Virtual Life

Watkins Glen, New York

I did a major backup this morning onto the detachable hard drive. I'm up to 40,000 two megabyte pictures and 2,000 MP3s, all neatly arranged in folders. Maybe this winter I'll scan in some of the pictures in storage from our earlier life before we went virtual. I'd also like to break out the wine making gear and make a few batches of Savignon Blanc or maybe Seyval Blanc this winter....

I'm really hoping to be able to scan in my brain before it deteriorates too badly and live on forever in a virtual wonderland. Maybe as an interim step we'll ditch all our possessions except a sleeping bag, the bicycles, the laptop, an IPad and the digital camera...

Another blueberry pie is in the oven. When it's done we should be able to get in a couple of sets of tennis before the rains come again. I had to get under the RV and reattach the muffler and exhaust pipe again. I think it'll hold this time.

Our oldest grandson sent just pictures from his trip to Haiti, He was digging septic tank holes and pouring concrete...


Next stops: Niagara Falls, Toronto, Chicago, St Louis, Arkansas, North Carolina, Key West.

Blue Plaid Shorts

Watkins Glen, New York

We only have the satellite TV reception so Mrs. Phred can watch Nadal on the tennis channel. He came out in Madrid with new blue plaid shorts and now all the men tennis stars are wearing identical shorts. That boy can move some product.


We're at the south tip of Seneca Lake. Our RV Park has two tennis courts, a skating rink and a little league baseball field. Grapes are starting to grow on the fences. Our scores today were the usual 6-1, 6-1. Maybe I'll go to the Wal-Mart next door and look for some new plaid tennis shorts?


This is our 4th day here. So far we've:

• Walked the 1.5 mile gorge (both ways).
• Ridden our bikes around town.
• Had a cookout with Danny and Doris.
• Hit Wegman's for food and Border's for books.
• Cruised the lake shores looking at barns and wineries.
• Walked from Treman's park to the site of Uncle Everett's old house. All that's left now is an old pine tree that I recognize from 60 years ago. It's grown. All the apple trees and the house have been removed to make room for a city bus depot. It was a strange feeling.
  

Today, we will get the car washed again, buy some more canoles from the Italian canole lady ("Leave the gun, Take the canoles.") and have another cookout with Cousin Everett and Midge.

Seneca Lake Wine Trail

Watkins Glen, New York

I'm a happy camper. Finally we're in a place I want to be. The New York Finger Lakes compare favorably with the Lake District in Italy (except for the gelato opportunities).

We spent a day in Fancy Gap, Virginia, on the Blue Ridge Parkway and then two days in Port Royal, Virginia. I tried to keep Mrs. Phred entertained in Port Royal. We went to the Stonewall Jackson Museum, but it was going out of business. Next we went to the State of Virginia Arboretum, but it was raining. The two wineries I picked out were both closed on Tuesday.

So now we are at the foot of Seneca Lake. It's one of the deep lakes carved by glaciers long ago. There are many wineries and dramatic gorges carved though soft shale in the area. I was born 20 miles away at the foot of Cayuga Lake. Both Seneca and Cayuga have deep salt mines formed 300 million years ago when the area was covered by a shallow sea.

We've signed up for a week here and plan to have breakfast with Cousin Danny in the morning.