Sunny And Warm Day # 4

Barcelona Beach, Lake Erie, Green Algae Infested Mouth Of Chautauqua Creek (drone photo by Mitchell)

Algae Pond At Mouth Of Chautauqua Creek

6:45

I missed the sunrise, alas, and now there are some clouds out there, nothing threatening yet but tonight and tomorrow we actually may have some rain. Hallelujah.  It's a coolish 68º, will get up into the 80's later in the day, then cool off some over the weekend.  Tommy, Beth and Mary are all up and we were talking about how these are the good old days 'for our kids, how they will look back at their summers at the lake with nostalgia.'  It's shocking to think that way, to wonder what this connected world of devices will be like in 50 years.

Beaching It At Town Of Barcelona Beach, On Lake Erie (drone photo by Mitch)

Hiking In The Heat

Yesterday we had our typical morning, coffee, a light breakfast, and gathering together the darks and lights so Evie could get the washing going.  With nine of us, there's always wash to do, especially towels and swim suits to dry.  We did get our stuff together by 10:30 because we were taking an excursion to Barcelona beach, a 17 miles drive north to the shores of Lake Erie.  It was a hot day to beach it, especially to walk it and look for stones or rocks.  We went as far as the mouth of Chautauqua Creek because we wanted to fly Mitch's drone over it but it was a terrible disappointment.  Because of the lack of rain, it was a small pool of algae and the current was not strong enough break through the beach and empty in Lake Erie.

Lunch At Jack's Barcelona Drive In

KC Kids

KC Kid And Her Dad

So, we walked back to our bags and towels, swam in the surprisingly clear waters of Lake Erie, Mitch flew his drone, and we then packed up and drove 50 yards to Jack's Barcelona Drive In for lunch.  Unfortunately, their air conditioner was broken (for the past week!), so it was a bit warm as we waited for our perch sandwiches for the adults, pancakes and french toast for the kids.  It was not the greatest of lunches, mostly because we were hot and wanted to get home.  On the way home, Tom and the family stopped at Webb's for their goat milk fudge and clothes shopping.  And Evie and I stopped at the Lighthouse and had the butcher slice four pounds of rib eye a quarter of an inch thick, for our favorite Hawaiian meal, teriyaki steak. We also got a pound of pea meal bacon, Beth's favorite, and picked up a dozen ears of corn at a local stand, so we were ready for dinner.

Customer's Truck At Jack's (assume he's voting for Trump but did not ask)

We then  spent the rest of the afternoon baking on the dock, occasionally buffeted by a cool, southerly wind.  We alternated between the dock and the house, coming in for an hour, then going back out again to enjoy the sun and water.  The girls discovered that they could have fun on my old windsurfer board and spent hours standing up on it, doing tricks, falling off, getting back up again, and trying again.  Later, after dinner, we played Simon Says with them, as they could have gone on with this game for hours if it hadn't gotten dark.  Kids are amazing, how they can have fun, come with up games on their own.  We spent all this money on floats and they spend all their time on my windsurfing board.  Love it.

Balancing Act

We Did It

Around 5:30, it cooled off a bit, so everyone gathered up a towel and drink and we took a slow cruise down beyond the bridge and back.  It was nice going, with a breeze but hot returning, so we put the old boat into high gear and raced home, at a hefty 16 mph.

Our Son

Marisa

Towel Headed Nick

Corn Shuckers

Once we got home, it was time to get serious about dinner, so Evie made the rice, cooked the corn, the girls made the salad and some toast with cheese, and Tom and I cooked the four pounds of rib eye on the grill.  Because it's cut so thin, we grilled the steak for a minute or two on each side before they were done.  Dinner was just as we expected, the teriyaki done medium rare, eating it was like eating candy and every thing else was good.  And for the first time, we actually had some teriyaki steak leftover for today's lunch.

Hawaiian Teriyaki Steak Dinner With Rice And Corn

After dinner, the girls wanted to swim, to play around again on the surf board, so Evie, Tom, and I sat on the dock and played Simon Says with them, as I mentioned earlier.  We stopped only when it got dark.  We came in and Evie made ice cream cones for the girls, ice cream and strawberries for the rest, and then Evie and I and the girls played another rousing game of Telefunky before the girls finally tired out and wanted to go up to bed.  We left the boys to their devices and the rest of us went up to bed.

Playing Simon Says At Dusk

Loving The Lake

Today is our last full day with Beth and her family so we hope to make it a good one.