Rock Island

Friday, we left Mom and Robert on their own, and the rest of us drove to Clayton to take a boat tour to Rock Island.  The wind and waves might have scared off less intrepid tourists, for we had the pontoon boat all to ourselves.  I'm not sure Clayton Island Tours made much money for that morning tour, but we had fun.

The men folk

Fish faces

Despite the wind, the ride out to the island was fairly smooth.  I think Selim was worried about getting sick, but the river wasn't very choppy.  As we approached the island, we got a good view of the big bridge that goes from the NY mainland to Wellesley Island.  And, we could see Kevin's dock and maroon deck chairs where we had spent some time swimming.

When we got to the island, we were the only ones there besides the staff.  We got to spend as much time at the top of the lighthouse as we wanted.

For Selim, the main attraction was the gift shop.  I had told him that I would buy him something since he had done such a good job sleeping in his own bed on the second floor of the cottage while Nedim and I were on the first floor.  He decided on a pirate hat and a weapon, as did Joshua.

I had fun taking pictures and having others take a few of our family.

Oops, we are blocking the lighthouse.

Now you can see it.

Nedim, "I think this guy looks like a Turk."

Me, "Really? I don't think that's what it means."

We spent about an hour on island before heading back to Clayton.  The ride back was quite choppy.  By the time we got back to the docks, the boat floor was wet and we were pleasantly damp from the spray.

The wind and my wild woman hair.

Part of me wonders how much of this vacation he will remember when he gets older.  The summer I was Selim's age, we took a vacation with Dad to Cape Hatteras, NC.  We met up with the Patterson family and spent a week on the beach.  There are parts of that trip that I still remember: the warm ocean water, climbing up the lighthouse, the planes at Kitty Hawk, and the stories of the fish that got away.  But none of it is very clear, more like impressions.  We'll see how much of this week he retains.