Almost The End Of Family Week

A Week Of Large Leisure

Reading

Relaxing

7:08

It's 6:48 and yep, I am the only one up. It's strange to see an overcast morning, with no sun shining, just a gray sky and lake. It's 62º already and will get up to the high 70s later today. We bid aloha to Tom and his family today, as they head off to visit Niagara Falls late morning, then fly out of Buffalo at 5:30 in the afternoon. That leaves Beth and Marisa, who will stay until Thursday. Just after 7:00, as I was about to go kayaking, the sun burst out from above the clouds, lightning up the living room. I just returned from a 50 minute paddle on a quiet, gray lake despite it being a Saturday morning.  Five are up so far, with five more to come. 

Kayak Morning

Reeds And Sky

A Proud Osprey

The Same Old Preening Heron

Friday was a typical lake day, much the same as the previous six days. It started with me kayaking, writing the blog, and a gradual waking of the family. We had no real plans for the day, other than hanging out and enjoying the 70º weather.  After coffee and breakfast, however, a gang drove off to Planet Fitness, then a quick trip to Wegmans to shop. I drove to Mayville and stopped at Tops to pick up pork chops for our dinner. When I returned home, Evie and the girls had straightened up the house, made a teriyaki marinade for the pork chops and put together a ratatouille for dinner. The healthy gang returned around 1:00 and we had sloppy joes or leftovers for lunch. 

Paddling To Long Poinnt

Salad Ladies

Tom And New Daughter In Law

The afternoons don't seem to change, either we sit outside and enjoy the sun, work on our computers, take a nap or swim to cool off or wake up. Everyone seemed happy to just spend the day at the house, not wanting to go anywhere other than to work out which was fine. Late afternoon, Beth got busy and made a batch of peanut butter cookies (my request) and a pan of brownies for dessert. And Nick and Dray decided to kayak, over to Long Point and go for a short hike. 

Baba And Grandson, Tyler

Granny And Tom

Dray And Mary

Libations, Appetizers, And Bean Bag

In the late afternoon, we had shrimp and cocktail sauce for an appetizer, to go along with our drinks, and we had a round-robin of bean bag, with Nick and I winning easily. The boys and I grilled the pork chops while the gals got the sides ready, salad, rice, and ratatouille. We were able to eat outside for the seventh day in a row, quite a contrast to last summer when, because of the weather, we ate inside every night but one. After dinner, the girls cleaned up the kitchen, and the guys straightened up the yard, putting away the picnic table until next summer. 

Grillin

Terigyaki Pork Chop And Ratatoille Dinner

By 8:00, most were playing Bananagrams around the dining room table while the rest read or were on their devices. The play was halted for brownies and ice cream. By 10:00, most adults were tired and went to bed while the young uns stayed up to watch some shows.

Making Cookies

Tommy

Back To Ten, Alas

Evie's Garden

6:07

6:12

8:41

It's another beautiful morning on the lake as I sit here, the only one up. It's 6:30 and I have been up since 6:00, in time to watch the sun peak over the horizon around 6:10. We are down to ten as Jill and her crew had to leave yesterday morning for home because Drew is flying to India today. It's a chilly 54º, will stay in the 70s during the day, classic Chautauqua weather. It's 9:00, most of us are up enjoying coffee and their devices. I kayayed for 75 minutes, a beautiful morning to be on the lake.  I am a lucky guy. 

Kayak Morning

Paddling Home

Bald Eagle

Great Blue Is Back

Yesterday began with a paddle, then the send-off to Jill and her family around 8:30, a sad parting. They were stopping in Morgantown, WV, where their daughter Hayden is a senior, to help her set up her apartment before heading up to Virginia. Tommy drove off to the Lighthouse and picked up two pounds of peameal bacon and corn. 

When he returned, Evie took orders and fried up both the peameal bacon and eggs for most of us because we all loved peameal bacon. By the way, peameal bacon is wet-cured unsmoked bacon made from trim, boneless pork rolled in cornmeal. It is found mostly in Ontario, Canada. 

Hiking Long Point Trails

Mary On Point

Finishing Their Hike

By 11:00, we were all fed and seven of us drove over to the end of Lakeside Drive and walked the trails of Long Point State Park, then out to the point and back to the car, about 3.5 miles total. We met a few people on the trails but mostly had it to ourselves. While we were gone, Evie worked and watered her garden. We were home by 1:00 and settled down for the day, making lunches, enjoying the dock or yard, napping, and working online, whatever we wanted. Around 4:00,  Evie mowed the lawn with the help of Tyler and I pulled in our huge air mattress, deflated it, and put it in the car to take to the Transfer Station because it has a hole in it. 

Ollie And Her Best Friend

A Happy Gang

Burgers And Fries At Pine Junction

By 5:30, we were all showered and gussied up because we were dining out at Pine Junction. I took the back roads through the amazing hilly Chautauqua countryside, with manicured fields of green of mowed hay. We were lucky to get a table for ten inside and quickly ordered our drinks and appetizers. Unfortunately, we did not get our burgers for an hour because the place seemed understaffed, with few waiters. It's a neat place to eat, set in the middle of the countryside, with towns miles away. Everyone ordered burgers and fries and we left full and happy, taking a long way home once again. 

We then sat around our living room until 10:00, either on our phones or talking. Some had ice cream with peaches or hot fudge sauce or brownies. At 10:00, the kids went in to watch some TV and us oldsters went up to bed, tired from our day of large leisure.

 

A Lazy Day

Girls

Girls

Girls

6:20

It's 6:37 and I have been up since 6:15 with Beth and Drew has just walked down so there are three of us to enjoy our coffee and reading on our devices. The sun is shining brightly on 59º morning, a sad morning actually as Jill's family has to leave today. It's just 8:00, the living room is full with adults and I just returned from forty-five minutes of kayaking on the lake, a calm, blue bathtub. 

Kayak Morning

Paddling North

Great Blue

Yesterday is a blur for some reason. I know what I did, that I was up early, paddled down to Snug Harbor and back but that's about it. We had a gang sitting around the living room for a good part of the morning before getting moving. Some went off to walk or run Webb's Trail, then pick up the first corn of the year at the Lighthouse and ordered peameal bacon. The rest of us either worked online, relaxed in the yard, house or dock, enjoying doing nothing. 

Around 11:30, Evie, Drew and I took the girls for a boat ride but made the mistake of heading north where it was too windy and choppy, so we then reversed course to Bemus Bay which was sheltered from the wind for the most part. 

For once, we did not need to shop at Wegman's and lunch was a potpourri of leftovers, sandwiches, etc. Early afternoon was dock time, swimming for a few, mostly sunbathing and sleeping in the yard, by 3:30, all the adults but Evie and Beth drove to the Southern Tier Brewery and sat outside enjoying one of their craft beers. 

Southern Tier Brewery

Drew, The Human Buoy

More Girls

Here's To Nick And Dray

Nick And Mom

While we were gone, Evie and the girls played bean bag and Evie parboiled up chicken thighs for our dinner. When we returned home, it was time to start dinner, so the Five Guys grilled the chicken thighs while Evie and the girls made a salad, cooked noodles in chicken broth, and shucked the corn.

Five Guys Grillin

Picnic Dinner

Dinner was a feast, another one of our traditional Chautauqua dinners, basically barbecued chicken, noodles and corn. By 7:00, everything was eaten, and all we full but not for long. At 8:00, basically, the kids drove to Hogan's Ice Cream Shack for dessert while the adults, still full, lay around doing nothing. We had little mojo for the most part, so we did not play games or watch TV but went up to bed by 10:00, tired from our day of leisure.

Giant Cone