Up and at it early to grub up and get in the line up (there were three cars) for Lake Champlain Ferries, and the crossing from Burlington to Port Kent. Gotta say… It was a gorgeous crossing, lasting about 50 minutes. The ferry is a bit of an older vessel but well kept with a friendly crew. After a quick security check, we boarded a relaxed 5 minutes late and crossed Lake Champlain in a light breeze. I spent the hour doing some writing, enjoying the view of Vermont’s Green Mountains. Janie enjoyed a coffee, used the coin operated viewers and composed pics with the iPhone. It was all very restful.
Our route from Port Kent took us south through Adirondack Park. For a stint we travelled the I-87 South, but left the interstate to trek inland, over some fine country road through rolling hills to Fort Ticonderoga. Janie found this while searching the highways and byways on Google Maps. Basically, Ticonderoga is an historic restoration with re-enactments going on… Bit of living history. For me, it was shades of Louisbourg only on a smaller scale. We saw rifle drills, the fife and drum corps, cobblers, tailors, cooks, guides and animators in military garb roaming the premises and doing presentations… All set in the year 1777.
All in all, we spent roughly 2 hours on site. It was warm, but we found plenty of shade when necessary. I saw one of the best rifle demos that I’ve ever been privy to. Animators did an excellent job of explaining the loading procedure, how men may have moved in formation in wilderness fighting, uniforms and how they were kept, and weaving all this within the fortress’ history. Ticonderoga changed hands multiple times from French, to British and eventually “Yankee” dominance. Janie had a great discussion with a young lady in the sewing area… Turns out she was actually heading for Dalhousie University in the fall. Quite a coincidence.
Upon leaving one has the opportunity to visit Mt Defiance, which overlooks Fort Ticonderoga, via the village of Ticonderoga. The winding, uphill road (accessed with a token provided with general admission to the Fort) gives access to a look off that views down over the actual fortress and surrounding river system. Militarily, it’s little wonder they chose the location for Fort Ticonderoga, with its broad open views above the connecting waterway between Lake George and Lake Champlain. We had a great picnic lunch atop Mt Defiance, enjoying the amazing view of the Fort, surrounding lakes, and Green Mountains off along the horizon. One of the most impressive “outdoor” lunch views I’ve ever experienced!
From the Adirondack’s we plunged southward to our digs in Albany, New York. We’d passed by Albany headed across the I-90 several times, but never actually stopped. After check in Janie and I went walk about in the neighborhood of our downtown location. We wandered through what seemed perfectly safe streets checking out many of the local churches, architecture and businesses. Stopped at a Bank of America and were treated to some real turn of the 1900’s Art Deco. It was a warm, but entertaining walk.
On our sojourn we scoped out some of the nearby watering holes. No trip for us seems complete without a stop to embrace an Irish Pub. McGeary’s Irish Pub seemed to fit the bill and by early evening we’d managed to settle in for several ales, on our way to making plans for supper. I had a very tasty Crab Cake Salad, while Janie sampled a Buffalo Chicken Salad. Hers was fiery but filling, while mine eased a hankering for seafood. By early evening, ending a day of travel, we had retired to the Hampton and fell to the bunk amid Olympic Reports on NBC. Lots of miles and a 6:00 AM departure planned for Tuesday, so the “early to bed” was prudent!