September 12th, 2010: winterize weekend

Marc- This past Friday found me in Vermont for attorney work and a good head start on my way along to Clayton. I arrived at the dock just after sunset, about 7:30 p.m. this time of year. There was certainly a Fall feel about the place with cool dry air and only a slight breeze. The Yamaha outboard started well on the third pull and I was soon out to the mooring. By the time that I had settled in aboard it was indeed a star filled sky that greeted me. The stars seemed brighter that back home, in reality there is simply less background lighting in this area far from the large cities.

I worked non-stop from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. to complete the necessary tasks before leaving the boat in an area known for its sub zero weather. While checking the engine, I discovered that the mounting bolts needed to be tightened and that the electrical cables were not properly connected. The latter was the cause of our recent difficulty in starting the engine even with fully charged batteries. A list of longer term projects was prepared including varnishing the trim, rebuilding the forward bunks, and possibly moving the refrigerator. My wish for one last meal at Koffee Kove was thwarted by the long line of patrons outside. It was back to Subway for a sandwich.

September 7th 2010: A 1000 Islands Weekend

Marc- A visit to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

We continued the college tour season with a trip to Vassar. A nice tour to a beautiful campus. It is several miles upland from the Hudson River. Our next stop was in Catskill, NY to show Sue the "Cats" that inhabit its streets. These are some special cats in a nice port town well positioned on the Hudson with good boatyards capable of raising or lowering masts for those heading to the canals or to the sea. These cats do seem to welcome visitors.











Sara-- Last weekend all four of us piled into the car with enough chips, crackers, and clothes for four days aboard the Lucy III. And armed, of course, with a Harry Potter audiobook read by the ever-amazing Jim Dale in hopes of keeping boredom at bay for the next six hours of claustrophobic car-time, we zoomed away from security and luxury– into the thrillingly vulnerable and spontaneous world of boating.

Sick of each other, my sister and I jumped out of the car the moment we arrived in Clayton, NY, grabbed our bags, and ran through the rainy dusk to the bath house where we waited, brushing our teeth, watching Disney Channel, and playing checkers, until my dad urged us back out into the miserable, still-raining dark and into the dinghy where we waited, wet, while my dad guided my mom by flashlight into the small vessel, hopped in himself, and motored us off into rough waters and unyielding torrents of heavenly tears.

Here, soaked and unable to run to warmth and comfort, completely at the mercy of Nature, I realized I had a choice: despair of joy? The former seemed so easy, an old friend. All I had to do was succumb to the surrounding darkness, to allow it to drench me in pathetic self-sorrow. But then I remembered the movie “How to Deal”and how, gazing up at the raining sky, Mandy Moore flung her arms back and rejoiced in abandoning herself to Infinity. It was one of those cathartic moments that always happen in movies but rarely take place in real life, and I've always wanted to experience that moment of letting go, of rejoicing at the beautiful and terrible incomprehensibility, the nonsensicality, of Nature, of everything, of life. And so, patting my singing sister (she didn't seem to be having a conflict!) on the back, I looked up undefiantly, lovingly at Eternity, and laughed.

The next day, though too windy and rough to travel by lake or river, we sipped hot chocolate and ate at Koffee Kove before driving to Alexandria Bay where we encountered music in the streets as well as many drunkards (they were having a Blues festival), tourists, and, just when we were thinking of returning to the boat, an Amish man! He was selling quilts, jelly, and cookies (the latter two of which we purchased and soon devoured with the shameless enjoyment of a gourmand; the raspberry jelly was really extraordinarily delicious!).

When we finally did motor the Lucy III out of her harbor on Sunday morning we were all glad to go. During our trek over to the Canadian 1000 Islands, Mom and I steered a bit (while Steph, ever the procrastinator– and a perfectionist too– began obsessing over her summer school work due in less than a week) but had to hand the wheel over to Dad when it came to docking. We enjoyed a short visit to the village of Gananoque to clear Customs, sip some excellent hot chocolate, and see a few shops before moving on to the Parks Canada Islands. A little boy ran up to catch our lines and, we had arrived at Mermaid Island! (Later, because at our position at the end of the dock where we would have rolled stomach-churningly all night, Dad managed to maneuver the boat over a chain and around rocks until we were situated between the dock and the island, ensuring the comfort of our stomachs.)

Return to Mermaid Island, Parks Canada.

Marc-- Stephanie and I were the first to take the plunge into the crystal clear waters. Sara and I later explored, rather jogged around a neighboring Island called Aubrey that had a 1 mile trail loop. We tied to the Park dock only to find that it's current inhabitants remembered us from our visit to Kingston, Ontario two years ago. Running on forest trail, often with water views, was fun and we did manage to mix up the trail sequence a bit to keep it interesting. The earth gives back a certain bounce here as you trod along, so very different from running on the pavement back home.

August travel

Marc- Please see our friend's blog: www.svwindsong.blogspot.com for further travel aboard the catamaran Windsong in Georgian Bay.

August 29, 2010: French Bay, Clayton, New York

Marc- Cornell University was our first stop in the continuing trek to check out schools.


Steph- In sum, Cornell has a nice campus in rural New York state, with many beautiful dated stone buildings, lots of greenery, quads, the Catskill Mountains and Cayuga Lake for a breathtaking scenery, and deep gorges seemingly like small canyons. Speaking of which, I had a quite morbid experience at this college at first, since I kept cracking jokes to Sara about people jumping off gorges. Anyways, we had a funny tour guide who kept pointing out the signs for his a Capella group written in chalk all over the pavement everywhere we went on campus, and who, I quote, said, “I think I wrote a pretty good essay...” during the Q&A session, which had Sara and me cracking up for a good fifteen minutes. He was hilarious! Also, I loved how the first thing you see when you arrive on campus are the horse stables, which consequently made me think of Wyoming, one of the many places I want to end up.

Marc- Lucy III awaited us on her mooring in Clayton. The boat was in surprisingly good shape after our month long hiatus on shore. I half expected it to have been taken over by the spiders that infest everything. Yes they can fly or rather let themselves be carried by the winds. There were a few webs above deck but none below in the cabins. We arrived in time to enjoy a swim in French Bay (somewhat weedy) and take in a colorful sunset.

We met the Humphrey family, Paul, Cathy and Mary-Helen, and their dog Henry, for breakfast Sunday morning. We had just tied up at the long Town Pier when they arrived. Bella's was not busy and we found excellent seating in the shade along the riverbank. The food was superb although it did take some time to arrive. Right outside the restaurant was the finish Line for a local triathlon. We enjoyed hearing cheers as the runners came in and got on their bikes. I am not sure where the swimming took place. We eventually did all board the Lucy III, even Henry, for a three-hour-tour. Unlike the trip aboard the Minnow, the weather did not get rough, and we did not get stranded on some island. There were plenty of islands to go around if we were in need of one however. They don't call this part of the St. Lawrence River the 1000 Islands for nothing. The Captain took the guests just over the line to the Canadian side for a look before anchoring off of Grindstone for a mid-day swim stop. Henry enjoyed sitting on everyone's laps during the return trip. The last stop was at Clayton's Hershey's Ice Cream Shop. This port actually has two excellent ice cream shops.

A Walk in the Woods: August 14th, 2010

Marc- Lucy III has been on a mooring in French Bay, Clayton, N.Y. for several weeks. We've decided not to restep the masts this season and to winter over at Clayton. We will use this as a base to continue to explore the 1000 Islands region.
Our first exploration involved a drive east to Baxter State Park in Maine to visit with our friends, the Lewis family, and to climb Mount Katahdin (5280 feet). Sara had been reading some of Henry David Thoreau's books and we picked up the audio version of Walden from the library in Watertown for the long drive. At other times we took turns reading Thoreau's “The Maine Woods” that documents Thoreau's travels in Maine and his climb up Mount Katahdin in 1846. Thoreau traveled by rail to Bangor and then by boat up the Penobscot River. He took a guide and went by batteaux, elongated Quebecois lakeboats more pointed and angular than a canoe and much more useful in fur and the logging trades. Thoreau was a pragmatist who appreciated the commerce of the wild lands as much as its romance. Today we traveled by car by the giant paper mills and the private logging roads. People live in these woods and make their livelihood here.

The Lewis' have two beautiful cottages on Togue Pond in Baxter State Park in the shadow of Maine's highest mountain. Baxter is Maine in its almost natural state. There are no paved roads or paths. I had made an online reservation for this climb (the wilderness has become high tech) and we were assured of parking at the trail head. Sara and I were at the gate at 6 a.m. ready to go. Sue and Stephanie stayed at camp to enjoy the pond and visit with Fred, Bill, Emily, Marykate, Erika, Mary-Helen, John-Paul, Paul and Cathy. We drove to the trail head at Katahdin Stream campground, loaded our backpacks with water and sandwiches, and started up. The first few miles of trail rose gradually and followed the stream to some impressive falls. Blueberries were available for snacks along the way before we rose above the tree line. The views at any point were magnificent. We hit on a category #1 climbing day, clear and warm. The spruces and pines were ever fragrant. As we continued the views emerged. Other mountains were visible in the Appalachian chain as well as numerous lakes and ponds spreading out to the Canadian border. The East branch of the Penobscot River carved a serpentine path through the valley to our West. To the North the Allegash flowed to join the St. John's River.
The trail became more of a climb over and around large granite boulders and broken rocks left by the receding glaciers than a path. White paint markings on these bolder and slabs of granite guided us upward. It was at this point that 15 hikers who were doing the Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine passed us. These hikers were in great shape and seemed in a hurry to complete their journey. In fact they passed us again on their way back down the mountain before we reached the summit. Other climbers included boy scout groups (who somehow believed they could get ice cream at the top), families with children as young as 9, and college students. We passed Thoreau's Spring in the tablelands. This harsh area is covered by green map lichen and treeless. Once at the summit, we stopped for lunch and photos. This was the spot where the sun shines first at dawn in the United States. It is the highest point on the eastern edge of America. We contemplated crossing the Knife Edge (a narrow rocky ridge line that connects with another Peak). Our water supply was insufficient for that climb today. The descent was easier but still involved careful climbing over giant rocks. We went astray at one point and needed to back track up. Once at the trail head we cooled our feet in the icy stream and enjoyed drinks we had left in the car. We were ready for a swim in Togue Pond once we returned to Camp. The camp group did some hiking in the lower elevations in hopes of seeing perhaps a moose or a bear. Kenny Barnett was visiting and he helped me launch a wooden rowboat that I had built some 36 years ago. Sue rowed around the pond with Kenny. A fantastic breakfast was served the next morning by Cathy at the old Lewis camp. This is a beautiful wilderness untamed by man where there is time to contemplate and touch the earth. We ascended both a mountain here and something else inside of us as well.