Henry's 10th Birthday

We seem to always celebrate Henry's birthdays while on vacation in Long Lake. Did it again this year as he turned 10 today.

Lunch @ Long Lake Diner

We went down to the town and had lunch at the Long Lake Diner today. We were celebrating Henry's 10th birthday too. He likes ordering off the adult menu now too and had a nice large turkey BLT sandwich. I had a tasty chicken parm sandwich. We got a table for 7 no problem and the kids loved the food.

Becky and I had not been to the diner in many years and definitely not since it's been renovated. We almost didn't recognize the place when we went in and they still call it Owl's Head Pub too. They got rid of all the tightly packed booths and put in nicely spaced tables. They also moved the bar to the front of the restaurant and actually added a Buffalo Bills theme. The old bar pub area is still in the back of the restaurant but looks like it's not used much. There is also a nicely renovated outside patio area. Overall a very nice place now and I'm sure we will be going there more often over the coming years.

4th of July on Long Lake

Celebrated the 4th of July with fireworks, s'mores and grandkids outside our cottage in Long Lake, NY in the Adirondacks. The fireworks in town were fantastic and we had a nice view from our beach.

Dinner @ Coles then Sudden Rainstorm

Becky and I went down to Coles tonight. We needed a little break from all the packing and getting reading for our Adirondack vacation with the kids. It has also been very hot and humid this week. We had some days in the 90's. So we decided to go out and get some dinner and a nice draft beer.

We had our usual nice dinner including a beef on weck for me. When we had finished we headed out the door and as we were walking down Elmwood Avenue we noticed a large cloud and a deep haze down the street heading towards us. We also started feeling some rain in the air. It was an incredible storm heading our way and it hit us just as we were getting into the car with some rain. Then as we drove away it came down harder... then much harder. It was a very intense rainstorm. As we were driving past Delaware Park we saw lots of people scrambling across the soccer fields heading for their cars. It was a wild rainstorm including thunder and lightning. 

We got home and got soaked just getting out of the car and into the house. Then a few minutes later it stopped. It was all done. Very weird. Well, it cooled us off for a little bit but stayed hot throughout the evening.

The weather says it's not supposed to rain anymore this week. It will be hot for our drive up to Long Lake but there should be no more rain and the weather forecast looks good for the Adirondacks although it may be hot.

Lunch @ Kayuta on the Road

We stopped for lunch on the way to Long Lake at the Kayuta Drive In at the foot of the Adirondacks. It's mostly known as an ice cream place but we discovered recently that the food is good too.

Last year was the first time we stopped for lunch there after many, many years of driving by and ogling the ice cream signs. I had their pulled pork BBQ sandwich which is the same thing I had last year. Really liked it. Becky had a turkey sandwich. Lots of fries for both of us too which made some nice leftovers for the kids. We were full from the sandwiches so no ice cream cones this time.

Tougher Than The Rest - Songs 1987 FV

The 12th and final mix of my Songs 1987 set of songs from albums in my collection released in 1987 and part of my Final Version series. I really enjoyed putting these mixes together and I'm looking forward to starting on my revised versions of Songs 1988.

Bruce Springsteen in the pic.

Tougher Than The Rest - Songs 1987 FV

1. Tougher Than The Rest - Bruce Springsteen
2. Just Like Us - The Connells
3. Did I Tell You - Yo La Tengo
4. Rebel - Blue Rodeo
5. A Letter From St. Paul - The Silencers
6. Silver and Gold - U2
7. Little Johnny Jewel - Siouxsie & The Banshees
8. Soul Kitchen - Echo & The Bunnymen
9. Learning To Fly - Pink Floyd
10. Happy Nightmare Baby - Opal
11. Tango in the Night - Fleetwood Mac
12. Kicking Clouds Across the Sky - Balancing Act
13. Long Story Short - The Long Ryders
14. Nothing Comes Close - Bill Lloyd
15. Under the Sun - Paul Kelly & The Messengers
16. Nowhere Road - Steve Earle
17. Lord of the Highway - Joe Ely
18. Memphis in the Meantime - John Hiatt
19. Long White Cadillac - Dave Alvin
20. I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried - Rodney Crowell
21. Lone Star State of Mind - Nanci Griffith
22. 'Til That Moment - Marshall Crenshaw
23. Johnny B - The Hooters
24. We Never Danced - Neil Young

Another Wedding Anniversary

Today Becky and I are celebrating another wedding anniversary... #46. Katie & Todd and the kids were in town last week and we had a wonderful time. They just had a wedding anniversary too... #14. Next week we will be vacationing together in the Adirondacks. We are looking forward to spending time there with both Katie and Sean and all five grandchildren. Becky's sister too. We had a lot of fun with our three Philly grandkids last week including a walk over to the zoo with dinos, pizza & wings, a strawberry festival around the corner, evening walk in the neighborhood counting bunnies... 22 this time, lunch at Kostas and of course my regular selfies with the kids. Now we're getting ready for Long Lake. 

Have A Little Faith - Songs 1987 FV

A quieter mix of songs from albums in my collection released in 1987. More laid back with a porch sittin' country rock groove overall but some interesting deep cuts too.

An hour and a half set from my Final Version series of songs by years. John Hiatt in the pic.

Have A Little Faith - Songs 1987 FV

1. Have A Little Faith In Me - John Hiatt
2. Someone Like You - Van Morrison
3. I Didn't Know I Could Lose You - Rodney Crowell
4. From a Distance - Nanci Griffith
5. Try - Blue Rodeo
6. With or Without You - U2
7. When You're Alone - Bruce Springsteen
8. Big Heart - Paul Kelly & The Messengers
9. Without You - Bel Canto
10. Somebody Crying - Marshall Crenshaw
11. Reconsider Me - Warren Zevon 
12. I Don't Have To Crawl - Rosanne Cash
13. Those Memories of You - Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt & Dolly Parton
14. Downtown Tonight - John Gorka
15. River of Fools - Los Lobos
16. Somewhere Down the Crazy River - Robbie Robertson
17. Temptation - Tom Waits
18. Let the Happiness In - David Sylvian
19. Apology Line - Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
20. Me and Billy the Kid - Joe Ely
21. Long Walk Home - Neil Young
22. Be Still My Beating Heart - Sting
23. Summoning of the Muse - Dead Can Dance
24. Verdi Cries - 10,000 Maniacs

Tempted - CD Mix

Tempted: Love Will Tear Us Apart. An old mix of mine from about 40 years ago when it was on cassette tape. I have hundreds of these CDs on some old book shelves. Lots of great songs here. I played all these songs in a artists hangout dive bar where I spun records in the 80's... The Pastime Lounge.

I still love to listen to these CD mixes in our backyard cabana room where I have a stereo. I'm going to post some of these CD mixes on BlueSky. I did the first one this evening.

WOW Tonight

Went to a Wine on Wednesday this evening at Russell and Summit. It was a small crowd but very social and on Joan's porch so there was a lack of seating. About 20 people and we knew most everyone there. Becky sat next to Greg and talked (or listened) with him for over an hour. Left a little before 9:30 pm. This was our second WOW of the season so far. We had a very nice time and we did get to sit as a few people left early. This is the only WOW location that happens on a porch instead of a backyard.

Then we went home and watched some World Cup soccer for an hour.