July 28 - Susquehanna Kayak Trip

“My sons are the best gift I have ever received. They are the sunshine in my day, the joy in my soul, and the love of my life.” -Author Unknown

Last week was Kyle's birthday we celebrated by spending the day kayaking the Susquehanna River. The outfitters we used were located in Danville. We drove over from Bloomsburg to Danville, left our vehicle and they brought us back to Fishing Creek in Bloomsburg where we started our trip. We couldn't have asked for a better day...clear blue skies, very little wind and temperatures in the low 70s when we began. What a great day for this adventure.

Fishing Creek runs behind Kyle's house and we like playing there on warm days. We started a bit downstream from there at the Rupert Covered Bridge. From the bridge the creek dumps into the Susquehanna River and flows west. We paddled over 10 miles today. Everyone did amazing. Graham had his own kayak and the girls were great paddlers in the duel kayaks with their parents. We stopped a few times to swim, relax and eat a few snacks.

Getting ready to start. 

What a beautiful spot to kayak.

The scenery changed quite a bit as we paddled towards Danville.

We stopped twice along the way to swim and relax.

The water felt a little chilly...but oh so nice.

A fun day on the water.

Danville, Pennsylvania 

The last little section to the pull out was one of the prettiest spots.

July 20-23 Cora's Visit

“Granddaughters are like flowers; you never get tired of watching them grow.” -Anonymous

It was finally Cora's turn to come to the boat. We picked her up Saturday afternoon and brought her to the house. We had a fun evening and were ready early on Sunday to head to the lake. Cora mastered riding her bike without training wheels in June and last week she got a new bike. So this visit was all about riding her bike. We have amazing bike trials around our marina, it's a great safe place to ride. In three days Cora rode just over 27 miles.

In between rides we painted rocks, made beaded bracelets, did a little shopping, visited a few waterfalls and played games. She also earned a little money by cleaning the boat. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time. We truly love these visits.

This is the map of our last bike ride. It was 5.5 miles. Cora loves her bike.

Cora was watching the boats come and go on Sunday afternoon.

Cora loves to help out, she swept, dusted and even did the dishes.

We love to do crafts together.

One day we went to our favorite secret spot for lunch and a little fun in the water.

Looking down the creek from the waterfall.

Cora had fun catching the little fish in the creek.

And of course no summer vacation would be complete without ice cream.

We literally have 100s of waterfalls in our county...this is the most impressive, but Taughannock Falls didn't have much water on this day.

This little falls is located on the Black Diamond Bike Trail.

July 14-18 Graham's Visit

“Grandsons are loving reminders of what we are really here for.” -Anonymous

Wow this was Graham's seventh year to come stay on the boat. He has grown up so much. The activities he once thought were fun have fallen by the wayside and we had to find new places to explore this year. Finding things to do around the lake to entertain Graham was not hard. There are endless places to explore and things to do. We went boating, hiking, biking and swimming. We even found time to bowl and play basketball...and of course eating ice cream.

The best place to be on a warm summer day is on the lake...even better in the lake. Graham loves being pulled on the tube.

The lake water is warming up and it felt amazing being in the water.

Now that Graham is older we can do some of the wonderful hikes in our area. We hiked the upper loop at Robert Treman one morning. This is the bottom of Lucifer Falls.

Part of the hike along Enfield Creek.

This picture was taken near the top of Lucifer Falls.

The lower falls at Robert Treman State Park has a wonderful swimming hole, complete with a pretty high diving board.

This is our secret little waterfall. I'm sure lots of locals know where this is but it's definitely hidden from all the tourists. It's a great place to spend a warm afternoon.

We also spent time playing basketball.

We did part of the Black Diamond Bike Trail one day. We stopped at one of the many waterfalls along the way.

Williams Brook comes down the hill and makes a nice little place to relax or even have a picnic. 

It goes through this opening that runs under the bike trail and down the hill to the road and then to the lake. We had fun exploring it.

We spent one evening bowling and eating dinner at Atlas Bowl in Trumansburg.

Just a few of the servings of ice cream Graham had during his visit. He loves ice cream.