- By Henry Stark
- Around Town
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My friend Kathy has just suffered through two difficult and traumatic episodes. Her husband of 27 years lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and she won her five year struggle with uterine cancer. She has lived in New York City all her life and was more than ready to escape into a country setting. I invited her to stay with me, in Ithaca, for a few days and tried to find some relaxing, yet stimulating, events for her.To that end, I reserved two places on a Mid-Lakes Navigation Company cruise on Skaneateles Lake. The boat departed at 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening and returned to the dock promptly at 8:30 PM. The two and a half hours in between were, for us, a welcome distraction from our everyday worlds and were filled with fun, fresh air, and fine food.
Speaking of fine food, it’s served buffet style and catered by Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. There were trays of pulled pork, chicken quarters, ribs, baked beans, cole slaw, and cucumber and tomato salad. Corn bread and sandwich buns were on a side table along with packaged plastic cutlery and paper plates.
An efficient, enthusiastic, and energetic crew ran up and down the stairs between the upper and lower decks serving a variety of beverages. I started with a ginger ale and had a beer with dinner and Kathy had some juice and a glass of wine. Juices and sodas are $1.50, they offer four beers are $5 each and three local wines are $6 by the glass and $20 for a bottle. Chocolate chip cookies and coffee were available after dinner. The food was excellent and I noticed that many passengers joined me in obtaining seconds from the generous offerings.
The boat, Judge Ben Wiles, has room for about 130 diners and carries that many life jackets. It was built on Skaneateles Lake in 1986 specifically for cruising the lake. We covered about 17 miles cruising at a speed of about 8 miles per hour. Our captain, Dick Stevens, was born in Carthage, NY and was serving his sixth season as skipper with the company. Besides being an affable fellow, he provided us with a running narrative concerning the owners of the mansions we passed and bits of interesting history.
The only negative was that I ate too much. However upon reflection, I really shouldn’t blame Mid-Lakes Navigation for that. Just because they served food that was so good doesn’t mean I had to hit the buffet table for seconds.
The trip costs $49 for adults and $40 for children. Gratuity is not included. Mid-Lakes offers a variety of cruises and based on this experience, I plan on sampling others during the summer.
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