vistas and the shady trees and sitting around with your family in large baronial chairs.
I feel very pleased that I brought the cooler. First of all, I made sandwiches for the Sparrowhawk and me for breakfast, because the so-called breakfast in the Super8 was pathetic. Then when the Raptor and his dad, the Nipper, arrived, they were very hungry, but Raptor didn't want any of the food on the menu. I had the kind of bread and peanut butter he likes, so I lured him up to our room and he had a peanut butter sandwich, several slices of salami, and some cookies, and he was a happy boy. He showed me how he could do backward somersaults on the bed while the Nipper made himself a couple of large sandwiches. The Philosopher was the last to arrive, at 9 pm after the restaurant closed, and he was also able to refresh himself with a sandwich and some fruit before going to bed. So I got to feed my kids, and I'm very happy about that.
