Kayak Dawn

Kayak Sunrise

6:02

View of Erie, PA, from Presque Isle State Park

House Boats Along Presque Isle Lagoon

One of Many Westward Beaches on Presque Isle

Presque Isle Beach

I have decided to kayak each morning, starting just as dawn breaks, if I am up by then. I hope to do two things, enjoy the solitude and quiet of the lake and get in a semi vigorous paddle.  We will have to see how long this vow lasts.  At least this morning, it was easy and enjoyable, calm waters, brilliant sunrise, few boats, just me on the lake for the most part.  A good beginning to the day.  It's now 7:00 as I sit down to my computer, after a fifty minute paddle, down beyond Magnolia, then back to Victoria, no hurry, just leisurely and to be enjoyed.

I spent a good part of yesterday in Erie, mostly because I spent part of the morning visiting with my friend Stan Marshaus, who has been in the hospital for two weeks.  He had a pace maker put in and various complications ensured, a staph infection, then blood clots, but things now seem to be under control so he hopes to come home today.  He's heard this before; I went in Monday, and he told me he was coming home Tuesday. Right.   Anyways, since I was in Erie and it was a beautiful day though warm, I brought my bike and went to Presque Isle Park, about three miles from the hospital.  Lots of others had the same idea and traffic was quite heavy around the entrance to the park.  I parked my car at the first parking area, got out my bike and pack back, and took off to ride the perimeter, somewhere between ten and fifteen miles.  The ride out was fine, mostly along a path through the trees that line the coast on the bay side of Erie.  Lots of people walking, roller blading, riding bikes, pushing baby strollers, and bicycle carts.  Along this coast, weeds and debris seemed to collect, making it less than desirable for anything other than fishing.  Just before reaching the tip, I came across a lagoon with a number of houses, seemingly permanent, set off the shore line.  Each house was set on  a barge or something of the sort, had a boat docked along side, and seemed to be self contained, a very strange residential area.  Once I got out to the tip, to the Oliver  Hazard Perry monument, the westward beaches took over, and they are as fine as any beaches  I have seen.  Unfortunately, the ride back was not along a separate path, not in the woods, but on a wide berm along the side of the road back.  It was very warm although there was a breeze and I stopped at various beaches just to check them out.  Each one seemed quite busy, with swimmers, sailors, hobie cats, windsurfers, even surfboards.  It reminded me of a calm day at Coney Island, as everyone in Erie seemed to be at the beach.  And each beach seemed to have a concession stand, restrooms with showers, and a number had beach volleyball courts.  For some reason, the ride back from the Perry Monument seemed to take about twice as long as as the going, perhaps because of the heat and riding on a road.  It took me about an hour and a half to make the loop with brief stops.  I got home around 3:30, having left around 10:00

The afternoon here at the lake was quite warm, so we spent the it briefly on the dock, in the water, but mostly under the trees reading and enjoying the breeze.  We had an easy dinner of quesadillas and salad and watched a cheesy movie called TODAY'S SPECIAL, with Aasif Mandvi, from The Daily Show.  Mandvi, the lead character,  is training to be a French Chef when he takes over the families cheap Indian restaurant because of his father's illness.  Of course, since he's French trained, he has no knowledge of Indian cooking, even disdains it.  Slowly, he's taught the allure and greatness of Indian cuisine, begins to learn, and his restaurant metamorphoses into a hot spot, even enjoying three stars from a NYTimes reviewer, changing his life and that of his family.  Filled with cliches but watchable at times, there was nothing else on TV on a Saturday Night.