Now This is More Like It

The good thing about living in places like New York and Michigan is that those 90 degree spells don't last long.  Yesterday, we settled back into an average temperature of 82, no humidity.  It was a gorgeous day.  

After lunch we headed to Otisco Lake, the easternmost Finger Lake, about 40 minutes from us, for some canoeing.

Pictures will not do the scenery justice.  The hills are dramatic and surround the lake.  Those pictures on calendars with lakes surrounded by hills - the artists had to use the Finger Lakes as inspiration.  As we were canoeing I told Jeff that we certainly hit the jackpot as far as living near some beautiful places.
We headed to the south end of the lake where a creek comes in and we were told bald eagles live.  We headed up the creek a bit, then came back.  As we approached the lake again, we saw this guy.
The kids were fantastic.  Jeff and I paddled the majority of the time, but they took their turns too and did a great job.  The funniest part of the trip was when a fish startled Jeff by jumping clear across his lap and into the water on the other side of the canoe.
The lake is divided by a causeway into two sections, the shallower end created by flooding, and the deeper part made by the glaciers.  When we got to the deep end, the water was noticeably clearer and we let the girls each take a turn jumping in and swimming in the middle of the lake.
Swimming in the middle of a lake was always the holy grail in Jeff and my childhoods.  This is acceptable and expected practice in the Finger Lakes, where the shores are rocky with no beaches to speak of, and the water depth drops quickly anyway.  Our kids thought swimming in the middle of the lake was pretty fantastic too.

We ended the day at a fireworks show at a festival in a neighboring town.  It was the kind of day that made up for the few furnace-like ones where we hibernated in air-conditioning.