40th Anniversary River Cruise

Here's my southern belle niece, Beth Bragg (age three). What a sweetheart!

We made a quick stop in Cornell on Father's Day morning, to say hi to Grandpa Bud before heading north to Rhinelander for Mom and Dad's anniversary.

We stopped along the way a couple of times to feed the baby, so arrived in Rhinelander later than we originally planned (right at lunch time-- sorry Mom!). Luckily brother Don had grilled brats and Mom had other food prepared, so there was plenty to eat.

Here's my sister Laurie and brother Bill (with Mom and Dad's new puppy, Oscar).

After lunch we spent most of our time outdoors, socializing as we enjoyed the antics of our dogs and children. Mark and Laurie brought a yard game with them that everyone enjoyed... I forget the name of it, but it involves throwing a string of golf balls so that it wraps around a pipe structure, for points. Kind of like horseshoes.

A hilight was watching the Bragg brothers try to get one of those ball-strings detached from a tree branch it had wrapped around. A teetering ladder, a shovel, and finally a tree pruner were employed before the balls were finally liberated. Those of us watching from the lawn chairs had a good laugh... and not just because we enjoy laughing at each other (though that is true). It was also fun just being together.

At left are Laurie and Mark's dogs, with Coco.

About 5:30 pm we headed to the river for our cruise. The boat was much larger and more comfortable than I expected. Dining was below deck, but the room was spacious and airy-- every table was seated by a window with clear views of the river, so even if it had rained the whole time we would still have been able to enjoy the cruise. As it was, there was also comfortable seating on the upper deck, with broad, sweeping views of the river and wooded shoreline.

It didn't look like the cruise had filled up... ours was the largest group by far. So we were able to move back and forth from the upstairs and downstairs very comfortably. The kids had lots of room to play with each other and look for mischief. The crew was friendly and the kids were able to take turns helping the captain steer the boat. We had prime rib for dinner. The meal was good, but I especially enjoyed the hot chocolate and rum drink my brother-in-law Mark treated me to.

Here's Mark with Jon.

There were a few structures visible along the river, but mostly the shore was undeveloped and natural-looking. We saw bald eages, cranes, and other wildlife along the way. There weren't any other boats out. The captain pointed out things of interest along the way, like an indian burial mound.

It misted lightly during most of the tour, but there wasn't enough rain to force us inside for long. And when the rain finally broke up, it was followed by a spectacular full rainbow. At first the rainbow was faint and barely visible, but after a few minutes it gathered in intensity, until every color of the spectrum was fully present. Of course we had Mom and Dad pose together under the rainbow, for some lovey-dovey pictures. It seemed a fortuitous happening for their anniversary, and I know we all felt lucky and happy to have our health and be together for such an enjoyable outing.

Here's Emma watching our boat's wake, and with her cousin Beth:

Mom and Dad on their 40th wedding anniversary, with all of their grandchildren:

Somewhere under the rainbow...







At right, Mom and Dad with their six kids. Below, brothers Bill and Bob.

"The Braggy-Bunch": Don, Bill, Laurie, Bob, Lisa, and John.