Today was the first day of eight days that I’ll be taking off the water in order to see the local sights, get some rest, and of course EAT as much as I can. During this break I’ll be staying with Steve and Kirsten who live in a beautiful home out on Long Island about a two hour drive from the city. I met Steve via the trip web site about two months ago and ever since we’ve been making plans for me to do a presentation for his club, The Long Island Paddlers, while I’m in town. When Steve offered up a speaker’s fee for doing the talk I politely asked if I could trade that for a place to stay while I was in town. Steve accepted, and a plan was hatched.
After sleeping in on a delightfully comfortable bed I found the fixings and made pancakes for breakfast. The night before Steve had mentioned the need for new kayak racks in their garage, desperate to give something back for all the hospitality they’re showing me, I offered to help him out with that project. So after breakfast we measured up for the racks and headed to the community center boat house of which Steve and Kristen are members. The boat house is actually an amazing timber frame building stuffed to the gills with every sort of woodworking tool you might need to build a boat. Building boats, after all, is exactly what the members of the boathouse do there. I was thoroughly impressed by the building and the organization itself, I’d love to see something like that back home in Wausau. While Steve and Kristen worked on the paddles they’re building, I set about fabricating the parts for the kayak rack.
After sleeping in on a delightfully comfortable bed I found the fixings and made pancakes for breakfast. The night before Steve had mentioned the need for new kayak racks in their garage, desperate to give something back for all the hospitality they’re showing me, I offered to help him out with that project. So after breakfast we measured up for the racks and headed to the community center boat house of which Steve and Kristen are members. The boat house is actually an amazing timber frame building stuffed to the gills with every sort of woodworking tool you might need to build a boat. Building boats, after all, is exactly what the members of the boathouse do there. I was thoroughly impressed by the building and the organization itself, I’d love to see something like that back home in Wausau. While Steve and Kristen worked on the paddles they’re building, I set about fabricating the parts for the kayak rack.
A small boat being built in the workshop
Kristen shaping the blades of a kayak paddle on a band saw
When we were done playing carpenters, we had lunch in a funky sandwich shop in town then ran a few more errands before heading home. One of the stops was at a deli to order sandwiches for the upcoming kayak club picnic this Saturday. Steve joked that they should order an extra three feet of sandwich for me…he joked… but that does sound about right.
After another amazing meal prepared by Kristen, we pulled out a bunch of New York City guides and planned my run into the city tomorrow and Friday. There is simply too much to see.
After another amazing meal prepared by Kristen, we pulled out a bunch of New York City guides and planned my run into the city tomorrow and Friday. There is simply too much to see.
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