What place has had the greatest impact on your character and life?
The morning.
I wake up, lying in my family’s pop-up camper, to the smell of bacon, sausage, toast, and eggs being cooked at the picnic table right outside the door. I lie in bed, listening to the squirrels running through the trees, birds singing, and the wind rustling the browning leaves above. I can hear my family around the picnic table, arguing over how we should spend our day. I shake my head and turn over, burying my head in my pillow, realizing that the disagreement would likely last all day, but not minding at all.
The afternoon. “What kind of popover should I get?”
Smiling, I look over at my mom and say, “None if you get off your bike before reaching the top of the hill.”
We are biking in Acadia National Park. My dad and sister are far ahead, but I like to hang back and pedal with my mom. The challenge of the Around the Mountain path is always easier when we push each other, but it’s all worth it for the long ride down when I leave my mom in the dust and race my sister to Jordan Pond House for afternoon popovers.
Had we chosen the long and flat Eagle Lake trail, my dad would have given my sister and I math or logic questions to chew on while we pedaled. Yesterday, he gave us the stumper, “If (a+b/d)/e=c and c+e2=f/a, what does f+d equal?” Eventually though, we end up at Jordan Pond House and the question turns from math to popovers. Should I have popover-a-la-mode or popover with jam and butter? Clearly the most important debate of the day.
The night.
While we relax around our camp-fire, roast marshmallows, and play Apples-to-Apples, we remember the day, laugh at ourselves, and plan for tomorrow. I am sure we are keeping surrounding campers awake as we discuss humorous anecdotes from our previous vacations. Tonight, I recall a moment from a vacation in Assateague National Park.
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