Chautauqua Lake in 1970 for the E-scow
easterns. Mom, sitting on the tongue
(which by the way is not an easy thing to do),
knitted E sweaters for Dad, Bob, Jon, and
herself before the regatta. While they raced,
I was left back at the clubhouse to fend for
myself. To this day, an old man in Lakewood,
NY keeps receiving a long overdue bar bill and
an invoice to fix the 100 year old tripod-mounted
binoculars that were on the second floor
porch to watch the races.
GR8 shot! & caption!
ReplyDeleteOh, don't leave us out there hanging...what did you do to the 100 year old tripod-mounted binoculars?
ReplyDeleteAlso, How did you get served at 8/9 years of age? Did you get a fake ID from Tillerman?
ReplyDeleteDon't need a fake ID when you tell the barkeep that you're the out-of-town nephew of the Commodore.
DeleteAm I on the right track here, Baydog?
Wish I'd thought of that one....but I was never asked for ID. See, I was always a big kid.
DeleteCan't remember exactly, too many cocktails.
ReplyDeleteDoug, I was nine. But did we ever have trouble acquiring alcoholic beverages when we were young?
ReplyDeleteAnd ten years after that photo was taken, we struck our friendship.
And a friendship indeed! but please tell us about the "100 year old tripod-mounted
Deletebinoculars incident",that got my attention.
Baydog; Getting booze (Shirley Temple's) at 9 was a little tough for me but never the less, I bellied up to the bar and looked the bar keeper right in the eye and asked for "Ginger ale and sweet stuff , shaken,not stirred!" Oh the respect I got.....Tillerman always hooked me up. He was the go to guy for Shirley T,s (as we liked to call them in the old days)
I was still in the UK in 1970 and in no position to give a fake ID to that red-haired kid hanging out in the bar. I had never been in a sailing club in my life. Hiking in the mountains in Wales, preferably in the snow, was my main weekend occupation.
ReplyDeleteThe next year I met a wonderful young lady who did knit me an Aran sweater, but it didn't have an E on it. Somewhere there is a picture of me wearing that sweater on my honeymoon with the wonderful young lady. She's still here. These days she knits sweaters for our grandchildren.
Baydog, why don't you have a sweater with the "E"?
ReplyDeleteTillerman,
ReplyDeletePlease elaborate some on the mountains of Wales. What is the largest mountain in Wales? Do the Welsh know what a mountain is? Did Sir Edmond Hillary and Tenzing Norgay practiced on those mountains before tackling Everest? Inquiring minds want to know.
The highest mountain in Wales is Mount Snowdon. Hillary and Tenzing did indeed practice on Snowdon before their ascent of Everest.
ReplyDeleteTillerman, Mount Snowdon has an altitude of 3,560 feet, (yes American measurement is retarded but we inherited from your people,so don't uppity about it). 3560 ft is not a mountain, that is a big bump. I would consider the mountains of Virginia tiny, and we have some over 5000 feet.
ReplyDeleteSince Everest is 29,002 ft and Snowdon is 3560 ft. What value did Hillary and Norgay get out of climbing Mt. Snowdon other than being able to watch the Benny Hill show?
I don'tt know Doug. Maybe the beer in Wales was better than it was in Nepal?
ReplyDeleteThe difference between climbing Snowdon and Everest is a bit like the difference between doing a Laser regatta and sailing the Volvo Ocean Race. In the first you can have a fun day out, and then go home for a hot shower, a meal cooked by your wife with a nice bottle of wine, and a sleep in your own bed. In the latter you can't. Chacun à son goût.
When they were training in Snowdonia, Hillary and Tenzing stayed at the Pen-Y-Gwrd Hotel.
ReplyDeleteA review of the hotel says. “A national treasure, in the same family since 1947, this delightfully eccentric climbing inn has changed mercifully little over the years and offers simple pleasures in abundance. After a day spent walking in Snowdonia, come home to a sauna in the garden followed by a dip in the natural pool, then a hearty dinner announced by a gong and a night in one of the plain, spotless bedrooms, with no frills except fluffy towels, monogrammed linen and a decent bar of Imperial Leather soap.”
I guess that explains why they trained on Snowdon!
Gwryd. Apologies for my bad spelling in Welsh.
ReplyDeleteDang! PYG looks marvelous. I was bummed, however, when they didn't post their 3 or 5 course menus. Must be because they change daily with the availability of their local purveyors' crops and herds.
ReplyDelete"Suitably restored you can wander through to the Resident’s Bar where further refreshment of the liquid variety is available, and where we expect to hear tales of adventure, poems, songs and news from the outside world."
There's where my decline would begin. Hello monogrammed linen.
Funny how we traveled from Western New York to Gwynedd, North Wales in 9 comments.
Wow According to a review on TripAdvisor, the Pen Y Gwryd Hotel serves Mws Piws Cwrw Glasyn, Wales' best real ale.
ReplyDeleteHello fluffy towels
That's actually how I pronounce Wales' best real ale, after wandering through to the Resident's Bar. Unknowingly. If my Mom heard that from my mouth, hello Imperial Leather Soap!
ReplyDeleteBaydog - We know you couldn't pronounce that, even in your beer-y sleep, and neither could your Mom comprehend what you were saying if you could.
ReplyDeleteYou probably meant the words which induced the mouth-soaping you recall, after you were busted with your mates in the parking lot...
Prince of Wales
Lost his tails
Wales tail on ?...
[#]
Nay, who?
... and so forth, in turn
Doug - Need we say more about what happened to the 100 year old tripod-mounted binoculars at the CLYC?
DeleteGood point Mojo. Forget about Tillermans fantasy of Hillary and Norgay scaling the undulations of Wales.
DeleteBaydog, What did you do to the 100 year old binoculars???
Doug, I simply broke them somehow, and promptly slithered from the upper deck of the club.
Delete