Scattered Thoughts . . .

Walking toward the waterfront... After visiting the cemetery Saturday morning, we headed to Burlington. Our plan was to visit the waterfront... walk around a bit... shoot some photos... then head up to Church Street for some lunch and a few drinks... then maybe shoot some additional photos down at the waterfront and in downtown Burlington.  We had lunch at Ri Ra's, as usual. We each had a Kilcooley sandwich... some chips... and some roasted brussel sprouts. Needless to say, this meal was delicious, as always.  Unfortunately, while we were in Ri Ra's the weather had changed drastically! Very  dark, ominous clouds rolled in producing heavy rain, lightning and thunder.  There was a brief reprieve in the rain so we made our way for outdoors again. More dark clouds and rain were approaching from the Adirondack Mountains across the lake so we headed into Macy's for shelter...  just in time! Then the skies opened up again. Macy's turned out to be a great place to se

As I've mentioned in previous blog entries, we all had a great time at the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival. The antique boats were beautiful and impressive... there was a really nice selection of boats... and we were even surprised by a newly created raffle for one of these beautiful wood boats! (It would be nice to win that!) I shot a lot of photos and I'll be posting some of those soon. In the meantime, here are a few video clips I shot during the "Parade of Boats" at the Burlington Boathouse...   It was a good time!

This is a stunningly beautiful boat at this year's show... it is for sale... it is definitely a style of boat I would love to own but, at a price of $25,000, it is well out of reach for me... Yesterday we attended the annual Lake Champlain Maritime Festival which is an event we always look forward to attending each year. The weather was comfortable, sunny and simply beautiful which made the day much more enjoyable since my health suffers significantly in hot environments. This day was perfect for my health! As always, there was a nice assortment of boats at this year's show... each more beautiful than the previous. The boats are so beautiful that I always leave this show wishing I had the energy and a large empty garage so I could build my own boat. I've been keeping my eyes open for a small runabout for the past couple of years. (I'd also love to get my hands on a Laser sailboat to complement my little Minifish sailboat, but that is another story for another ti

I can't believe an entire year has already passed but this coming Saturday is the day for the 2015 Lake Champlain Maritime Festival. It seems like we were at the 2014 show (and the sweltering, oppressing heat) just last week! Since I'm a big fan of antique wooden boats, I really do enjoy this show and look forward to it every summer. I wish I could find a nice little wooden runabout for myself with a relatively small engine... maybe at this year's show! Assuming the weather is cooperative... assuming that Sheila's health is cooperative... and assuming my health is cooperative... we plan to be in Burlington for this year's show on Saturday. If anyone would like to join us, just let us know. I know we are looking forward to spending the day in Burlington looking at classic boats, doing some street shopping at the annual Sidewalk Sale and visiting a few watering holes. Until the show this weekend, here are some photos from last year's show... The Ar

We had some hazy but rather nice weather yesterday so we decided to head to Burlington and Lake Champlain for a short afternoon cruise on the "Spirit of Ethan Allen". We headed northward with Sheila's parents for an afternoon in Vermont's little quaint city on the lake. We always enjoy an afternoon roaming around Burlington... hopping from bar to restaurant to bar... so it was nice to get to do some of the same this weekend. We happened to be first in line to board the boat so this allowed us to get a prime table. The sun was blazingly hot while we were standing in line so we opted for choosing a table at the stern of the top level of the boat which was under cover. It turned out to be an exceptionally wise choice! We had a few drinks on board and then walked up toward Church Street after the cruise. The heat and humidity were enough to prompt me to request a table under cover rather than out on Church Street in the sun. Usually, everyone wants to sit ou

My health has been on quite a roller coaster ride lately with some really good days and some painful, lousy and downright miserable days. On those good days I've been keeping busy during my waking hours with some projects around the house. Of course, even on a good day, I can only get a few good hours of work accomplished before my body needs a serious break and a nap but at least I have been getting some things accomplished during my relatively good days. This past Saturday was a beautiful day and my health was cooperating so we headed north to Burlington for a cruise on the lake and then a few drinks at Vermont Pub & Brewery. Sheila's parents joined us and we had a really nice time.  It was nice to get out for a change which my health limits significantly.  Actually, I think the last time we were out of the house for the day was well over a month ago and excluding our time at the lake house was really perhaps two months ago. Needless to say, since I was feeling rela