Around the Lake, Kayaking, Reading

Roger and Libby left today to continue their adventures.

We walked around the lake with Stela. Our legs are getting a bit more used to the hills, but it is still harder to walk 4 miles here than in Florida.

I did some kayaking. I am almost good at getting in and out now, after several days of practice.

Mostly, today was a quiet day of washing clothes, reading, and watching the rafts and water skiers go by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch with Friends on a Rainy Adirondack Day

Libby, Annette, and I went to yoga at the Star Lake Community Center yesterday morning. Then Annette, Sherm, Lisa, and Nancy came for lunch at our Star Lake camp.

After lunch,Nancy, Lisa, and I went kayaking and swimming . . . in the rain . . . like kids. What fun!  And, the lake is warmer than normal after all the hot weather this summer. It is beautiful here in the rain.

Dinner on Cranberry Lake

Monday evening, Roger, Libby, Russ, and I met up at Annette and Sherm's house in Wanakena with Nancy and Lisa, our Cedar Key neighbors who live in Kingston Ontario at this time of year. We went out the Oswegatchie River on the Craigs' boat, to Cranberry Lake. On the river, just past their house, rock cliffs squeeze the river into The Narrows. Although it then opens wide about where you pass by the Ranger School, there is still a narrow, marked channel caused by hundreds of trees that died and fell into the water as the damn caused the water to gradually back up, create the lake, and flood the forested river banks. The fallen trees, even when removed, left navigational hazards to be avoided. Thus the long, circuitous channel. 

 We cruised for a while, in warm, gentle breezes, then stopped for appetizers. Roger and Libby brought a fantastic white wine from Maggie's Vineyards to pair with our cheese from Meg's Cheese to You shop . . . Kunik from the Nettle Meadow Farm on the other side of the Adirondacks, Tallegio from Italy, and Colston Bassett Stilton from Neal's Yard in the UK. The cruised continued, past the camps and the Cranberry Lake Biological Station, a SUNY environmental research facility accessible only by boat. When we stopped next, again just floating out n the middle of the lake, we had dinner .. . broccoli salad, roasted corn, and sausage.

 

 

 The weather was perfect. We did not even need jackets . . . on a boat, in the evening, on an Adirondack lake! Pretty amazing.

 

 

Back at the house, Sherm, Roger, Lisa, and Nancy went to see a house for sale in Wanakena. Loved it, as they did, nobody bought it. Instead, they returned for blueberry-peach cobbler and ice cream.

A  perfect Adirondack evening.

More Cedar Key Visitors to the North Country

All four of us, plus Stela, walked 5+ miles around the lake this morning. It is a gorgeous day. While the rest of us rested, Stela went swimming again and a raft went by trailing several tubes full of kids!

Tonight, we are invited for dinner on Annette and Sherm's boat as we cruise the Oswegatchie River and Cranberry Lake.  Our Cedar Key neighbors, Nancy and Lisa, who are also friends with Annette and Sherm, are coming over from their summer home in Canada to go with us. WaHoo. Looking forward to a wonderful evening.

First Full Day at the Lake, Friends Arrive, Macbeth in Wanakena

We had a good night's rest out on the sleeping porch. 65 degrees. Moonlight. Breezes. Loons calling.

We took our first walk around the lake, taking special notice of the beautiful flowers. The trips up and down the Millhopper last week helped my flat-lander legs not be too exhausted after 5 miles. We went to the Great American Market to stock up the pantry. Lo and behold, other summer people beat us to the supplies . . . no bottled water, none . . . one type of crackers, Keebler flavored pita chips . . . ha! Love that people buy them out at this time of year. We want the store to stay open and buying them out is bound to help them do so!

Stela swam for a while. I kayaked my first little bit, trying to not over exercise my shoulders the first day out.

 

 

Libby and Roger, from Cedar Key, arrived about 6:00. Relaxation, Russ' oven-roasted chicken-and-potatoes with kalamata olives, and lots of time to watch the rafts float by.

Sunday, we took Libby and Roger for a 3-mile walk along the South Shore Road in Wanakena, had some lake-time with Stela, kayaked a bit, and then went back to Wanakena for a live performance in the town square of Macbeth presented by the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts Summer Theater Festival.

 

 

 

We followed that up with Russ' baked macaronada for dinner back at the camp on the waterfront, with sangria Libby and Roger brought. Life is good at the lake.

A Day with Meg and Steve, Then on to Star Lake

Our day in Lexington with Meg and Steve was a good one. We walked all through their new neighborhood with Stela in the morning. They live more downtown now, nearer to Washington and Lee University, than in their former house.  There are bungalows and old Victorian mansions. We admired the no-grass landscaping in many of the yards. We helped hang curtains, went to Cheese to You for cheese, olive oil, olives, and balsamic vinegar, and had dinner out. . . all without having to get in the car. City living rocks, even in a town of fewer than 10,000 population.

 

 

After leaving Lexington at 7:00 on Friday morning, we drove through the rest of VA, WV, MD, PA, and NY on I-81. Finally, at 4:30 in the afternoon, we exited at Fort Drum and headed into the Adirondacks. Stela was the co-pilot most of the way and sometimes was a bit too bossy about it.

We arrived in Star Lake at 6:00. Stela took her first swim. We feasted on the waterfront terrace on the bread that Steve baked for us and cheese from Meg for dinner. Iconic Star Lake rafts floated quietly by. Everyone waved. Ahhhhh! Lake time.

 

Road Trip to Star Lake

The first day of our trip to Star Lake began at 6:00 and ended at 6:30. Long day. We skipped I-10 in favor of more rural roads for the first few hours. Bonus—our kitchen remodel is starting today in our absence. We’re grateful to miss at least some of it. The sunrise was lovely and, except for Georgia where a tropical storm was pushing rain in from the Atlantic the whole time we were driving, it was a great road-trip day. It would have only taken 12 hours if traffic had not been heavy near Roanoke. All in all, a lucky travel day.