A Day On The Shores Of Lake Erie

With My Sisters And Their Husbands And Niece

5:58

6:53

A splendid morning here at Chautauqua Lake.  Lots of sunshine, some clouds, a shimmering lake, purple martins singing, and 63º.  I was up in time to see the sunrise at 5:58 although it had to squeeze its light between the cloud bank and shoreline.  At the moment, it's 7:13 and the sun is now high in the sky, above the clouds.  It looks like we will have a rain free couple of days, a great 4th tomorrow. It's 8:45 and I just got back from a paddle, a crowded lake as I met three other kayakers!

Bean Baggers, Vince, Walt, Hampton

Selfie With Grandniece And Friend

Evie and Shea

Grand Niece Emily And Riley

Yesterday we were both up early and busy, getting ready for a day trip to visit my sisters Linda and Ellen in Euclid.  Linda lives on the shores of Lake Erie in Euclid, the town the three of us grew up in. It's a busy place in the summers as her kids and grandchildren live nearby and are almost always enjoying their yard and beach during the summer.  Yesterday was no exception as two of the four families descended on the house to enjoy the fun, the gathering of us, my sister from Virginia and her daughter and husband from Denver.  It's always great fun for us to see all the kids when we visit and seeing my sister and her daughter made it even better.  We arrived about noon, sat around and talked until my sister Linda brought out her famous sloppy joes.  The young boys quickly dug in as did the rest of us, quickly emptying the pot.

Beaching It 

Evie And My Sister, Ellen

Younger Generation Cruising

Around 1:30, the younger generation drove to Wildwood to get the boat and go for a cruise to Cleveland and swim at the sandy White City Beach.  The rest of us were content to sit on the now rock filled beach, with our feet in the water.  It was a warm day but a nice breeze made it bearable in the sun.  We sat around drinking beer or bottled water, catching up on the lives of our nieces and nephews and their kids, some who are now in college.

Grand Nephew, Connor, A Senior At Keuka College

Evie, With Ellen And Her Daughter, Julia

Barbequing With Kevin, Son Connor, And Rich

Around 5:30, my sister Linda and her husband Rich started to make dinner.  Rich barbequed buckets of chicken and Linda made noodles and got out the salad her daughter made.  We must have been hungry because there was little left as the young boys put it away like us grandfather's used to do.
We ended the evening with great desserts, chocolate chip bon bons and cheesecake, the courtesy of the current Mayor of Euclid, my niece.  It was a perfect end to a great day, as we sat out on the porch, overlooking the lake, enjoying our dessert, coffee, as the kids paddled each other out to the boat and went for an early evening cruise.

Cleveland Sky Line

Tubing At dusk

We said our goodbyes at 9:00 and had an easy two hour drive home to the lake, getting there just after 11:00, with a stop for gas in Ohio at Loves, to fill up on gas, 45 cents cheaper a gallon then in New York.  It was fun to be with family again and we all made our vows to see each other more often.