October 13-20, 2009
Days 37-44

On Tuesday, we took the ferry across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont. We met Bob’s brother Tim and his wife, Mari for lunch.

 It was good to see them and hear about how they are all doing. After lunch, my mother-in-law and I did a little shopping. Bob and his Dad started out with us, but could not keep up and went to the car.

On Friday, 14 friends and family went out to dinner at the Harmony Golf Club, the restaurant at the former Port Kent Golf Course.

It certainly has changed since we used to play there 38 years ago. The view down to Lake Champlain was lovely, especially as the light began to wane.

My oldest brother, Harold came up to see us for the weekend.

 After a 4 mile walk, we surprised him with an early 70th birthday celebration…filet mignon, lobster tails, and homemade pies! We had an enjoyable evening telling family stories, laughing, and playing cards.

On Sunday, Jim made us all an egg, lobster, steak, and homemade donuts for breakfast. Thank goodness, we went for a long hike to Long Point at Point Au Rouche to work off the extra calories.

On the way back, we stopped at Elf’s to get some homemade apple cider. The owner gave us a tour, showing us the antique cider press and his soon to be open winery. We sampled some excellent blueberry merlot and wished that we were going to be here for the opening and wine tasting. He suggested that we visit his friend's winery, a few miles away. Soon, we were on our way to the Stone House Winery in Sciota, a small hamlet out in the country.

 The owner Dave was a character and offered us as many samples as we wanted, along with cheese and crackers. He then laughed and added that he had 6 bedrooms if we needed to spend the night! I really think that he was serious.

After buying some Apple Maple wine and some Raspberry, our designated driver Bob got us back to Peru safely. In order to convince brother Harold to spend another night, we bribed him with pizza at the North Country Club. Of course, the wine helped!

On Tuesday, I received a call from one of my best friends from first grade, Julie Lattrell.

We met in Keeseville, our hometown, to go hiking. She and her boyfriend, Frank took us on a  4 mile RT hike up Rattlesnake Mt. in Willsboro.

 It was a nice moderate hike with scenic views of the Adirondacks, Willsboro Bay, Lake Champlain, and Vermont.



 
We ended the day with an early dinner at a little café that displayed historic pictures of the area.  We are hoping to share some hikes in Alaska with Julie and Frank one of these summers.