It Looks Like A Fine Day On Chautauqua Lake (with the boys)

Niagara Falls Day Trip

Starting Their Morning With A Jump In The Lake

7:00

It's 7:30 and both Evie and I are up, listening to MSNBC's Conservative Republican talk show host, Joe Scarborough, talk about Donald Trump's most current lies, suggesting Obama's to blame for the Orlando attack, his ridiculous banning of Washington Post writers on his campaign, and his nutty conspiracy theories.  Just when you think he cannot say something more ridiculous, he topped it yesterday with some of the things he alleged about the Orlando massacre.   I just hope his voters are listening to him, to what he's really saying, using their reason, not emotion, putting aside his fear mongering.  That being said, what a contrast between the recent events in the world and the quiet, spectacular morning here at the lake.  It can only fill us with gratitude and unhappiness that so many others are denied this kind of morning, our good life.

It's a chilly 50º at the moment, a high later in the day of 73º, mostly sunny, a good day for boating, just hanging out at the lake.  The boys are still sleeping of course and we don't expect them up until 10:00 or later as they stayed up last night to watch the Cavs gutsy victory over Golden State.

KC Boys At The Falls

Going On Fifty One Years Together

Yesterday was a long day trip to Niagara Falls.  It started earlier than usual, as we got the boys up at 8:30 and they took a quick swim, and soaping and hair washing in the lake.  They have vowed to take their showers every day in the lake, keeping a final shower in the house for Friday.  Good boys.  Evie made them pancakes for breakfast, hoping to fill them up until lunch.  We left around 9:45 and Nick, Chris and Peyton played a word game most of the two hour ride to Niagara Falls.  The ride is scenic the first forty minutes, until we hit the New York Freeway, then interesting the last forty, as we drove through Buffalo, past vast vacant steel mills, then across bridges to Grand Island, then eventually to Niagara Falls.  As we drove into the park area, the boys were shocked by the tackiness of the area surrounding the falls, shops, hotels, most unattractive.  Such is the Niagara Falls of today.  We parked easily, stopped at the Visitors Center, got our map and then spent the next couple of hours hiking along the edge of  the falls, out to Goat Island, with hordes of tourists, the majority Asian.  It is a lovely area, park, great for walking, as we could get close to the strong currents of the Niagara River, as it rushed towards the two falls. The first glimpse of the falls is the best, a sense of awe, but as the day progresses, the water and falls become normal, the way it is and we soon got tired of it.  So we settled in the park, in the shade of a tree, overlooking the river and falls and had our lunch which Evie had packed.  Anything Evie seems to make the boys love, and they thought her salami, turkey, and ham sandwiches were the among the best they have ever had.

Pondering Nature's Beauty, Man's Experiments in Architectural Insignificance

Peace Bridge And Buds

Nick brought along a mini basketball, which they continued to play with, making me wonder how long it would be before they lost it to the falls or river.  They did have some fun after lunch bowling for pigeons before we walked in the other direction, past the falls, along the rim of the now seemingly quiet Niagara River.  We could have walked for miles along the rim, in fact, I have ridden it on my bike for miles a couple of years ago.  We walked far enough to attempt throwing the ball against the wall of the Peace Bridge, to see if it would bounce back to us.  It didn't and fell hundreds of feet down to the Niagara River, alas.  With the ball gone, it was time to go home with a final view from the long balcony, which hangs out from the Maid Of The Mist building, with a great view of the falls.  Both Evie and I were surprised at the boys showing no interest in taking the boat ride.  Perhaps if we had gone the first thing during our visit, they might have done it.  But by 2:00, they had enough and so we drove home, lucky to avoid the rush hour traffic.  We stopped in Fredonia at our favorite Italian deli to get some Italian bread and stretch our legs.  We got home around 4:30, and the three of them went immediately upstairs to their rooms, to talk or text to family, friends and girlfriends.  They were obviously tired as were Evie and I so we relaxed for an hour or so.  Luckily, Evie had a baked ziti frozen, had taken it out in the morning, so all she had to do was make a bechamel sauce for the top, put it in the oven for an hour, make some garlic bread, broccoli and a salad, and we had dinner.

Dinner, I have to admit, was great.  The boys devoured the baked ziti, the best Evie's ever made. Chris said it was the best pasta dish he's ever had, and Nick thinks Evie could be a five star chef.  I think they like her cooking.  We listened to a Jack Johnson album, a singer both Chris and Evie and I really like. The boys did up the dishes and then the four went out and played some competitive bean bag games until it got dark.  I relaxed inside, letting them have their fun because Peyton and I had played two games before dinner.  Our games were close but no cigar for Peyton!

Bean Baggers

We decided to watch an episode of My So Called Life and tape the Cavs game so we could rush through the commercials.  It's fun to sit with them as they watch this teen series, listening to them laugh with understanding of the angst of both Claire, a fifteen year old girl, with a crush on Jordan, as well as the difficulty of being a parent.  Clearly, this series still speaks to teenagers, even 20 years later.  Peyton then went up to bed, tired from his early run and the day.  Evie and I stayed up and watched the first half of the Cavs game, then went to bed, leaving Chris and Nick to finish up and bring home a winner.

It's 8:30 as I finish, Peyton's up and out for a run, the other two are sleeping. Evie's been busy, getting food organized for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And I am off to do some shopping before everyone is up and at'em.