Aug. 26-30 Fun at the Lake

“There is something more beautiful than a beautiful thing and that is a beautiful thing which has a beautiful reflection on the water.” -Mehmet Murat Ildan

It doesn't feel like we've spent much time on the boat this year, but the weather has finally cooled off and we enjoyed a great week at the lake on The Pearl. We spent time hiking, picnicking and visiting some of our favorite places. You can tell there's a touch of fall in the air...days are getting a little shorter and the nights are very cool. Leaves will be turning soon.

We started our week off by visiting Sheldrake Winery...our favorite place to sit and enjoy an afternoon. This time we shared one of their Riesling glazed turkey sandwiches and a bottle of their dry rieslings. We enjoy looking for beach glass and fossils when we are there.

On another day we drove over to Skaneateles.  We did a little hike in the Skaneateles Conservation Area. We hiked to Guppy Falls. There wasn't a lot of water in the creek, but it was a beautiful day with a touch of fall in the air and the woods were pretty.

Looking down to the waterfall.

The trail then leads up to the top of the falls where we could get down to the creek and take a better look at the creek.

We found all kinds of moss and mushrooms along the trail.

Skaneateles is a cute little town that sits at the north end of the Finger Lake with the same name. We like wandering around this little village going through their shops and watching the activities on the lake.

We brought a picnic with us and sat by the lake. A few ducks came to visit...and beg.

On our way home from Skaneateles we stopped Goose Watch Winery. We haven't visited here in years. It was such a beautiful day we just had to sit on the deck and enjoy a glass of wine. This is one of only a handful of wineries on Cayuga Lake that has a dock for visitors to come by boat.

Hard to beat a view like this on such a great afternoon.

The Boatyard Grill is our favorite place to eat in Ithaca. We can take our little boat up to their dock, sit on their lawn and enjoy a drink and then enjoy their wonderful food. It all makes for a great evening. These pictures are from several visits.

A cold front was on its way and gave us this beautiful sight on our way back to the marina.

This kind of view in the morning is why we love living on a boat in the Finger Lakes.

Aug. 3-10 Keuka Lake Vacation

Lake Life [lāk 'līf] noun - Escaping the daily grind and embracing the simple life by the lake. Slowing down to appreciate the water, wildlife and family. Where doing absolutely nothing is doing something.

This will be a long post with a lot of photos since we were gone for a week. I should have broken it down into more posts, but this will have to do. We enjoyed a perfect week on Keuka Lake. The weather was ideal, the water was amazing and the house we rented was just what we needed. We couldn't have asked for anything more. 

We did a couple of short hikes, the guys rode a portion of the Keuka Lake Outlet Trail and we spent a few hours on Saturday at the Windmill Market. Other than that we were content to be at the house painting, feeding the horses, playing games and relaxing. But most of all we were in or on the lake...swimming, riding on the boat, tubing or knee boarding. 

We all agree we like Keuka Lake the best. The lake is smaller and not as deep as Cayuga and Seneca so the water is warmer. But what we really love is how crystal clear the water is. It’s unbelievably beautiful.

The house

The kitchen...a bit small but we made it work.

The bedrooms

The kids enjoyed feeding the horses that were on property. They love carrots and apples.

The decks on the back of the house gave us the perfect place to paint and enjoy our meals. There was a bit of haze in the air from the wildfires in Canada...really not an issue because it made sitting outside a little cooler.

The evening views of the sunset were amazing.

Stan has helped all three of Kyle's kids learn to ride without training wheels at a summer rental. Hattie has now mastered riding a bike.

We enjoyed how close this house was to the water and the great water access. We spent most of our time either in the water or on it.

We were a bit rusty on this little sunfish sailboat...next year we will do better.

Kyle and Cora enjoyed a paddle on the lake one morning.

On Tuesday morning we enjoyed hiking part of the Keuka Lake Outlet Trail. We started close to Seneca Mills Falls. At one time this was a canal that connected Keuka Lake to Seneca Lake. Once in Seneca Lake goods could be moved into the Erie Canal and on to more market places. 

Seneca Mills Falls

Cooling off in the creek.

Brytanie and Graham had to drive home on Tuesday to attend a middle school orientation. So the guys went back to the Keuka Outlet Trail another morning and rode most of the trail on their bikes.

One of our favorite places to visit whenever we are close to Penn Yan is the Spotted Duck Creamery. All their ice cream is made with duck eggs.

The second hike we did was to the Eggleston Falls through the Eggleston Glen. This was a new find for us. We've been in the area for nine seasons and I've never heard of this one before. It was a nice hike up the creek although the water flow was very low and the 80' waterfall was almost dry.

With the low water levels it was easy to keep your feet dry, but a lot more fun to get wet.

We found lots of neat things along the creek. Cora was extremely happy to find a frog and a newt. We also found some great rocks and a piece of orange beach glass.

By far the very best thing about being on the lake for a week was spending time in our little runabout. Most days we went out in the afternoon and again after dinner.

Whether we were riding or being pulled we all had a great time.

We even took turns driving the boat...a few times so Stan could just sit back and relax.

Sunsets were the best time to be on the lake.

Unfortunately not all turns on the tube ended well. A few afternoons the wind was a bit strong and the tube would go flying. 

Lake life can make you tired. Especially when you play as hard as Hattie does.

One evening we took the boat up to the Main Deck Restaurant for ice cream.

We've had our little boat for 7-8 years and it's run very well, but this time Stan had to take time to clean the carburetor. Graham got a lesson in how to fix an engine. 

We enjoyed the fire pit almost every evening.

I think I could live here.

Good night Keuka Lake...we'll see you again next summer.