A Week At Camp – Day 4

Forgot to post before bed last night!

Not a lot of time spent actually at Camp yesterday.

In 1963 when Dad moved out of the dorms at Clarkson, he realized he didn’t have a comfy chair.  He went downtown Potsdam and bought one–a really nice La-Z-Boy recliner.  He kept it and it was in our living room until the upholstery started to rip. I took it from my parents who didn’t want it anymore.  It is the most comfortable chair in which I ever have sat.  I used it for some years with a fitted cover on it until it mechanically broke.  It occupied the tiny foyer of our home for the better part of the last decade until I finally, about 2 months ago, took it to Fleming’s Fine Furniture in Malone to be repaired.  Al, the guy in charge of the repair shop, was almost giddy when I dropped it off.  I don’t think he had ever seen one that old!  Several weeks later he called to say it was all done and ready for pickup.  Yesterday Dad and I took his truck to Malone to pick up the recliner.  I’m not going to share the amount I was charged for this service, but let’s just say I was VERY happy and very impressed!  If ever I am in the market for new furniture, Fleming’s in Malone will be my first stop!

We took the chair straight to an upholsterer in Ausable Forks.  He probably won’t get to it until October; but I’ve waited this long!  Amanda and I will visit him in a couple of weeks to pick out fabric.  From Ausable Forks it was up to Peru to pick something up for Mom and then back to Camp by way of Ausable Chasm where we stopped to watch the work being done on the hydroelectric dam.

It was late afternoon and we all got ready for dinner–our cousins took us out to dinner at Dana’s Rusty Anchor in Valcour.  Always delicious!  We got back to Camp around 8:00.  I enjoyed a beer and a cigar on the porch and went to bed early.

  1. An appropriate running board for a plumber’s truck!
  2. Dana showing off his new stemware.
  3. Work on the Chasm dam
  4. The new choke “knob” I put on the Sea Doo yesterday #RedneckEngineering

A Week At Camp – Day 3

Woke up around 8:00.

The cousins decided today was the day to see Ausable Chasm.  A good choice, given the weather forecast for the rest of the week.  I gave them a personal tour.  We opted for the riverwalk, as the youngest was not quite tall enough for the Adventure Trail.  I had forgotten about the accompanying adult requirement for the tubes, and so designated myself as such for the kids (9 and 13) who wanted to take the tubes instead of rafting.  Just as well, as I had never done it before.  But I wasn’t dressed for it.  Oh well!  Also, I should have had a heavier breakfast.  I ran out of calories about 2/3 of the way through the hike.  Hooray for fat reserves! (?)

I suggested Clover Mead Café for lunch, but they aren’t open early in the week.  So back to Camp for lunch it was.  After lunch I took a swim/bath. (Ivory: The Soap That Floats!)  Then I went into town to pick up some odds and ends at the hardware store, Red Stripe at Arnold’s Grocery, and gas. The odds and ends included plumbing for a custom toilet paper holder, zip ties to repair the flag pole that hangs our Canadian flag on the boat house at Camp, and a small collar with a set screw to jerry-rig the choke handle on one of the Sea Doos.  (Or, as the guy at the hardware store called it, “Redneck Engineering.”)  It worked!

I played banjo for a bit and then prepped the boat for an after-dinner ride.  I took the kids and their grandpa over to Port Kent.  LCT has been storing the Valcour ferry there this Summer, which is odd.  We looked it over and then I took them out to Ferris Rock and told them the story of how the Valcour ran aground there in 1975. We returned to Camp. I covered the boat because of the rainy forecast.  While we were out, Kelly and Dean came down to visit. (Happy Anniversary!!) I did the dinner dishes, tried new ink cartridges in my portable printer (they “fixed” it), and am heading to bed at 11:30 after publishing this post.

 

A Week at Camp – Day 2

Slept in until 9:30!

Breakfast…waiting for the rain to come.  Watched the lake go by for awhile and eventually picked up my stuff in preparation for a scholarship luncheon my parents hosted today.  As guests started to arrive, I realized rain was also about to arrive and ran down to the dock to cover the boat.  While the luncheon was in progress, I called into a meeting at work.  By the time that was done, most of the guests had left and we had Camp to ourselves again.

I waited for the rain to stop for a bit and put the battery back in the Sea Doo.  Success!  It started right up.  I decided to make sure it was okay and went for a ride around the bay.  🙂

While dinner was cooking, our cousins arrived from Toronto to spend the week.  We ate while they got unpacked and situated, having stopped at Clare & Carl’s on their way in.  Then Family Time on the porch for the rest of the evening!

Sorry…I wasn’t much of a shutterbug today!  But here’s a picture of cousins Jaqueline and Ashton exploring the beach.

A Week At Camp – Day 1

I’m spending a full week at Camp this year.  Let’s see how far I get with journaling it.

I left home around 9am and got to Camp at about 11:30.  Kelly (sister) was there with Mom & Dad.  She and Mom went to prepare beds for our cousins who are visiting later in the week.  Dad and I decided to go check out what was going on at Ausable Chasm.

The water in the river is near its all-time low.  There was some rain today–the first in a long time, but it won’t be enough to bring the water up.  Rafters are not able to traverse the rapids.  Indeed, even a raft with a lone guide had trouble getting through to pick up her passengers who had to walk around the rapids!

Whirlpool Basin is the lowest I have ever seen it.

Dean (brother in-law) and I moved the dock and boat hoist out for the third time so far this year.  The lake level is below 95 feet (above sea level) and falling.  Mission accomplished, Mom, Dad, Kelly, Dean, and I took the boat for a ride down Willsboro Bay and back.  Despite a raininy morning, it was a beautiful day on the lake!

While we were waiting for dinner to cook, we sat on the porch.  Seeing a massive plume of dark smoke on Trembleau Point, I hopped in the boat to investigate.  By the time I got out there there wasn’t much to see.  I suspect someone had started a fire using a serious amount of yard waste–probably a lot of pine needles.  The plume we saw from Camp had settled down to a haze that drifted down the bay and which we could smell back at Camp 45 minutes later.

Me on my way back to Camp:

After dinner, I futzed with the Sea Doos, which never seem to run exactly right for us.  The 3-seater’s battery was dead, but the 2-seater fired right up.  Both needed gas.  I removed the dead battery.  It’s charging overnight.

I put the boat on the hoist and then took to preparing a replacement manifold I had to order for my Dad’s air compressor, having broken it 2 weeks ago while working on his lawnmower.  Fortunately, it’s a standard part and was both cheap and easy to find online.

It’s ready to go.  I’ll install it some time this week, while I still remember where everything goes.

More porch time with Mom while Dad went for a walk.  When he returned he reported seeing a young deer lazing about in the weeds in the ditch next to the road.  He walked past very close and the deer did not flinch.  It was still there on his way back.  It seemed healthy…it just had no interest in being anywhere else.

I went inside to post some pictures on Facebook. Amanda called to say goodnight.  (She stayed home because she has a conference in Boston this week, but doesn’t leave until Tuesday morning.)

That’s it for today.  I’m going to bed (11pm).  Here’s a picture of a fawn I saw on the beach north of Camp shortly after arriving today:

Vegas Vacation 2018 – Day 3

Breakfast at the food court in the casino.  I played cash poker again and set a personal best for profit!  Back to the room for a nap, then over to The Mirage for their 2:00pm tournament.  Didn’t make it to the 2nd break.  I wandered back to the room by way of the Treasure Island hotel where I picked up a piece of memorabilia at the request of a friend;  Then back to the room for another nap.  While I was sleeping, Amanda went in search of pizza.  We stayed in for dinner and watched a movie.  After that, I went for another walk among the Canal Shoppes, stopping for gelato in St. Mark’s Square.  It was nice to just sit there and watch people.  I was at a table for 4 by myself, and was eventually joined by 3 strangers as I finished my gelato.
Back to the room and bed.  I know all of that sounds uneventful, but that’s what we decided we were here for!  As I write this, we are at the airport awaiting our flight to Philadelphia.  (I made another $43 at poker in half an hour before we left!)

Vegas Vacation 2018 – Day 2

We found breakfast at a restaurant in our own resort this morning.  We got their buffet because it had all the foods we wanted and if we added up the costs of any single entree, coffee, and juice, it was more than the buffet!  (The buffet was cheap, for Vegas!)
After breakfast, I played cash poker (and lost the money I won yesterday).  Amanda had better luck with the slots and treated herself to a Spa package (and myself to a neat electronic gizmo I had been ogling yesterday!).  Back to the room for a little rest and then back to The Mirage for their daily 2pm poker tournament.  I made it to the final 9, but then busted out.  On the way back to the room I explored a little bit.  This resort is comprised of three massive towers.  I went to the “Pool Deck” of one of the other towers.  8 stories up, it’s a huge collection of 8 different pools surrounded by lawn chairs, misted private cabanas, and bars.  The opulence and decadence are staggering all on their own, but one has to appreciate the architecture and the engineering that goes into the creation of a place like this.  The gondola “canal” in which we rode yesterday, for example, is hundreds of feet long and 2 stories above the street!  Once minor earthquake—one small crack in almost any place—and the amount of actual splash damage to a place like this will be the stuff of insurance adjuster nightmares.
We found dinner at a joint just up the strip called “Strip Burger.”  Not much in the way of ambience, but the food was delicious!  We walked through the Treasure Island casino on our way back to The Venetian, watched a movie, and went to sleep.
More coughing fits at night.  Not at full energy levels during the day.  Am seriously wondering it I actually have mono.  I’m listening to my body, am not overdoing it, and am drinking lots and lots of water.

Vegas Vacation 2018 – Day 1

This Winter Amanda and I decided that we needed a get-away with no purpose other than “getting away.”  We hadn’t been to Las Vegas since our honeymoon, and so 5 days were booked.  We selected The Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino and Amanda booked our flights.  Here we are!
Day One
We arrived late Saturday.  We gambled on a generic shared shuttle service and lost, time-wise.  The price was right, but the driver didn’t know the city very well and neither, apparently, did his navigation system.  It took us almost an hour to get from the airport to our hotel.  There are no “rooms” at The Venetian.  We have a palatial “suite” with a large bathroom, king-size bed, and separate, semi-sinken “living room” overlooking the interior intersection of two towers and the “pool garden” associated with our tower.
Sunday we went across the street fo The Mirage for their breakfast buffet.  Overpriced, but delicious.  We returned to explore The Venetian.  Holy cow, is this place HUGE!  I daresay you could spend at least a week just in this resort without going outside and still not see and experience all it has to offer.  We took the inside Venetian Gondola ride first thing after walking through the shoppes.  The inside is made up to look like Venice, including the ceiling which is painted and lit like a sunny day with white/fluffy clouds against a bright blue sky.  But the lighting isn’t very intense, and so you have the illusion that it is perpetually late afternoon with the sun just having passed beyond the next building—somewhere between actual sunset and twilight.  It’s surreal.
After that lengthy walk (and getting lost—a first for me in a hotel!) we returned to our room for a rest (and a nap for me).  I woke in time to head back across the street for a poker tournament at The Mirage.  I took 4th place ($$$!) out of 30 or so buy-ins.  Not bad!  I returned to our room and joined Amanda as we went in search of dinner.  She had done some more thorough exploring of the casino and other areas we had not covered earlier and discovered a food court where we had a bite to eat.  After that it was another walk around “Venice,” then back to our room and bed.
We have no “plan.”  We are simply be here and away.  It’s an escape.  We might just sit in our room.  We might leave and explore somewhere else.  I might do nothing but play poker.  Who knows?  Who cares!  This is vacation.  The last time we were here we were exhausted when we left.  We did not rest.   It will be different this time.