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!

"I Don't Want To Leave!"

On our last day with John and Lynda, we went to our favorite kayaking spot, Eagle Lake. We had lots of items with us this time, since we were going to have lunch and go snorkeling on Turtle Island. We decided that I would take my single kayak and Dave would take the double and all our gear, which worked really well. He needed that extra weight to replace me!

Oops! Lynda had a bit of a mishap when getting in her kayak and flipped over. A good Samaritan helped her empty the water out. What a way to start her birthday.

 

Off we go! John celebrated being able to lift his paddle over his head. Once again great therapy for his shoulder.

It is so serene on the lake (except for the road traffic) and we can always be assured that we will see loons, and now the eagle soaring. We certainly weren't disappointed on both accounts! Lynda took photos of this loon, which actually stayed put long enough for her to get a shot.

Turtle Island is a little rock island and it was all ours for a couple of hours. 

Everyone was so relaxed!

Good thing we saved our energy, because when we finally went to paddle back, the wind had come up. We hugged the shore and it wasn't too difficult.

"Low bridge, everybody down"...as we head back to the launch ramp.

 

Am I colorful enough? It's not too often someone is around to get photos of ME (Thanks Lynda & John)!

 

It was such a pleasant day, I had to agree with Lynda who kept saying, "I don't want to leave!"

Up A Lazy River?

Actually it was down a lazy river...the LaChute, to be exact. John, Lynda, Dave and I launched the kayaks at the base of the Falls in Ticonderoga and thought the current would push us down the river to Lake Champlain.

Alas, that was not meant to be, because there was hardly any flow at all, so we had to paddle pretty vigorously. 

(Photo of us going under the "Kissing Bridge" by Lynda V.)

When we got to the lake, the wind was picking up from the south so it helped push us to the Ti boat launch. We had stationed one vehicle at the falls and the other at the ramp so it was a one way trip...although with the conditions in the river we could have easily turned back and gone upstream. All in all it was a fun time and a good start for John who is recovering from shoulder surgery. What great therapy.

Back To Having Fun

We have been working on the 'possessed' house again, but everything should now be set unless something shows up on a house inspection. We do have a possible contract in the works so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

The past few days we have been up in Ticonderoga with friends John and Lynda, who are staying in their motorhome at Roger's Rock Campground. Today we trailered Sashay to Lake Placid for a tour of the lake, which we had never been on before. You would think that with all the hot weather we have been having, it would have been beautiful up there in the Adirondack High Peaks, but it was only about 68 degrees, cloudy, and windy....bare minimum conditions for going boating.

We only explored about half of the lake, but we saw absolutely gorgeous large homes (it's hard to call them camps!) and boathouses that were filled with boats and even launches similar to Sashay.We later learned there are 85 wooden boats on the lake.

 

The highlight of the trip was eating lunch while drifting in front of the prestigious Lake Placid Lodge.

 

We certainly will return for a longer trip on a nicer day, but this was a great introduction to this pretty lake under Whiteface Mountain.