A great birthday cruise - and The Red Rocket gets delivered

VALOIS, New York, USA - My birthday cruise day around Seneca Lake yesterday was fantastic. Great weather, warm temperatures, cold beer and wine - and flat water.

What a B-day.

We started with a lunch-time cruise to a restaurant up the lake a few miles called The Showboat, where you can get almost any food you want - provided you like it fried. These people probably fry lettuce before they put it on your hamburger. Now that I think about it, the lettuce and tomato on my burger were extra crunchy.

Hmm...


Cousin Ruth and Michael toast at The Showboat

Cousin Ruth went along on the first leg of the day's outing, having lunch (fried, of course) with the Admiral and I at The Showboat. We had pondered taking Ruth's boat on that first part of voyage, instead of the Spirit of Louise, but our pontoon boat is soooo comfortable (and easy on gasoline) the we took with our vessel instead.

And it was a great trip.

We hope save Ruth's gasoline for later in the summer when it's time to water ski.


Tina and Eric Hazlitt sailing home

We did a wine cruise in the evening, going from dock-to-dock (begging for Sauvignon Blanc or other white wines) and had a great time, running into lots of amigos including Eric and Tina Hazlitt sailing their rig home after an nice evening on the water.

By then, we had already picked up amigo Brad and his faithful companion Arnold-the-dog, and as Brad works at the Hazlitt Winery, our begging for wine was no longer necessary.

Good thing - we were running out of daylight and it was getting a little chilly.


Arnold sights in on the Hazlitt sailboat ahead

Today, post birthday, the Admiral and I spent the morning recovering from yesterday's festivities (me much more than the Admiral) and then late in the day, we went down the hill to see if my boat partner Jennifer had arrived from Arizona and was interested in starting to do some sailing.

We didn't have to ask twice and within a few minutes of catching Jennifer at a party at her family's home, Jennifer and I had launched The Red Rocket out into the lake and were zooming across Seneca Lake - the third time I have actually sailed the rig.

I discovered that the boat has a slight design flaw. With two crew members (sitting too far aft) the open center board pours water into the boat like a fountain. And the automatic bailing system doesn't work all that well.

Regardless, we had a great sail, but cut it a little short when the wind piped up to over 15 knots and we started lurching a little too far over when tacking. But now the boat is at Jennifer's beach (400 yards from ours) and ready for some sailing lessons.

Tomorrow is another day. And we have a duct-tape solution to the leaking in the planning stages.

After the sailing voyage, the Admiral and I hung around at the Fitch house, where a party was in full swing. The party was to celebrate the high school graduations of several family members. And the dancing just got better as the night wore on...

A perfect July 4th weekend - complete with waterskiing

VALOIS, New York, USA - The July 4th, 2008 weekend is history - along with several cases of beer, enough wine to put on another wedding and tons of food.

Tons of food. There are no hungry people in our extended family tonight.

The three-days turned out to a perfect long weekend for boating. Instead of predicted rain and thunderstorms, we had beautiful sun, moderate temperatures and very light winds, perfect for tooling around in the Spirit of Louise.

After a great dinner at Cousin Ruth's house on July 4th, we traveled down the lake to Watkins Glen (via boat) to watch the village fireworks with several hundred other vessels, including a brand-new pontoon boat purchased by amigos Barney and Marsha.


The new boat

We ended up rafting up with Barney & Company to watch the fireworks, along with Cousin Ruth's clan in Ruth's boat. At the end of display, it was a little like Indianapolis with all the boats starting up simultaneously and then roaring back up the lake to go home.

I haven't seen so much choppy water since being out in the ocean off the coast of Mexico.

The weekend also included a trip to the Watkins Glen race track to take a look at the Grand Prix race and other events (like wine tastings) that were going on all weekend.

There was soooo much going on that it will take a separate blog (Tomorrow? Maybe...) to talk about everything, but I did get a chance to chat briefly with Miss Watkins Glen, whose main job (besides walking around and looking gorgeous) was to sing the National Anthem right before the major races.


Saying hello to Miss Watkins Glen

Somewhere in all of the weekend we also fit in another party (with a live band) and - drum roll please - I went water skiing, probably for the first time in five or six years.

I had wanted to ski for the past two years, but my shoulder problems - and the Admiral - clearly indicated it wasn't a good idea. I did get a go-ahead late last summer from my physical therapist here in Watkins to water ski, with the caveat that I should not do any weird tricks or fall.

Well, Jaysus, what kind of fun is that?

But this year - with my 60th birthday coming up this summer - I announced months ago that I would ski, shoulder aches or not. As it turned out, Cousin Ruth's girls Jennifer and Kate were water skiing over the weekend so barely an hour after wrapping my arms (ok, ok, one arm) around Miss Watkins Glen, I suited up and took a spin on water skis.

Who knows that the weather will be like on my birthday?

I had forgotten that when you put water skis on out of the water they loosen a lot in the water. But even though I was slip-sliding like I had on size 14 shoes (I wear a 9 1/2 thank you very much) I had a good, if somewhat wobbly run, even if the ending wasn't exactly textbook.

Exactly textbook? Okay, okay, okay!

I fell spectacularly, in a rolling heap, much to the amusement of the neighbors sitting on their docks, the Admiral and my relatives on Ruth's dock. But my shoulders are fine and even the knee that was repaired a couple of years ago held up its responsibilities without complaint. We'll see how it does when I try slalom skiing.

No tricks were attempted this time, but the summer is just getting started and I have my physical therapist's phone number on speed dial, just in case.

I wonder if Miss Watkins Glen is a water skier?