Day 3.239: Moreau more!

Today was Labor Day - the last day of the high-season in most places and the last day of summer activities at the State Parks. We ventured up the Northway to Moreau Lake State Park where we had a fun-packed day in the sun.

We started and ended our visit on the beach:

The water was pleasantly warm and the kids and I all got fully wet (I think only Exile #3 and I can claim any actual swimming). All the kids and Exile #2 spent some time making sandcastles and E5N1 wandered down the beach as far as he could and started conversations with apparently random strangers (it later turned out that he may have singled them out because he wanted to try out their beach toys).

After a picnic lunch, we set off for a short hike - attempting to reach the overlook that had beaten us on our last visit during the fall foliage season in 2008.

The first half of the walk was steep and exciting - if a little tiring for some:

But we pressed on - for a few hundred yards at which point Exile #3 and E5N1 and (by necessity) Exile #2 turned back, leaving Exile #4 and me to press on to the summit:

As we left - with less than an hour to go to the end of approved swimming in the lake until May 2011, we caught a final view of the lake and the summit that Exile #4 and I had climbed to:

A great way to end the weekend and the school break and (effectively) the summer.