Boats AND Mountains Combined

Last weekend we saw our share of boats and mountains, but this weekend we saw both of them combined in one day. Saturday was the annual Antique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS) Rendezvous held at the docks in Lake George Village. What a fantastic turnout of both boats and spectators! We were glad we went early to see everything before the crowds really arrived.

There were antiques and classics along with newer makes and models, including some Gold Cup Racers that would have looked right at home at the 'Need for Speed' event.

We were so impressed with this year's event that we ended up joining the ACBS so that next year we can bring our 1958 Wagemaker 'Flash' to be put on display. 

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!

Fly-By

The Antique Boat Museum in Clayton held a great event called 'The Need for Speed' on Saturday. This not only included antique and classic boats, but also cars and motorcycles. These motorcycles greeted us when we walked in the front door of the museum. The one in the foreground is a Henderson 4 Full Body and an Indian 4 behind it, both mid-1930s.

These Hendersons were outside on the property, along with a few cars and lots of boats on both land and in the water.

The main event was the fly-by of some of the boats as they rounded a closed course in the bay.

This GarWood with builder Larry Turcotte driving, did a spinney right in front of us!

The last boat was the ABM's 'Pardon Me' that is 48 feet long. This is touted as the world's largest mahogany runabout. It was built in Alexandria Bay by Hutchinson Boat Works in 1948.

This engine is the same as what is in 'Pardon Me'. It is a super charged Packard V-12 surplus aircraft engine. The displacement is 2500 cubic inches and it is rated at 1500 HP. It burns up to 110 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at full throttle.

We were hoping this ship would fly by too but alas, it stayed in the channel. 😉

There was also a memorial fly-by of WW2 planes to honor one of the museum's trustees that had recently died. He also belonged to the 'Tora Tora Tora' plane group that put on the air show. What a fitting tribute!  

Walking around the grounds is always a treat to see what is being displayed on both land and in the water. 

Count all those cylinders!

We also took a tour of the nearby ABM's Doebler Storage Facility, which is packed with donated boats, engines, and parts. Dave checked out all the outboards that lined the length of an entire wall of the warehouse. Meanwhile I was drawn to the bling of all the varnished boats. 

On the left in the background, you can see the chain lift that they use to move the boats around. It needs to be very skinny to maneuver around all the closely placed boats. It must take a bunch of manpower to safely lift and guide everything, especially the longer boats.

Before we said good-bye to the St. Lawrence Seaway, we ate a combination lunch and dinner at our favorite pizza place in Clayton overlooking the river. This final ship passing bid us a fond farewell...until next time!

Mini Vacation!

We finally did something a little out of the ordinary. We took an overnight trip to the Thousand Islands, and it was great being back on the St. Lawrence Seaway after a couple of years hiatus. It was a whirlwind tour of our favorite places, starting with kayaking from Grass Point State Park upon our arrival.

As soon as we hit the water "what to our wondering eyes did appear?" Not Santa but our first ship!

The water was so much lower than previous years, but the current was still cranking. We made it upstream almost to the Rock Island Lighthouse before floating backwards to Dave's wreck.

We were still able to paddle between the ship and the shore and were able to see how the rivets were protruding from the metal hull. Some of the wood planks were still attached near the waterline.

I always say this propeller sure would look good in our yard! 

After paddling, we took a fantastic land tour of Alexandria Bay, across the bridge to the Thousand Islands Park, back to the Boldt Castle Boathouse, and then to Clayton. Later we drove back to Watertown to our motel that was very clean and worked out just fine. Day two was jam-packed with fun, starting early in the morning from Alexandria Bay's boat launch. We had only brought the kayaks for this short two day stay, which worked out quite well. We knew we had to start out early to beat the crowds and we saw lots of wildlife including two black minks racing into the rocks, and this muskellunge that kept lifting its head out of the water.  

As usual we go the 'road' less travelled, which led us to seeing a lone swan.

Another ship passed by really close and headed towards the Thousand Island Bridge.

Dave checked out pirate Bill Johnston's cave...

The boat traffic really increased, including some 'go-fast' poker run boats like this one with 4 Mercury 400 outboards (not surprisingly it had a Palm Beach hailing port).

When this tour boat packed with tourists came peaking around the corner of an island, we knew it was time to get off the water and on to the real reason we came to the 1000 Islands...for Clayton's Antique Boat Museum's 'Need for Speed' event. More on that tomorrow.

😎