Memories of Summer

Okay, so.... I meant to post more pics of our summer vacation but never got around to it. Now that the weather is cooling off, maybe posting summer pics is a good idea.

Anyway, on our trip to New York this summer, our oldest son's birthday came while we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa. I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, and he said he wanted to go kayaking. So after checking around, we decided to go up to Lake George and check it out. So the four of us (me, Mrs. Doohickie, and my two sons) drove,



And drove,



And finally got to Lake George.





My wife didn't have any desire to get into a little boat and paddle out into the middle of a big lake, especially one one with big boats with big motors. So she stayed in Lake George Village and took in the local shops.

Me, on the other hand... well, I didn't want to do that stuff either, but I'm the dad, so I kind of felt like I had to go kayaking with the boys. We drove up the length of the lake a bit up to Bolton Landing where there were allegedly kayaks for hire.

Now, I had never been in a kayak, didn't want to be in a kayak, and frankly, I weighed the kayak down quite a bit. Since it was my older son's birthday, he got his own kayak, and since I had never done this before and was petrified at the thought of going out on the lake in such a small boat, I got a two-person kayak with my younger son.

The whole way out, I looked at the edge of the boat, and noticed that, for the most part, it was only 3 inches above the water. I say "for the most part" because that was only in smooth water. When power boats rocketed buy, the waves came right up to the edge of the boat or even came in a bit. Despite my sons' assurances, I kept picturing getting out into the middle of the lake, the boat swamping, us not being able to get it righted, and having to swim back to shore with unknown sea monsters nibbling our toes the whole time. Ah, the pleasures of the "responsible adult."

So we paddled out a good long ways, then decided to turn toward home. By now I was starting to get used to being out on the water and not quite so afraid. See? I don't look afraid (do I)?



Even if I was concerned, the boys were enjoying themselves.





The view on the lake was quite beautiful and I really enjoyed it, even if it was tempered with the thought that I could drown and this would be me last view of the world.





So finally we headed for the dock. It's kind of funny now, but at the time I was kind of dismayed to find out there was a southerly breeze that helped us paddle to the north quite effortlessly, but fought us on our return trip. Eventually, though, we did make it back to dry land. Now, my older son had gotten kinda wet in his kayak. He figured the best way to dry off his socks was to hang them on the window and roll it up to hold them in place.



On the way back, my younger son took some pics along the road. Lake George is a beautiful area. Some areas along the lake are timeless, going back a century or more; other areas are straight out of the mid-20th Century.... like the resort in the movie Dirty Dancing.













But we weren't done yet. There was more to see in Lake George...