We're on the Bumpy Road!

Most of us cherish the thoughts of a special get-away place in our lives. A place where the memories are almost always good ones. For some of us, these places are from a long ago past. But for the lucky among us the experience of place is lifelong.

For our family, merely mentioning the name "Camp" conjures up the words; family, friends, solitude, campfires, board games, and time unmeasured by the requirements everyday life; "At Camp we do nothing, and we do it all the time". 

So strong are these emotions, so certain are the expectations, that even the car ride to Camp sets the mood for the days to come. 

And so it was recently, that as we made the hour-long  journey to Camp, perhaps for my wife and I, for the one thousandth time, that our two year old granddaughter Caroline, making the trip for perhaps the twentieth time, shouted out in voice only an excited child can make;

"We're on the Whine-Dee  Road!" as we left the highway and turned onto the road leading to the lake.  As we proceeded from paved to the rough unpaved section, the voice from the car seat exclaimed eagerly "We're on the Bumpy Road!" And moments later "Going down the hill to Camp!"

From the front seat I could only smile in the knowledge that Caroline's growing memories of life at Camp will be a part of who she is for the rest of her life.

As most of the family knows, for the past 35+ years the fireplace at Camp has been unusable because of its poor ( read nonexistent) draft.

With the help of chimney and fireplace gurus Jim and Corey we have;
Cleaned the chimney, used an electric grinder to cut out the cast iron damper (which had been installed backwards), installed a smoke-guard to the front top of the fireplace, and finally, today installed a chimney top spring loaded damper.

THE RESULT:
A perfectly balanced, aesthetically pleasing, working fireplace.

One more step in our goal of making Camp the 3 1/2 season retreat that we want it to be, for this generation and the next.