October 1, 2004 (Fri) Home to Hedges Lake (236 miles) - It was 56° and sunny when we got off. We had planned to wait until after the crush of commuters had reached their offices in New York and surrounding cities. It was good that we had because the morning traffic reports described big delays on the northbound garden State Parkway due to a serious accident. It was cleared away by the time we passed by the site so we barely had to slow down. In fact there were no problems all the way to the New York State Thruway. At 11:50, we stopped for lunch at a Thruway rest area and were rolling again at 12:45. Arrived at Hedges Lake at 2:55.
Destiny Q is 3 feet longer than Concourse Q was, so getting into Ruth and Gordy's driveway was a bit of a challenge. It took several back and forth maneuvers to get us in properly - 6 feet from the house, front wheels at the grass line, and back steps 6 inches from the one lane dirt road. Tight!
It was good to see Ruth and Gordy again and sitting around visiting with a panoramic view of the lake out the window was a relaxing way to end the day.
October 2, 2004 (Sat) Hedges Lake - Last night we watched the moon come up over the lake - well the hills across the lake. This morning we watched the sun come up through the fog over the lake - from our bed. Sometimes Joy has gotten up and gone for a swim as the sun comes up. Not this morning - too cold - 48°! We lay in bed until after seven - very late for us.
This was the weekend for the Annual Manchester (VT) Craft Festival, a quality event, so we dusted off our credit cards and trekked over there with Christmas shopping in mind. The food exhibit tent (huge) treated us to home prepared food samples of a wide variety - jellies and jams, cheeses, mustards, spreads, dips, etc. All very good. We wanted to go back for seconds. But the craft tent (even bigger) awaited. Some of the crafts on display (and for sale) were high class with prices to match but most were quite affordable - but still high class. We bought several things that will be wrapped and held for the end of December, others have already been put into use. There were food vendors, of course - there always are. We stood in line at Ali Babba's Kabob booth for Greek food in wraps - Mark had lamb, Joy Steak, and Ruth curried something. Gordy had a hot dog. On the way home we stopped for home made ice cream.
October 3, 2004 (Sun)- Our excursion for today was a trip to Camping World in Amsterdam, NY, planning to stop somewhere along the way for some intentional exercise (walking). As soon as we walked in the door we were offered a hot dog, soda and chips - free! The RV dealership associated with this Camping World was having an open house. We thanked them by walking through some of the rigs they had on display. As the clerk in Camping World ran our credit card she said "I don't believe it!" and started to ask if we knew this name or that name. We didn't. At first we thought maybe there was some kind of fraud involving our credit card but it turned out that she had grown up in Red Bank. We had quite a little chat about people we both knew and some of the things happening around Red Bank - while Ruth and Gordy stood by their car wondering why we were taking so long.
On the way back we looked up a couple of trails suggested by Henry and learned that he is better at navigating roads than picking walking trails. We went to Saratoga Spa State Park (near Saratoga Springs, NY) for our walk. It was a beautiful walk and on our way back through the historic spa area we came across a wedding about to start by the reflecting pool. We sat on some nearby steps and watched. We talked about crashing the reception for our dinner but decided that we weren't properly dressed.
Q006643 Ruth & Gordy's Driveway (x3)
October 4, 2004 (Mon) Hedges Lake to Crown Point (102 miles) - It got cold last night (420) but it had warmed up to 54°, sunny and clear when we got on the road. Thanks Gordy and Ruth for a great couple of days! After stopping at a Walmart in Glens Falls, NY, we drove up along Lake George. Jeff and Jennifer will probably remember the hilly, winding road up to Hague where Mark's parents lived for a while. The road seems more built up now and there are many small changes in Hague - buildings fixed up and more flowers and grassy areas. The garage over the brook taken out by the flood that time has not been replaced.
Crown Point is the site of two forts - one British, one French - used to defend the area before and during the American Revolution. They are in ruins now but preserved. We walked over there after setting up our campsite and relearned some of the history of the area.
It's cloudy and threatening rain now. It seems warmer than last night but is supposed to get cold. We're sitting here with Lake Champlain and the Champlain Bridge (to Vermont) out our dining room window. And the Champlain Memorial Lighthouse is not far from our rear door. We've been here before. It's a nice park with roomy (especially with so few occupied) grass covered sites. The lack of hookups discourages long stays in cold weather but we'll be here 2 nights.
Q006745 Crown Point Campground #6A dry $13.00 A (+$2.50)
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