A Cloudless Morning Of Blue

6:03

6:21

It's 7:00 (61º) and I have been up for an hour, drinking coffee, listening on and off to NPR, reading on my Mac, listening to the roar of bass boats, out this morning early.  I am thinking a tournament may be coming up this weekend.  I also saw a solitary kayak out around 6:30, a perfectly calm morning to be out, as there's no wind yet.

Yesterday was warm but more enjoyable, less humidity I guess, so we spent much of the day outside again, in the water, under the shade of trees, getting dinner ready, things like that.  Around 9:00, we could not resist the temptation to kayak, so we went out for an hour, down to Whitney Bay and back, cool going, a bit warmer coming back.  Either way, it was a fine morning to be out, few boats, a light breeze trying to keep us cool.  Again, we met only a solitary soul sitting on her dock, the rest of the cottages asleep or empty.  When we got back, we both went for a swim, cooling off and stayed on the dock.  I decided to clean the bottom of my boat, and found, once again, lots of small shells attached to the bottom and it took lots of scrubbing to get them off.  In the past, its only been algae.  While I was in the water, I decided to do some weeding, cutting the weeds in our swimming area although the lake is the best its been in years.  I did manage, however, to come up with a couple of large buckets of weeds, cleaning our area, and spread them on our dock to dry.  Once they dry, they are devoid of any water, almost weightless and easy to get rid of.

While I was out cutting weeds, Evie was making some mushroom barley soup and a menemen, a Turkish omelet for lunch.  I ate and watched another episode of Ray Donovan, and joined Evie out on the dock.  Soon, however, it became too hot for me, so I sat under our trees and read.  Evie took a break from the dock, to put together our dinner of chicken enchiladas.  Around 3:30, I got bored with sitting and decided to see if a bike ride would be a good idea.  So I went to Bemus, with the idea of a short ride but ended up riding for an hour, my usual ride, out to Long Point, through the park, and back to my parked car, near the bridge.  It was surprisingly windy and I could not tell which direction the wind was coming from because it always seemed I was going into the wind.  When I got home, I joined Evie on the dock for a glass of wine before dinner.

Around 6:30, Evie baked the chicken/black bean enchiladas, got out all the fixings and we had what is fast becoming one of my favorite dinners.  I love covering them with lettuce, avocados, tomatoes, salsa, and sour cream.  We watched some Jon Stewart, The Nightly Show, and the first episode of the third season of Rectify.  I had forgotten how many exceptional TV series begin during the summer, not in the fall.  I finally finished THE CARTEL, a really good read though depressing as hell.  I will say more about it when I blog on it.  Winslow leaves the reader feeling guilty and  responsible for all this suffering (mostly of the poor) south of the border through our indifference, our refusal to see their pain, hear their cries.  We are all connected.  Everything is connected.

Rain Overnight, A Clean, Well Washed Morning

6:50

It's 7:40 and I have been up for an hour.  We miraculously got a half an inch of rain last night despite the fact I put the cover on my boat, usually an indicator that it won't rain...but it did.  Our neighbors grown kids, the Leonard leave this morning, so they are squeezing the last few ounces of lake life, kayaking early as well as going for a swim.  They along with a couple of rafts of ducks are the only action on the lake this morning.  Today should be a little cooler than yesterday, sunny for the next couple of days.  And the martins are back at our house, getting ready for their migration South, singing and flying from one house to another, gathering forces I suppose for their journey.

We knew yesterday was going to be warm, high 80's so after our coffee and writing the blog, we took an hour and a half kayak paddle, over to Tom's Point as the crow flies, across to Bemus, then home along Lakeside Drive.  It was a perfect morning, not too hot yet, few boats on the lake, most homes still sleeping, at least we did not see a single soul on a dock.  I cannot believe how many people miss the best part of the day, early mornings.  Of  course, I did too for the first sixty five years of my life.

Lake Side Lawn Ornament Along Lakeside Drive

And that was it for most of the day, as both Evie and I had no interest in the house or yard, other than watering the geraniums, eventually cleaning up the kitchen but that was it for most of the day.  Lunch was BLT's, and I finally watched the beginning of the new season of Ray Donovan, my man.  It's not Evie's cup of tea so I usually watch it once a week over lunch.  Unfortunately, I had another dentist appointment, so into Jamestown I went, with stops at Sam's Club for dinner, a rotisserie chicken, enough for a couple of meals, then Tops, the Peterson's as well as the dentist.  I was home, however, by 4:00, in time to join Evie on the dock for some sun and a swim.  She's been reading LIFE AFTER LIFE, by Kate Atkinson, a novel both my sister and Ellen and I have enjoyed.

A Profusion Of Geraniums

Since we knew rain was coming, we took a before dinner cruise, following practically the same route we took in the morning, in our kayaks.  Despite the heat, it was cool most of the way, a nice breeze until we got back to Woodlawn, somewhat sheltered from the wind, so it heated up.  After our ride, Evie reluctantly adjourned to the kitchen (she's getting used to this life of 'large leisure') and sauteed some spinach, cooked the corn, and cut up the chicken, and we had an easy dinner.  We did not eat until almost 8:00 and watched two episodes of Masters of Sex, getting caught up.  And we are back to enjoying it, the acting is superb, the conflicts interesting and timely.  We forget how ground breaking their Human Sexual Response was back in the 1960's, the opprobrium it received from the Establishment, as the adult world was then called.  I am almost finished with THE CARTEL and cannot fathom the violence and brutality of the drug wars, the scope of it, the fact that most of us north of the border just went on living 'the good life', paying little attention to the atrocities of the 'war on drugs.'

The Heat Of Summer

6:30

Two Hotties Enjoying The Viking Club

Up at 6:00, on the dot, to a cool (compared to later in the day) morning of 62º.  It feels good, a delicious coolness in the air before the heat descends.  One bird, the same one, keeps going 'chip, chip, chip,' each morning, continuing on and off during the day, annoying me to no end (whatever that means). No martins this morning making me wonder if they have left for Brazil; it's about that time, early August and I know the babies are about to fledge.

Yesterday was warm early but we got our kayak paddle in before the heat, around 8:00, across to the Long Point Pavilion and home, just right.  I then drove to Mayville, to the doctor, and ended up with an antibiotic for a finger nail infection called paronychia.  Never heard of it but I got it.  It's just annoying, throbbing now and then, not a big deal.  When I got home, Evie was already out on the dock, enjoying the day and stayed there or in our yard, in the shade of the trees the rest of the day. Because of the heat, neither one of us are too ambitious and nothing really needs to be done much, either inside or out.

Around 2:30, I drove into Jamestown for another doctor's appointment, a yearly appointment with my favorite urologist.  Afterward, I intended to do some shopping for dinner but Evie texted me to say the McClures wanted to know if we might want to go to the Viking Club for Taco Tuesday.  It sounded good so I skipped Sam's, stopped at Office Max to pick up an ink cartridge for my printer, a ridiculously high price for something that lasts or so it seems, for about 20-30 pages of print.  The printer always seems out of ink.

Larry and Curly, No Moe

8:30 p.m. From Viking Club Dock

Around 6:00, Evie and I jumped in our boat and took our time cruising to the Viking Club as the wind had picked up and there was some chop.  As we docked our boat, some friends, Therese and Greg Fish, were also docking their boat.  We had become friends with them on Wednesday nights at the Viking during the winter. They were coming for the tacos with their kids.  We ordered a pitcher, sat outside and waited for the Linda and Ron.  The four of us then sat outside enjoying the evening, ordered tacos,  three for four bucks, another pitcher of beer, bemoaned the fact that summer was half over but look forward to a fun August here at the lake. We boated home around 8:30, a lovely evening, one of few boats, making us wonder why we don't cruise the lake every evening at this time.  It's the best.

8:50 Cruising Home

We then watched some TV, The Daily Show, made tin roofs to end a good day before going to bed around 11:00, to a chilly room, cooled by an air conditioner.

Lots Of Sun And Mucho Hot And Humid

7:20

Up later than my usual, at 7:15.  It felt good to sleep in some.  A bright, sunny living room greeted me as I made my coffee, along with a breeze, still cool.  No action on the lake, or in the neighborhood yet, but things will soon cook up.  No plans for the day, just another yearly doctor's appointment.

Kayak Morning

Yesterday as predicted was scorching, not what we expect here at the lake.  The temperatures got up to the high 80's by noon, not our kind of day.  So we were smart enough to get out on the lake early, kayaking across the lake, spending an hour enjoying the still coolness of morning before the heat arrived.  Like most weekdays, few boats were out and we had the lake to ourselves.  When we got home, Evie put together a shopping list for me and off I went, five stops, library, Ryder's Cup, Bank, Wegman's and Hogan's for ice and gas.  No yoga yet, as I think I will wait another week or two before starting up again.  The lake has been too nice to leave for a yoga studio.

After lunch, Evie spent most of the time on the dock, in the water, while I read in the house, occasionally going out to see how warm it was, staying on the dock for about 15 minutes, then going back inside to the house.  Around 5:00, the wind picked up so we took a boat ride over to Bemus, along the shoreline and home.  It was pleasant if we could stay out of the sun which we were able to do with our Bimini top.  Around 6:00, we sat on our porch, with wine and some cheese and crackers, something we have not done in weeks.  It was pleasant sitting out, with our fan creating a breeze, so we relaxed and sipped our wine for over an hour.  Finally we went in and Evie made us BLT's for dinner, simple but good and that was it for the night.  We watched the first episode of the third season of Masters of Sex. It's hard to get back into a series after a year's hiatus so we were not sure how we felt about it.  We will stick with it.

Adults Only

7:10

Slept in till 7:00, a quiet night, quiet morning.  I was surprised by the heavy fog this morning, the cool temperature of 61º, and the news that Donald Trump is leading the pack of Republican candidates. Besides NPR, I can hear the cry of sea gulls and the chatter of martins.  It's odd sitting here, knowing that the house is empty of grandchildren, that it's back to our routine after three weeks of fun with family.  Life, briefly, will seem empty, with nothing to look forward to or to do but will change as we reorient our lives to the goings on here in Chautauqua Country, like yoga, hiking, kayaking, and biking, all put on hold when the family is here.  It's been a grand three weeks, one week at Topsail, NC, two here and sad to know it's over.

Jill and family left later than they wanted yesterday, mainly because they had to wait for Halle's iPad to download a movie.  Ah, kids.  Once it was  downloaded, after hugs and kisses, some tears, they were off to Virginia, the girls happy in their new Toyota Highlander, with all its bells and whistles. As they drove away, our mood and mojo deflated, and we wondered what to do next.  No granddaughters to cook for, play with, take on boat rides.  But we have gotten pretty good at dealing with this ennui and Evie had a list of things to do which would take our mind off of the empty house.  So Evie went upstairs, to the bedrooms, to tear apart the beds and wash everything.  And I waded out into the water and brought in the five floats, deflated and washed them down, waiting for the sun to dry them before I packed them up to put in the garage attic.  After that was done, I washed the nine front windows (why Evie wanted this done first thing Sunday morning,  I am not sure).  I just washed them.  We then straightened up the living room, cleaned the kitchen, and then both of us ran out of mojo and collapsed, me in the TV room, watching the US Women' Volleyball team play China in the World Finals.  And Evie went out on the dock, despite the heat and humidity, to relax.

Connor Gail

About 2:30, our nephew, Connor Gail, my sister Linda's grandson, called, to say he was in the area and would it be OK to stop over.  We of course we said fine and he stopped by around 3:00, stayed until 5:00. He's a great kid, a sophomore at Keuka College, plays volleyball and majors in Environmental Studies.  We have not had much time to talk with him at family get togethers, so it was fun to really talk with him. His parents must have done something right because he's an impressive young man, an Eagle Scout, an athlete, and someone who spent a week volunteering in Juarez, Mexico last summer, building two homes for the needy.  We were having a picnic with our neighbors, so they invited him over, and we played a Swedish game called Kube.  Of course, Connor and I won.  He then headed up to Euclid because he has a summer job working at Lincoln Electric, where Evie's Dad worked for forty five years.  After he left, our neighbors could not get over what a fine young man he was, well spoken and polite, shaking their hands before leaving, thanking them for letting him be part of the picnic.  His grandparents would have been proud!

Picnic With The Leonard Family

So,  at 5:00, the Leonards and Evie and I were grandchildrenless!  Both of us have had grandchildren around for the past three weeks, and the Leonards left about the same time as ours, so only the grown ups were left at the picnic.  So what did we do?  Talk about our grandchildren, the fun we had the past couple of weeks, how busy we were, and how strange it seemed to be home alone.  We managed, however, to have a good time, a great dinner of chicken breasts, taboulleh, salad, fresh corn, and cannoli for dessert.

Kathy, Joyce and Beth Leonard

The picnic broke up around 7:30, and Evie stayed another half hour but I was exhausted and went home and collapsed in front of the TV, watching an interview with two documentarians who have a film coming out about the love/hate relationship between William Buckley and Gore Vidal.  It was interesting and I hope to see it .

Around 10:00, we went upstairs to read.  I am half way through my novel about the Mexican drug wars called THE CARTEL by Don Winslow, fiction but based on facts.  It's hard to believe the amount of violence, corruption, and murders caused by the drug habits of Americans.  Without the drug use here in the States, Winslow suggests, there would be no cartels, no violence.  And it's clear the war on drugs was geared in the wrong direction, towards the Mexican cartels, not towards the source of the problem, the use of drugs here in the States.

Home Alone

The Bissells

7:01

7:15

It's 6:48 and three of us are up, busy on our machines, sipping coffee of course.  It's overcast, a gray colorless morning until a few moments ago, when the sun peaked over the clouds.  The Bissells drive back to Virginia this morning. leaving us home alone for the firs time in three weeks.  It's going to be a sad, long day and a hot one, high around 80.

Yesterday, our last with the kids, was a great day.  Sunny and warm, everyone enjoying the outdoors, the food, the drinks, and each other as we sat out on the dock with a cooler for three or four hours, occasionally jumping in the lake to cool off.  Even the girls enjoyed the dock, sunning some or fishing.  Our morning, however, was different.  Drew, Jill and Hayden and I drove over to Bemus and went for a run, me a bike ride, through Long Point State Park.  I would ride forward and backward, making sure no one got lost on the trail, through the woods, out to the point, back to the car.  Everyone loved it, especially the run in the woods as opposed to a neighborhood.  Afterwards, we had the mandatory stop at Skillman and Wright, the 'department store in Bemus,' then a coffee for Hayden at Wired On Main.  We drove separately because I brought my bike so I got corn, Drew ice and we were ready for the day.  I forgot to mention that I went kayaking around 8:00 for an hour, out to Tom's Point and back along the coast line.  It's always exciting to be out on the lake in the morning, just a few other boats and me, a calm lake, the sound of my paddles.  And around noon, I took our three trash cans and other detritus to the Transfer Station...love getting rid of our trash, coming home with empty cans; it's like organizing your house or drawers or just plain cleaning up.
Weird.

The Family

So that was our day until 6:00, when we went in, the Bissells got dressed up, and we took pictures for them out on the dock, hoping to come up with a good one for their Christmas card.  Before we got out there, Chris, my trusty boat guy, came by and put a used prop on my boat, taking about ten minutes and we were ready to go.  So, after the boat and pictures, I grilled chicken thighs on the barbecue, Evie cooked the noodles in chicken broth, and steamed the corn.  We ate outside again, and loved this dinner, always a favorite, especially the noodles and corn.  I got the corn from Jeremy, just beyond the bridge, and it was the best of the summer.  I think Hayden had three or for ears.

Lake Cruise After Dinner

Sunset

After dinner, we took a final cruise as the lake was beginning to darken, the boat fine, perhaps better or faster than ever.  Dusk is the perfect time to take a boat ride, no wind, no traffic, just you and the widening sky. We came home and had ice cream sundaes before playing a couple of exciting games of Spoons.  Jill and Evie each one a game, beating out the guys and Hayden.  That says something about our wives.  In bed by 10:30, tired from the day, (an exhausted Halle asleep by 8:30) none of us looking forward to the next day, the Bissells to a seven hour drive, us to a quiet house.

The End Of Summer (With Our Family)

The Gang

7:01

It's after 7:00 and everyone is still sleeping in, tired no doubt from yesterday's beautiful day on the lake.  It's a partly morning cloudy morning, 57º, no rain till this evening, a high in the 80's, a great final day for Jill and her family.

Friday was another perfect day at the lake, sunny yet not too warm, perfect weather to be outside on the dock, or under a tree taking a nap.  I did both.  The morning, however, was taken up with a couple of trips to the store, one to Hogan's Hut, to get ice and worms for Halle, anxious to catch a few perch off the dock.  And later, Drew and I drove to the Lighthouse, picked up three and a half pounds of thinly sliced delmonico steak, for our favorite meat, a Hawaiian teriyaki steak dinner.  We then drove to Tops, picked up a 12 pack of Shandies, then on the way home, we bought another dozen ears of corn for dinner and we were set for the day.

Halle Sunfishing

The rest of the day we just hung out and eating a great lunch of pea meal bacon from the Lighthouse, with eggs and Pepperidge Farm White bread, reminding me of my Grandmother who, after I had cut their lawn, would  make me lunch with this kind of bread.  All of us then went out on the dock, to swim and sun, the girls going in around 4:30, leaving the four adults out for an hour, a rare time for the four of us to be together without the voices of grandchildren.  Hayden and Halle were inside getting their rooms cleaned and organized in between checking their idevices.

Dinner Al Fresco, Finally

We started dinner around 6:00, Evie making the rice and salad, Jill the roasted cauliflower  and I grilled the teriyaki steak out side.  Drew and the girls set the table outside, the first time this summer we were eating outside, and dinner was great, Hayden especially loving the teriyaki steak. In fact, it was her call that sent us to get the meat from the Lighthouse.  I am not sure why we haven't eaten outside much, perhaps the weather, the fact we spent a week at Topsail but I can remember a couple of summers where every dinner for a couple of weeks was eaten outside.

Halle

Hayden (stop with the pictures)

Around 8:00, just as it was getting dark, we decided to take a cruise off towards Maple Springs. Unfortunately, I missed seeing a buoy in an area I know well and we hit bottom, bending the prop, a sickening feeling.  We decided to not take a chance and boated home on the bent prop.  I called Chris, my mechanic friend, and he stopped by on his way home from Jamestown, pulled the prop in the dark, put in new plugs, and said he would try to be back this evening with a new prop if they had one around at the marina.  What a great kid.  After boating, we sat around on our machines until the kids convinced us to play spoons.  First, however, we had ice cream sundaes, or rather Halle had a whipped cream sundae.  Jill and I made tin roofs, her favorite, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and Spanish peanuts, the best.  We then had three rousing games of spoons, fortunately, breaking no chairs or limbs, despite the energetic play.

8:26

Getting Bored With Sunny and Warm...Not

Jill At Dusk

Halle And Her Dad

6:45

First one up, at 6:30, a bright sun, glistening lake, almost too bright to get a photo. It's a chilly 54º, just the way we like our mornings, the high in the low 80's if that, just the way we like our afternoons.  I think I might like today.

Yesterday was a great day on the lake, lots of sun, puffy clouds, a light wind, and Jill and her family.  We had a slow morning, kids and adults sleeping in because of their long drive the previous night.  Around 10:00, Evie, Halle and I went for a nice kayak paddle, out to Long Point and back, the lake just starting to pick up because of the wind.  When I got home,  Jamestown Awning called to say my boat cover, which they were re-sewing was done.  So I jumped in my trusty Accord, drove to Jamestown, picked up my cover, stopped at Wegmans, again, picked up some goodies for making a pretzel/chocolate/caramel dessert, at Halle's request.  While I was in Jamestown, Drew, Jill and Hayden took the boat over to Bemus, docked it, and went for a run.  I was home around noon, and the guys were back from Bemus.  Hayden and Jill then took yoga mats out into the front yard and did a work out.

Mom and Daughter Planking

Trucker Gal

For lunch, Evie made another pot of corn chowder, the third or fourth she has made since the girls arrived, and we sat out in the yard, enjoying our lunch of chowder and hot dogs, with a special sauce from Ted's Hot Dogs, of Buffalo, a sweet and hot catsup/relish.  It's quite good, even rivals Stadium mustard from Cleveland.  We then spent the early afternoon in the lake, sunning in the yard, or relaxing in the house.  Around 3:30, we  took a long cruise down to Prendergast Point and back, about an hour, taking our time, just us the blue sky and clouds. We then swam, took our time getting ready for dinner at the Casino.  I played around with some of the leftover rocks from Lake Erie, made another cairn in our side yard, and a small one at the meeting of our driveway and road, a disposable and rebuildable one because I am sure cars, either ours or neighbors will end up knocking it down.  So I will just rebuild it, no problem.

Carirn Is Always Greener Around The Septic Tank

Disposable Drive Way Cairn

The Bissells, the adults, especially, wanted wings, so we took the boat to the Casino and got there just as it was filling up.  It was a Thursday but also a great night to be out on the lake, so everyone had the same idea...boat to the Casino.  We don't eat as many wings, as a family, as we used to, a 50 bucket of wings for example, but we did end up with forty between the six of us.  We walked to Main Street because Hayden had to have an ice cream cone.  Kids! We then took a slow ride home, along the route that Hayden and Drew had run earlier in the day.

Hollywood Girls

Cruising To The Casino

When we got  home, our neighbors were having a fire, so we talked with them, made s'mores and watched the kids chase rocket balloons as it got dark.  We all ended up in the living room, on our devices, catching up on the news, emails, and Facebook and Snapchat with the girls.

Setting Sun

Another Top Of The Morning

6:48

Wednesday Morning, 6:40

It's after 8:00 and I am sitting here drinking coffee with my son in law Drew, who just drove in from Virginia last night, getting in about midnight.  He and Halle are looking at old photo albums as I sit here writing my blog.  Everyone else is asleep.  I was up around 6:40, another cool morning, and spectacular out side, blue skies, puffy clouds, some steam rising off the lake because of the cool 55º air.  It looks like three great days with the Bissells here at the lake.

Geranium Up Close By Ten Year Old Halle

Photo By Halle Bissell

Yesterday was a down day for those of us left here at the lake, which means Evie and I, Hayden and Halle.  Unfortunately, Marisa and Marlena are now home, so it's just the Bissells, no cousins.  My morning was busy, as I took Beth, Mitch and Marisa to the Cleveland airport, just over two and a half hours, leaving at 6:45 in the morning, a much easier driver than I expected.  I treated myself to a brief stop at Trader Joe's on Chagrin Boulevard, picking up a couple of cases of two buck chuck (crappy but cheap) and some other goodies, getting home around 1:00.  I hurriedly had a chicken salad sandwich, then drove to Jamestown to drop off my boat cover because the guy had called and said he could work on it and have it back to me later afternoon on Thursday, today.  So I spent another forty five minutes on the road.

While I was in Cleveland, Evie and the girls worked on cleaning the house, and Halle moved into her own room, excited to rearrange her things.  Because of the wind and cool weather, no one went for a swim but I think it had to do with the fact that both Marisa and Marlena were gone, so the girls had no cousins with which to swim and play.  Once the house was cleaned, Evie took the girls to Bemus so Hayden could get in her run, and later Evie cut the lawn, while I got some small things done in the yard as well.  About 5:30, the lake settled down and the girls wanted to go for a boat ride.  So we loaded up with cheese, crackers, and drinks, and cruised down beyond the bridge and back, t shirt weather going, fleece on the way back.

Cruising Before Dinner

Dinner was easy, leftovers from the night before, our Turkish dinner along with some corn chowder, and we then settled down in the TV room, the girls wrapped in blankets, to watch a feel good movie, MC FARLAND, a true story about a group of poor, Hispanic kids in California, who take up cross country as a lark and end up dominating the State championships for ten years.  A good movie for Hayden, who hopes to start her cross country career this fall.  She has a good start, working out each day here at the lake.

Trance Balloons

 Balloon Rising

We had no mojo left, so we all went to bed around 10:30, leaving the backdoor unlocked for Jill and Drew, knowing they would arrive sometime around midnight.

Flew The Coop

Mitch At Large

Boat Girl

Marisa, Photo By Halle

5:27

 I was up at 5:15, couldn't get back to sleep, so I made coffee and took an early dawn photo as I am not usually up this early.We are all up early because Beth, Mitch and Marisa have a flight to Dallas out of Cleveland at 11:30, and we are hoping to leave around 6:30, to make sure they are at the airport early enough. Tommy and Marlena left Monday and now, sadly, the Albarrans are soon off.

Yesterday was a busy day in many ways, much cooler, more fun to be outside but everyone really slept in, catching up on all the sleep they missed over the past few days.  So we did not really get our day started until 10:30 when I bribed the girls into going shopping with me by promising them a frozen hot chocolate with whipped cream at Ryders Cup when we were done.  So we stopped, first at the Can Man, returning all of our returnables, enough to pay for 'half of their drinks.'  We then did a quick shopping through Wegmans, with Halle manning the iPad which had Evie's list of items, with the aisles...sweet.  We wasted little time because the girls had one thing in mind, getting the shopping done so they could get their drinks.  So we checked out and drove to Ryders and fortunately there was no line, so the barista was able to make them quickly.  And, by the time we got home, they were done with their drinks.  We all unloaded the car, nice to have a few extra bodies.

Wegmans

Ryders Cup

While we shopped Beth and Evie went the other way, stopping at McClures to see the landscape Beth painted for Ron and Linda, then on to the Lighthouse for ground chuck for tonight's Turkish dinner of koftes, pita, tomato sauce and yogurt.  Evie also brought home a chicken salad sub from the Lighthouse and we split it for lunch.  It was a windy day, cool on the dock but the girls wanted to go tubing, so off we went, fighting the waves, getting soaked in the boat as the girls rode the "wild" waves.  They loved it and did not want to go in but I was low on gas so we had to.

Tubing With Wind And Waves (sort of)

Hayden

Marisa

Water Bugs

We then relaxed for an hour, and I took off to get gas, to see if I could get my boat cover repaired. The shop, unfortunately, lost their lease so they are out of business till August, a wasted trip to Lakewood.  When I got home, Evie and Beth were making dinner, shaping the spicy koftes, getting the pita ready to brown, and Mitch and I then went out and grilled the meat, taking just about 15 minutes.  Dinner was great, as this is again one of the families favorites, and with corn, and a quinoa tabouleh made for us by our neighbor, Kathy Leonard, we were set.

Evening Tubing

Early Evening Swim

Photo by Halle Bissell

Just as dinner ended, Beth learned they would be leaving Wednesday around 11:30 in the morning rather than 7:30 at night, so Marisa wanted to get one more tubing ride in.  So I gassed up the boat, got things ready, and Beth and I took the girls out for a final tubing before Marisa leaves tomorrow.  It was not as rough as earlier but still fun.  While Beth packed, the kids watched some TV, another one of Hayden's must see, Pretty Little Liars...I skipped it needless to say.  For dessert, we had cookies our neighbor Pat Jones brought, so we were set for the night.  Yum.