Topping Off The Mini Vacation

Since rain was predicted in the 1000 Islands but not at home, we needed a destination to keep cool in the 90-degree heat. Dave had a good idea to take a drive in 'Mustang Sally' and have lunch at Jiminy Peak Ski Resort in Massachusetts. Then afterward, we could drive up the winding road to the top of Mount Greylock. This plan was even better than expected! We arrived early at Jiminy Peak and had lunch out on the deck all by ourselves, while watching kids bungee jump on trampolines and others going down the alpine slides. Thankfully, it wasn't crowded at all. In fact, as we were walking around, we saw that the chair lift to the top of the mountain was running. Dave and I looked at each other and said let's go! We bought tickets and started the ride up the mountain with no one else in sight.

The view was spectacular from the top! We even saw the remains of rose petals from the previous day's wedding ceremony. What a place to get married and memorable for everyone coming up the mountain, especially a bride in her wedding dress.

We tried to find the large windmill but ended up going the wrong way downhill at a fork in the road. It was a hike back up to the downbound chairlift, so we opted to try again another time...which we can because this ended up being a free trip up and back. I asked the attendant helping us on the chair if he wanted our tickets and he said, usually yes, but not on day like today (hardly anyone using the chairlift but one couple we saw at the top, and mountain bikers going up with their bikes on the chairs' special hooks). He told us to use our tickets on any other ride, and when I looked, the ticket is good for anytime this summer season.

Going back down the steep hill was a bit challenging for my fear of heights, but I conquered it by saying everyone does this with very few incidents. 😉 Then it was time to head to Mount Greylock and we only took one wrong turn before quickly turning on Google maps. When we got to the war memorial, there were still very few people around and the view was great, but a bit hazy due to the humidity (how can the tourists get that close to the edge? I had issues just watching them. 😲).

We stopped to check out the cabin for hikers that is only used in emergencies if hikers get caught in inclement weather. This is all part of the Appalachian Trail. 

To really top off our mini vacation, we were going down the Petersburg Pass with the convertible top down and look what I spied in a tree over our heads!

With no vehicles behind us, Dave stopped for the photo opp before the bald eagle majestically took flight. We were in awe...what a grand finale!