another maple scrounge popped up on FB marketplace, close to home, couldn't help myself, even though it was a bunch of odd length huge rounds. I made a ton of noodles today. first load trying to find room in the backlog for the second load not quite a full third load. This is all some great maple, I'm wondering if I might have enough to stuff my racks full again. The only good thing about all this oddly cool weather recently is that we're selling firewood bundles like crazy. Lots of neighbors have fire pits and are enjoying the cool evenings around a hot fire.
Didn’t look like much of a pile, but it filled almost a half cord. Split a little more last night PR shoot at work this morning
COVID-19 had some good sides, my parents bought us all tickets to Florida for $60 each because of the drop off in travel. it was the first time flying commercial for my family. They loved it, but I really thought we weren’t going to make our flight out of Boston due to the park and ride operator taking forever to get us to the airport. We actually arrived at the gate as the crew was coming off so I could finally begin breathing again. My kids loved flying. service at Leesburg first Baptist, from the movie “the touch”. The kids fooling around in the pool at the community my parents spend the winter at. Our oldest daughter flew in by herself and my mother picked her up while we enjoyed the day at cocoa beach. This was one of the highlights of the trip, getting to drive my parents golf cart around. They about wore the tires out in a week Some of the scenery from the community where my parents avoid winter.
We were there around the end of May, so it was hot every day, the mornings were the only time to get out and walk or ride a bike. Tuesday we headed to lake Harris, my aunt and uncle live in a community with a marina there. My uncle has a pontoon boat And my cousin’s husband has a twin engine jet boat. He souped it up so each engine is over 250 hp. There was a bass fishing tournament going on that day, with 8 on board, we actually ran down and passed some of the professional fishermen while they were racing between spots on the lake. they even let me drive! my first time driving a motorboat and it was a total blast! we also went through the mount Dora canal, where some of “Africa queen” was filmed, saw our first alligators there.
teaching the kids how to play shuffleboard, then back to my parents for a cookout corn on the cob and lots of cornhole games. My mom and her sister playing against each other. lots of fun even in the heat Up before dawn to get in a bike ride before it gets too hot Before Father’s Day picture. My dad was actually not doing vet well here. He’s had two heart surgeries since this and is doing much better, but still can’t travel home
My sister rented a pontoon boat for us on the homosassa river for Thursday First we headed out into the Gulf of Mexico and went swimming we saw a couple pods of dolphins out there. After we dropped anchor and dove in, we realized that there was a strong current there, and it was a hard swim to get back to the boat. right outside the place we rented the boat from, there’s an island with a couple monkeys living on it. During the winter the manatees hang out at the springs at the head of the river. We weren’t sure we would see any, but no sooner did I get the boat anchored and the engine shut off, than this mother and calf swam right past us. it took me longer to get in than my kids, but then this manatee came out of the springs and grabbed the anchor rope of the boat next to us and started dragging the boat around with his mouth. Then he rolled over and swam up to some guys on tubes, he wanted his belly rubbed like a dog! my mom was the only one who didn’t go swimming, even mrs rowerwet got in, and she’s not really a swimmer. My kids all swim like fish. The rental place had a gator in a pen, I think he’s yawning here
some more early morning scenery Being homeschoolers, we do boring educational stuff even on vacation, like visiting the Kennedy Space Center. Last time I was here, the Atlantis was on the launch pad with the Hubble space telescope inside, waiting to launch. We got to walk up to a fence about 100yards from the launch site to get pictures of it. During that tour we also stopped in the by the side of the road, and just happened to get to watch a delta rocket launch. It was interesting to see how much the visitor center has changed, and to see the VAB and crawlers again. Last time I was there we got to walk around and under the crawler, but now you can only see them from a distance. last time I was there, this Saturn V rocket was sitting outside near the VAB. Now it’s inside of the Apollo center. A huge building dedicated to teaching everyone what the Apollo missions were like. they even have a theater where you watch the famous video of the first landing, and they drop a full scale model from the ceiling. Then the lunar module ascends again. Really cool for all of us who missed it. Once you finish at the Apollo center, the bus brings you back. The space shuttle program is covered in the Atlantis center, where they have the space shuttle Atlantis staged to capture the moment she released the Hubble telescope. Once you learn all about the shuttle and Hubble, you descend to a space station mock-up. Then you can run and slide on ramps and a giant slide that recreates the descent a shuttle had to follow to land. Inside the shuttle launch simulator, they actually turn the room to simulate thrust and wheightlessness. I had to tuck my phone into my sock so I wouldn’t lose it. landing back in Boston on Saturday. After a week in the 90s heat, it was raining and 48! We had no jackets along, so we pulled out extra clothes from our luggage to keep warm.
a few more of me driving the boat at homosassa river Getting in more biking Checking out the news section of the great eastern mash trail in Salisbury. It now runs all the way to the NH state border got caught by the rain, loading bikes in the rain isn’t very fun. Had to try out my new 4 bike rack, wheel carry is much less likely to damage the bike and hold more securely. but I have a truck, and the tailgate pad is still easier and faster, with just as much security. Another bike ride cut short by approaching rain, riding underneath the Rt 95 bike bridge on the Salisbury ghost trail. our three oldest were away at a youth camp, and our youngest said she didn’t remember visiting the minuteman park, I work right next to it now, so we met after work and rode the whole trail and then walked to the old north bridge. my youngest might just become my next mountain biking partner, she made it through the whole loop around Kenoza lake in Haverhill, including the real mountain biking trail behind the water treatment plant. met up with my kids at the PA NY border, drove 4 miles south into NJ to visit mountain top state park my Father’s Day treat since our oldest now lives in PA. Hampton beach sand castle competition
church business meeting in Albany, NY. Took advantage of some down time and visited Cohoes falls on the mowhawk river, the second largest falls east of the Mississippi River, after Niagara Falls. It’s weird, many people don’t know these are here, even locals. The falls were the site of a treaty that was between many native tribes, long before European settlers arrived. visited the first lock on the Erie Canal, actually the second lock of the canal system in NY. There’s one lock south of here near Troy on the Hudson River, the mouth of the Mowhawk river is where you turn left to go to Lake Erie, or continue north to lake Champlain. Video of a lock evolution, first of the day. evening walk along the Hampton Sea wall on a beautiful evening, after going out for ice cream My youngest really enjoys biking now, this is the toppsfield rail trail camp meeting in the Adirondack mountains, had some great church services and lots of fellowship. I brought a few kayaks along to enjoy the great Adirondack lakes. Unfortunately the grinch in the NY state house kept us from being able to take the youth group paddling this year. since our oldest daughter was there with us, we ducked out one morning and took a family trip to the top of little Whiteface mountain in the gondola lift. A stunning view at the top, definitely worth it.
after the mountain we headed into lake Placid for a picnic on Mirror lake The floating pyramid is a marker for the Ironman race swim. The floating arch is a new thing, the swim course was changed because the speed skating oval where the bikes are normally waiting is a huge construction site, being completely rebuilt. They used a school at the other end of mirror lake instead One of the last minute surprises for camp meeting was the youth speaker getting sick, I agreed to fill in the day before the camp meeting started. We had a great group of teens and were still able to do our usual mountain hike. This year my sister picked silver lake mountain. It’s steep but the view is awesome. I couldn’t bring kayaks all that way and not go paddling, so I took a short paddle on the Saranac River by myself. My oldest wanted to see the Ironman race start, so we were over in lake placid to watch it, they started at 0630 and have until midnight to finish. headed home I came across this aqua bike stuck on the lip of the waterfall in upper Jay. Crown point bridge from the Vermont side on my way home.
Paddling the powwow river last night, from hilldale ave to chase road. The water was high and the current fast, lots of low trees to duck under and one tree I had to lift over. always trying to find rope swings for my kids, found another last night. stumbled across another local kayaker who creates his own designs. he created this skin on frame design using the typical wooden frame, but covered with fiberglass cloth, then filled the cloth with west system, faired and painted to finish. The unique stern is for a trolling motor or rudder someday, but mostly because it allows him to store it vertically and to launch it bow first standing on the two feet on the shore. A free range rooster checking me out as I went to leave the boat launch
