Lake Placid, New York
(June 2003)
I came up with this road trip to help my brother break in his new car. We knew we wanted to go into Vermont so I suggested that we aim for Fort Ticonderoga. As a precaution I decided that we should head on to Lake Placid, a scant 50 miles northwest of Ticonderoga, to make sure that we could find lodging. And thus was born this unusual combination of history and relaxation.
One of the last remaining farms in western Vermont. Trees have regained most of the old farmlands in this green state.
The picture to the right is from the Fort Ticonderoga ferry. This ferry crosses from Vermont into New York near the Fort. Notice the twin cables appearing out of the water to help stabilize the ferry as it traverses the quarter-mile stretch. These cables normally reside on the bottom of the waterway and are pulled up as the ferry crosses. Ferry is a loose word here because this ferry is really just a small barge (15 tons capacity) pushed by a small tugboat.
A nice little picture from the ferry's deck looking north towards the main body of Lake Champlain.
And now a picture off of the portside. Behind the trees on the right in the photo is Fort Ticonderoga. I bet the sudden appearence of a fort really scared the shit out of a lot of sailors on both enemy and friendly boats alike! By water there is no way past the Fort without being at the mercy of its cannon and howitzers.
Another picture facing north, I think that the buoy in the water marked the halfway point in the trip.
The life ring must have really worked well, judging by its absence. Come to think of it, I think I saw a little skull and crossbones with tick marks by it on the railing near the tugboat. Fear not, I returned the favor by smoking while practicing my sprints on the ferry deck!
Sorry didn't get any pictures of the fort.
After lunch we headed on to Lake Placid and hit a bit of rain. But it was light unlike at home, which got steady rain for most of the weekend, hehe :)
Once the "traffic" cleared up and the rain stopped, we had some fun on this road. With only the breathtaking mountains watching us, we pushed the limits of route 9N in upstate New York.
I don't know which of us got this near perfect shot. Left-click the picture to see the full-size version.
The ski jump used in the Olympic Games at Lake Placid. It's over 1,000 feet if I remember right. This picture was taken several miles away at a similar elevation (the Holiday Inn hill).
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Our conveyence, a 1986 MR2, happily enjoying the shade.
Though I think it was getting tired of seeing motorcycles. Like us- it saw what seemed like hundreds of motorcycles. I found out later that at nearby Lake George they were having a motorcycle get-together. OK maybe some of those ruffians were cool back when they were exchanging dope and cop-beating stories but now I can't see them getting up enough energy except to recommend diapers to other "rough riders!"
The view from our hotel balcony. Ah, I could live here even with the golf course in the foreground. In the middle of the photo is the Holiday Inn driveway that connects the hotel to the strip down below. Amazing cloud cover-being a convertible driver I normally frown on clouds- but these were great and completed the image! The lake pictured is Mirror Lake. Lake Placid is far less built up and would be off to the far left in the picture.
Another amazing picture from our balcony.
We had to sneak into the parking lot of a ritzy hotel geared towards yuppies who have more money than sense to get a picture of Lake Placid. I was originally a little scared to go to the Lake but after Mike persuaded me that we could easily out run any really fake-looking crocodile, I gave in.
Note cheesy movie fans: Yes, I do know that the 1999 "horror" movie, Lake Placid, was supposedly based in Maine not in upstate New York. I just couldn't resist the joke!
The Adirondacks from the road.
So those places are real and not just pictures in a travel brochure! What a nice photo to close with...
Copyright © 2024 Billsuniverse.com