Keeping your cool in upstate New York

Upstate New York Beer Cooler
Originally uploaded by Brite light photos.

6 February 2005

WATKINS GLEN, NY -- It actually was sort of balmy Friday afternoon here in upstate New York where temperatures hit in the 40s, briefly, just before the memorial service for Sylvia's mother.

And at the memorial service, instead of putting the cold drinks in the refrigerator, some of the beverages (mostly a case of Labatt's Blue beer) got stuck in the snowbank outside of Seneca View, an assisted living facility where the family gathered so that Sylvia's mom's brother Erwin could attend.

While we could walk in and out of the side door to the beer cooler, people who are residents of the facility cannot. Every few minutes one of them would try to make a break for the outside (it was sunny after all) and their wristbands would set off an audible alarm that made the voice of The Woman from Alaska (see the blog from Feb. 2) seem almost tame.

We had hoped to leave today, but the airlines are being quite uncooperative. So we will spend one more day & night here, probably going up the lake house and taking in the winter sights of Seneca Lake. The sun is out and while I shudder to think what the temperature is, it is about a clear a sky as I have seen in years.

Back to Sacramento tomorrow, Mexico in about three weeks...

mjf