Family Gathering at Swan Lake

Leaving Ithaca was made much easier because it was a see-you-later goodbye instead of a goodbye goodbye. I will see the whole bunch - Leon, Renate, Sylvie, Jules, Jean, and Ollie - later in August at Cape Cod.

Drove to Swan Lake with the music I bought from the Vancouver Folk Fest a couple weekends ago blasting in the car. Most of my six siblings were there with their respective spouses. Only Ron and Jeremy were missing. We laughed, sang goofy songs my dad wrote when we were kids, ate delicious grilled food, and connected across the miles and years.

Today I finally got in an east coast lake to swim. It was delightful. The sun was warm as was the water.

Robin and I stayed at an AirBnb on the site of the old Swan Lake Hotel. My dad and Leon worked many summers at the hotel pool. We found the only remaining remnants of the pool - the high diving platform metal frame. The rest is overgrown.

Part of the land was turned into an animal farm where families can pet and interact with cows, horses, chickens, pigs and more. Most of the families that come to the area to visit during the summer have little to no contact with farm animals. They are also mostly Hasidic Jews. Farmer Paul squirts the kids faces with the milk from the cow’s teat as part of their tour. Since they can see where the milk comes from (the actual cow’s udder), the milk is considered kosher. They also pet the pigs which is a very big deal for Jewish children. Such a wonderful experience for the kids and their families.Read more