Sometimes it's better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness

Today was our last whole day here. I'm going to miss the summer-camp activities but I'm also enjoying the still-new-because-pandemic feeling of looking forward to going home because I like my house. And I miss my bike and the kitchen, and the TV that isn't weirdly muffled (this one's built into the wall), and my shampoo which I stupidly forgot. (There's only one shampoo in the world that my scalp and hair like so my hair is clean thanks to other people's shampoo, but it's not happy with me.)

Today's big activity was going to the water park again, this time all three of us. As soon as the waves started up in the wave pool, mother_bones's face lit up and she just looked so delighted. I must've had the same kind of experience diffrentcolours had the other day when he told me "You look so happy, I love it."

We all had a fun time, I went on the medium water slide and the big slide, spent a lot of time in the rapids (the most fun way I've exhausted myself lately!), and gently swam away from a conversation one of the staff members ended up having with us after hearing a little chat about Marvel stuff ("Do you like Marvel then?" he asked. diffrentcolours said "Some of it!"; I said "Absolutely not"; mother_bones said "Occasionally.")

We had lunch before coming back to our little house, expecting to find Gary happy to see us (he's been so good on his own; we all went out to lunch yesterday too) but he made us even happier: diffrentcolours and I took him out for a wee and then when he pooped we realized that for once somehow neither of us had a poo bag, so since we hadn't gone far I started jogging back to our cabin to get one while D waited with Gary.

But before I got very far, I heard them behind me, D saying to Gary "Look at you! I've never seen you run that fast!" Gary was barreling toward me, looking like a dog in a dog food commercial or something: smiley and exuberant and looking so cute in his colorful harness (light purple and fluorescent green). I had seen him run like that before, but not for a while!

Maybe he was worried I'd abandon him again, so soon after a few hours on his own (which used to be normal but now happens very rarely, thanks pandemic). So his leash was handed over again, and I told D "I guess you should go get the poo bags!" I figured Gary would calm down at this point so was amused that he kept zooming along, we'd turned right down our little road and by this point had made it back near our house but he just kept going, at the same speed. I was amused that he hadn't stopped yet; at home it's hard work to get him to the end of the road and it's a short road!

When we got to an intersection he chose to turn right up a steep hill (it's all hills around here), and he went a little way before deciding to turn around...but going just as fast all the while. We met diffrentcolours part way down the road coming toward us, and he turned around to join us as Gary zoomed along.

We turned left at a T-junction, Gary's idea (I do usually let him choose when it doesn't matter where we go) and were both chuckling at his continued pace. He hadn't slowed down for a second: sometimes jumping over little sticks or uneven ground, he didn't stop to sniff anything and normally he can't go more than a few steps without that. We turned left again and I was starting to really have to pay attention to our route so I could be sure of getting us back. Gary did stop to sniff some decorative boulders on the side of the road here, but kept his pace up in between.

"Let's try to get him to turn here," D said after a while; he'd thought we might go cycling later towards the Outdoor Activity Centre over there. "It's a ways away, I don't expect us to go that far," he said. It was up a big hill too. Gary zoomed the whole way there. And around some buildings, and would've gone into a field if I'd let him. But I thought there should be some point where an elderly arthritic dog was directed towards home so that I stood some chance of not having to carry him back.

Pointed back down the big hill he went so fast I had to jog to keep up with him, and he got far enough ahead of me that he was able to bound over to two strangers who were standing at the side of the road. He went straight up to one of them and looked up like he was a good boy who hadn't badly bruised someone's arm mere hours before. The guy put his hand out to Gary for the pet Gary was so clearly in search of (going near to people to sniff them is another thing diffrentcolours hadn't seen Gary do before and that I said he only rarely does). I explained Gary is old and grumpy and the guy was cheerful about taking my word for it. diffrentcolours and I struggled to explain the surreal situation we found ourselves in: "He's fifteen or sixteen! Normally it's much more obvious!" The other person chuckled, saying she'd seen us coming down the hill and "Once he has taken off, all you can do is follow!" It was so funny.

I was only sad mother_bones couldn't see Gary like this, but diffrentcolours took a little video, and also she said she'd seen us out the front window, "go galloping one direction, and then come back..." How satisfying.