Day off ...

As at most summer camps across the United States, staff get one 24-hour period off each week. The day off at Deer Crossing runs from 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. the next day.

We have chosen to leave camp on each of our days off. It lets us "get aways from it all" and enjoy a relaxing day out of the kitchen. After a five-minute boat ride across Loon Lake, we're free to relax, catch up on laundry and take care of business (banking, for instance) that can't be done at camp.

Debbie and I left the camp at 8:30 this morning and arrived in South Lake Tahoe in time for a late breakfast at Ernie's Coffee Shop. Laundry was next on the agenda, then a visit to an art and craft fair at the "Y" and coffee and Internet at Alpina Coffee Cafe.

Coffee gave us a chance to dodge the rain and catch up on the whereabouts of our 17-year-old son, who's staying with his sister. The rain was a pleasant relief from the heat and dry conditions at camp.

In the photo, I was about to stuff my special peanut butter, dill pickle and mayonnaise sandwich into my mouth at camp. I plan to demonstrate the sandwich to each new group of campers, every two weeks. Four staff and about eight campers accepted my challenge to try the sandwich last week.

I've been eating the sandwich, named "The Jonathon" after a Florida College employee who ate them by the dozen after camp in 2003, since childhood.