Saturday Get Together

Last Saturday we all went to Jeremy and Emily's for lunch and to check out their decorations. After lunch we went to Jennifer's to see her decorations. Jim and I also gave Addy a rocking chair that was mine. I received it for Christmas around 1946. She really seemed to like it and when Jeremy rocked it with his foot she ran across the room, pushed his foot away and said "No No Da Da".

Thanksgiving

This year Jim and I hosted Thanksgiving for 27. We had a full house, great food and lots of good conversation. Jim and Cahy and the boys were able to be here too which made the day just about perfect. On Friday the kids helped me put away the Fall decorations and bring out the Christmas stuff. What a great help they all were. Addy stayed over night on Thursday so Jeremy and Emily could go Black Friday shopping. She had a great time playing with Chris and Josh and they were so good with her.

Thanksgiving 2013

Jim and I hosted Thanksgiving this year for 27

Mom's 93rd Birthday

On Sunday, November 10th we all gathered at my sister Mary's house to celebrate my Mom's 93rd Birthday. All my sisters and my brother were there so that made Mom extremely happy. Jennfer had picked up Addy and they came with us too. It was a very nice day and Mary and Ray put on a delicious Ham dinner.

Addy Spends The Weekend With Aunt Jennifer

Last weekend Jennifer and Addy went to the MOST. They had a good time and it wasn't too crowded so they didn't hae to wait to use any of the featured items. Addy seemed to really have a good time. She spent the night with Jennifer and then, on Sunday morning, Jennifer ran a 5K race and pushed Addy along in her stroller. They finished up the day with a trip to Pulaski to have dinner with us and then, after a brief stop at the grocery store , Jennifer took her home.

Jack and Jim 's Hike to Skip Falls

Having seen several articles over the summer about this newly purchased area of land and the falls that up to now have not been able to be viewed by the general public, I decided to make the trek up to the Indian Lake area and check it out with Dad. There was enough information from several different sources to come up with how to get back there, the general consensus is you walk the road back about a mile to a trail that will bring you to a couple of overlooks of the falls.
We got to the road about 12:30, and it looked like we’d be the only ones today, since no other vehicles were in sight. Found a place to park, got loaded up and started up the road
There are already new signs up, like a DEC Wilderness Area sign, and a No Unauthorized Vehicles Past This Point sign. Nothing though pointing out that this was the way to the falls. I had read that a couple people saying the road was not in good shape for passenger cars, I don’t know what road they were on, because this one was in great shape compared to some I’ve driven on last year (Pillsbury, Vanderwhacker) when working on the Fire Tower Challenge.

We did run into three people heading out, not sure where they parked, like I said, we hadn’t seen any other vehicles around when we parked. Eventually, after almost two miles (not the one mile that has been widely reported) coming down a hill we saw off in the distance a bright new DEC sign that simply said “TRAIL” next to the road. And sure enough, that was the trail to the falls.

It starts out as an old road, that eventually shrinks down to a foot path. There’s a lot of rocks, mud, and roots hidden under the fallen leaves, so a careful step is needed. At around a mile from the trail start, we started to see several pieces of pink survey tape on trees and blue plastic squares on a side trail off to our left.

Following those, we soon hit a hand made wooden sign attached to a tree saying “Top Of The Falls” and through the trees you could just make out the top of the falls. Followed that path, and hit the first observation point, marked by another sign saying “OK Slip Falls” and our first good view of the falls.

We spent a few minutes here, then continued on the trail to the second view point. It gives more of a look into the woods at the top of the falls, but no view of the bottom.

Jim and Josh go Fall Camping

Geneva on the Lake

Over this past weekend, Joshua and I went out for our annual fall campout. In the fall, we always choose a state park that we've never stayed at before, and this year we chose the one at Geneva. It was a really nice park, and we were able to get a nice secluded spot.

We took in some local sights, found some geocaches, and just had a nice relaxing time together. This is a fun tradition for us.

Day Trip To Adirondacks

Yesterday Jack invited Jim and I to take a drive to the Adirondacks to see some Fall color. We headed to the Moose River Recreation Area which is North of Inlet. We used to tent camp here years ago when the kids were little and we were poor.... ( this is a free use camping area owned by the state. There are no facilities here other than an outhouse and a picnic table at MOST campsites. The sites are generally miles apart although there are a few areas with a cluster of sites.). The road in started out to be in surprisingly good condition but soon changed to the " boulders in the middle of the road" that we were used to and we had to zig and zag our way back to the barrier by the road to Indian Lake where Jim and Jack did their first hike while I did some reading. After the hike we ate our picnic lunch and then headed out the Cedar River road and on toward Blue Mt. Lake where they stopped and hiked to the top of Mt. Sawyer. Next we headed back toward Old Forge where they stopped for the final hike to Cathedral In The Pines near 8th lake. There is a Memorial to a WWII Pilot back there. We then headed to Old Forge where we enjoyed dinner at "Randy's" before heading home. We arrived back home about 9pm.

 

Celebrating Dad's Birthday

On Sunday, September 8th the kids came to dinner and we celebrated Jim's Birthday ( again). Jack ( went to Buffalo Bills home opener) and Emily ( really needed a day to rest at home)  weren't able to be here as well as Jim and Cathy, of course. Jim had chosen baked Pork Chops, Scalloped Potatoes, Carotts, tomatoes and cucumbers and of course his traditional Angel Food cake stuffed with whipped cream for his birthday dinner. .

Addy Goes To The Bever Lake Fall Festival

On Saturday, September 7th Addy and her parents went to the Bever Lake Fall Festival. She had a great time there petting the animals and they even made it into the background of one of the newspapers pictures.

JIm's 70th Birthday-September 4, 2013

Today Jim celebrated his 70th Birthday. We started out by driving to the Henderson area where he checked out the" Black Pond Recreation Area" run by NY State. After that we drove to the Robert Whele State Park, also near Henderson , but as usual with the NY State Parks, once Labor Day comes they put up the gates so we couldn't drive through it. It's a fairly small park and has only one rental property they call the "Compound" and it is quite expensive to rent. After leaving the park we drove to Belleville to check out an Amish Cheese Store. We enjoyed our visit here and as usual

bought a lot of "goodies" including some cheese, fudge and jam. We headed home where we compiled our shopping list and then headed to Syracuse where, after doing some shopping we went to "Outback" where Jim was surprised when he found all the kids there waiting to celebrate his birthday with him. The only drawback was Jim and Cathy and the boys couldn't be with us. All in all I think he had an excellent day.

 

Jack and Jim Go Hiking August 29, 2013

Today Jim and Jack set out to see more Fire Towers or the remnets of some. They started out at the Watertown Zoo and the continued on to the Lowville area . It was a nice day-sunny and not too hot. They were back here about 5pm.

Josh Comes To Visit-August18th to August 24th

On Sunday, August 18th Jim and I drove to Lancaster, near Buffalo, to meet Jim at Como Lake Park to pick up Josh. Chris and Cathy came also and we had a picnic lunch at the park before loadig up Josh and all his gear to come and stay for the week. On Monday Josh used the riding lawn mower for awhile to mow the lawn while Jim did the trim. Once he had his fill I went out and finished . On Tuesday we went to Clayton, NY for a bost trip around the 1000 Islands that ended at the Rock Island Lighthouse. This was a glass bottom boat and at different times they stopped so we could see points of interest. One stop was over a ship wreck that happened in 18632. After the cruise and tour of the Lighthouse we drove to Fisher's Landing for dinner at Roxy's. Wednesday was a lazy day with some target practice in the afternoon. Jennifer and Reese ( the Guinea Pig) arrived about 6pm to stay over for a few days. On Thursday it was "State Fair" day and they were gone from 9am until after 8pm and had a great time. Jim worked at the fire ststion until 3pm and then headed to NY arriving about 10pm. Friday Jeremy and Addy came about noon ( she stayed overnight while Jeremy and Emily went to dinner to celebrate their Anniversary) and the guys and Jennifer did some target shooting. On Saturday I invited the family to come for lunch and had about 16 total. On Sunday Jim and Josh headed home where school will begin on Tuesday.

Jennifer Does Another Triatalon

Finished the Caz tri. Toughest sprint I have ever done but did better than I thought I would.
1/2 mile swim - 19:56 (fastest swim ever!)
T1 - 2:29
12.4 miles bike - 57:61 (this was a really tough bike course, lots of hills. The few times ...I rode it I never did it in less than 1:03 so finishing in 57:61 today was really good)
T2 - 2:10
5K run - 39:03
Overall - 2:01:29

Very happy with these results. Now I have awhile before my last tri of the season (Cortland on 9/21).

— feeling accomplished.