Hazy Sunrise As August Wanes

6:54

Long Point State Park

Dinner on Zebro's Outdoor Patio, Barcelona, NY, Lake Erie

Sun Setting Over Lake Erie

Up at 5:45 to the sound of bass boats once again but when I got down stairs, there were none to be seen.  However, I did find out that there is a major fishing tournament, Jack Link's Major League Fishing,  going on this week, many staying at the CI, one that includes TV coverage, to be shown next winter.  Twenty four of the US's best anglers are invited and from the sounds this morning, many of them raced by our dock.  The sky was a pinkish gray when I got up, staying that way until about 6:50 when the sun started to rise and turn the skyline orange.  It's 55 degrees outside,  much warmer than yesterday morning, hotter today as well.

Yesterday was another, yes, perfect day at the lake, sunny but not too warm, with a nice breeze.  We started it off with our 'new new thing,' a kayak paddle over to Long Point, than a hike around the State Park.  What a great way to start the day.  Instead of jumping in the car and driving over to Bemus, we just paddle our kayaks over that way, eventually pull up somewhere on Long Point, then walk through the various paths in the woods.  Our walk usually takes at least an hour or more, and we paddle a total of thirty to forty minutes, so we get a good workout as well as the beauty of being on the lake, walking in the wood, two of our favorite things to do.

Later in the morning, I took off to Jamestown to renew my passport which had expired.  From what I could find out online, I could go down to the Jamestown Post Office to get it done.  I got there and enquired about the passport office and the post clerk said she didn't think anyone was in that day!  I then talked to another clerk, who said she would get some one.  When I mentioned I would need a picture, she said the camera was broken but  I could go to Triple A and get a picture done.  I said I would and be back shortly.  I rushed over to Triple A, got my picture taken, went back and was told the gal who does passports went to help out at another post office.  This is our postal system at its best.  So, I then went to City Hall, where I was helped out, given the forms, filled them out, told how where to send them, and went on my way, a mostly wasted morning.  I then went to Wegman's, to get things for our Saturday dinner, as our good friend Vi Buck and a friend our coming for the day.  The rest of the day we spent on the dock, enjoying the quiet and sun, reading our books.

For dinner, we drove up to Barcelona with the Mc Clures, to eat at Debros, a restaurant set right on a Lake Erie beach.  We sat outside on a comfortable evening, watched a beach volleyball game in process, as the sun set over Lake Erie, a different experience for us as we rarely get to see the sunset.  We decided on pitchers of beer and appetizers, so we had a couple orders of wings, some calamari and a artichoke and crab dish.  The wings were fine, the other two mediocre but edible.  The charm of this place was the lake, being outside and enjoying the sunset, not necessarily the food though I will go back.  The restaurant was virtually empty as 95% of the patrons were sitting outside.  The inside had the feel of a restaurant from the1980's, like Buds Carriage House, dark and almost claustrophobic, with a musty smell to it.  We stopped at Boxcar Barney's on the way home, for ice cream sundaes or cones, enjoyed them as we sat in our car at Mayville Park, and got home around 9:30, a good evening.  We watched some of the Republican convention.  Bromides, platitudes and lies for the most part, but the documentary on Mitt Romney's life was good, made him out to be a normal kind of guy which, no doubt he is, for someone with seven homes.  Sorry, I couldn't help but get that last zinger in.  I am glad the conventions over and do not look forward to next weeks Democratic Convention either.  As I. F. Stone so sagely put it: "Never believe a politician.  They all lie."  It's just that Republicans lie better.