The Bird in Flight

After the day at the Smithsonian, I headed off for the Maryland coast. Dan and Margot had invited me to Margot's family home, and I must say I was nervous at first. Maybe it was Dan being all tense before I left for Richmond. Or maybe it was the crazy directions. Turn left where the signs says turn right? Find the dirt road where the speed limit is 16mph? Turn left at the tree in the middle of a field? What crazy talk is this?! Dan ain't no mapquest, that's for sure.

After a panicked phone call to Dan literally 5 seconds before I found the house, I arrived. I could understand why they called this place "camp." It was huge. It must have been awesome growing up here.

So after introducing me to everyone (which did involve charades, the official pastime of camp), Dan took me down to the dock so we could catch some crabs for dinner. The docks:

I learned to pick a crab, a skill I doubt I will ever master. It's a lot like dissection, except it's harder and people will tell you you're doing it wrong. But at least it doesn't smell like formaldehyde, and you get to eat what you manage to salvage. Both qualities that would improve dissection, in my opinion.

Life was pretty much like this for the next two days. Hanging out with Dan, Margot, their baby Claire, Margot's sister Alena and cousin Luke, and Ashton when he came up the next day. Hunting crabs, eating crabs, swimming, killing jellyfish, drinking golden rocks and bud light, and of course, drunk golf cart rides. "Checking the mail" may very well have been the best part of the whole weekend. (Strange how I can't stop calling my time at camp a weekend, even though it was clearly wed-fri)

So that was my summer vacation. Shortest ever, perhaps, but action-packed! July 5th I become a fourth year and an acting intern, and I get to pretend that I've already graduated from medical school. We'll see how that goes...

More pictures past the fold.