After spending 33 years in New York State without visiting the Lake Taghkanic State Park, it just happened that I went there twice in two weeks, first time with friends, then on August 14 on a Rochester Summer Program field trip; it is a wonderful place, offering plenty to enjoy…

My group was triple A plus: Alex, Aiden, Aramis plus Elena.

The weather was not exactly the “friendliest” on August 14 – the night before has been extremely cold, with temperatures in the upper 40s, clouds were too often stopping the sun’s rays, the wind didn’t let up. Despite all this, the kids had a lot of fun in the water and especially building castles in the sand.

In fact, the most exciting moment – generating plenty of fun all around – was burying counselor Dillon in the sand, with little worry for his eyes and mouth, despite his trying to protect his face under a towel… well, heavy with sand! He was transformed into a “mer-man” and not allowed to be Dillon again for a long, long time, surely not before everybody took photos of the new creature. Do you see his fishtail?

Manuela Michailescu