Around 8:45am on Friday morning, Chris, Tai, and I hit the road on our way to Canada Lake in Caroga, NY. After a brief holdup at the border, a quick bite to eat in Watertown, and a stop at the Stewart's Shop a little further on, we finally reached the lake, with no cellphone coverage, and no phone number to reach Bryan on the other side of the lake.
So we stole a boat.
Well, kinda. I knew the boat was Bry's... and considering he was a mile away on the other side of the lake and was showing no signs of coming to get us, I figured we were justified in our borrowing of a vessel (especially because the keys were in it). Now, I've been on a lot of boats... I've even been on that particular boat about 40 times. I had never actually CAPTAINED a boat, but that was about to change.
So the three of us piled into the boat, I got her started, and within seconds we were in the middle of Canada Lake pointed at the cottage I was 90% sure belonged to Bry and his family. As we passed the halfway point, there was some movement on the dock across the lake and my 90% became 100% as Bry stumbled down the stairway toward the water. As if woken from a deep sleep (he had been napping), he was curious why a boat was coming right at him, why it was HIS boat, and who the weirdos driving it were. All questions were answered shortly, we settled in and had some drinks.
Saturday at the horse race was the hottest day in recent memory. It was about 95 degrees before the humidex, and it was more humid than your average typhoon. So it felt like we were walking around in a bath, but other than that, it was great. The crowd was smaller than it had been in recent years (40,000 vs. 66,000 a few years ago) but that made for less crowded betting windows, concession stands, and washrooms, so nobody was complaining. We met up with Bry's sister Chrissy and a bunch of her friends.
I managed to hit two exactas on the day, but that didn't make up for the other 10 races I bet. I came home a little poorer, Chris came home a little richer, and Tai came home with a new addiction to betting on horses... yet, a little poorer. Bry didn't win much either. Actually, aside from Chris, I don't think anybody in our party of 12 came home with more money than they showed up with.
We went to Mama's for dinner. This is a tradition. Bryan and I have been visiting Mama's at every opportunity for the last 10-12 years. There was enough food to feed half of Italy. We packed most of it up, and drove home in what actually may have been a legitimate monsoon.
This morning, we got up, played some cards, had some lunch, then drove home at a very leisurely pace. We stopped at the Big Apple and got some pies, and took pictures of a stuffed toy with a llama. Don't ask.
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