Fort William Henry, Boat Tour of Lake George -- Dave & Lee Visit New York State – August 2006 (Part 3)

DAY FIVE:  Wednesday, 9 August 2006

I’d been on vacations before where everything had been planned out, and I essentially ended up just being a tag-a-long on something which was advertised to me as an “our trip.”  I made sure that wouldn’t be the case, as I wanted this to be as much Lee’s trip as it was mine.  There was one specific thing she wanted to do, and that was worked into the plan.  The plan which I speak of was based on when specific people would be free.  There were specific people which, in order to maintain tradition, I needed to see on Wednesday.  Hence it made sense to take the all-day trip to Blue Mountain Lake yesterday, and the next all-day trip on Friday.

Today, we’d stay in the area to experience Glens Falls.  We went to The Hyde Collection to see all the various Italian and French antiques and paintings which were available.  We had lunch at Giovanni’s Pizza, where I had one of my old standbys, a BBQ chicken pizza stick.  Lee wondered how I could eat something so greasy.  I did have to keep in mind my diet had much in improved since arriving in Texas, so I generally avoided food with high grease contents.  This was just a treat for me.  We also were able to go to the landing platform to get a view of Cooper’s Cave.  That was something I’d looked forward to, as that had only recently been opened.

After lunch, we headed back up to Lake George to take advantage of what was available there.  I’d previously told Lee we’d wander around there not on a weekend, when there would be less tourists to deal with.  Since we’d just visited Cooper’s Cave (which was featured in Last of the Mohicans), it made sense to head on to Fort William Henry, as it was also featured in that story.  We had a nice tour of the Fort, and enjoyed soaking in the history of the place.

Near the Fort was the miniature golf course, so we needed to play a game.  Miniature golf (called “put-put” in Texas) was something I did a lot on this course, so I wanted to be able to share that memory with Lee.  Even though I have fun playing the game, Lee thought I was taking it too seriously.  I wanted to have as good of a game as possible, so I saw that as challenging myself.  One of the holes on the “Around the United States” course focused on Texas (and even had a sign for Austin).

The hole for the Texas one was on an incline, and the trick was hitting hard enough to get up the hill, but gentle enough that you could use the Austin sign to bounce back towards the hole.  Lee succeeded in getting a hole in one there.  She made sure to bust my chops about it by saying I was stuck in San Antonio, as I had some difficulty in getting the proper shot.  It really didn’t matter, because we had fun on the course, and walking the boardwalk by the lake.

Once it hit in the afternoon, it was time for the Wednesday-specific meeting.  Inez Lord had opened her home up to her son’s gamer friends, and it became an extended family of mine.  Whenever I came into New York to visit, I always made sure to swing by and visit.  Even though not all of the old gaming group were still around, whoever was in the area would still show so we could hang out a bit.  It ended up being another evening of catching up.

DAY SIX:  Thursday, 10 August 2006

Today would be another trip with Mum & Dad in tow, and be relatively close by today.  Sure it is nice to be able to spend time with them and do things with the immediately family, but I wanted to make sure Lee had her enjoyable time too.  A plan was made for us to have dinner with Dean & Laurie that night, as this was the only night they’d be free.  That meant the big day trip that was to be done as “Lee’s special request” would have to be done on Friday.

Not to sound repetitive, but today we’re returning to Lake George.  The focus would be to take a boat tour around the lake, which is something I don’t recall ever actually doing.  So this would be a treat for me as well as for Lee.  We had our choice of boats and tours, but we decided on the specific one we wanted, got our tickets, and boarded the Minne-Ha-Ha.

Since the day was nice, we were able to sit outside on the deck.  It was going to be noisy no matter where we sat, so we chose to sit in the middle, near the covered section.  The clouds looked like they might want to rain, so that’d put us close to shelter if we needed it.  During the trip we got to pass other boats which gave tours on the lake.

Our tour went up the east side of Lake George, which was more sparsely populated.  While there were homes and camps along the shore, it was more nice to see the unspoiled wilderness which came right up to the shore (or in some cases, the rocky cliffs).  Each little section had a name, and a little tale about.  One section we got to watch some high-schoolers (or perhaps college-aged kids) jump off a rocky ledge into the water about twenty or thirty feet below.  The people I knew that had grown up in Lake George had probably done that when they were young, just like so many before them.

We reached a certain point on the lake (close to Bolton Landing), and the boat made a wide-arc to work its way back southward.  Past this section, as we looked northward, it was nice to see the forested mountains off in the distance.  This is one of the things I like the best about the Adirondack Park, the terrain is so beautiful.  Living in Texas I don’t miss the New York weather, but I do miss the scenery.

Heading back south now, we passed the Sagamore resort.  That’s where a particular graduate of Lake George High School worked in the kitchen during the time she was hosting cooking segments on one of the local TV stations out of Albany.  This perky local girl has gone on to make it big nationally, and she comes back to the Sagamore every now and then to recall her roots.  While the region refers to her as “the local girl who’s done good,” most know here as Rachel Ray.

The western side of Lake George is a bit more commercialized, but it was no-less nice to see.  At one point, the tour guide pointed out a particular mountain where you could drive to the top of.  Yes, that was Prospect Mountain which we’d gone up a few days earlier.  The shot I took of Prospect from the boat should contrast nicely with the shot I took earlier of Lake George from the top of the mountain.

After the tour had concluded, we stopped to get a snack on the boardwalk area.  We then returned to Argyle to hang out a bit before it was time for dinner.  Once Dean and company arrived, we enjoyed a nice family gathering at the Anvil Inn, located in historic Fort Edward.  The Anvil used to be a blacksmith shop a couple hundred years earlier, and much of the original structure can still be seen.  I believe it was a few decades ago, the building was restored and turned into a restaurant.  It’s been a restaurant for as long as I can remember.  More recently, it’d been purchased by one of my former high school classmates, who continues to operate it.

Back home, we got treated to a fabulous summer sunset.  Looking westward off of my parents’ patio, the clouds had a pink tint which the camera limitations can only partially capture.  Once the sun was down, and as there were even numbers, the girls faced the guys in a game of MOLO.  The name is an acronym for Mum’s relatives which created this back when she was a little girl.  You have ten small beanbags which get cast into a nine-hole grid, each with different point values.  I know this wasn’t the original MOLO set, but a recent recreation (not sure who by).  It’s been set-up in the family area of the basement for a number of years, and has been very popular during gatherings.  Lee and Dean were the weak links on the teams during the many rounds which were played.  It didn’t matter who won, because we had fun doing it.

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