Dinner @ The Adirondack Hotel

Dinner at the Adirondack Hotel... a table for 13. It was a Thursday evening and we got there about 5:30 pm. The big tables in the back were already in use so we had to have two tables toward the front of the room that could not be moved together. That was OK, we still were part of a big group.

At the table on the left was Sean, Ashely, Todd, Autumn, Violet, Clara and Karen. At the table on the left was Katie, Davo, Henry, Andrew, Becky and me. It all worked out and we enjoyed our meal where we have been going for dinner as a group for many, many years.

The food was terrific as usual. Becky had a Everything Bagel pizza and I had their nice haddock fish sandwich. Some nice chips too and a wonderful salad. I don't know what everyone else had but they sure liked it. We had some nice leftovers too.

Earlier in the day we went on a hike to Rich Lake and then spent the afternoon on the beach working up an appetite. 

Rich Lake Hike

We do this hike every year when we visit the Adirondack Interpretive Center at Rich Lake down the Newcomb road from Long Lake. We always hike the Peninsula Trail. We were all very impressed on how great the kids did on the trail.

This time, however, something was different. The trail itself was different and a little confusing. It didn't seem right, something was off and we had to double back on the trail back the way we came in. We could not hike all the way around the peninsula as we usually did. When we got back to the AIC building I talked with one of the staff and found out this past year a nearby dam had collapsed and a large section of the trail including the bridge along the marsh was wiped out. The trail had to be reconfigured to loop back to the AIC building. The map below is the new temporary trail configuration. They have plans to rebuild the trails this year.

Dinner on our Deck

Dinner on our deck... pasta dinner and red wine.

The kids had their dinner at the kitchen table.

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.

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.

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.

The Will of the Many - A Novel

The Will of the Many - James Islington, 2023. The first novel in the Hierarchy science fiction series. This is rated highly as a significant series of books but I'm not so sure. It took me awhile to get through it and I don't seem to be in any hurry to get to the next book in the series. It was a little too much on the fantasy side for my taste. I probably will read the next book at sometime but right now I have many other books to read.

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