A day in the (lake) life...

Sometimes on the second Tuesday of vacation, the stars align and the weather cooperates and you get this whole "summer recreation" thing just right. 

I know, because it happened to us. 

Photo proof shown below:

Morning swim lessons (life-saving skills today)...

 Then into the car and straight to the other side of the lake, where we visited Great-Grandpa Dick Morehouse ( the boat-maker).

 We also visited Grandpa Dave's bait farm.

Then, a lovely drive down the west side of the lake to Taughannock Park, where we hiked up the Gorge Trail to see the falls.

The first falls...

 My family, walking along the riverbed.  It's hard to capture the size and magnificence of this gorge in a photo.  The cathedral of tall trees around the forest path.  The geometry of the bedrock, cracks aand blocks and wedges under the water.  The sheer cliff faces rising up impossibly on eeither side, just beyond the green.

 The viewing area at the falls was like a party, all the groups of people gathered, taking in the beauty and taking all the pictures.  We joined in.

 

 When we got back to the lake around 3:00, it had been transformed into glass.
See?

 So we just had to go do this...

 ...and this...

 ... and some of this...

Not only did Nat get up on his first attempt, but Jack decided spur-of-the-moment that he was going to try skiing too.  And he did!  He tried and tried again and got up and went a good 20 feet on his third attempt.  I am so proud of him for persevering.  He has come so far!

 We got back in time to throw together a picnic and head to Long Point by boat..
(with a very tired girl!)...

for some of this....

... and this...

 ... and this...

 We also tried to get some family photos, including one that involved pulling the boat up to shore to pose with it (only in the Morehouse family!), and we grilled some terrific burgers and had a great meal while being swarmed by lake flies.  But the big event of the evening was the storm that rolled in across the lake just at sunset.  We packed up at warp speed and made a dash for the boat, and raced the storm home...

  It was a wild and exciting ride that ended with us (and the boat) safe and dry.  We rushed up to the cottage to close windows and stack chairs... and the storm went right past the point and never hit.  Because Farley's is pretty much Camelot.

Especially on a vacation-perfect Tuesday...