Bicycle-mania

Dave, John, and Walt went to a vintage bicycle show and swap meet this past weekend at Howe Caverns. They took several of our bikes to put in the show.

 There were hundreds of bicycles there...vintage, classics, antiques, barn fresh, original condition, and restored. Here are just a few photos of  what the guys saw:

 

 

 

To top off the day, a reporter from the Schoharie weekly newspaper interviewed Dave. He will be in the article about the event, which comes out in about a week! Unfortunately it's not available online, but I will try and get a copy and scan it in for all to see.

New Discovery

Even though we have been exploring this area of the Adirondacks for many years, we're always excited to make new discoveries. This was the case when we found the Bolton Landing Veterans Memorial Park. We had been by here quite a few times and saw that it was a swimming beach, and a few years back inquired as to whether or not we could launch our kayaks there. Unfortunately it was a no. Yesterday we decided to stop in and ask where the best place to launch was and the extremely friendly attendant said HERE! She explained that there were now two different places to put our kayaks in, and there was even a cart provided to assist in bringing kayaks from the parking lot. One path led us to a small sandy beach, and the other took us to a public dock with this specialized launch. How fun to sit in the kayak and slide into the water! We even got going fast on the way back and zoomed up the rollers, never getting our feet wet.

It's nice having an access to this part of the lake. Here are some sights as we headed towards Northwest Bay.

There are so many beautiful summer homes, boathouses, and classic boats. It reminded me of Lake Placid. "Gotta love these Adirondack lakes!"

We Get Around

A trip to Lake Champlain was in order when the hot days of summer kicked in. We launched the skiff in Westport, which was a good boat choice for the day because of the Sea Fox's bimini top to protect us from the sun. I was the captain and chauffeured Dave up and down both the New York and Vermont shoreline. First stop was a picnic lunch and snorkel in the lee of Split Rock Point. This photo was taken looking from the bay out into the main part of the lake.

The rocks and deep water here make the water colder than the rest of the lake. I could barely get my feet wet, but Dave went in the clear water (lots of filtering Zebra Mussels around). He said that the temp at the surface was about 70 and a foot down it felt like 10 degrees colder!

We were amazed to see quite a few loons in the lake and are thrilled that they are making a comeback.

Serenity now...

Insanity later! We were chased out of our serene spot near a cobblestone beach by 11 noisy kids in kayaks. I do give them a lot of credit for paddling across the lake, but their boisterous voices were carrying on the water, including the two adult chaperones. To me kayaking should be quiet time to enjoy nature.

We continued our trek towards Essex, where the ferry crosses the lake to Charlotte, Vermont. The cliffs along the way don't make for a very good place to have a dock. We wondered who climbs up and down this ladder? As Dave's father used to say when heading down to a dock, "Don't forget the ketchup!"

We followed the path of the ferries and checked out the boats in McNeil Cove, VT.

Then we scooted through Converse Bay and on to Point Bay Marina to see if there were any different boats there.

An exploration of this part of the lake would not be complete without a stop in Kingsland Bay. We have fond (and challenging!) memories of anchoring here with our sailboat from years gone by. We hung out by the state park and the water was weedless and warmer, so we both went swimming.Yes, that really is Dave relaxing twice in one day!

As the sun got lower so did the light south wind, and our trip back to the launch ramp, after a quick circumnavigation of Button Island, was totally calm.

What a great day on the water that brought back many memories of our past cruising history here.

Where the Elite Meet

What a fantastic lunch we had at the prestigious and stately Sagamore Hotel, overlooking beautiful Lake George in Bolton Landing.

Heinz and Jacqueline (Ganesha) met us there, and it was the perfect opportunity to get caught up on all the news since we were last together crossing the Gulf Stream.

 

 

What a gorgeous place with lots of history to go with it.

This certainly wasn't something we would do every day, but well worth the experience to be there with special friends.

The Early Show

I know I have posted about our wildlife before, especially recently the fawn triplets. However, I just couldn't resist sharing this photo. This is the first time we have seen them since I wrote about them last. They certainly have grown.

When I first looked out the window in the early morning, I saw two rabbits and woodchucks, with one fawn coming into view, followed by another and then another and then the mother. What a way to start the day!