Parades, outdoor barbecues, fireworks, and red, white, and blue are what often come to mind on Independence Day. In my family this was also a time to celebrate my father's birthday. Many of my Fourth of July's were spent up at the Thousand Islands in New York State, a place where my father grew up visiting in the summer. Here we would enjoy water skiing, fishing, swimming, and observing classic wooden boats. Some of these boats were on display in the Wooden Boat Museum in Clayton, NY. Others were docked in town, while owners enjoyed a pancake breakfast at the Coffee Cove. In or out of the water, these vintage masterpieces were an amazing site. Every detail was polished and shined to perfection, creating a glimmering spectacle.
When I was only a few months old my father purchased a 1958 Century Resorter, named Bittersweet. My father's dream was to fully refurbish his wooden boat to it's glory days. The sixteen foot runabout was delivered on a trailer and carefully stored in our barn. I can remember weekend afternoons when my father was sanding and figuring out ridiculous ways to lever the engine out of the boat. When my father was tinkering around in the barn, I would often ask him to put me in the boat. My brothers and I would play with the cool vintage steering wheel, and pretend we were racing down the river, with the wind in our hair. Unfortunately, children, work, and life events slowly consumed my father's free time. To this day, Bittersweet remains in it's stripped and unfinished form, unable to relive it's glory days on the shimmering water. Every year I wonder if this will be the year that Bittersweet is finished. Today my father celebrates another year of his life, so I thought I would share a bit of wooden boat inspiration...perhaps this will be the year, that he will drive Bittersweet down the St. Lawrence River.
Happy Birthday Popsies and Happy 4th of July to all!!
Images via Pinterest
