The Haring's Visit Otisco Lake

For Father's Day, Betsy's family invited us up to their lake house on Otisco Lake for a fun day of boating, tubing, water skiing, and grilling.  My mom was up early baking some delish toffee-coconut-oatmeal cookies as we were all getting ready.  There are few things better in life than waking up to a house smelling of freshly baked cookies.

We took two cars up to the lake, my dad and myself took the van and were groovin' to The Band, Trombone Shorty, and Paul Simon, while the girls (Julie, Betsy, and Mom) rocked out to Taylor Swift, and other country singers in the other car.  Dad and I sped up past them a couple of times rockin' and dancing, and just generally being embarrassing, and we certainly got a couple laughs from them!

Once we arrived at the lake house we were greeted by all the Coles and their sweet young puppy Bella.  Mrs. Cole had prepared a wonderful sandwich bar for all of us and Mr. Cole played bartender making sure everyone had the beer of their choice.  Eddie had just returned earlier in the week from China and was full of stories that we loved hearing!  He had gotten Betsy (as well as all the other Cole girls) a beautiful necklace from China, and gave it to her, and she loved it!

After showing my parents around the house we headed out to do some tubing on the boat.  First up was my Dad, Mr. Cole, and me.  Theresa was driving and for a few minutes gave us a really nice ride with some gentle turns, my dad was having a blast with one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen on his face.  However the gentle ride soon ended as Theresa sped up the boat and began a very sharp turn that sent the tube careening in the opposite direction throwing all three of us into the water.

Next up was Betsy, Julie, Theresa, and Mom.  Mr. Cole proudly put on the captains hat I had gotten him in Fort Myers as he took control of the boat.  They all got on the tube and began a nice ride with some good turns and lots of joyous screaming.  My mom was having the time of her life out there and she looked both ecstatic and terrified at the same time.  They were on for around ten minutes, with Theresa giving the directions on how best to distribute the weight as they took each turn.  However the last turn was a doosie, and they crested over the wake of the boat the tube flipped sending them all off into the warm water.

After a great boat ride we went back for some snacks and visiting.  Mary's boyfriends parents Barb and Bob stopped by and we were all hanging out laughing about this and that, having a couple of beers, and having a great time.  Soon Barb reveals that she had brought her legendary chocolate pudding shots, and for those not aware of how delish they are, I will post the recipe for them and you can try them out for yourself.

We soon wanted to get back in the boat and do some water-skiing, something we have just begun doing earlier this year.  Theresa started us off by doing all sorts of cool turns, and one handed tricks.  Julie however was the funnest one to watch as she miraculously was able to save herself from fall after fall.  Her and the wake of the boat staged an epic battle, but attempt after attempt she finally conquered the wake and even tried a few tricks!

Once we were all tired from water-skiing I showed my parents and Julie the length of the lake on the boat as we went down from one end to the other, looking at some of the beautiful house nestled on the shoreline.  Otisco Lake is a beautiful lake with some beautiful houses located on it.  It is slightly more than six miles long, one mile across, and 62 feet deep.  It truly is perfect as it is quiet, slim boat traffic, and is never too choppy to boat on!  The water was close to 80, and we spent a vast majority of the day in the water and on the boat.

Finally we all gathered for dinner, which was grilled to perfection on the Cole's new gas grill by Cody's dad Bob.  We had Chicken and Steak Speedies, a wonderful salad, and macaroni salad.  Dessert consisted of my moms cookies, and Mrs. Cole's brownies, which all were delish!  Following dinner we sat down to a nice camp fire and chatted for nearly an hour.

Around 8:15 we had decided to call it a day and began to head back to Rochester.  Betsy was luck enough to call "Shotty not driving" early in the day, so I drove home while she slept from driveway to driveway.  It was a wonderful day with wonderful family and friends, and I am so grateful to the Cole's for opening their home to my family and being so welcoming and all around wonderful.  We all had a blast!

Oh and last good news for the day, we came home to find out that my cousin Jamie is now engaged!  I am so happy for him!  Growing up I always looked up to him, and I am so happy that he has found the woman of his dreams.  According to my parents who have met her she is wonderful and funny, and I couldn't be happier for him!