Nomad Life - Day 21

In a more familiar sleeping place than a strange hotel, I slept much better.  Awake by about 0530, I started teleworking soon after I was out of bed.  Eileen slept longer than I (or she) expected but this gave me time to get more work done.  Eventually, she and Mika appeared on/near her "comfy" chair and I joined them for some crossword puzzles and a light breakfast (fruit and toast).  Returning to my work computer again, I logged time until 0800, when Eileen suggested we take Mika for a walk at nearby Lehman Park.  I happily accepted and we were soon romping in the grass with Eileen's border collie, who loves chasing balls.  Unfortunately, Mika had a cut on her foot pad and this slowed her down considerably.  Still, the weather was wonderful (sunny, 50s and no wind) and we walked for about 30 minutes (just over a mile) while deep in conversation.  Returning to Eileen's house, I returned to my job (I had a 0900 meeting) and Eileen headed to work.  For the rest of the day (with only a short break for a snack/lunch), I was deep in meetings and taking care of various projects.  Before I knew it (1530), Eileen was texting that she was on her way home.  Wrapping up most of my work, I was ready to go out for a walk when she arrived (1545) and suggested I could car shuttle her for her daily run.  This made her happy and we drove south to Colton - I dropped her off on the north end of the Stone Valley Trail complex (that follows both sides of the Raquette River).  After that, I drove south to the main trailhead and started a hike towards the north (on the east side of the complex).  The weather was still magnificent (60s) and I really enjoyed seeing the rocky falls, rapids and deep gorge areas of the trail - bonus: it was well marked.  About halfway into my walk, Eileen called with news that we had an opportunity to join the SLVP for a "recreational evening paddle". I made sure to confirm that there was no competition involved (because I knew that would be a different kind of event) and she told me that it was just supposed to be a fun outing.  The kicker, though, was that we'd have to really hurry to be able to join them when it started at a nearby reservoir at 1800.  About 10 minutes later, Eileen and Mika appeared (walking) from the north and I reversed direction on my hike so we could return to my car.  By 1650, we were back on the road and drove to Eileen's house to begin the complicated process of trying to load a (little-used) canoe on the top of Eileen's car.  We went through several points in this activity when I was genuinely worried I'd be the cause of some kind of major damage to the beautiful boat.  She keeps it in her storage shed and we had to perform delicate maneuvers (to not scratch the sides) and then walk the boat around the house to the car.  When we tried to lift the canoe on top, it was clear that a "guide bar" that Eileen uses for other boats was in the way.  This led to another series of "oops" and "wait-wait-wait" (more avoiding scratches).  At times, I felt like maybe all the stress wasn't worth the effort, especially since it felt like Eileen was doing this only for me, and I wondered what would happen next.  I should have known; with a combination of Eileenish determination, some foam rubber bumpers, tie downs and crossing fingers, we secured the canoe for transport.  It then took another five minutes for both of us to stow all our gear, grab a change of clothes, make a dinner reservation and finally get driving.  As a result, we were already late when we started south for the Colton area (1745).  The next problem that arose was that we lost cell signal after driving through that town - Eileen got worried then because she'd never paddled the Rainbow Falls Reservoir and was unfamiliar with the road we were following.  Fortunately, Google Maps was accurate from when we'd departed and we managed to arrive at the boat launch (just above the dam in the Raquette River) by 1805 (five minutes after everyone else).  Fortunately, they'd waited for us (and continued waiting for us to unload).  We met up with all the SLVP group members who'd been assembled on short notice and were informed this was going to be a "photo-ex" (for some kind of local tourism advertising).  Launching at 1815, we (Mika, Eileen and I) headed east along the shore and were photographed and videoed by a man in a motorboat, along with his drone.  One thing (among many, it turned out) that I had to get used to was the strange-shaped paddles we ere using: each one was shaped like an open "L" and required one to know which angle belonged in front and which one belonged in back (of course, I got it wrong).  Before long, though, I started to get the hang of the canoe and paddle - the only thing I never completely adjusted to was that Mika kept standing up and walking around...  Eileen had asked me to keep track of the time so we wouldn't miss our dinner reservation and I dutifully reported our status as we proceeded - with everyone else - to the designated group rendezvous.  Three were all kinds of boats: canoes and kayaks of various types, a SUP and a guide-boat.  Generally, everyone stayed together but then there were problems assembling near the large island where the main event was supposed to take place.  As a result, we were still far across the lake (probably 1.5 miles from the car) at 1900.  Eileen assured me that we were fine and I waited as patiently as I could until we had the green light to go back.  This initiated what I later described as a "Ben Hur chariot race" of speed to get back to the landing - Eileen told me, though, that she never broke a sweat... From my point of view, though, we were racing across the water and, since we'd done minimal coordination, were not staying on course or coordinating strokes.  Throughout, it was clearly revealed who was the Queen of the Water and (who was just a lackey to the Queen) but I did have one thing going for me: I could see where we were heading.  Sadly, this seemingly valuable thing turned sour when I was unable to explain or describe the exact location to Eileen.  A lot of this paddle reminded me of the old adage about how a relationship that can survive a boat launch can survive anything.  We did reach the shore by 1915 (it took us three times as long to paddle outbound) and, after more struggling with canoe bulk, worrying about paint and tie downs, we got on the road.  By then, it was already time for our reservation at Jake's on the Water and we had no cell signal to use the Google Maps or make a phone call.  Eileen drove, dodging deer and dog-walkers in the road, while I waited for a chance to update our reservation.  In the end, we were seated at a beautiful table on the dock of the restaurant (located in a little bay in Hannawa Falls) just after 1945.  With a bit of the race-around stress of the day over, we were able to relax with some drinks, rolls with maple butter, an appetizer (Nonni's Meatballs) and delicious entrees (Tempeh Buddha Bowl for me and Baby Back Ribs for Eileen).  We chatted about our fun-filled day, enjoyed the ambiance and pleasant weather and watched the remnants of the sunset.  Eventually, the mosquitos became a problem and I asked if we could move inside - the staff was very accommodating.  We soon realized we were the last people inside the building (2115) and, almost embarrassedly, excused ourselves.  Heading for home, Eileen gave Mika some well-deserved leftovers.  When we arrived (2130), we only had the energy to unload the canoe (not stow it), start a load of laundry and stumble on to the couch to rest/relax before bed time.  And this came quickly after for Eileen, although I stayed up later to watch some videos and do one more check on work emails.  By 2230, I was in bed and realized I still hadn't done my Duolingo for the evening or read an excerpt of a library book that was due in a few days.  This added 35 more minutes to my day and I didn't turn off my light until 2305.  Whew - what an amazing day in the North Country!