TOTAL TRAVEL DISTANCE -- 5,581 miles (which includes 840 miles of driving but does not include a LOT of walking through villages and along Adirondack Park trails!)
Cap' n Baldy here!
This is our last Golden Anniversary Year Blog post, beloveds! Thanks for sticking with us through all of our journeys, short and long! Many of you have responded to our blog posts ... we certainly much appreciate that fact!
Carolyn tells me, in NO uncertain, terms that EVERYONE will be PLEASED to see me at our 60th high school class reunion! I have known Carolyn since we were both four years old! I had been "waffling" about attending since our finances need a bit of repair after all of our travels during this Year of our Golden Wedding Anniversary! However, this reunion is IMPORTANT and this is our year to TRAVEL! Carolyn's command makes the decision -- we are GOING to that East Coast reunion and that is THAT!
After grabbing a red-eye out of San Diego and shambling through O'Hare at 4:30 AM, we climb into our rented Ford Focus in Albany, New York and head north. Our 840-mile driving excursion will take us to my reunion in the small village of Fort Edward, to nearby Lake George and to a bed-and-breakfast retreat in Saranac Lake deep in the Adirondacks. We will make side trips to Fort Ticonderoga and Middlebury, Vermont. Everywhere we go, we see the glorious colors of autumn ...
From Albany Airport, we drive 55 miles north to Lake George. Before checking into our hotel, we rest our thrashed bodies on a luncheon cruise on Lake George, aboard the Lac du Saint Sacrament ...
The 385-room Hotel Sagamore at Bolting Landing as seen from the Lac du Saint Sacrament ... we later drive to this luxurious and historic resort, situated on its own private island on Lake George. We have not yet been able to find the room rates for staying at this spectacular establishment but are sure that any guest here will lay down some serious bucks!
We then drive north to Fort Ticonderoga, situated on land between Lake George and Lake Champlain ... built in the 1740's by the French, it was occupied by French, English and American forces at various periods during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. We learn how a cannon was loaded and fired by an experienced artillery team. The training of an English Royal Artilleryman of that period took FOUR YEARS!
Lunch Al Fresco at Fort Ticonderoga amid the fall colors...
My class of 35 graduated from Fort Edward High School on June 25, 1956 ...
This is the group photo from our Senior Class trip to Washington DC ... I was the dude in the bowler hat! Of this group, 18 have now passed away and several are in nursing homes ... fourteen class members shall be present at this reunion! We treasure each other and have stayed connected over the years ...
Now ... WHO can pass up a commemorative coffee mug?
The Wall of Sound at our Friday gathering at Carolyn's house ....everyone is talking loudly at the same time! Old experiences are re-lived! On Saturday, we visit the Old Fort House and Rogers Island Center. During the French and Indian War in the 1760's, 15,000 British troops were stationed on Rogers Island where I once lived! Much local history is now being rediscovered through recent excavations. The passion of the local historians who guide our tours is truly inspiring! Our Reunion Dinner is held at the Fort Edward Fire Station with a good meal provided by the volunteer firefighters!
A 70-mile drive from Lake George takes us to Middlebury, Vermont ... a most appealing college town. It is Parent's Weekend so restaurants are crowded! We opt for decent paninis at Carol's Coffee Shop, enjoying good conversation with Arkansas ladies on a bus tour of New England...
An old Middlebury church with new ideas ...
Maybe we had best listen to what HE is saying now!
The renowned University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm near Middlebury ... protector of a famous breed of beautiful horses ... we toured the farm and saw these animals up close!
We are again reminded that western Vermont and adjacent Washington County, New York, are wonderful places for Sunday drives along county roads. Our (or, rather, my) hunger leads us to stop at Ma's and Pa's Place in Granville, NY on the state line ... a good move since this down-home place serves excellent chicken-vegetable soup and lemon chiffon cake ...
The local folks tell us that Granville has a population of around 7,000 ... it is known for the production of colored slate ... we have a Granville slate welcome plaque at the door of our house ...
Barbara is a member of Philanthropic and Educational Organization (PEO) ... we stay overnight at the gorgeous home of Janet Coyle, a fellow PEO in Queensbury, New York. Janet and her husband Bill treat us to wonderful conversation, awesome accommodations and a breakfast well-suited to propel us northward into the heart of the Adirondacks!
On Highway 73, heading into the Adirondacks ... photo taken from our car!
We drive north on lovely I-87, the Adirondack Northway and onto Highway 73 to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake deep within the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park. Lake Placid is busy with vacationers ... we find sanctuary as shown below ...
Revitalized after a Long Journey!
Yonder up the road a piece in Saranac Lake, we drive along a winding forest road, then down a dark steep dirt drive past two sheds with aging machinery. We park at a lonely house by the side of a lake. An inconspicuous weathered sign says Kiwassa Lake B&B. All is unnervingly quiet. No one is around. The front door is locked. We both feel uneasy. In my fevered brain, I now consider my unmet need for "life insurance by Smith & Wesson" ... of course I have no such protective device in my possession!
My admittedly insane mental picture has NO basis in reality whatsoever!! Marjorie Cochran, our gracious and very capable host, has been in town buying provisions for our stay. She arrives and quickly orients us for our stay in the superbly wood-trimmed Eagle Room, which has a jaw-dropping view of Kiwassa Lake and the autumn-colored forested hillsides beyond!
Time stops here ... utterly! The ONLY reality for me is that wonderful squeaky rocking chair where I watch the fall and rise of an Adirondack day over Kiwassa Lake. The pre-dawn blackness slowly transits to gray, then to blue ... white mist rises from the lake surface...colors appear suddenly ... reds, then yellows and greens. The Hand of God is at work here in true splendor! My groundless worries disappear in the face of God's handiwork ... it is a wonderful experience!
Views of Kiwassa Lake in Autumn ...
The Kiwassa Lake Bed and Breakfast ... our window is at the top!
A dozen miles above Saranac lake sits the tiny community of Paul Smiths, home to Paul Smiths College known for its culinary arts and nature resource management programs. The College is home to the Visitor interpretive Center which possesses a network of beautiful forest trails built upon cross-country ski routes. We spend five hours hiking these trails ... mostly alone! Sublime? Yes! On one trail, we meet a lady with an easel, creating a painting of the hills in autumn ...
Herself on the trail ...
Hiking on a carpet of scarlet ...
Our Adirondack adventure draws to a close with fish dinners at Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood in Lake Placid ... Barbara has salmon and I have grilled rainbow trout. We are tired after a long hiking day but have had experiences we shall long remember.
On Wednesday morning, Marjorie fuels us with a good breakfast and sends us off on the 145-mile southward drive to Albany Airport.
It is time to go home!
We wish each and everyone a happy, healthy holiday season and a 2017 full of love and wisdom.
Thus ends our Golden Year Journeys blog.
Peace and Joy be with you all (or, if you wish, all y'all) !
Over and Out.
With Love, Honor and Great Respect,
Bob aka Baldy
