We left the buns and house in the care of Cole, a young man entering his senior year of High School.
Baz was one very happy camper.
And the banner is of my design. I made it many years ago, and then have repaired it as the wind and sun change it into shreds. It is always hung up when someone is in residence making a nice waterside welcome to boaters. See those 4 steps? That is all there is to getting from our downstairs digs to the dock.
Saturday evening was a repeat of Friday, minus the dock launching because it was raining. We spun near the open door to the dock until the wind changed and the rain came in through the screen.
Sunday was more of the same delightful no pressure leisure, with me going in to Inlet to check on mail while Jim and Basel took a walk around 5th Lake together. After a wonderful brunch of bacon, cheese and onion omelettes I sat down to knit while Jim went to Moss Lake to walk. He should have been gone at least 2 -3 hours but came back in about an hour because part of the trail was underwater and he was not wearing hip boots and it was raining again. Oh sigh, an afternoon of popcorn, reading and knitting and napping.
All in all, with all our side stops and road driving the mileage was within 5 of taking the major highways and less than half an hour more in time. We were also much happier as that kind of driving home extended our relaxed feelings.
For those of you who do not live nearby here is a location map.
The Adirondacks were designated a preserve many many years ago. A map was drawn with a blue line surrounding this precious area. We now call it living inside or outside of the Blue Line although I could not find an online map that showed it in blue. It is so precious that real estate prices double or triple inside that line. sheesh. Really, I cannot see much difference from one side to the other....................
Our destination was about 4 hours away on 5th Lake. Usually we go up route 81 and then take the NYS Thruway for a while before heading north from Rome. This time we decided to be on vacation as soon as we left Ithaca (after picking up coffee, snacks and bagged lunch). Jim loves to meander and has such a fantastic magnet in his brain that he never gets lost. We wound northward and eastward through small towns, through Cazenovia and Morrisville and up through Holland Patent, eventually to Old Forge.
I love this river. It changes and meanders even more than Jim driving on vacation. Above is the Moose several miles south of Old Forge. Below is the Middle Moose on the southern end of Old Forge. Do you detect a hint of fall in the leaves and foliage?
The Fulton Chain of Lakes begins in Old Forge with Old Forge Pond and 1st Lake (yes, very creative naming) then in to 2nd, etc, through our tiny larger than a pond 5th Lake to 6th and onward to 8th.
The Moose River runs in there too. Actually this is the beginning of the Great Adirondack Canoe Classic every September. A 90 mile 3-day staged race for 200 kayaks and canoes.
About ten miles by road, north of Old Forge, is the hamlet of Inlet right at the top of 4th Lake and next to 5th. We drove into the driveway, happily off loaded between rain storms, put a few things away and immediately went out onto the dock to drink a beer, eat lunch and relax. RELAX become the pertinent word for our weekend.
Baz was one very happy camper.
And the banner is of my design. I made it many years ago, and then have repaired it as the wind and sun change it into shreds. It is always hung up when someone is in residence making a nice waterside welcome to boaters. See those 4 steps? That is all there is to getting from our downstairs digs to the dock.
I brought:
KNITTING - my sister's sweater to be reknit, the linear shawl I am designing and the socks for the September Sock Hop to complete.
SPINNING - 4 oz of Panda in both Blueberry Pie and Blueberry Patch to spin for heavy socks, Black Cherry bfl to complete spinning for a sweater and some purple merino to spin and then ply with some already spun llama/pygora.
BOOKS - 2 - one in the middle (book 3) and the sequel (book 4) in the series.
COMPUTING - revamping several of my website pages which can easily be done offline.
After lunch we decided to take naps. After dinner we took our wheels onto the deck, sat mesmerized seeing a neighbor's new dock being swung and placed
and spun a bit, watching the sunset mostly behind clouds. 5th is a quiet lake so we mostly saw kayakers, canoeists, ducks and fishing boats. Some even came over to see what we were doing and chat a bit.
and spun a bit, watching the sunset mostly behind clouds. 5th is a quiet lake so we mostly saw kayakers, canoeists, ducks and fishing boats. Some even came over to see what we were doing and chat a bit.
Oh and I have not mentioned that the only place in Inlet that has cell service is on the town dock. If I wanted internet at the cottage I would have needed to use dial-up. I used that as a good excuse to only check mail once a day. I loved the idea of actually being legitimately separated from my computer for lengths of time.
Saturday morning, after a leisurely read with coffee on the dock, I shouldered my computer back pack and walked about a half a mile in to Inlet to sit on a nice bench in front of the Library which has WiFi. I was joined there by several other people doing similar high tech vacation stuff. Then I went across the street to the grocery store to pick up a few paper supplies, check out some other interesting stores and wander back across the bridge to the cottage.
We then went, all three of us (me, Jim and Basel), for a paddle before lunch. After lunch we sat on the dock until the rain started and were "forced" inside to read and nap.
Do you see a bit of a pattern emerging here? Sleep, eat, drink, paddle, spin, eat, drink, sleep, knit, walk, nap......
Jim wanted to walk around Moss Lake but the weather and our inertia put a delay into that.
Saturday evening we did bestir ourselves enough to get dressed (that does not mean much in the Adirondacks) in clean clothes and drive a couple of miles to Eagle Bay to have a nummy dinner at the Hard Times Cafe. Jim showed me a printout of his 1989 race win which is included in a poster on a wall of the cafe..
Saturday evening was a repeat of Friday, minus the dock launching because it was raining. We spun near the open door to the dock until the wind changed and the rain came in through the screen.
Sunday was more of the same delightful no pressure leisure, with me going in to Inlet to check on mail while Jim and Basel took a walk around 5th Lake together. After a wonderful brunch of bacon, cheese and onion omelettes I sat down to knit while Jim went to Moss Lake to walk. He should have been gone at least 2 -3 hours but came back in about an hour because part of the trail was underwater and he was not wearing hip boots and it was raining again. Oh sigh, an afternoon of popcorn, reading and knitting and napping. On Monday we leisurely packed up, cleaned the cottage and headed in to the Old Forge Arts Center to see the National Exhibition of American Watercolors Show. A really incredible exhibit to find up there with famous painters hanging on the walls.
After lunch we started home and decided that since the day was only overcast, not really rainy we would again meander through the countryside to get home. One of the neat things we saw this time, because Jim did take different roads, were the Windmills in Madison County. I find them calming to look at and not at all intrusive.
All in all, with all our side stops and road driving the mileage was within 5 of taking the major highways and less than half an hour more in time. We were also much happier as that kind of driving home extended our relaxed feelings.
We came back to happy bunnies. Cole will be caring for the buns and Baz and the house while we are at Hemlock in September. It is such a relief to us to have found a responsible person to do this for us who also enjoyed walking our woods and fishing in the pond. Thank you Cole.
Oh and in case you were wondering. What did I get done on my to do list? Well, my sister's sweater gained several inches and the sock went past the heel. And I finished one book and started another. One bobbin was filled. Otherwise the list stayed as it began.
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