The stars aligned in several ways during our recent stay on the New York/Canada border.

1.  We got to see our friends Todd and Suzanne, whom we’ve known for nearly 30 years, and their children.  Because they live in London, it’s not as if we can just drop in on them whenever we feel like it – and vice versa.

2.  This tradition of meeting on the St. Lawrence River has been unbroken for at least 20 years, as our friends generously share their vacation home with us and others.

3.  The weather was cool and crisp, a blessing after the never-ending heat wave Philadelphians have endured this summer.

4.  Far away from light pollution, the starry starry nights were clear – and the Perseid meteor shower was on.  Here’s how we found that out.

Ian, Hugh and Malcolm went out for a night swim one evening, and were gone so long that Chris got concerned and went out looking for them.  I stayed in bed reading, then when Chris didn’t return, I got worried too.  Throwing a sweatshirt on top of my PJ bottoms and flip flops, I joined the search. 

In short order, I crossed paths with my menfolk, who told me they had been transfixed by meteor showers.  As we all crunched along the gravel streets, I caught a falling star out of the corner of my eye – as clear as could be.

The next night, the five of us plus Suzanne went down to the dock and settled in, flat on our backs.  As we stared at the sky above, talking softly, the water slapped gently below.  The boys weren’t texting or paying attention to their phones or iPods.  There was absolutely no man-made technology on this adventure.  Everyone’s attention was riveted on the night sky, and on drifting in and out of the conversation.

In one hour, with their perfect vision, the boys saw more than 30 meteorites.  We adults caught 10 brief streaks for sure, plus two magnificent blinding white show-stoppers that raced for an eternity in the shooting-star world across the blackness.  Everyone gasped and clapped at once. 

Reflecting on this experience later, I realized that I have reached the point where I never need to see another fireworks show ever again, thank you.  I’ve seen those numerous times, I know what they’re like, and I know how they happen. 

But the Perseides?  Pure magic.  In describing them, I would have to break my own rule and use the word “awesome.”    In its original sense.  Obviously.

This may be one of the last trips the five of us take together.  Hard to believe.   

Enjoy the rest of the week, and I’ll see you in this space on Monday.

Nobody but a kid would look at a crawdaddy and think “earring!”

More scenes from our recent heavenly stay at the Thousand Islands, where there’s always a lot of relaxation going on, and also always a lot to do. 

Malcolm & Hugh had good luck fishing for bass.  This photo looks like sushi, but we actually ate it grilled.  Yum.  I have been asked to point out that the larger fish was caught by Malcolm, who uncannily is almost always the first to reel one in.  Maybe it’s the juju of the crayfish earrings.

During one morning fishing trip, the dads and older sons stopped by a favorite spot.  Mercifully, as you’ll see in a minute, we moms were ignorant of the plan.  Blissfully ignorant.

Ian was the first to take the plunge.

Then Hugh, just leaping when Chris snapped this shot.

Now we know how this group of 4 boys answered the age-old question “If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too?” 

I had never heard of sky lanterns until last weekend, when we met our friends Todd and Suzanne for our families’ traditional late summer rendezvous.

They had seen these breath-taking inventions at their children’s school in England, and ordered some to send skyward at their cabin in upstate New York.

People had to pair up to launch each one, as you need four hands to keep each tissue paper puff aloft and sufficiently billowy so the flame doesn’t touch the sides.  Tiny slips of paper were handed out and we teamed up with whoever shared our number for the take-off.

Seeing 12 of these floating and bobbing and climbing at once over the St. Lawrence River was a gorgeous sight.  You could watch them in the sky or reflected in the water below. 

We highly recommend this activity, next time you have a group together or want to commemorate a special event.  And since they are bio-degradable, this is a much better choice than sending a mylar or latex balloon into the atmosphere. 

But enough about the science.  I’d rather believe these are straight out of a fairy tale, or a John Singer Sargent painting.

A maniac New York driver kept speeding and weaving in our vicinity and Chris fell in behind him for safety’s sake. We all cheered when a state trooper pulled a U-turn in the median and came steaming up. The crazy New Yorker, clearly guilty, pulled over onto the right shoulder and awaited his punishment. But the trooper ignored him and turned his lights on BEHIND US!

Ian then became my understudy in the role of conciliator, giving his dad a subtle elbow when too much arguing went on with the trooper, trying to convey with body language that yes, officer, we understand and we’re sorry, even if actually you’re wrong, the other driver was going much faster than us, and life isn’t fair. Not a bad lesson for our firstborn, who will soon test for his driver’s license. And not a bad lesson for our younger guys, who are frequently outraged over being punished for something the other guy ALLEGEDLY did. In a group post-mortem of the incident, we concluded our out-of-state plates did us in. Harrummph.

Apart from that, our annual respite at the St. Lawrence River was, as always, fantastic. The boys agreed it is their favorite vacation place ever. One morning, Ian swam nearly a mile with his dad. On another, he heroically kayaked out to fetch the thrill-ride tube that had floated away in the night.

And we got to be with our friends from London and their four kids, giving our boys some bonding/civilizing time with their surrogate sisters.

Oddly, we still don’t know the amount of the ticket. The fine will be mailed to us. Whatever it is, it was worth it.