Down River

The weather this weekend is supposed to be beautiful, not too hot or humid and very sunny. Here is the chance I have been waiting for to get the painting done on the outside of The Old Blue House. NOT!!!

We are going out in the boat tomorrow, down river, as we say. I grew up in a small town at the end of a tidal river, at the mouth of the river is a barrier beach that my family has frequented every summer since, get this, 1671. You see my ancestors received a land grant from King George to settle this part of New England back in the very beginning. The Choate family has a long and storied past, anyway my Great Grandmother sold off the last of the land in 1916 to Richard Crane the toilet king of Chicago and eventually the world. She owed Uncle Sam a substantial piece of change in property taxes that the family was not prepared to pay.

She paid off the debt and built the house that I grew up in and that my parents live in today, some legacy. So we are headed to the backside of Cranes beach, it is a wonderful spot, only accessible by boat or a long, long walk, about three miles from the public portion of the beach. I have spent every summer of my life on this spit of sand, some years more than others. This will be the first trip this year, with the three little ones it is about ten times as much work getting down there. Before, a thirty pack of beer and a stop at the sub shop was all the prep involved, now it takes far more effort. It is easier to go to Grampy's pool and easier happens more than difficult around here.

We have an eighteen foot Lund Alaskan that the family keeps at the local marina, this boat has been a part of my life since 1986 when I got out of the twelve foot aluminum with 9.5hp Johnson. All kinds of adventures have taken place on this boat and it is time to introduce the next generation of my family to Down River.