Schneiders (and pork loin) for dinner

It seems like every time John and Sharon are spending their two weeks on Lake Huron, we are elsewhere. This year, however, we found one night of common availability and enticed them over to Black Lake for a late afternoon pontoon ride and pork loin on the grill.

Pa stayed behind for the pontoon ride. The beautiful cloudy sky made conditions just perfect for a happy hour cruise. I made an appetizer that came close to violating Kliban's rule about never eating anything bigger than your head. But it was very 60s and fun to eat.

Grandpa held forth on a topic or two while Ken grilled and I put out the green bean summer salad. It was a lovely evening.

It's Kenny's Birthday

Kenny's day started with a lit candle stuck in a glazed donut hole (sorry I didn't capture on film). We sang happy birthday, watched Ken blow out the candle, applauded, and shared the donut hole three ways.

On the phone with Joe

Even though Ken says he doesn't think birthdays are a very big deal, he was very happy that he heard from all of his kids during the day. Michael posted a wonderfully bizarre doctored-up photo of Kenny smooching on a stuffed weasel at the Lodge, Jen posted a video of Ben saying "pssst" (which Grandpa taught him) and flipping through his "Who's Got Ben" book to correctly identify the photo of Grandpa. Joe, Adam, Tomi, and Jonna all reached him on the telephone. One happy Poppa.

Happy boy, just his kind of birthday

After some yard work and other assorted putzing, Ken decided he wanted his birthday dinner on the boat. Instead of anything fancy, we packed a picnic basket with his leftover Dirty Duck sub and some potato salad and baked beans from the grocery store in Onaway. He couldn't have been happier.

Hello Grandpa!

The weekend's first happy hour began with a lecture about the "Rocky Mountain water" that's used to brew Coors, now and in Grandpa's Colorado days, and some further comments about the part played by Idaho Springs "tailings" in the beer's flavor.

It started to sprinkle, so we put up an umbrella to protect Gpa's hearing aids.  Our classy hors d'oeuvres consisted of thin sliced cheddar from a plastic zipper pack and a bag of Tostitos in a big plastic bowl, washed down with Coors from a can and wine from a box. La teee dah.

Goodbye Jess

After a nice leisurely morning of coffee and packing up, we said goodbye to the lake and drove back home. Had lunch at Qdoba in Gaylord, and a frozen custard at Culver's in Mt. Pleasant. A quick stop at the Theis's to drop off Ken's shirts and say happy birthday to Josh and Zack, then on to Grand Ledge.

Wednesday

On the Black River

Black Mountain Lodge

Lake Huron and the Dirty Duck

Hmmm. That sounds like a children's book title.

Today, after a brief pontoon trip, we presumed once again on John and Sharon's hospitality and went rock-hounding on Lake Huron in front of their cottage. Sharon accompanied us on our quest.

Jess's shoes gave her fits by filling with rocks and then refusing to go back on her foot while wet. Nevertheless, she spent lots of happy time standing in the lake looking for rocks and enjoying the cool but refreshing water.

Straw hats, sundresses, stupid sunglasses.

The shoreline next to the Schneider cottage. Our lunch of guac and chips is partially visible here.

Beautiful beach comber.

We stayed for a drink with John, Sharon, and their daughter Caitlin, who is moving to Brooklyn at the end of the month.

I called the Duck from the cottage and determined that Angie was on duty in the kitchen tonight, so we went to the DD for pizza.

Double mushroom, onions, and pepperoni.

Scrumptious.

When we got back to the cottage, Jess went from pizza pie to peach-a pie, downing a delicious bit of the Sweetie pie we brought up. I was still groaning from dinner. Still am.

The lake was very still except for a light breeze disturbing the water off shore. The sky was pink, the lake blue.

The Monday Lake Report

Lunch on the boat, consisting of sweet corn, expertly cleaned by Jess, and leftover green bean summer salad. Perfectly yummy, and beautiful breezy weather.

The lake finally calmed down enough for a pontoon ride (I don't skipper in inclement weather). We took it across the lake and motored up the river...er....down the river a ways. Jess took the controls so I could take a nap. KIDDING! It was just a photo op! Gotcha!

Whitefish dip!

The lake was a bit calmer when we emerged from the river and crossed back to the cottage. We took a few minutes to clean up, then drove out in the Subaru with the following strategy in mind: If Angie's car was at the Duck, we would stop there and order pizza. If not, we would continue on to Pier 33 and have a more upscale dining experience.

It was the latter.

Lobster Bisque = Happy Jess

Crab stuffed sole with heirloom tomatoes for Jess; sauteed Michigan lake perch for me

Oh yes we did. (Order and eat the entire blackberry creme brulee.)

Back at the cottage, Jess set up the bird puzzle and we drove ourselves nuts looking for one last edge piece. That's what two OCD queens do for fun.

Sunset kayaking

Look - it's a sea turtle!

The sky was especially expressive today. After a mostly-cloudy morning, the lake performed its magic and transformed the day into a real beauty. We sat on the boat and stared at the clouds until things started to appear in them. We saw:

An alligator

A snowmobile

A sunbather being eaten by a alligator

A fossil dinosaur head (T-Rex)

Sleeping Beauty, reclining

A turtle flying like Superman (Jessica thought it looked more like a roasted turkey)

An unidentified flying object (later transformed into an anchor)

Abraham Lincoln's head flying a landspeeder

....and more we can't remember now.

You are what you eat (and drink)

If it is true that you are what you eat, then today, Jess and I were:

Hot coffee with cream

Mexican omelet and Siracha sauce

Mint Margarita (virgin, of course). (Well, hers was.)

Green bean summer salad

Peach-blueberry Sweetie-Licious pie

Pretty good day for food!

Jess 2012

Jess drove up to the Cott-ish with me on Saturday, August 4, fresh from completing her first term of classes at LCC. We grabbed a Sweetie-pie on the way up - peach/blueberry. Spent some time visiting with the Theises, then ate pie and played three hands of double solitaire. Jess won the first game by a mile, I took the second, and the third was a double win.

Theis x 5

Kicking off the 2012 Olympic Chinese Checkers event

I snapped this candid shot as we were organizing
to get a good group shot. Love the dynamics! 

Me and my buddies

No pictures, please!

When I left the cottage on July 29, the Theis family was still detaching themselves from electronic devices and getting into the cottage mode. When I arrived back at the cottage with Jess (the following Saturday), all five Theises were bobbing in the lake with the pontoon anchored nearby. That's progress!

A typical day on the boat

Hmm....

....are these guys related?

By all accounts, it was a relaxing week. Jess and I had fun out on the pontoon with them and we were sorry to see them go. We're hoping to schedule a winter weekend at the Stocks for Rachel, Zack, and Josh. I really miss them between cottage visits. (You too, Ken and MaryJo.)

Zack and Jess on the pontoon, having a long discussion about sports (they are both very knowledgeable)

Until next year....