First Week of Summer

We've had a great time during our first week of summer...my parents got here last Saturday, and we've basically moved over to the camp that they stay at for the month of July...we sleep in a cabin by the water, listen to loons around the clock, paddle our boats a couple of times a day, shower less than would seem appropriate, swim when we're hot, read when the mood takes us, drink strong coffee starting before 6am every morning, and live with the constant smell of wet dogs...it's pretty perfect!


One of our favorite trips is down through some ponds and rivers from Floodwood Pond to Upper Saranac Lake, and ending at Follensby Clear Pond...Gail has missed a couple of paddle-seasons due to work and such, and is glad to get back on the water in full force...


Sarah and her girlfriend Wendy are up visiting, and Ben rode with them on the Floodwood trip the other day...he is paddling his own kayak every day, but is not quite ready for the trips that we do...yet...soon...

Fuz is happy that the weather has turned nicer...we had a couple of days with rain and 40 degrees...chilly for paddling...


The river sections of the Floodwood trip are beautiful, and surprisingly when we did it the other day we saw almost no other people, despite the fact that it's the 4th of July Weekend...


It's a fun little stretch of water, with rocks and logs and ducks and turtles, with the sound of wind through the trees and the sound of gurgling water below your keel...one of the best places on Earth...


There are a couple of bigger ponds along the way, which are nice to get clear of the feeling that the woods are hanging over you...it would seem that the Eurasian Milfoil is becoming less prevalent along this waterway, which suggests that nature is in the process of reaching a balance with this invasive species...this section of the trip used to be jammed with the weed, and now is mostly clear of it...

Ben got an awesome summer haircut the other day, it is tempting me to go and visit Patty (our patron saint of hairstyle)...my only hesitation lies in the fact that the sight of my shaved head might make children cry (it is, in the words of Stuart Mackenzie, "like Sputnik. Spherical, but quite pointy in parts.")...here you can see Ben enjoying a bite of Wendy's cheese and horseradish sandwich...



Anti-Sarah teaching Ben the essentials of "picnic with pringles" etiquette...


Gail and Ben and I have made a habit of heading out every morning before everyone is up to go for a paddle...he's getting stronger and more confident with each day, and it is a fun bit of family time...

We brought a breakfast out to a nice/vacant campsite yesterday morning, and enjoyed watching the morning come to Upper Saranac Lake...as you may be able to see from the pic, I borrowed my dad's carbon fiber Hornbeck boat for yesterday's paddle...it's really fun, but also a bit like a longhaul trucker driving a friend's Porsche...



I had to take this runaround picture of all of us enjoying the splendor of morning at Campsite #3...


We paddle back the long way, around the island, and came home into a variable headwind, which Ben did very well with...


I raced the last 100 hundred yards so that I could help everyone out of their boats (although Ben has almost got the knack of it by now)...it was a glorious paddle...it's just turned 7am as I'm typing this, we'll hit the water soon...


After the morning rituals, we headed out to do a longer paddle from Jones to Osgood to Church ponds, with some nice river paddles between them...it's one of my favorite paddles (I notice that I say that often when describing the trips that we do, but then, why bother with trips you don't like?)...it was a gorgeous day, with high water, and we saw 13 turtles sunning themselves on the first stretch of river...


We stopped for lunch, and Ben switched from Muz and D's boat into Gail's kayak, amazingly, he still fits in the cockpit with her...


We got to the takeout and left Gail and Ben to wait while we went to the put-in for our cars...they had a fun time paddling around Church Pond...

Wendy and Sarah and Gail and I have played cards and talked late every night, and sometimes after late-night beverages, we get a little goofy...I like this look on Sarah...I call it "El Tigre, with clips"...

Ben's Kayak!

Today was Ben's last day of school (mine too), and we celebrated by going out for lunch at Mountain Mist (fried food followed by ice cream...we shared the cones with the ducks who came by while we were eating), and then a trip to a local boat shop to pick up a B en-sized kayak!

It's an early birthday present from his grandparents, Muz and D, and he was very excited...we had a couple of models to choose from, but ended up going with the Acadia Scout, by Perception, a small kayak that isn't a toy...


We brought it over to Upper Saranac Lake and put it (and my Hornbeck) into the water for a short trial paddle...


The boat is light and fast and maneuverable, and he got comfortable with the boat very quickly...


Miles was nervous about us being in boats without him, so he tried first to climb into Ben's kayak, and then my canoe...it didn't phase Ben...it almost tipped me over when he tried to climb in the back of my boat...I got laughing so hard I almost went in on my own...


We started off with a quick paddle around a nearby float...


Ben quickly got the hang of paddling the boat, turning and exploring with ease in a few minutes...


We came back to the shore and adjusted his PFD a bit before a longer paddle...


It was a beautiful afternoon on the water!


We paddled over towards Green Island, only turning around when the wind picked up a bit...I didn't want Ben's first real paddle to end in frustration, so we just loafed our way back along the shore...


Miles was quite worried about us the whole time, jumping in to greet us when we got close to him again...It was a superb way to start our summer vacation!

Father's Day Camping Trip with Ben

Ben and I went camping over the Father's Day weekend. We hiked with our canoe into the Saint Regis Canoe Area and paddle-camped on Long Pond (then paddling home via Slang and Turtle and Hoel Ponds)...

We set out early in the morning on Saturday, getting on the water by 7:30am...



We paddled down long pond after portaging in, and stopped at a small island for breakfast after a short paddle...

Ben noodled around in the water with a sample net, and was able to catch a crawdad...



The beast hung out with us while we enjoyed our breakfast, and then was released back into the waters of Long Pond...


Both Ben and i were camping in our hammocks for this trip, and we set them up as soon as we got to camp...partly to stake a claim to the site, and partly to have a place to hide from the bugs...


Once the camp was set up, we built a small smoky fire to chase some of the bugs away while deciding what to do...


Ben loved the hammock chair that I brought along, and spent a lot of time in it during the weekend, snacking and reading and napping...


We paddled down the length of Long Pond, and found this great big snapping turtle...


We hiked up to Mountain Pond and partway up to Long Pond Mountain before deciding the bugs and heat were too much for us, and that we'd prefer to swim and paddle instead...


We stopped off for a lovely swim and splash at a wonderful beach at the mouth of the bay that the hike to Mountain Pond is on, and I took this picture, because I like macro-mode...


We got back to camp and could see storm clouds rolling in, so we started dinner with dessert, and roasted a gazillion marshmallows before enjoying some MountainHouse Mac and Cheese...


After dinner we took turns telling stories as night fell around us...mine tend to be thinly veiled ecology and morality lessons with zombies and kidnappings and bombs and catastrophic meteorite impacts mixed in to help the medicine go down...Ben tells tales of adventure and good guys versus bad guys and glorious battles...he acts his stories out and uses different voices...


He has also started reading on his own for pleasure for the first time this summer...it's wonderful to see and makes me so happy...


When the crashing boomers and rain and lightning started, we retired to the hammocks, Ben inside of his, and me under him on the ground while he read to me...it was lovely...


The next day we got up early, breakfasted royally, broke camp like a well-oiled machine, and paddled/portaged our way towards home...Ben was a big help carrying his share of the stuff across the portages, and we're planning our next trip already...

Surprise Boston Trip

I planned a surprise weekend trip out of town, simply telling Gail and Ben to pack a bag each and be ready to go early on Friday morning...


We flew to Boston...they didn't know until we got to the airport at Lake Clear...at 5:30am on Friday


Ben got to ride up front with the pilot of the plane


We arrived in Boston in time for breakfast and were waiting at the Science Museum when it opened...


It was lots of fun!


This was a cool exhibit comparing the bones of a small dinosaur, a chicken, and an iguana...


We went back to our hotel after lunch for a swim and some reading...


The next morning we went to the aquarium, which was fantastic!


There were dozens of great exhibits and amazing sealife


Ben loved the touch tank


They also had a great exhibit on Jellyfish


That night, we went for sushi at a great place, and Ben and I loved watching the chefs making our food


The next morning, we went for brunch at the harbor, and visited with the seals before eating


They are such beautiful creatures


After brunch, we went to the Franklin Park Zoo...it's a fun little zoo


The gorilla exhibit blew us away...all in all, we had an amazing trip!

Memorial Day Weekend

We headed over to Maine for the Memorial Day Weekend


Ben and his Aunt Helen before the parade.




Ben and his cousin Max at the newly improved memorial in L/A



The boys playing down by the river...nice open space for boys to run



Although he felt better after watching the parade, Ben seemed a little horse



Ben and Max and Lucas



The new memorial stone, including the Gibson men (Stanley was Gail's father)





Mini-golf



Ben/Dad hug



Ben skipping stones at the beach





We stopped for seafood and ice-cream after the beach