Today was the day to travel to Ray’s “camp” in the Adirondacks.  Since the road to his camp and lake were too rough for the camper (and we had scored beds at Ray’s), the idea was to drop the camper near the long and winding road to Ray’s.  However, in the morning Tom had the idea that we might be able to simply leave Khan at Newcomb campground for a small fee since they weren’t very busy.  That would mean we wouldn’t have to break camp, and we could leave it plugged in powering the refrigerator while we were gone.  And maybe it would be less likely to be disturbed.  When we got through to the campground manager he agree to this for the bargain rate of $5/day.

We left our food for lunch on the road back in the RV, so Scott bought one of two pre-prepared hoagies and some snack bars at the Stewart’s, and Tom bought a few things, and off we went.

By the time we arrived at Ray’s awesome place, it was just after noon.  Shortly after arriving, Ray’s and Terry’s friends Jeff and Julie, and Tom and Beth joined the group and we socialized a bit.

Ray, Jeff and Tom (Ray’s friend, not OWG Tom) decided to go fishing, and while at the boathouse as they prepared to depart, (OWG) Tom discovered that Ray also had a 50-year-or-so old Sunfish boat that came with the property when purchased.

After a while, the fishing trio came back with 1/3 of a brook trout each, having caught only one fish among all three of them.

Side Note: The Brook Trout is the official New York State fresh-water fish. In the 70’s, Acid Rain rendered the lake sterile, but it was restored by adding baking soda and restocked. The fish have been doing well since.

Now, back to our story… Tom declared that, although it was at least 50 years since HE had sailed he wanted to give it a try. Jeff helped Tom get the boat out and ready. Ray brought his leaf blower to evict 3 dead mice found in the tiny cockpit, but the cockpit had an overhang and blowing just circulated the mice carcasses within. Ray found some gloves and plucked them out manually. Launching into the slight but steady wind was a bit of a challenge and Jeff paddled a canoe out to give Tom a push.  Once underway, he tacked back and forth across the lake to about 3/4 of the way across and then returned on a straight downwind run – a win in any book.

After a marvelous dinner of grilled chicken, burgers and assorted sides, and one fish, there was more socializing.

The sunsets are quite spectacular at the lake, even with clear skies.

We went to bed in the cabin, allowing Ray’s guests to stay in the main house, and slept soundly, excited for the next day.