A few weeks ago a staff member invited me to go diving at a quarry north of camp and I thought this would be a splendid opportunity to take pictures so I took the invite and invited Sam Lodise to join as well.  The drive there was uneventful and every time I accidentally violated some rule of the road the response was a magical “It’s OK, neighbor” wave from the person I had wronged.  For lunch I tried Taskykake’s pineapple and cheese pie which would have made the day worthwhile, but there were more wonders in store.

Walking to the site was hot and where my companions were in swim trunks and t-shirts I donned my short sleeve button down shirt and failed to bring a hat, note for next time, but our efforts were well rewarded:

That wasn’t the actual jump site but I thought that it conveyed the feeling Sam and I experienced having never been there before of suddenly coming upon a diamond in the rough.

The main jump point was a rock bluff some 40 feet above the water’s surface.  This is about the highest I’d ever jumped from but the restrictions of the site prevented me from joining.  Each jump involved climbing a 8 foot fence to return to the jump point, something that is simply beyond my physical abilities.

Sam was the last of the three jumpers to go and he hit the water with what sounded like an excited scream followed by a painful thud.  For reasons beyond my understanding, this would prove to be his only high jump that day, instead spending the rest of the time jumping from a height of about 10 feet off of a lower jump point where the others jumped from the high point four or five times each.

They jumped and swam there for close to two and half hours and we began the walk back.  Again continuing the theme of smothering courtesy, passing vehicles would near completely enter the opposing lane to give us space despite the road having a reasonable shoulder.  I assume people to this to show that they know we’re there rather than for any actual fear of striking us.

About 20 minutes into our drive back I blurted out “I want ice cream” and everyone politely agreed and rolled their eyes.  At the ice cream store we purchased our snacks, sat down in the 93°F heat and demolished them.  Each person in turn at different times looked at me and said “this was a good idea”.  Sometimes it’s good to have a fat friend.