Plenty of Work for Two (dad and Doug, mostly)

Ben "almost an adult" Calaway helped Doug get the Sea Doos in shape and ready for the first launch. With dad and Doug at the cabin, everything eventually worked-- a rare state at the cabin. Even a faulty dryer was no match for Doug who crafted a broken part out of the debris he found piled up in the garage. Definitely the MVP of the reunion. And with dad there, the cabin got some much-needed long-term maintenance, starting with the removal of the suspicious lump that hung from the plastic covering of the chimney hole in the two storey ceiling. We had all suspected for years that it was probably a bat that had expired, but none of us was willing to scale the ladder and investigate the uninviting bundle. To all the kids' disappointment, the lump turned out to be a clump of leaves sucked in over the years. Doug explained the physics of the "ventura effect" later to Emma-- apparently an open-ended cylinder creates a slight vaccuum effect. I think a mostly decomposed bat would have been more educational.

The best part of the cabin is its easy proximity to the lake. For Ella, the best part was getting to wear her swimsuit all the time.

Ella knows that the beach is the best place to catch up on light reading.