“OK you three. Where to now?” I asked as I bent over to grab my backpack. I noticed that my arm trembled from both the fatigue of climbing and the edgy euphoria of completing my first climb.

“Wanna go to the Arts ‘n Crafts and maybe make something?” Sarah asked.

“Sure! Let’s go see what kinda trouble we can get into,” I answered as I grabbed Patrick’s hand. We thanked Anita and Sammy again and bid adieu to our Deer Hut friends as we left.

Surprisingly the Arts ‘n Crafts building was completely uninhabited. “Looks like we got the place to ourselves!” I said as we ran down the steps.

We leisurely browsed the shelves of colorful, neatly organized supplies. There were so many choices it was almost overwhelming. Megan eventually decided to paint a block of wood, Sarah chose to make a gimp bracelet and Patrick decided to make beaded bracelet. I had to assist Patrick a lot as the beads were tiny. It was a bit of a challenge for me as my fingers were spent from the wall climbing.

We sat in a comfortable silence for quite some time with our heads bent over our projects. The windows overlooking the deck and the lake below were open and I could feel a lovely breeze across my back. Outside I could hear the water lapping at the rocks, a crow calling and far off voices of campers somewhere in the woods. They were singing “Black Socks”.

I couldn’t help it but start to hum along as I helped Patrick thread beads. A few minutes later Sarah then began singing along ever so softly, barely above a whisper.

“Black socks, they never get dirty,

The longer you wear them the stronger they get.

Sometimes I think I should wash them,

But something inside me says No, no, not yet.