Reports from our last vacation

7/4/17 Saranac Lake, NY

It’s the Fourth of July.  This is a place I’ve wanted to visit for the past few years.  I wanted to be in the mountains.  I wanted to see them in the distance, to see the night sky condensed with stars.  To smell crisp air with the fragrance of burnt wood.  To listen to the birds calling.  On the drive up we picked up Mo Cheeks who took a bus from Boston to Albany.  She waited for forty minutes at the grungy bus depot among all sorts of characters.  We brought Buk with us and stopped a couple of times.  Traffic was lighter than was I assumed.  We rented a sparkling new Pacifica.  The roof opens up, the seats are leatherette, and the council is sharp looking with a GPS.   So, I drove up along windy roads where rivers and brooks flow on the sides.  I was getting excited as we passed Saratoga Springs.  There were so many places which reminded me of the Delaware Water Gap, the warning signs for tumbling boulders which could crush our rented minivan in an instant. We found the house and claimed our rooms.  It’s roomy in this log cabin.  The house it situated in the woods, I don’t see the neighbors, but can hear a large dog bark at times.  It must be the size of a horse.  I went out for a run on Saturday before it began to rain.   I may go out in a little while for another.  Eventually, we will go for a hike.  After all it is our last day.  We have taken the kayaks out into Flower Pond.  We have been into Lake Placid at least twice and tried the local ice cream establishments.  I have not found a place that makes a thick vanilla shake, but altogether we are enjoying this trip.  On Sunday, we went to Burlington Vermont.  The plan was to see The Burlington Lake Monsters baseball game.  I bought the tickets in advance.  Most of the kids did not want to go.  The trip to Burlington was broken up by taking a ferry across Lake Champlain.   Most places only take cash and this was not an exception.  Thank you to my son who had some extra cash.  Once across into Vermont, it was another 40 minutes to Burlington.  The parking lot at the stadium was full and we parked a mile away at the Sheraton.  I was feeling stressed out and like I said none of the kids really wanted to see the game.  I wanted to see what it was like since it’s one of the oldest stadiums still in use and Ali and I stayed for two innings.  She was complaining since the late afternoon sun was burning her face.  The Lake Monsters scored while we were there.  I ran back to get the minivan and picked up the family.  We spent a couple of hours in Burlington, had dinner and of course Ben & Jerry’s.  Church Street is closed to vehicles.  Families were pushing strollers, some had dogs.  There were a group of kids playing classical music and some pirates who has their own street folk entertainment.  It was relaxing and we drove back as the sun was settling behind the mountains, casting off an orange and yellow hue.  In the distance, purple mountains and stretched clouds, grazing cows, churches still in on a Sunday night.  We drove back to New York and were amazed how light it was even when it was close to 10 PM. 

Thank you for reading