Lake Galena with Betsey Kirk and family - Paddle-boat and Picnic

Lake Galena - View from our paddle-boat. Betsey and I rested our legs and enjoyed the spectacular view. 

Forty-one years ago the lake did not exist. There was a small town called Leven. Its economy was largely based on lead ore (galena).

Bucks County decided to flood the town and create a reservoir in Peace Valley Park.

The sad thing is that I got lost on my way to Lake Galena. Don't tell anyone but I was there just two weeks ago! These once secluded roads are so industrialized now you can hardly recognize them.

I pulled into a housing development, rang the bell of a house on a cul de sac with two cars in the driveway, waited 60 seconds, turned around and - yay! - saw a car pull into another driveway.

Nancy Smith, a lovely blond woman with a husband and two or three kids, said "You're only five minutes away."

I wrote all the direx down on my Bogg Printing Pad.

I made our one o'clock appt for paddle-boating and picknicking.

Here's a nest of pine needles in the crags of Betsey's trunk.

We had an easier time today as we pedaled with the current.

Betsey was the idea man on the boat. I was the executioner of her ideas. She learned the important point: Pedal backwards.

"Betsey! We're gonna beach. This is not good."

"Paddle backwards," she said.

When we started out at 1:30, there weren't many people renting boats for the LAST DAY of the rental season.

Lines were much longer when we left.

We had a wonderful lunch which Betsey said was like being in a French movie. Except we didn't have wine. Betsey and husband Will, left, often drink wine at dinner.

They brought a marvelous beverage



Their son Raneigh is an assistant teacher at Central Bucks. He's got a degree in special ed. Our feast was made up of:

H'ors derves and dessert:

Brie cheese
Fresh fig slices
Shiny black olives
Crackers
Honeydew and strawberries from Produce Junction in Hatboro

Main dish:

Italian stew with eggplant, yellow squash, mushrooms and Chicken Sausage, all bathed in Classico Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce.

Unsalted peanuts in the shell was the dessert.

DELICIOUS... EVERY BITE.

Just printed out the above index card so I remember how to pack for a Betsey Kirk and Family Picnic.

As we left to go home, we met these darling pit bull puppies in the parking lot, who sniffed the stew