Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl)

June 17-21 Cora's Visit

My heart is full of love for my granddaughter, but each time she smiles, it becomes fuller. –Unknown

As I look at our calendar and I can see the summer flying by already…and the actual season has just begun. Cora was the first to come spend time with us. We had a wonderful five days while Graham and Hattie were at camp.

We began our time together at the house and then spent three days on the boat. Cora really enjoys the miles and miles of wonderful bike trails around the marina. We did 17 miles while we were at the lake. We also hiked a few miles along the Cascadilla Gorge in Ithaca. The gorge connects downtown Ithaca with the Cornell Campus. It's a short hike in length, but long on amazing waterscapes. There are eight waterfalls along the gorge ranging in height from 25’ to 80’. The steepness and depth of the gorge hides the fact that it’s surrounded by roads and buildings…it’s a little oasis in the midst of a hectic world.

The temperature was perfect for riding bikes while Cora was with us...although a little bit windy.

Some of the things we spotted on our rides. We think the turtle was laying her eggs or at least preparing where she was going to lay her eggs.

I love these smiles.

The Cascadilla Gorge trail.

Cora likes picking flowers.

The view from the fly bridge.

All the kids enjoy playing on our driveway and quiet street. Lots of room for skating and biking.

Chasing lightning bugs.

June 16 - Raymond B. Winter State Park

"True self-care is not salt baths and chocolate cake. It's making the choice to build a life you don't need to escape from." -Unknown

Today we decided to drive down the road and hike at Raymond B. Winter State Park. It's literally located on Buffalo Road (our road) about 17 miles from our home. Plus all 120 state parks in Pennsylvania are free. Raymond B. Winter State Park was originally established in 1933 as Halfway Dam State Park. It's famous for Halfway Lake, which is held back by the first hand-laid stone and cement dam constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

We chose to hike the Boiling Spring and Overlook Loop. We hiked about 2.8 miles through mountain laurel, ferns, blueberry and black berry bushes, pine and hemlock trees. It was a fairly easy trail and it was a beautiful day to be outside.

Halfway Lake is filled by spring fed mountain streams. The water temperature never rises above the low 50s, because much of the lake is filled with water that comes directly from underground. Little Bubbler is an artesian spring located on the west end of the beach. The sand bubbles as the water seeps up through the ground. I felt the water and it was like ice water.

The lake got its name from a historic tavern and barn called the "Halfway House," which was built in the 1800s. It served as a resting spot for teamsters transporting farm produce across Sand Mountain between Lewisburg and Centre Hall.

Mountain laurel everywhere. It was so pretty.

The only pink ones we saw were in the open areas that got lots of sun. We aren't sure if that is why they looked different. The flowers are just amazing.

Part of the trail.

The view from the top. We could just make out the lake and road at the bottom.

A small boulder field we went through. It was along the mountain ridge. It was formed 10-15 thousand years ago during the last glacial period.

Little Bubbler...it's hard to tell from the picture, but there were about six holes where the water was bubbling up.

The beach looking across to the dam.

Our picnic spot.

Looking across to the beach from the dam.

The dam. People fish from this side of the lake.

The east side of the lake looking towards the beach.

Our hike

Back to Ithaca

“We all come from the sea, but we are not all of the sea. Those of us who are, we children of the tides, must return to it again and again, until the day we don't come back leaving behind only that which was touched along the way.” ―Frosty Hesson

It's been a wet cool spring so we weren't in a hurry to get the boat launched. To be honest we were enjoying our home and time with our family and didn't even mind waiting till the weather improved. It seems there is something fun going on all the time in Pennsylvania. We picked an absolutely wonderful week to move the boat to the marina. Lots of sunshine, warm afternoons and cool nights that made sleeping on the boat very nice.

We took advantage of the sunshine to visit a few of our favorite places. A trip to Sheldrake Point Winery is our traditional way to welcome the start to our summer season in the Finger Lakes. It was a beautiful day but a bit too cool for a picnic by the lake. So we enjoyed one of their sandwiches and then sat in the sun on their lawn…all while enjoying a bottle of their dry rieslings.

Another day we drove over to Watkins Glen. A cute little town that sits on the south end of Seneca Lake. We had lunch at Lucky Hare Brewing overlooking the marina and we watched the boats moving around on the lake. We walked along the water and wandered around town doing a little shopping before heading up the west side of the lake to hunt for a waterfall we haven’t seen before. Another perfect weather day.

We celebrated our first night back to the lake with dinner at the Flint & Stave in Seneca Falls.