2019 Povie Summer trip

A long and tiring day of driving, including Baltimore (We took the F S Key Bridge around it to avoid the tunnels and more traffic) and Washington DC (got through and around okay but ran into massive traffic leaving on I95 South. We didn't get away from Hatboro until almost noon after doing some business for CB and trying to organize his car issues. We ran into traffic right away and more all day. A quick lunch at Fuddrucker's and more traffic afterwards led to the Baltimore and Washington parts. We did have a nice dinner in Ashland VA at the Trackside Grill. Very nice place in a very cute little town. The last half hour we saw huge storms coming from the south as we got to our Quality Inn hotel in Chester VA. One more day driving down I 95 and we'll be home by evening.

Back on the road at 9:30 after picking up dad at Chris' and getting some bagels and coffee. The drive through southern NY state and New Jersey was uneventful. We hit some construction traffic in NJ (when is it ever NOT under construction?)  and had trouble finding anywhere for lunch in the "Executive Park" section of west central NJ. Finally found a little strip mall deli (Rock Deli in Bridgewater NJ) and had some great subs and salads made by actual Italian guys. Delicious! The rest of the drive was traficcky but easy enough. We got to Amy's cousin CB's place about 3:30. We had a nice dinner in a private dining room at The Park assisted living place he is in. Then Amy gave him some souvenirs from Niagara Falls and Lake George and I helped him with his phone's camera. I took Sam and my dad to the Days Inn in Horsham, and Amy and Sarah are spending the night at THe Park. Tomorrow it's on to Virginia, via Baltimore (we're planning to take the Che...

Our last day at Glen Lake was another memorable one. We had a late breakfast of French Toast, bacon and fresh fruit (Thanks, Kerry!) before hitting the dock. Sam and Sarah paddleboarded, and Amy and I kayaked all the way across the lake to a little island with a small camp on it.  It's about a half a mile each way. The camp was in disrepair for years, but this year looks all cleaned up and functional. Kerry says  a local guy who owns a few properties uses it as a mancave. Since you can't get there any way but a boat, he's pretty secure and private. Kerry says there is power and water to it as well. Every man needs an island! After some more swimming, we went out to do a few errands, and I took Sarah running again. We found a nice trail in the woods across the road that is mostly for cross country skiing, but it suited Sarah well. Then we rested/swam until it was time to pick up my dad for dinner. We had planned to go to Massie's Restaurant in South Glens Falls,...

We had a very late night so I am posting yesterday's entry this morning. We spent a great morning on Glen Lake, with perfect weather. 80 degrees and just a few clouds to keep it cool. Virtually no humidity. Sam went paddleboarding and ended up going all the way across the lake and back. He's become very adventurous lately, and had been looking forward to this for a while. Meanwhile Sarah took out a kayak and went most of the way over. I played shadow lifeguard and rode in Kerry's paddleboat to the middle of the lake. Sore legs tomorrow! We returned to the dock and picked up Amy, and we all went down the shore in our water conveyances, past the Docksider restaurant. There are some nice homes on this lake too, including 2 that belonged to families of some of my best friends in the mid 70s. The families have long moved on but its fun to go by the places I spent so much time at. There are many newer camps and houses now. It looks like about half of them are yea...

We had a wonderful day of boating on Lake George with cousin Fred, Uncle Bill and my neice (actually first cousin once removed, but I'm on vacation and don't want to type all that) Mikayla. Fred put his big party boat in at the Million Dollar Beach at the south end of Lake George, which is just north of Glen Lake. Lake George is a stunning 32 mile long spring fed lake, with mountains surrounding it. The average depth is 70 feet, and some places are close to 200 feet deep! We met them about 9 and headed out of the lower basin, which is the busiest part. We passed dozens of multi-million dollar homes and camps and the went to Sandy Bay, where you can anchor in 3 feet of water and see the sandy floor under it. We hung out and played ball and floated around as it got busier and fuller in the Bay. Eventually we decided to go tubing, and Sarah and Sam got pulled up the east coast of the lake on a big float. They bumped and slid behind the boat over the beautiful pr...

Friday July 12 Today things went great, with no further issues. My dad's face is bruised pretty badly but he says it doesn't hurt. I got up early and took Sarah running in a neighborhood park near the bnb. Then she and I headed to the recommended tire place. Again, were blown away by the efficient, courteous and  helpful service provided. We drove in at 8:15 and by 8:45 we were on our way with a new tire balanced and installed, the donut tire stowed, the other three tires checked out, and a receipt for quite a bit less than a tire would cost at home. Sarah says she could live here if it weren't for the weather! We collected everybody and all our stuff at the bnb and headed east, crossing the border without incident and making pretty good time to Glen Lake. Lunch (Sarah picked- she's batting 1000) was great at the Peppermint Family restaurant near Rochester.  No plaques commemorating my Rochester birth, but good food and friendly people. We visited many "S...

I'll add this post tomorrow from Glen Lake tomorrow night. Too exhausted from the events of the day. Heading back to the US in the morning. Day 4 was not our most auspicious one. It began at 4am when my dad fell out of his bed with a resounding crash. He bruised his head and elbow pretty badly and had a golfball sized knot on his forehead. After an abortive trip to the Canadian hospital emergency room ($950 just to be admitted, and no services without a complete list of all meds and recent procedures, which they could not access electronically) we decided to cross the border at 5am and go to the American hospital in Niagara Falls NY. 5 hours, 4 tests (all clear) and a drive back to Canada later, he took a nap, and I took Amy and the kids walking from our airbnb rental along the Canadian side of the river. We went 2 miles up river, all the way to the horseshoe falls.  We had a nice lunch overlooking the Falls and walked back through the touristy part of town. We though...

Busy day today! Left Pittsburgh about 9:15 and headed north through hilly farm country. Got to Erie PA and then into NY state around noon. Western NY wine country. Lots of grapes! We ate in Westport NY. Lake Erie was to our left all the way to Buffalo, where we got on the Niagara Falls Parkway. That's Lake Erie those people are walking towards. We got to busy Niagara Falls about 3pm and went right to the Falls and got on the Maid of the Mist boat. We got wet!  Incredible sights and sounds on the boat, of the American Falls including Bridal Veil Falls, and the Canadian "Horseshoe" Falls. I'm submitting this picture to GQ next month. After that we got ice cream. I finally found a cone big enough for me! We crossed the border (No one got stopped by immigration) and found our rental, though our cell phones work only intermittently on this side of the border, so navigation is tricky. We drove around some less touristy areas and had dinne...

Our second day was much more active and enjoyable. Great food too! We left Princeton WV about 9:30 and headed north. The Interstate route ended as the road turned into a divided highway through central WV. We crossed the New River gorge on the longest arch bridge (no supports under it) in the Western Hemisphere, and then visited the visitor center which had info about the area in its coal mining heyday. There were some wonderful views of the river and the bridge. Sam and Sarah and I walked down the long staircase to an observation deck, where Amy joined us. After we walked back up we packed up and got back on the road. Our next stop was for lunch. Sarah found a great "family restaurant" in Flatwoods WV. Wonderful food, all homemade and incredible pies too! The "cup" of soup was the size of a serving bowl! Next we drove on to Weston WV after determining we were not going to make it to the Trolley Museum near Pittsburgh before the closed at 4pm. We...