Cousins Day

Two years ago, our family lost its anchor--- the person who taught all of us to love family, to prioritize time together above all else, to love music and home made ice cream, to love Poe Valley.  Last year, to mark the anniversary of Pap's passing on August 9th, we planned a special camping trip to Poe Valley and had a great time.  And so it has become a Richard family tradition for my generation.  This past weekend we returned to Poe Valley for the 2nd anniversary of Pap's death, and had the most special weekend together.

 

We had a little excitement prior to leaving.  The camper had a bent jack on the front and was stuck in our front yard. After 24 frustrating hours of trying to find someone to do the repair for us at the house, Jason found someone who was willing to come here, disassemble the jack and then haul the camper to their shop to install the new one.  We were lucky and grateful that the repair was able to be completed and we were able to get the camper packed up and ready to go.  It was a bit of a long night on Thursday night, but by 9:30 Friday morning, we were rolling en route to  Poe Valley.

 

Poe Valley is one of my happy places- probably because of the wealth of good, happy memories that I have of it as a child.  My family always seemed happy there- not just because of the "anything goes when you're camping" rule that we adhered to (whoopie pies for breakfast, anyone?), but because it was their happy place too.  There was always music at Poe Valley-- guitars around the campfire and silly songs my Pap was always making up (he was ALWAYS singing something).  There was always laughter at Poe Valley- usually because my Uncle Butch and my Dad were at their silliest there.  Regardless of why, the happiness just seems to seep out of everything there.  And I can't possibly be there without all of that coming rushing back to me.  I absolutely love that.

 

 

As Friday wore on, more and more cousins started to fill the park.  Stacie and Noah arrived with their new pop-up, and Danaca and Carrie arrived and set up their tent.  Mom and Dad came to spend some time with us, too.  Things were going wonderfully....until...

 

Do you happen to  see that thing slithering underneath Noah and Stacie's camper?  Trust me when I tell you that it was an approximately 4' long rattlesnake that crawled right past Noah.  My Dad had seen it coming, and made sure all the kids were accounted for.  Noah somehow managed to remain calm and stay perfectly still and quiet.  Then the guys tracked it through the weeds until Jason returned with the park rangers who caught it and bagged it for relocation.  Frankly, I would have preferred that they chop it into 8 million tiny pieces.  But I suppose this was good enough.  We all sat with one eye on the woods behind our campsite for the remainder of the weekend-- especially after learning that this was the 4th one that was captured that week in the campground.  Another campsite found one and killed it on Saturday afternoon.  That was certainly excitement we could have done without.

 

Friday night and Saturday were spent with all of the cousins together mostly at our campsite.  We ate too much, laughed a whole bunch and spent time together that you can only do when you're camping.  We were filthy, sweaty and so very happy.  It was amazing.  We took the kids swimming at the lake on Saturday afternoon and they all had a blast.

 

 

After supper, we all took a little trip to what used to be Pap's home/camp.  The P. Duck sign used  to say F. Duck (for Fred)...but just about every other minute detail about the camp remains the same.  It was exactly how we had left it.  As cousins, this was the place we went to after Pap's funeral to deliver the roses that we had been given during the service.  We had laid them on the swing on the porch where every single one of us had spent hours sitting and swinging with Pap, all of us sure that we were his absolute favorite.  He could make you feel that way anytime you were with him.  

 

The goal of the weekend was to be together, to cherish all of the memories that we have of our Pap, and to make new ones that will be the tie that binds OUR children together someday.  I hope we  succeeded.  One thing is for sure--- Pap was smiling as he watched us and I am pretty sure our laughter made it all the way to Heaven's gates to meet him.  Can't wait until next year.