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June 3-7 Cayuga Lake Vacation

By on June 14, 2021 in The Pearl
“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)

By on June 1, 2021 in The Pearl
“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

By on May 30, 2021 in The Pearl

“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

By on May 25, 2021 in The Pearl
“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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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.