“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”
—LP Jacks, Education through Recreation
Welcome to Coates Adventures
I have lived an extraordinarily lucky life, full of enriching work and incredible experiences. Thus, I have taken on the task of writing a series of essays hoping to pass on tales of adventure, history, and lessons learned to my great-grandchildren and future generations.
My stories are organized into eight categories: Family History, Early Life, Characters, Adventures, Boats and Engines, Neligh Coates Sr., Real Estate, and Thoughts and Meanderings.
I was born into a family line consisting of a Civil war hero and a phenomenal inventor and businessman. The Family History section details prominent figures of the Coates family, including the story of Clipper manufacturing, my father’s extremely successful saw company. A PDF version of my father’s story in his own words can be found in this section.
My personal life details my early years as a young man, including experiences of love and becoming a father.
Everyone meets people they feel are unique; I am sure that I have met more than my share, so I wanted to write about them not only to share new perspectives and insights but to keep them clear in my mind. I hope you will enjoy reading about this wonderful group of courageous, witty, diverse, sometimes provocative individuals found in the Characters section.
I have been fortunate to have had many wonder-filled experiences over my lifetime and I now realize that many of the adventures I experienced will fade from memory and that many of the sites I have seen no longer exist. You can read all about those experiences in the Adventures section. My business ventures can be foudn in the Real Estate section.
Having spent most of the summers of my youth at the family lake house, I developed a love for sailing early on in life. That affair would prove to be lifelong and was supplemented with a passion for all types of engines. Navigate to the Boats and Engines section to read about everything from my first boat to the infamous pea princess.
Come with me on my adventures and meet the wonderful characters I have known.
I hope you enjoy my stories.
Cheers,
Nick Coates