Vacation to 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 ¼-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
port
side. 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).
Below are other pictures off of the
Holiday Inn
hill, as I've dubbed it. Click the thumbnails for larger pictures.
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...
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