Hit the Ball and Touch Them All

Day 6:

We spent the entire morning at the campground relaxing. My fourteen-year-old nephew and I spent a long time sixty feet apart discussing the finer points of seams, knuckleballs, sliders, palm balls, and screwballs. "E" is a good kid. He's always been polite and helpful. I'm really happy to see him coming into his own as a young athlete. He made the baseball All-Star team and had just finished football camp. I think he's got great things in front of him. Me? I'm looking forward to a regular catch partner for the rest of vacation.

We went to the "beach" to go "swimming" today. The beach was at Coeur D'Alene City Park and the water was a tad warmer than the Pacific Ocean at Santa Cruz. Which is to say that nobody in their right mind stays in long without a wet suit. Of course the advantage to the cold water of the Pacific is that you get to surf it. Lake Coeur D'Alene? Not so much. The entire way to the beach was replete with trendy shops, resorts and basketball courts, and reminded me of Any Beach Town, California.

Living in a campground for a few days in the middle of the week gives you a unique perspective on humanity. Sprinkled among the retirees with their huge RVs towing Mercedes you get an odd mix.
1. We had a very young couple not much out of high school traveling in an old beat up sedan. My guess is that they were either cheerleaders or ice skaters.
2. At the far end of camp on our first night we had a group of four men ranging from 14-60. They'd obviously been on the road a long time and were pulling a box trailer behind a station wagon. They had a look to them that said "high school losers who never figured it out." Either that or "rock band."
3. We had a young man traveling with two children who called him "Dad." He certainly didn't look old enough to be Dad. He knew how to swing an axe, rented the camp four-wheelers for his kids and yelled at them a lot. Typical behavior for a young man who had his kids before he was ready.

Highlights:
1. Being near the water. There's nothing that satisfies the soul (my apologies to Annie Savoy) better than a large body of water.
2. Being able to pass down some pitching knowledge. I have my doubts about being able to do this to my children.

Little Quirks:
1. There's a very big awareness campaign around wearing life vests along the Columbia river. Some of the adds were pretty graphic.
2. My son now has a stuffed bass named Speedo