As The Morning Settles, We Say Good Bye To Tom's Family

6:11

7:25

It's after 7:00 and I have been up for over an hour, enjoying the changing sky of clouds, sun and reflections on the lake.  It's quiet, as everyone is still sleeping although Tommy and his family have to be on the road to catch their plane in Cleveland by 9:30.  So, for Evie and me, our summer more or less officially ends today with their departure.

Yesterday was like a party balloon partially deflated, as I drove Beth and her kids to Buffalo to catch her plane and returned home to a family getting ready to head for home.  Everyone knew the vacation was ending, it was time to go home and yet, we still had another day ahead of us.  And we tried hard to make the most of it but still, the thought lingered, that both Jill and Beth's families were gone, the house was less full and that tomorrow, everyone would be home.

Marlena Hand Standing

Poised

Look, I Am Flying

When I returned home from the airport, Evie and Marlena had just gotten in from swimming and playing on the wind surfer board.  Earlier Mary and Evie had been busy, beginning the tidying up of our house, something that does not usually happen until after everyone leaves.  But Mary and Marlena wanted to be of help, so they cleaned both the kitchen and the dining room well, so we have at least one step done in getting the house back to its normal shape.  It was both sad but gratifying.

I, too, was in a semi clean up mode, and started putting away some of the water stuff we had gotten out over the past few weeks.  But by 1:30 or so, we had had it and adjourned either to the dock, to the porch, or to the TV room to watch some of the Olympics.  It just was not the same without Beth, Marisa and Mitch and of course, Jill, Drew, Hayden and Halle.  And on and off during the afternoon, Marlena and Mary began to get things organized for their departure this morning, always a sad chore.

Enjoying Burgers At The Seezurh House

Happy Together

We were planning on driving to Pine Junction for dinner but Tom rightly suggested it was silly to drive somewhere when we had a lake and a boat ride in front of us, so we took the boat over to Bemus at 6:00, luckily found the last spot open on the public dock, and walked through an extraordinarily busy Bemus Point for dinner at the good old Seezurh House, which was surprisingly empty as everything else in Bemus seemed packed.  We had a great waitress, all but Tom had burgers and they were great, the best we have had in awhile. For dessert, we got the huge special, a chocolate, peanut butter, and ice cream pie that we shared.  And afterward, we fought the crowd at the ice  cream stand for a final cone for Marlena.  The streets were closed off because the floating stage had a band, and people lined the streets and restaurants and parks to listen.  We have never seen Bemus so crowded.  Nick drove us home into the setting sun, bidding adieu to Bemus.  I don't care if I go back until after Labor Day.

Heading Home

When we got home, Evie and Marlena played a game of Telefunky (Marlena won by a landslide, and Granny was sore), and earlier in the day, when she was teamed up with her Dad, Marlena was victorious in both bocci and beanbag!

I hear some stirrings upstairs, it's now 7:30, so I better finish this.

Marlena and Her Rainbow Smile

Wearing of the Rainbow