Picnic at the Lake

After I had gotten my allergy shots and run my errands today, I decided to take my camera down to the lake. And since it was after 1 pm, I decided that food sounded like a good idea. Except that by now I was out in the middle of the country, so what to do? It was at this point that I fortunately remembered that a friend had told me about a gas station in nearby Harrodsburg, Indiana that made a mean breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. Oh yeah, now I have a plan. I got to my exit from the highway and drove to this little town that you just might miss if you drive too fast. I found the gas station and went in to order my pork tenderloin sandwich with lettuce, onion, tomato, catsup and mustard. In a few minutes I was happily on my way with a warm take-out box filled with Hoosier goodness.

Five minutes later, I arrive at my destination. This is the overlook at the dam of Lake Monroe.

And this is my lunch. Isn't it pretty? Very good; it just needed some salt to make it perfection.

Could you ask for a better view while you eat lunch?

Such a pretty day for a picnic.

I am one happy picnicker.

After lunch I headed over to Fairfax State Recreation Area. How very odd: the beach is deserted on this beautiful day.

I decided I needed to walk off my lunch, so I set off along the concrete walkway.

It was a quiet day on the lake as I only saw two boats today.

A small peninsula juts out into the lake past the beach. The concrete walkway used to circle the entire area, but over the years, much of the walkway has been lost to the annual spring floods.

This was a bit of a challenge to navigate. At times I could hear water lapping underneath the concrete all along the walkway.

This area used to be filled with bushes and small saplings. The past few years of flooding, along with the mowers, have cleared the area out.

I love fall-blooming flowers.

Click on this picture to see the damage the floods have done to this tree's root system. This area had turned into an island (see first picture in that post) four and a half months ago and the tree is now showing signs of distress.

Wow, this afternoon's excursion and impromptu picnic have done wonders for my mood. It is important at this time of the year to take advantage of every nice day.

Now, what can you do to help your uptight college student to unwind? Scroll down for my daughter's request...

Bubble Wrap! Have at it, dear.