My Fabulous Birthday Week in New York

Lake Luzerne is a town of 3200 people, located on the banks of the Hudson River in the southern edge of the Adirondack Mountains, settled in 1770.  Logging white pines, a tannery, and a place with clean air where the sick could get well were its first attractions.  Ever since President Grant came here to relax following the Civil War, it has been a place that attracts many visitors.

Lake Luzerne is only a short drive from Saratoga Springs, NY where the Philadelphia Orchestra plays each summer.

Warming up at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Olivia, Pierce, Reece and Chad waiting for the performance to begin.

Felicia, Ruby, Rusty and I waiting also.

My favorite part of the evening was hearing Sam do the clarinet solo for Rhapsody in Blue!

After a rousing "BRAVO" from Ruby, she was too tuckered to watch the second half of the concert.

Most of our days were spent on Lake Luzerne (see red dot), right next to the public beach.

The public beach was literally two steps from our back door.  Every other day a big machine came in to level the sand, making it smooth and clean.  Life guards were on duty and areas were roped off for swimming.  I made good use of the sun and sand!  (Thank goodness no one took pictures.)

We stayed in a large home that had plenty of space; the huge deck and fishing dock were our favorite places to hang out.

Rusty, Pierce, Olivia

Just hangin' out.

Relaxing!

Sittin' on the dock of the bay...

Wanna go fishin?

They're really biting today!

Discussing the finer points of a reel.

Good sister time.

It's a fishing frenzy.

Bathing beauties.

With school only days away, Pierce makes lunch choices.

We spent time on fun watercraft.

Room for lots of folks in the rowboat.

GiGi and Pierce, paddling around.

Olivia, enjoying the water. 

The Fishers go canoeing.

Life doesn't get much better than this!

The swimming dock was farther out into the water.  Pierce had no trouble swimming to it.

Parents and kids played on the deck.

"I love you, Mama!"

"What do ya think, Mama?"

"Cast like this, Ruby."

"I love you, CJ!"  (Reece is Chad Junior.)

We had a visiting kitty for the week.

Papaw and others spent a lot of time untangling and baiting.

And there was a lot more fishing to do!

Pierce's fish.

Reece casts for one...

...and reels it in.

Ruby has her own pink fishing rod.

More fun on the deck...

Bubbles, anyone?

This is how it's done!

How about a fun ride on a broom stick?

Ruby wanted to do everything she saw Reece do.

Sam took some time before he went to work to show the kids a little about the clarinet.

showing specific keys on the instrument

...and this is how it sounds!

One morning we went to the Saratoga Springs Race Track, the oldest race track in the U.S.    On August 3, 1863 (one month after the Battle of Gettysburg) John Hunter and William R. Travers decided to create a race track that would be worthy of their Thoroughbreds.  Today it is a very beautiful place.

Much of "Seabiscuit" was shot at this track after the closing of the season.

Ruby, Reece and Pierce pose with the jockey statue.

Our tour of the backstretch began with a pony, as distinguished from a horse.  The rider explained the job of the pony, which is to keep the race horse calm and relaxed.

The kids got to pet the pony and see his teeth.

We watched the trainers work the horses.

We saw where the horses were stabled.

We saw horses practicing getting into the gate.

FACTOID:  In fact, it was the Sanford Stakes in 1913 that added the word, "upset" to the English lexicon, meaning an unexpected defeat of an opponent that's considered to be more formidable. Man O'War went into the race with 21 wins-and lost to a horse named Upset. Ironically, Upset's name now is invoked every time there's a surprise victory-whether that's in horse racing or another sport-even business and politics.



We had brunch in the stands where the horses were doing their final warming up before the races began.

GiGi and the grandkids.

Felicia and Rusty enjoying dinner.

Sam gets a snuggle.

I bought the books listed on Levar Burton's Summer Reads and we all had fun reading.

"The Day The Crayons Quit" was my favorite.

Olivia captures her audience.

We worked on puzzles...

...and watched a movie...

...and ate smores...

...and made silly faces.

On Saturday, my birthday, we went to morning rehearsal with Sam.  It was a Cirque de la Symphonie performance, so we got to watch the circus artists AND hear the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Watching rehearsal.

We had bar-b-que for lunch, followed by a little nap time.  Then the fun began.  We picked teams and loaded up a couple hundred water balloons.  We had the most amazing water balloon fight I've ever seen!  The deck was totally covered in balloon confetti.  (I was in survival mode and had no time for pictures!)

Then we had water races on the rafts!

Olivia and Chad race against each other for the first leg of the relay.

Pierce and Reece give it all they've got.

I'm not sure who won, but we all had a great time!

I asked Reece if he helped put the chocolate frosting on my birthday cake and he said, "No, Piercy did it."
What do you think?

We had Champagne and a yummy dinner , followed by cards and presents.

Getting some candle-blowing help from the experts.

Ruby's book shows how she made my scarf.

Thank you everyone for a fabulous birthday!!!!!!