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June 7-10 Graham’s Visit

By on June 15, 2023 in The Pearl
“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” — Alex Haley
It’s hard to believe this is Graham’s seventh summer to come to our boat in Ithaca. He has transformed from a little toddler to a lanky young man. We’ve been tracking the kid’s growth on the wall in our stateroom since 2019 and he has grown over 12″ in that time. 

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June 7-10 Graham’s Visit

By on June 15, 2023 in The Pearl
“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” — Alex Haley
It’s hard to believe this is Graham’s seventh summer to come to our boat in Ithaca. He has transformed from a little toddler to a lanky young man. We’ve been tracking the kid’s growth on the wall in our stateroom since 2019 and he has grown over 12″ in that time. 

His interests have changed and grown too. He’s slowing out growing some of our regular places to visit. The weather didn’t cooperate while Graham was here to do some of the things we’d planned, but we all seemed to have a great time. The only sunny day we had the smoke out of Canada made it nearly impossible to be outside and the other days were wet and cold, but we made the best of it and found other things to do. We visited the Sciencenter, rode bikes, did some experiments, built a Lego robot, watched movies, played video games, played Uno, ate a lot of food and played soccer every chance we had. Overall it was a lot of fun.

This is how a sunny day on the lake looks when it’s covered with smoke from Canada.
But there’s always something interesting on the Ipad…and sometimes laying on the bunk relaxing is the best thing to do.
Every change we got we went out and played soccer. We live in a park so that was an easy thing to do.
Riding bikes around our park is fun too.
But when it was raining…we did experiments. We made moon dough and Oobleck. Both were fun and used things we already had onboard.

One morning we went to the Sciencenter. Graham has always loved this place, but I think he has almost outgrown it.

I think Graham’s favorite thing to do is eat and we had some good stuff while he was with us.

We had to make him play Uno with us the first night…after that he was hooked. We had a great time and laughed a lot.

May Updates

By on June 4, 2023 in The Pearl
“Be thankful for nights that turned into mornings. Friends that turned into family and dreams that turned into realities.” -Author Unknown

May has mainly been about reconnecting with our Pennsylvania family, but we have managed to squeeze in a few other activities. We drove up to the boat in Cayuga on April 30…in the rain. We unload the car and get things stored, even though it rained all day. On May 1 we launched the boat and began our summer season although spring temperatures have been hard to come by this year. It’s a good thing we have warm clothes, because it’s been a cool month.

We had a great time in Pennsylvania…painting, playing and attending a street fair.

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May 25-29 Seneca Lake House Vacation

By on May 31, 2023 in The Pearl
“Family is a life jacket in the stormy sea of life.” –J.K. Rowling 

Our first summer getaway was at a wonderful house on Seneca Lake. We’ve all been looking forward to this house since we booked it last year. It was a little piece of heaven right on the water. It was such a wonderful place we hardly went anywhere else. We spent lots of time sitting on the deck, looking for treasures along our beach, painting rocks, playing games and exploring the creek that ran beside the house. Unfortunately it was a little too cool to swim in the frigid lake water…although Graham did brave one jump off the diving board. He has to get in no matter how cold it is.

The house

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May 25-29 Seneca Lake House Vacation

By on May 31, 2023 in The Pearl
“Family is a life jacket in the stormy sea of life.” –J.K. Rowling 

Our first summer getaway was at a wonderful house on Seneca Lake. We’ve all been looking forward to this house since we booked it last year. It was a little piece of heaven right on the water. It was such a wonderful place we hardly went anywhere else. We spent lots of time sitting on the deck, looking for treasures along our beach, painting rocks, playing games and exploring the creek that ran beside the house. Unfortunately it was a little too cool to swim in the frigid lake water…although Graham did brave one jump off the diving board. He has to get in no matter how cold it is.

The house

CONTINUE READING HERE…»

May Updates

By on May 31, 2023 in The Pearl
“Be thankful for nights that turned into mornings. Friends that turned into family and dreams that turned into realities.” -Author Unknown

May has mainly been about reconnecting with our Pennsylvania family, but we have managed to squeeze in a few other activities. We drove up to the boat in Cayuga on April 30…in the rain. We unload the car and got things stored, even though it rained all day. On May 1 we launched the boat and began our summer season although spring temperatures have been hard to come by this year. It’s a good thing we have warm clothes, because it’s been a cool month.

We had a great time in Pennsylvania…painting, playing and attending a street fair.

Let the work begin…we kept the shrink wrap on the boat as we unloaded the car and got everything settled into the boat.

Monday May 1st was still cool, but the sun started to make an appearance. 

In she goes for our seventh season on Cayuga Lake.

Arriving at our marina in Ithaca.

Very empty the first few weeks, but by the end of May the marina had come alive.

After getting settled in at the marina we spent a week with our grands while their parents attended a conference in Wisconsin.

The kids belong to a running club, so on Sunday we had the chance to see them compete. Half a mile for Graham, a quarter mile for Cora and 100 yard dash for Hattie.
On the way home from nanny duty we treated ourselves to a nice lunch at the Ithaca Beer Company. We love coming here on beautiful days to enjoy a pizza and a little beer.

We have cruising friends that have a horse farm in Oneonta. They breed thoroughbred horses and one of their babies was running at the Finger Lake Racetrack. We’ve joined them before and had a great time…this time was just as fun. On our way to the track we saw several Amish men working in the field.

Good friends enjoying a beautiful day.

Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack

This is their baby Support the Cat. They only breed them and then sell the horses for others to train and race. Unfortunately he didn’t win this time, but he made a good showing.

Maryann reconnecting with her baby.

Getting our little boat ready for the season. This year our two boats are side by side.

Towards the end of the month we went back to Pennsylvania to watch Cora in her dance recital. It was a great day for a picnic and enjoying the family.

Everyone had fun and enjoyed the food.

May 23-25 Hattie’s Visit

By on May 30, 2023 in The Pearl
“What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars’ worth of pleasure.” — Gene Perret

We love having our grands come to the boat for special one on one time. This year Hattie got to be the first to visit. She was so excited and so were we. Even riding in the car can be fun with Hattie…she loves to see and tell us stories. She’s a source of constant entertainment. It was her second visit and we had a wonderful time. 

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May 23-25 Hattie’s Visit

By on May 24, 2023 in The Pearl
“What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars’ worth of pleasure.” — Gene Perret

We love having our grands come to the boat for special one on one time. This year Hattie got to be the first to visit. She was so excited and so were we. Even riding in the car can be fun with Hattie…she loves to see and tell us stories. She’s a source of constant entertainment. It was her second visit and we had a wonderful time. 
Poppy and Hattie enjoying lunch together.

The best thing to do when the kids visit is riding on our little runabout.

And all the kids enjoy driving the boat.

The marina makes a wonderful place to explore and play…so many things to do.

Playing and sleeping on the boat is also a lot of fun when you’re little.

There are also a lot of great places to play. One day we took a picnic and enjoyed playing at Long Point State Park.

I just love this picture of our beautiful little Hattie.

April 24-27 Chicago, IL Part II

By on May 4, 2023 in The Pearl
At its best, travel should challenge our preconceptions and most cherished views, cause us to rethink our assumptions, shake us a bit, make us broader minded and more understanding. –Arthur Frommer
We did a lot of walking while we were in Chicago…over 15 miles in three days. We wandered the beautiful streets taking in the sights and doing a little shopping. We also walked along the riverwalk and the lake. Here’s a little of the history we learned.

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April 24-27 Chicago, IL Part II

By on May 4, 2023 in The Pearl
At its best, travel should challenge our preconceptions and most cherished views, cause us to rethink our assumptions, shake us a bit, make us broader minded and more understanding. –Arthur Frommer
We did a lot of walking while we were in Chicago…over 15 miles in three days. We wandered the beautiful streets taking in the sights and doing a little shopping. We also walked along the riverwalk and the lake. Here’s a little of the history we learned.

Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot-long pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It was opened to the public in 1916, originally known as Municipal Pier. The purpose of the pier was to be a shipping and recreation facility. It was renamed Navy Pier in 1927 as a tribute to the Navy personnel who were housed there during World War I. I don’t remember hearing anything about it when we visited family in Chicago as a kid. I’m not sure if anything was there, but in 1995 the pier reopened to the public offering all kinds of experiences. The pier celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016 with new attractions like the Centennial Wheel and a new welcome center. We walked over to the pier, but it seems mostly to cater to young families. I’m sure it’s a busy place in the summer, but there wasn’t much going on the morning we were there, but it gave us great views of the city and the lake. 

The water in Lake Michigan is an unbelievable color. As beautiful as any water we’ve seen, even in the Bahamas. Here are pictures of the Centennial Wheel, the Captain at the Helm and the Crack the Whip statues. All are at the Navy Pier.
The Navy Pier Auditorium…as seen from our tour boat.
Ohio Street Beach with views of the Hancock building.
We chose the Wendella Tour Company to get a better look at the Chicago River and the Chicago Harbor. They’ve been doing architecture tours since 1935. We had a wonderful trip, the sky and water were beautiful…although it was very cold. The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals that runs through the city of Chicago. Although the river isn’t long it’s one of the reasons for Chicago’s geographic importance: the related Chicago Portage is a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.

The Chicago River was another place that people didn’t visit in the 70’s & 80’s. All it was at that time was an artery for industrial shipping, a handy place to dump sewage, and an ever-present barrier to transportation and development, but heavy industry has given way to a glistening new downtown. Efforts to clean the river began more than a century ago with the reversal of flow away from the lake, but when the construction of the Riverwalk started in 2001 it has become one of the most beautiful and unique features of the city.

Waiting for the tour to start.

Our tour began at the base of the Wrigley Building at Michigan Ave.

The Chicago Harbor Lock was built in the mid 1930’s. It was built primarily as a means of limiting diversion of water from Lake Michigan, but also as a component of the project to reverse the flow of the Chicago River to improve the water quality of the lake.
Views of the city from the harbor. Looking south of the Navy Pier towards the Sears Tower, now known as the Willis Tower.
Looking towards the Navy Pier with the Hancock Building in the background.

The Chicago skyline north of the Navy Pier.

The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse

Looking west from the harbor at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge.

The Trump Tower to the right and the bridges on Wabash and State Street in the middle.

Looking west at the La Salle Street Bridge.
Looking back at the La Salle Street bridge with our hotel (The Pendry) in the middle of the picture.

Looking towards Lake Street with a L crossing the river.

Along the river between Dearborn Street and the lake is the Chicago Riverwalk. It’s a public path that offers a variety of dining, entertainment and recreation options. It’s a hub for summertime entertainment in the Loop, and is divided into six distinctive “rooms”. Each room has a different design and purpose, accommodating diverse activities, from dining and performances to kayaking and fishing. 
Art on the Mart is the largest permanent digital art projection in the world, projecting contemporary artwork across the 2.5 acre river-façade of the Mart.

View of the Art at the Mart and the river.