Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 – East Bay Picnic and Brother Jeff’s Birthday Ride

After breakfast, brother Jeff walked down, and we saddled up the horses and took a nice little tour around the farm. They apparently had a Trail Challenge a few weeks ago, so the trails had been freshly managed and fairly well marked, though it was more circling the perimeter of fields and orchards than it actually was in the woods, though the section that was in the woods was very nice. We even had a little creek crossing, which made for a nice change, and we had to sample an apple as we passed through the orchard, of course! A very nice ride, no drama, very pleasant. Got back in enough time to get ready and head out to the annual East Bay picnic, though we had to take a detour to my brothers’ friends cottage to drop off the cake, and stop at the Big M in Wolcott to pick up a few other things, plus some wine at the liquor store, before finally arriving at the picnic just before 4:00. Spent most of the time with family and friends, and pigging out on more food than a human should be capable of eating at one sitting (including steamed clams, which I haven’t had since the last time we were in NY four years ago), before heading back over to the friends house on the lake. There we looked for the ISS (International space station) flyover (which the neighbors on both sides enjoyed as well) and for meteors showering, as they have the perfect location to view that particular celestial event. Got home around ten, tired from a very busy week, and it’s not over yet!