Vermont 2021 {Getting There: The Adirondacks}

(Day 6, cont) Tuesday, 28 September 2021: Oswego, NY to Harrisville, NY to Tupper Lake, NY to Harrietstown, NY to Lake Placid, NY to Plattsburgh, NY

Gregg took the day off work so we could play and explore our way through Adirondack Park. It was only 5 hours of driving from hotel to hotel, but we stretched it out all day and had a marvelous time! Our first stop after leaving Lake Ontario in Oswego was a little park (no playground, but plenty of boulders to climb!) called Grand View Island Park. It was a beautiful little spot right off the road in Harrisville with picnic tables right by the river.

The trees in the Adirondacks were just about to peak color and the drive was magnificent! We stopped again in Tupper Lake at a park with a fabulous playground and walking path by the lake. I enjoyed reading the signs along the path teaching about the logging industry in the area.

We made another little stop at a cute forested disc golf course in Harrietstown. And here is a story for you! Cal didn't want to play or wander through the woods with us, so we said she could stay in the car in the parking lot and we'd be back in a half hour. (This is not a new situation - we've done this very thing before and everything has gone off without a hitch.) This time, as we were starting to head back to the car from deep in the woods, (the course was taking us further away from the start than we anticipated and it was quite a walk to get back) my phone started ringing. It was a Lake Placid number and normally I would just ignore it, but this time I thought the coincidence of a local number calling me while I was in the area and my daughter was alone in a car was too much. So I answered. "Is this Kimberly?" "Yes." "This is officer so-and-so and we need you to come on down to the parking lot." (WHAT?!) "Okay, yeah, we're on our way. Is everything okay?" "Yeah, we've got Callie here." "Is she okay?" "Yeah, she's fine. We just need to talk to you." (AAAAACKKK!! I'm going to get ticketed for negligent parenting or something!!) We got to the car and saw two police vehicles, two officers and Callie. Turns out, when she tried to get out of the car, which I had locked but told her she could get out if she needed to, the alarm went off. Someone nearby heard the alarm and saw a little girl in a car by herself and called the police. They came to see what was up, asked her where she lived and what her parents' names and numbers were. She answered flawlessly. They called me. We hurried back. They verified our info and told us the story and praised Cal for her answers and left. We hugged and hugged and hugged and then hopped back in the car. Whew!

Next stop was in Lake Placid. We drove through town and saw the ice arena where the Olympic events were held back in the day. There was construction downtown so we had to detour a bit and were were hungry so we searched for something local and open to grab dinner from. We almost had to resort to McDonald's for the second day in a row, but then found 'Dack Shack and had a delicious feast: Maple Chicken Melt Sandwich, mac 'n' cheese, cheeseburger and poutine! Yum!

We made a quick stop to see the ski jumps on our way out of town (humongous!!) and meandered our way out of the mountains and down to the shores of Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh. We checked in early enough that evening to enjoy the pool and hot tub at our hotel before bed. What a day!

Such a beautiful scene on the Grand View Island Park.

The fungus obsession continues. This one looks
like a cracker to me!

And these are mushrooms that look like the dead
leaves around them.

Super hard to get the colors to show up in a photo, but
just imagine me making a little squeal every time we came
around a corner to see a colorful hillside.

Lots of fun playground features in Tupper Lake.

These cheery flowers were still blooming
in the gardens by the lake.

Tupper Lake was lovely.

Along the pathway there were displays about logging
and the history of the area.

My turn-around spot on my walk.

A great short but tricky disc golf course in the
woods in Harriestown.

Tons of mushroom sightings in these woods!

This one looked like a rock. Very unusual.

Cal thinks these look like geodes. I saw tree rings.
Either way, they're my fave so far. I've never seen
more beautiful fungi!

Looking down at Lake Placid.

Yummy spot for dinner in Lake Placid.

We got a maple chicken melt and it was AMAZING!
I want to remember so I can attempt a recreation
someday.

We waited for our food on adirondack chairs
by a fire.

Feast time!

Those ski jumps are sooooo tall!

(Day 7) Wednesday, 29 September 2021: Plattsburgh, NY

Gregg worked from the hotel room until it was time to check out so the kids and I spent the morning in the pool area all to ourselves. It was a huge pool and a great time splashing and soaking. Then we packed up one last time and headed to the beach to kill a few more hours before check in time at Jay Peak. Gregg worked from the car in the parking lot while the kids and I explored the beach and neighboring Cumberland Bay State Park and finally found the playground. We saved our lunch from the seagulls and found treasures in the sand and read blogs and kindle books on my phone and talked to Grandma Blanchard for a minute. And then Gregg said it was time to go!

Pool party!

A great playground in Cumberland State Park
(that took us a while to find since it was so far away
from the beach we parked at. But we were persistent
and kept walking and finally got there!)

Teeter totters were a big hit on this trip!

Plattsburgh City Beach

Dun, dun, dun . . .  stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion of our journey to Jay!