Celebrating, With Gratitude, Independence Day

The Captain

The Niece

The Son In Law

The Brother In Law

The Sister

Portrait Credit:  by Evie

7:03

It's early, what else, and I am the only one up. It's 6:14 as I begin my blog.  I was just out sitting on the front porch waiting for the sun to rise above the horizon.  At 6:05, it began its journey, its reflection blinding, as the steam rose on the lake.  It's a chilly 49º, with lots of sun later, a slight chance of rain, the highs getting into the low 80's.  It should be a fun but busy day, as we are off to hear Trevor Potter, former chairman of the Federal Election Committee, speak at the Chautauqua Institution.  We learned about him when he helped Stephen Colbert set up his Super PAC called 'Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.'  He was so knowledgeable and funny that he came back to Stephen's show a couple of times.

Ellen And Walt

The Loving Couple

Yesterday began with a good hour to myself, so I wrote the blog, read some of the NYTimes and watered the lawn's bare spots before most got up, around 8:00.  We had coffee, said our goodbye's to my sister Linda and her husband, Rich, who were here for one night; they had to get home for their own Fourth of July picnic on Lake Erie.  They left about 9:30 and Evie got busy making egg bagel sandwiches and packing drinks for our cruise to the Chautauqua Institution around 10:15.  It was a fine morning, blue skies and lake, so we docked there around 10:30 and had a picnic breakfast on our boat.  We then spent the next couple of hours walking the grounds, listening to the choir and speaker briefly in the Amphitheater, walking the loop, visiting the Art In the Park, then spending our last 15 minutes at the Clock Tower area, listening to a great three piece Klezmer Band, made up of three Hasidic Jews, with long side burns.  They were great and made us want to dance.

Klezmer Music

We quickly boated home because we wanted to jump in the lake and cool off some.  I had a few chores, so I drove off to Hogan's Hut, for ice and gas for my boat.  When I got back, I packed the cooler with drinks and ice, then went out and put 10 more gallons in my boat so I would have no worries about gas over the next few days.  We then relaxed the rest of the afternoon, enjoying some light snacks like hummus on the dock, tired so it seemed from our adventure at the Chautauqua Institution.

Heading To Bemus Point's Casino

Everyone was anxious for our wings dinner, so after a couple of more games of bean bag, we changed and got a beer and cruised over to the Casino in Bemus Point and were lucky to get a docking spot at the Casino, as all of Bemus was overflowing with people.  We got a table right away, ordered a couple of pitchers of Yuengling and lots of wing and fries.  Julia and Hampton went off to play some of the games, coming back with a cheap stuffed animal, making Julia happy.

A Winner

The wings were as good as we can remember, and they got a thumbs up from Hampton, a wing gourmet.  Because it was such a nice night, we walked the short distance into town, stopping to tour the inside of the grand old Lenhart Hotel.  The street was closed off to traffic and the hillside and walks were packed with people waiting to hear music.  We wanted an ice cream cone so we waited for at least 20 minutes in line for a cone.  Obviously, a few other people had the same idea.  I have never seen Bemus Point so crowded. We then took the slow stroll home, past at least fifty boats docked in front of the floating dock, there to hear a Journey Cover Band.

Hot Wings At The Village Casino

Finished

We were home and cosy by 9:00 and were not sure what to do.  So Evie and Julia got out Bananagrams and we played that until bedtime.  Our games were briefly interrupted  by the fireworks from neighbors on both sides, as well as some shows up and down the lake.  We walked out on the dock to watch and enjoy the noise and light snow.  Our neighbors' grandkids would cheer every time their grandfather would off a set of fireworks which was fun.  We eventually headed up to bed around 11:00 and read some before falling asleep.

Sunset