She Took Him To The Lake

          This weekend would hold a trip to the Pinewood Lodge campground in Plymouth, a twins-one-year-apart birthday party for Julia and Jennifer. Per the event page: "get away from the stressors in your sad human life, physically and chemically!" Also: they rented a log cabin! My preparation for the trip, including an ill-advised run at cleaning the hookah, ran long and I was late in getting to Allston to meet the others. Jennifer was rightly pissed at me for taking so much more time than expected, but it would still be a while waiting for Julia at the girls' apartment. In the meantime, I watched Max trying to solder his computer into working order and Lucy trying to find a way to pack as many beers into the luggage as possible.
          We Ubered to South Station with all of our gear rather than dick around on the Green Line (and probably would not have made it in time otherwise.) We jumped on the commuter rail without tickets and were never asked for them, so that was one free ride. The next came when we called a taxi service to get from the station to the campground; the driver was training another guy in the passenger seat who clicked his pen for the entirety of the ride, and somehow the two of them managed to get us to the wrong campground, several minutes out of the way. To make up for it, they comped the ride, meaning it only took the cost of an Uber split three ways to get us to Plymouth.
          When we arrived at the campground, I found that our cabin was about fifty feet from the main building, which meant glamping of the highest order. Stephanie and Ryan C had shown up earlier in the day to check us in, and had a pleasant campfire going already. Ryan displayed his mastery of the grill with a bounty of steak, chicken and corn on the cob. Drinks were quickly broken out; I enjoyed some Woodchuck cider and "enjoyed" some vanilla vodka from Stephanie's amazing travel shot glasses. The cabin itself was quite comfy: a roofed front porch led into a "master bedroom" with a queen-size bed, sink, fridge and mirror; behind that was a smaller bedroom with bunk beds and a bathroom with shower and toilet. We would be living in style for the next day or so.
          In time, we went down the trail to the lake. The water was cold, but most of us went in anyway, splashing, swimming and smoking. I had to remove some seaweed from my hair. Someone from the campsite came to drive us off (swimming after dusk + being noisy idiots) but though we were acting like college students in a family environment, he wasn't mean about it. We went to bed before long, and because Julia wanted one of the bunks, we split them up this way: Julia in her bunk, Lucy in the other, with Steph, Ryan, Jennifer and me sharing the big bed in front. In theory this would work, but after a while I was hanging off the side and eventually committed to sleeping on the floor with a corner of the blanket. I can pass out most anywhere but it was too damn cold down there, and the night passed fitfully.
          Quotes of the day:
"If I was corn, I would satisfy in one bite." - Jennifer
"Too bad for aspiring cab drivers looking to join the evil empire." - Guy on the cab radio
"I need to be a woman until I'm 60, then get a sex change and be a grandpa." - Julia
"My marshmallow's so rugged." - Julia

Playoff section:
Stanley Cup Final:
CHI v. TBL: 1 - 0