We just finished our second camping trip of the year, a visit to Meadowbrook Campground in Maine. We camped with some good friends, folks we’ve spent time with out in the woods before, including a semi-disastrous trip earlier this year. Unlike that trip, the mosquitoes did not come close to bleeding us out this time.

The site was pretty nice: a rocky hillside with a view of an old beaver pond. The pond was the kind of place I could hang out all day, full of cat willows and frogs, frequented by several of our New England birds and dozens of dragonfly species. And at night, the frog chorus was just the thing after a long day.

We spent most of Saturday at Popham Beach, one of the few true sand beaches in Maine. And it was spectacular. The breeze off the ocean, the cool water, the sunny day. Just the sort of thing.

Beyond the site, this was our first try with the new tent. It’s enormous compared to the old three person we’ve used for the past few years. It’s a double-domed tent from LL Bean; it’s technically sleeps four, but there’s an integrated screen tent on the front. It was nice to be able to set move all of our gear into the tent and standing up to change was a huge plus over the old shimmy-and-pull. But the thing is pretty darn big and setting it up is a two-person task, no doubt.

We’ve taken a little side-trip on the way home, stopping in to see the in-laws, take a dip in the pole at their park and provide some technical support. And then it’s home to get ready for the week.

I really feel like a need a real vacation, but it was great to get away.