Breakfast at the Cabin

            Playing up at the cabin was hard work, whether we spent the day hiking, examining Indian ruins, swimming at the spring, playing in the tree house, or swinging.  No one ever had as much fun as we did when we were at the cabin.  By the time evenings came we were worn out and ready for bed.  We settled down while mom read about Bob White, Mr. Muskrat, Cheeter the Squirrel, and the Laughing Brook from our old animal books, and then she tucked us into bed and we slept like logs. 

           I would wake up next morning to the crackling sound of dad building a fire in the old wood stove.  It was delightful to snuggle down into my fluffy pillow, just my nose sticking out from under the covers, feeling the cool mountain air around my head.  I always slept sounder when it was cool.  Down in the desert it was hard to get a good nights sleep because everything was hot and sticky.  Up here in the mountains it was fresh and cool, and wonderful!  

           The next thing I would know I was waking up again to the smell of pancakes cooking as Dad made us breakfast.  Oh, what a delightful smell!  Dad kept his promise to mom up there in the mountains.  Although she fixed the other meals, he was the one who always made breakfast..

            Sometimes Dad would make special breakfasts for us.  He would open a can of corn and add a couple of spoonfuls to the pancake batter.  That was good!  Then he would put the rest of the corn in the refrigerator, ready for Keith and Phillip to take it down to the creek with them when they went fishing.  You never knew which bait the fish would go after that day.  Sometimes they liked worms, but often they went after corn.   

             One morning Dad showed us the secret for making the best eggs in the world.

            “Cook the bacon first,” he told us.   “Then, after you take the bacon out of the frying pan, don't poor out the grease.  Just crack the eggs right into that grease, and when they fry they will be crispy and good!” 

             Dad was right.  Deep fried eggs were the best!  Mind you, that was back in the days before healthy eating became a fad.  If anyone tried to cook eggs that way today they would be arrested for endangering the public health, but what were vacations for?  We sure had fun up at the cabin!