A Nice Day for a Picnic

   We decided to treat ourselves to a day at the canal today...a picnic, a good book for me, chicken nuggets for the girls and yes, fishing for Jeff.  I  made a fast trip to the library in Ilion to pick up 'Mama Mia 2'  and put some gas in the car at Stewart's in Ilion.  Then we loaded up Jeff's gear and the dogs water bottle/dish and headed to Little Falls.  We made a couple more quick stops...first at Hillslide Auto Repair to pay the bill on last week's muffler repair and then at Smokers' Friendly in the mall for Jeff.  While we were there I noticed that Subway was just a couple of doors away so we added that to our list of stops and treated ourselves to Italian subs.  Of course, then we had to stop at McD's for chicken nuggets for the girls, too.  I should have gotten them at Burger King on my way back from Ilion.  (They would have been cheaper and there would have been more in the order.)  Then we headed for the boat launch in Little Falls, a very well-kept secret.  You take the right turn just past McD's and go over the tracks, keep right and go down towards the canal instead turning left and going to Canal Place.  The area is rather industrial and the road isn't the greatest but eventually you get to the boat launch and picnic pavilion.  We spent a nice afternoon...well, the humans did.  Zoey didn't like being staked out in a grassy area eventho she had a bowl of water (shared with Fanny) and half the order of chicken nuggets.  She whined and cried most of the afternoon.  Eventually, I took them for a walk...connecting the leashes so I just had to hold on to one...and after seeing Jeff, Zoey calmed down for awhile.  They managed to pull me over as we walked back up the launch path from the canal to the picnic area and Jeff had to come and take the dogs while I got to my feet. (So graceful!)  We went back to the picnic table and I read some more, Fanny stretched out and Zoey whined.  Suddenly Jeff gave a shout!  He had hooked a fish!  A big one, too!  The girls and I walked over to the edge of the picnic area in time to see him net a large carp.  Two kayakers had just come out of the canal and were there to help him...and take photos.  (Guess who forgot her camera at home??)   After the excitement was over I gave up and packed us back into the car...it was much more comfortable.  Fanny was soon asleep and Zoey, sitting on my lap under my book, was at last quiet.  About an hour later, Jeff called out again, but this time it was for me to back the car down to the water so he could load up his stuff. We stopped at McD's again on the way out of Little Falls for cold drinks ($1/any size) and an ice cream cone which I shared with the dogs.    One of the kayakers had taken a photo of Jeff and his fish with his cell phone and when we got home I tried to send it email to me.  Still waiting for it.  If it ever arrives I'll post it here.  All in all, it was a nice day for a picnic at the canal.