The Kochs' Journal: July 8th and 9th

July 8
Not even the dark of night under the croaking of locusts provided any relief from the oppressive heat and humidity. We are NORTH of Texas, right? The morning, however, brought a new focus, as it was time to check in Vince at The University of Evansville soccer camp. The Purple Aces, as they are known, are a respected Division 1 soccer team and since we were passing through anyhow on our way to Notre Dame, we wanted to see the campus, meet the coach, and give them a chance to see Vince play. Check in went smoothly and Vince jumped right in to the "team formation" stage of camp where the coaches begin to sort the players into groups with a combination of instinct, wisdom and a magic formula known only to coach's guild members.

Meanwhile, the girls and Ben took a walking tour of the Evansville campus and got some nice pics.

A prestigious looking building.

I don't mean to brag, but we're kind of a big deal around here.

Then, while Vince stayed at the fields, we headed back toward camp for a lunch of bean burritos. Since a tent primed to a steamy 115 degrees is not a good place to "rest" after lunch, we instead hit the Burdette Park mini-golf course and followed it with a chaser of "Alligator Ice" slushy type drinks.''

And since heat makes refugees of us all, we then had no choice but to seek refuge somewhere cool and modern, which we found in the Evansville Public Library--a gem of a public institution. Free AC, free wifi, free electricity... call me a socialist but that's worth paying taxes for.

As if in mockery of our new found relief, the Evansville sky opened up in a sudden stormy downpour accompanied by a 20 degree drop in temperature. We raced back to camp to close up the tent. In the meantime, Vince's night-time game had been delayed and eventually cancelled due to lightning, so our plans to watch his end-of-day scrimmage were wiped. Oh well, sweet cool temps and a little shower was worth it. Word from the Evansville coaches is that they were very impressed and wished he could stay for the rest of camp--they plan to watch him play in the coming season with his club team.

"The Elephant"--one of our favorite views on the way from campsite to Evansville.

July 9

"Best campsite yet."

Our new camp site at Indiana Dunes was spacious, shady, an ideal distance from the bathroom, bee-free, and the "best yet" by every one's ratings. After set up we shot about a mile north for our first view of Lake Michigan. We were impressed immediately by the clean beach and spacious view. Off to the Northwest you could make out the Chicago skyline and windsurfers and yachts were out skimming around. We were most mesmerized by the uniquely weathered and polished stones found along the beach, and they occupied us for quite a while.