Yes, the beach. It was Sept. 24, and I spent a good 90 minutes on the beach reading my book like it was July.
The weather was perfection. The lake is low so the beach is huge. The waves are big enough to make noise (yes, sometimes Lake Erie is so calm that it is completely silent) but small enough that the water was crystal clear.
After my beach stay, I hoofed it down to Anchor Point to see Bill and Joanne. Chatted a while, helped Bill with some of his chores (bagging their heater, putting up the last few sheets of plywood over their windows), then went on my way back home.
I decided it would be a good day for a paddle in the lake on one of our kayaks. I took a self-timer picture of me in my board shorts and rash guard shirt, but it’s too scary to post. For the appropriate mental picture, it’s very very ORANGE.
After a half-hour paddle, I came back in to grab my camera in time for sunset. As always, my favorite picture was the first one I snapped.
Then, because the day had been so perfect, the water felt great when I went for my paddle, and BECAUSE I COULD, I went for a swim.
I walked out into the water until I was about thigh-deep then jumped in (you gotta just get WET, then it’s fine). I splashed around for a couple minutes then looked back into the beach and saw this
This is Rackety Packety, the house kitty-corner to ours. How cool is that moonrise right over the house? I waded back in to grab my camera, carefully walked about 100 yards out and started snapping. Getting this shot was harder than I would have guessed, but still worth it.
Side note: Yes, Erie is the most shallow of the Great Lakes. That’s one of the things that makes it great for swimming (shallower lake = warmer water), and why it freezes almost solid during the winter. Like I said, the lake has been calm, so even when I was about 300 yards off-shore in the kayak, I could still see every seashell on the bottom of the Lake. Oh, and out of curiosity? When I was that far offshore, I stuck my paddle into the lake and could touch the bottom with it. It’s that gradual of a drop-off.
By the time I returned my camera to the beach and got back out for a little more swimming, the moon was up above the trees entirely. I stayed out for about another 10 minutes then headed up to the house.
Why the 10% Twilight Zone? Well, I’m used to being here in the summer. When rug rats wake you up as they are running and screaming as they fly by the house at 7 am. Cars, bikes, people and kids all over the place.
Yesterday, including the people I intentionally set out to visit, I’m sure that I saw fewer than 20 people between my arrival at VBP and bedtime. I know that there wasn’t a cottage within five of ours in any direction with any inhabitants, and I’d guess that about half the homes are boarded up for winter.
It’s kind of cool, but it’s definitely weird. Actually, yesterday was a nearly perfect day. The only things I would have changed would be to have had some friends (and/or the Hubster) to hang around with. I even had the house to myself, which is a somewhat rare occurrence.
Hope to do some knitting today. Last night was computer catch-up with bloglines and such. Have a gret day!
3 comments:
The days when Lake Erie are that clear are few and far between anymore, but having been raised on the lake, I know exactly what you're talking about. I loved the pics...they're great!
PS - Will RT come out of hiding soon? WB is dying to meet him.
Wow, looks like it was a spectacular day. The sunset! The moonrise! I wish I could have seen such pretty sights yesterday (instead of the windowless office).
Great pictures!!Miss you.
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