When Joe and I were visiting his grandparents, we went to the Finger Lakes Boating Museum. This place is terrific.

First, it’s full of boats, mostly beautifully crafted wood boats, all made in the Finger Lakes. The most famous of the boat makers featured here is the Penn Yan Boat Company, named after its hometown on Keuka Lake. Functional works of art.

The second reason this place is incredible is it’s housed in the old Taylor building outside of Hammondsport, former home of one the great wineries of the 20th century. Decades ago I spent a few summers as a tour guide at Taylor-Great Western. Back then it was a big attraction, the largest of dozens of wineries along Keuka and the other Finger Lakes.

The stone building and it’s old offices are in great shape, though a little dusty. We were able to explore much of it, including the arched stone cellar that was once the tasting room on the tour route.

I’m so glad the boating museum has moved in. A building like this, and the boats that call it home, deserve to be taken care of and appreciated.

The museum features restoration and repair facilities.

Joe looking for a tap.

Time to go.

Joe and I drove up to visit the grandparents last weekend. We highly recommend Western NY in August – it’s hard to beat.

Saturday found us at the Howard Old Home Days. For those of you who live under a rock, Howard may be the center of the universe, roughly equidistant from Avoca, Bath, Hornell and Canisteo. It’s the kind of tiny town thankfully still found all over the country. It has a library and a volunteer fire station, no school of it’s own anymore, but it does rock an annual parade with hand written signs. And it has a killer little historical society.

So if you’re ever in the 14809, especially in August like Joe and I were, consider yourself lucky.

Now let’s get this Margaret Franklin Memorial Parade started, right?!

When the horses pass, the parade’s over. Bravo Howard!

Joe loves a good screen. Phones, TVs, computers – if it lights up he wants to touch it. We got him an iPad a long time ago thinking it would help him learn, but at the time it was just a big distraction. He’d get over excited, swipe and slap at it, and would tune us out completely. It was counter-productive.

Since then he’s used one in preschool, at therapy and (as much as possible) in an organized way at home. Plus he’s matured a lot (he is, after all, about to be a kindergartner). And now it’s starting to click.

Screens like this have incredible potential for anyone, and we’re looking forward to watching Joe continue to learn with his.