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June 28 to July 1 – Graham’s Visit

“Promise me you’ll remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think.” -Winnie the Pooh 

Graham’s visit actually started off with us spending the weekend in Bloomsburg. We’ve visited Forks Farm Market many times, but this time Graham had a booth to sell some of his artwork. He had a great showing and sold out before lunch. It was so much fun to be there with him.

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Fun Facts about the 4th of July/Independence Day

  • Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.
  • Only John Hancock actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. All the others signed later.

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Summer Updates

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” ―Mae West

We’ve definitely been making up for the time we lost last summer. We’ve been out and about on every nice day…hikes, waterfalls, wineries, visiting with friends, picnics and exploring. Many things we’ve done just haven’t needed it’s own post so I’m including them in this one. We truly love our life on the lake in New York. There are so many things to do here and we always have somewhere beautiful to go.

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Why Living on a Boat is Better than Living in a House

Boat Nut: If you are one, there is no explanation necessary. If you aren’t one, there is no explanation possible.

Here are just a few benefits to living aboard full time instead of living in a house. 
1. You Can Move Your Boat & Live Anywhere.
If and when you want to move there’s no getting the house ready to sell, listing it, showing it and looking for a new house…you simply untie the lines and move your home to a new location.

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June 13-15 Cora’s Visit

“Children are not a distraction from more important work, they are the most important work.” –C.S. Lewis

This year Cora got to come stay on the boat first and we had a wonderful visit. She is such an entertaining, informative and creative little girl. She loves nature…she explores every seed, flower, leaf, stick and bug she can find. 

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June 17 – Robert H. Treman State Park

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” – Rumi

This summer we’ve been trying to get back to hikes we’ve done in the past and enjoyed. Today the weather was so amazing we just had to get out and hike. We decided to hike at Robert H.Treman State Park. We first hiked this trail in 2017. We parked in the lower section of the park and took the Gorge Trail 2.25 miles up to Lucifer Falls and the old grist mill. If you don’t have time for the full 4.5 mile hike you can start at the top and do a smaller loop that is only 1 mile…it takes you to all the highlights in less time and with a lot less effort. Along the Gorge Trail we passed 12 waterfalls, including the magnificent Lucifer Falls that cascades beside a stone staircase and down 115 feet of rock face.

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June 3-7 Cayuga Lake Vacation

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.” –Anthony Brandt

We spent our first weekend getaway with Kyle and his family at a fantastic house about halfway up Cayuga Lake. It had the best view of the lake that I’ve seen so far. I could spend all summer just hanging out on their amazing deck. We had a great weekend celebrating Brytanie and Graham’s birthdays. We really treasure these vacations with our family.

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Finger lake Wineries (Part VIII)

“It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … it’s summertime!” ―Kenny Chesney

Even with Covid 19 last year we had a pretty nice summer, but this summer we plan to take advantage of everything we can. Go to the wineries for picnics, explore new places, revisit old favorites, go hiking, biking and spend lots of time on the water. Here’s the first installment of new wineries we’ve already visited. We plan on a busy summer. 

Billsboro Winery is committed to crafting dry classic European varietal wines grown by Seneca Lake’s best vineyards. They’re focus is on small scale production, which allows them to give more attention to providing a high quality product for their customers.  Tastings are done in their century old barn, which sits on an idyllic 60 acres overlooking the northern end of Seneca Lake.

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May 28 – Girls Day out

“Community by definition is: a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.”

Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer, but here in the Finger Lakes it definitely doesn’t feel like summer at the moment. The wonderful thing about being here is the weather never stops people from getting out and having a good time and that’s exactly what we did today. We, not as in Stan and me, but some of the ladies from the marina and their friends.

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Nomads

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.” – Wilfred Peterson

We consider ourselves cruisers, well maybe more as explorers and adventurers now that we have been in Ithaca so long. Nomads at heart. A nomad is defined as a member of a community that has no permanent home, one that moves about from place to place, usually seasonally and often following a traditional route according to the state of the pasturage or food supply. That definition seems to fit the cruising community and our way of life. We move from place to place…not for the food supply though, but for the quest to stay in the 70-80º temperature range.

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