Summer brings lots of visiting, travel, kayaking, canoeing, camping, biking - Fort Wayne, South Lake, Seattle, Lake Lila, Long Island
July
3 Jul - Richard and Annette visit
4 Jul - kayak Sherman's reservoir
5 Jul - Hike BATS trails
10 Jul - Liz and Bob visit for lunch, neighborhood Tag Sale here we raise over $200 for GBICS
15 Jul - 27 Jul Seattle trip
Visit Jon, Rui and Abby in Renton where we play with Abby, pick blueberries, go to the beach, take lots of walks, jog in the canyon, eat tons of Rui's good Chinese cooking, make dumplings, go to the zoo...
Visit Sharon and Kip in Bellingham where we stay most of the time at Eric and Jenna's big house in exchange for walking their dog each day which worked out great! Sharon and Kip cooked a barbecue for all of us as Jon, Rui, Abby drove us up to Bellingham. We hiked, jogged on the local pathways, took a short road trip around to Darrington and enjoyed the dry, cool, bug-less air in Bellingham.
31 Jul - hike to Stratton Mountain
3 Jul - Richard and Annette visit
4 Jul - kayak Sherman's reservoir
5 Jul - Hike BATS trails
10 Jul - Liz and Bob visit for lunch, neighborhood Tag Sale here we raise over $200 for GBICS
15 Jul - 27 Jul Seattle trip
Visit Jon, Rui and Abby in Renton where we play with Abby, pick blueberries, go to the beach, take lots of walks, jog in the canyon, eat tons of Rui's good Chinese cooking, make dumplings, go to the zoo...
Visit Sharon and Kip in Bellingham where we stay most of the time at Eric and Jenna's big house in exchange for walking their dog each day which worked out great! Sharon and Kip cooked a barbecue for all of us as Jon, Rui, Abby drove us up to Bellingham. We hiked, jogged on the local pathways, took a short road trip around to Darrington and enjoyed the dry, cool, bug-less air in Bellingham.
31 Jul - hike to Stratton Mountain
August
The big events in August are our first canoe camping trip to Lake Lila in the Adirondacks, a family reunion on Long Island, and a trip to CT to see Greg, Jess and Flint. At home we continue to play tennis, the veggies are growing and we are getting lots of tomatoes, the peppers didn't do well this year, and there is always yard work to do!
4-7 Jul: canoe trip to Lake Lila with Ham, Lorna, and Lin. It's our first time to pack everything into a canoe and paddle to a remote site.
9 Jul: Lowell Lake kayak
12 Jul: Woodford canoe
16 Jul: hike Hogback and canoe on the Connecticut River
24-29 Jul: Long Island trip - bike riding, tennis, swimming and kayaking. Parked the camper in Roger's driveway. Kayak Hallock's Bay, Long Cove, and Pipe's Cove. Big family party on the 28th.
30-31 Jul: visit CT - Bluff Point water play with a new raft for Flint, long kayak up the Thames River.
The big events in August are our first canoe camping trip to Lake Lila in the Adirondacks, a family reunion on Long Island, and a trip to CT to see Greg, Jess and Flint. At home we continue to play tennis, the veggies are growing and we are getting lots of tomatoes, the peppers didn't do well this year, and there is always yard work to do!
4-7 Jul: canoe trip to Lake Lila with Ham, Lorna, and Lin. It's our first time to pack everything into a canoe and paddle to a remote site.
9 Jul: Lowell Lake kayak
12 Jul: Woodford canoe
16 Jul: hike Hogback and canoe on the Connecticut River
24-29 Jul: Long Island trip - bike riding, tennis, swimming and kayaking. Parked the camper in Roger's driveway. Kayak Hallock's Bay, Long Cove, and Pipe's Cove. Big family party on the 28th.
30-31 Jul: visit CT - Bluff Point water play with a new raft for Flint, long kayak up the Thames River.
September
Late Summer/early Fall signals the best time for camping and hiking in the Northeast while there is still warmth enough for kayaking and canoeing. We buy a canoe from Hal and Marge and refinish it.
7-10 Sep: Katerskill Falls camping with Ham, Lorna and Lin at North-South Lake Campground in NY. Ham and Lorna are in our new tent, Lin in the jeep, we are in the camper. We all survive a long, thundery rain storm at night to see the day clear off. The sites from the escarpment are beautiful. Ham worked for many years as a forest ranger in this area and took us on a tour all around the area. He talked about pulling bodies of reckless people who go too close to the falls. Tuesday we arrived and set up camp, then kayaked on North-South Lake, Wednesday we hiked along the escarpment, Thursday after Ham's tour we hiked up to Inspiration Point, and Friday we hiked to the top of North Point. Great trip! www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24487.html
13 Sep: Derick Lugo a Long Trail hiker sponsored by the GMC arrives to stay at our house before his hike begins. Derick's fame comes from his prior status as a total urbanite from NYC who decided to hike the Appalachian Trail on a whim even though he had never hiked or camped before in his life! He actually hikes the entire trail and falls in love with the people and wilderness along the way. He has become ad advocate to encourage all people of various shapes, sizes, and colors to get outside and experience nature. With his sharp wit and easy manner he makes a great spokesperson for the outdoors. Read more about Derick here: https://www.benningtongmc.org/newsletters/the-stepping-stone-fall-2021. He stayed overnight at our house, and with some friends we walked him up along the Chestnut Trail to the Class of 98 Trail to start the AT at the Vermont border. The first night he ran into a severe rain storm, broke a water filter and came back to our house that night. From then on he proceeded to get pretty sick (possible from bad water) and after a visit to the ER remained with us for the next 5 days. He recovered, but after a week's delay and still not feeling 100%, the GMC decided to postpone his hike until next season.
20-23 Sep: camping at Little River Campground with Hal and Margie. It's there first time out with their new camper. As we are out canoeing we see a moose swimming and then walking along the shore - so cool! We canoed at night to see the full moon on Monday, Tuesday we hiked the Stowe-Pinacle trail with Hal, Margie and Derick and then went to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream. Wednesday we canoed in the morning and saw the moose, then hiked up Mt Elmore in the afternoon. Friday we visited the GMC headquarters, the cider mill, the glass blowing store and stopped for a great outdoor lunch on the way home. www.vtstateparks.com/littleriver.html
30 Sep: harvest veggies at Smokey House where the GMC houses volunteers during the hiking/work season. In return other volunteers help harvest veggies for them. We pulled up squash, dug potatoes, www.smokeyhouse.org
Late Summer/early Fall signals the best time for camping and hiking in the Northeast while there is still warmth enough for kayaking and canoeing. We buy a canoe from Hal and Marge and refinish it.
7-10 Sep: Katerskill Falls camping with Ham, Lorna and Lin at North-South Lake Campground in NY. Ham and Lorna are in our new tent, Lin in the jeep, we are in the camper. We all survive a long, thundery rain storm at night to see the day clear off. The sites from the escarpment are beautiful. Ham worked for many years as a forest ranger in this area and took us on a tour all around the area. He talked about pulling bodies of reckless people who go too close to the falls. Tuesday we arrived and set up camp, then kayaked on North-South Lake, Wednesday we hiked along the escarpment, Thursday after Ham's tour we hiked up to Inspiration Point, and Friday we hiked to the top of North Point. Great trip! www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24487.html
13 Sep: Derick Lugo a Long Trail hiker sponsored by the GMC arrives to stay at our house before his hike begins. Derick's fame comes from his prior status as a total urbanite from NYC who decided to hike the Appalachian Trail on a whim even though he had never hiked or camped before in his life! He actually hikes the entire trail and falls in love with the people and wilderness along the way. He has become ad advocate to encourage all people of various shapes, sizes, and colors to get outside and experience nature. With his sharp wit and easy manner he makes a great spokesperson for the outdoors. Read more about Derick here: https://www.benningtongmc.org/newsletters/the-stepping-stone-fall-2021. He stayed overnight at our house, and with some friends we walked him up along the Chestnut Trail to the Class of 98 Trail to start the AT at the Vermont border. The first night he ran into a severe rain storm, broke a water filter and came back to our house that night. From then on he proceeded to get pretty sick (possible from bad water) and after a visit to the ER remained with us for the next 5 days. He recovered, but after a week's delay and still not feeling 100%, the GMC decided to postpone his hike until next season.
20-23 Sep: camping at Little River Campground with Hal and Margie. It's there first time out with their new camper. As we are out canoeing we see a moose swimming and then walking along the shore - so cool! We canoed at night to see the full moon on Monday, Tuesday we hiked the Stowe-Pinacle trail with Hal, Margie and Derick and then went to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream. Wednesday we canoed in the morning and saw the moose, then hiked up Mt Elmore in the afternoon. Friday we visited the GMC headquarters, the cider mill, the glass blowing store and stopped for a great outdoor lunch on the way home. www.vtstateparks.com/littleriver.html
30 Sep: harvest veggies at Smokey House where the GMC houses volunteers during the hiking/work season. In return other volunteers help harvest veggies for them. We pulled up squash, dug potatoes, www.smokeyhouse.org
