Sackets: Day One

Heidi: First, we have Internet access here at the cottage, so we can post every night and make everyone jealous of the fabulous surf, sun, and sand we are currently enjoying. And by we, I mean Ryan and me, since I’m the one crafting this particular post.

We arrived here a bit before 5pm, after a not-too-long drive, It rained the whole way, and I was somewhat skeptical of whether or not we’d be able spend any time on the beach. As it happened, the sun came out just as we finished unloading the car. We had time for a brief beach visit to absorb our surroundings, most especially the spectacular clouds in a clearing sky after a day of storms...dreamy colors of bluey-purples to pinks, to reds, and finally, a fading dusky orange.



The night air is chilly - 58 degrees - a welcomed relief from the scorching 90 degrees at near 100% humidity we’ve been experiencing recently. I had to close all the windows and turn on the electric heater. Without any other “household” noise, we can still hear a bit of the waves rolling up onto the beach.

Now, we are waiting for a phone call from the propane/gas company people. We tried to light the stove earlier, which didn’t work. Then, when we realized there was no hot water, we figured out there was a potential “issue” with the supply of propane. After a flurry of phone calls, a visit from the emergency propane tank-filler-upper, it was determined that we indeed had full tanks of gas, but they were off! It was a darn good thing I forgot to throw our Hofmann’s Hots in the freezer. Otherwise, we would have gone to bed without any supper.

I am eagerly awaiting tomorrow, when we can spend all day on the beach!

Ryan: I don’t possess the prose-like writing style of my cabin-mate here, so I’ll just add a couple comments here and there. And apparently, some rather striking pictures of sunsets. By the time we arrived here, I think it had been raining for almost a full day straight. The clouds hung low overhead, and the sky was nothing but variable shades of gray. I was excited to get here though, despite the weather, since I love this place. It’s become one of my favorite (and pretty much my only) get-a-way destination these days. After we unpacked, the clearing skies gave us some spectacular views west-ward over Henderson Bay, although the wind made it a wee brisk, compared to the weather we were used to (as mentioned above...). But it was a nice way to start off our vacation.

What wasn’t so hot was the whole propane debacle.

Heidi interrupts: Also, it was not hot when Ryan confused the salt for the sugar and handed me a mug of java that made my face wrinkle and my cheeks pucker.

Ryan Interruptus (Latin for gimme back my damn laptop): Anyway, I was typing about the whole propane thing when Heidi stole the computer from me a moment ago, proclaiming “OH!” Just for that I rescind my apology for the salt, and substitute a “good enough for ya, hope it tasted good!”

So... (trying to track down my train of thought... suspecting it has de-railed) we found out we had no gas... right about when I was going to start dinner. How about that. So I had to call Kirk, who was in Colorado getting ready for his wedding this weekend, and the poor bastard had to call his parents in Iowa, on their way out to Colorado too. One phone call was rapidly followed by another from Kirk, his mom and dad, and some guy from the gas company. Somewhere in there I managed to make the dinner (aforementioned Hofmann, micro-waved Boston-ish baked beans, and salad). Heidi was able to peacefully fall asleep while I had to wait for the Agway techie to get here and fill the tanks, which Mrs. Shaw insisted hadn’t been refilled. Around 1am the fellow showed up and we discovered (drum-roll here) the goddamn tanks were totally full! Someone had shut them off! We have no idea who, or why, but we did apparently have plenty of gas.

Interesting beginnings to the vacation, to be sure...