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May 19 – Watkins Glen State Park

By on May 20, 2021 in The Pearl
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” – T.S Eliot

We spent the morning hiking at Watkins Glen State Park. Known for its natural beauty, the park’s gorge trail is a two mile hike, which takes the  hiker past 19 waterfalls and up 800 stone steps. Carved into the escarpment at the southern end of Seneca Lake, this hanging valley is the oldest and most renowned State Park in the Finger Lakes region. The park is a beautiful work of natural art and it was first opened as a tourist resort in 1863. It’s amazing what a little water and thousands of years can create.

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May 12 – Celebrating the Sun

By on May 18, 2021 in The Pearl
“We are still masters of our fate. We are still captains of our souls.” ― Winston Churchill
The sun was out today, so we just had to go out and celebrate. We did this by having a wonderful lunch at The Ginny Lee Cafe at Wagner’s Vineyard. This has been a favorite of yours for years. We had the best table on the deck overlooking Seneca Lake. The weather was still a bit cool, but it felt amazing sitting in the sun soaking in the warmth of the day and the views of the lake.

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May 10 – Taughannock Falls

By on May 12, 2021 in The Pearl
Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day, The crew of The Pearl wants to play.

We’ve had a lot of rain in the past week, every day we’ve had rain. The benefit of lots of rain in the Finger Lakes…it makes the waterfalls amazing. Today the sun came out, a little and we drove up to Taughannock Falls to check the sight. We’ve seen these falls almost dry through the summer, but today we were treated to a wonderful show of power.

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May 3 – Home for the Summer

By on May 8, 2021 in The Pearl
“May your joys be as deep as the oceans, your troubles as light as its foam. And may you find, sweet peace of mind, wherever you may roam.” –Unknown

This will be our fifth season in Ithaca…it’s really becoming our second home and we love it here. We are beginning our 11th season on The Pearl and we have this migration thing down to science. Each spring we pack up our car, close up our house and boat in Texas and head north. This year we didn’t have to close up the house…we sold that in January. Although we know exactly what needs to be done, it can be a lot of work, especially unpacking when we get back to The Pearl. 

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April 22-28 – On the Road

By on May 5, 2021 in The Pearl

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” – Morticia Addams

We’re back on the road…the road to normal and to our life in New York. It’s been over a year since we’ve eaten out, stopped to see cruising friends, stayed in a hotel or played tourist. This week we have done all of these things…and it has been amazing. Our first stop on our way back to New York was Hilton Head. We spent two days catching up with the crew of Exuberant. We talked, rode bikes, ate great food and enjoyed the comfort of their new home. 

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Happy New Year 2021

By on January 1, 2021 in The Pearl

“As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.” – Steve Maraboli

Happy New Year…here’s to hoping 2021 is an easier year than the last one has been. We’ll begin the new year as full time liveaboards…first time since we started cruising ten years ago. No one can predict what adventures the new year will bring, but we look forward to them all.

Year in Review 2020

By on December 30, 2020 in The Pearl
“Memories are timeless treasures of the heart.” –Unknown

Our highlight of January was spending time with our whole family in Dripping Springs.

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Merry Christmas

By on December 20, 2020 in The Pearl

 “Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings.” –Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Covid 19 may have changed the way we did a few things in the past 9 months, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying another wonderful year. We spent less time with friends, but much more time with our family. That trend started in January when Kyle and his family came to Texas for a week. We spent four of those nights with our whole family in a beautiful home in Dripping Spring. It was a great place for us to visit, reconnect with each other and watch the cousins play. 

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Finger Lake Wineries & Breweries (Part VII)

By on October 14, 2020 in The Pearl
“There are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort.” -W. Somerset Maugham

Covid 19 changed a lot of things about the year and our summer in the Finger Lakes, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying picnics at wineries. We have a lot of favorite places to go, like Long Point State Park, Sheldrake Winery and Boundary Breaks Vineyard, but this summer we also had a chance to check out a few new places. 

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Fall in Pennsylvania

By on October 8, 2020 in The Pearl

“Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen.” –Unknown

Fall in the northeast means pumpkin patches, corn mazes, apples of all kinds and leaves that change from green to beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. It’s a great place to be when the summer slips into fall.

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