A beach? In Upstate New York?

I know, I know... it has been a long time since I posted....

After sitting for a few weeks it sure was nice to pull Anna from the storage yard and put her back to the road. She loves being towed, even with out her weight distribution system which was locked inside her. I managed to lose her one and only set. I made my way in and now we have four sets of keys to all the locks except the reefer hatch. I looked at those keys countless times and thought, 'I really need to make another set.' Anyway, key debacle out of the way, we headed to Southwick Beach State Park near Watertown New York for what we thought was a rally. It turned out to be a family gathering of friends of Sig Van Damne and not so much a rally per say. Hey SOB owners and tent campers need fellowship too.

Sig and his wife, Dawn were kind enough to invite all the WDCU to come and I am glad they did. We had a great time and saw a part of the country we might not have. We enjoyed it so much, we are talking about another trip to the region so we can see more of the Thousand Island area. It is very beautiful there.

The first night we arrived right at sun set. Lake Ontario makes a great backdrop for a sun set. We were so wrapped up in the sun set, that we forgot to park Anna and had to do it in the dark. No big deal, Deborah Bede guided me right in with expert flashlight directions.

We had a real nice campsite right across the road from the beach. There is my 36" griddle I bought for the Baker's Acres Gathering. Yes, I cooked breakfast for all those that wanted to come. All most all the Airstreamers in the group came. I wish Sig's friends had taken me up on the breakfast offer too. They all DID get the email of me stating I was cooking breakfast for all.

Right next to us were Ria and Paul with their 1966 Frolic. They also own an Airstream, but were mixing it up a bit. Very nice little trailer owned by super nice people. We enjoyed getting to know Ria and Paul and hope we get to camp with them again.

Jill and Nick came up with their Argosy. Nick stripped the paint and has begun polishing. I like the direction he is going with his rig.

There was Deborah and her super sexy Bubble, Ruby. Sorry folks, but that is one hot trailer. Deborah has been working hard on her and she is really starting to shimmer like diamond. This diamond is far from being in the rough. Deborah, I sure hope you are proud of your self, because you should be.

Melissa and Tom came with their Caravel. Tom has also been putting some time into making her shine.

I love stumbling onto situations like this. Seeing my wife laughing and having some beers with close friends. Her job is very serious and it is important for her to unwind from time to time.

The girls enjoyed a nice swim. Good thing the Lake has had all Summer to warm up. It was actually the perfect temperature for swimming. I am amazed at how clean the water is. The clarity is astounding. Living on the Chesapeake, I just assume all water was sandy colored and that the bottom was just down there somewhere.

Not, sure what we were talking about, but it sure looks serious. That's what you do at the beach, talk and soak in the rays...

It was yet another beautiful sun set that night. Anna made for a wonderful canvas to view it on.

The next day we ventured out. In this case we went to see the Saint Lawrence Seaway. I am amazed to see these huge ocean bound ships this far inland. Hard to fathom that a ship can go from Singapore all the way through the great lakes to Duluth, Thunder bay, or further.

We bought tickets on a ferry over to Hart Island so we could see the Boldt Castle.

On the way over we went past this cottage. Yes that is on it's own little island. Now that is a cool house. Bet that lots of people snap photos of it. I found it astounding to see that little house on that little island.

This is the island we were heading for. The castle was built for Boldt's wife. The construction of this place required three hundred worker and took many years. Just as the castle was reaching completion the wife died and all work was stopped. The owner never returned and the house was abandoned from 1904 until 1977.

It is a very grand house, but not so much a castle in the sense of European castles.

During the time it was abandoned, many visitors came and left their mark on the wall. The graffiti was all over the walls in the area where no restoration work has been done. I enjoyed seeing this part of the castle too.

But the detail of the building it self is amazing. Many highly skilled workers labored to make this building so grand.

The heart and bucks were a reoccurring theme through out the house.

This is what some of the untouched house looks like. I think the plan is to restore it totally.

This is the play house. Yes, a kids play house. I am sure glad we made the trip out to Hart Island and saw the castle. Ava was talking about it just last night. Glad to see something stuck with her.

On Saturday night, Sig hosted a pot luck supper for all his friends. The food was excellent and the conversations were outstanding. Most of the non Airstreamers were not known to us until this evening. A happy hour the first night might have gotten us all mixing better.

But the variety of food did the trick just fine. The kids sure enjoyed themselves. Considering there was about 25 desserts, the kids were very happy.

As the sun was setting over Lake Ontario, we were thinking about the next day. Our plan was to go to Catawissa PA and use our last day of the Holiday weekend at Knoeble's Amusement Park. For those that have been, no explanation is needed. For those that have not, lets just say, this is one of those old time parks that has something for the entire family.

The Whip, a crowd pleaser from way back.

That is the look of terror, joy, and embarrassment. Nothing like Dad taking pictures of you while on a roller coaster.

The blur of this photo sums up the state Halle was in by the time we left the park. Too much fun can take it out of a kid for sure. Of course she wanted more even as the rides were closing down for the night.

In my next post I will show you all what has been keeping me from posting more frequently.