Fall 2011 Olympia,WA/Plattsburgh, NY

We arrived in Seattle on Sunday afternoon and we were happy to see by my best buddy, Barb Burgener. With little traffic, we were at her house in Olympia in no time. The four of us went out to dinner at Anthony's Firehearth Grill. Great conversation, good food, and old friends...what an enjoyable evening. Monday was spent unpacking and then repacking for our trip to New York. That evening, we drove to Seattle and spent the night since we were flying out early on Tuesday. It was an easy flight to Boston and from there we jumped on a commuter that flew directly into Plattsburgh, NY. Bob's parents met us at the airport and Mom had one of her famous and delicious spaghetti dinners waiting for us when we got home.

 The next morning when we went for a walk. When we returned, we had a gray squirrel waiting for his little peanut treat at Mom and Dad's door. He jumps up on the door and peeks in looking for Dad.

Later in the day, we drove over to see my brother Jim and sister-in-law, Sherry. It was a lovely autuman day and the fall colors were starting to to turn.

 
We talked my oldest brother, Harold, into meeting Jim, Bob, and me in Raquette Lake. I have always wanted to visit Great Camp Sagamore, one of several historic camps in the Adirondacks built as a rustic, but luxurious summer retreat for the rich during the Gilded Age. Back then,it was no easy feat to get there; 69 hours to get there from New York City by railroad, stage coach, boat, and horse and carriage.

 

William Durant, son of a railroad tycoon had it built between 1895-97 and sold it to Alfred Vanderbilt in 1901. He put in flush toilets, hot and cold running water, and a two lane outdoor bowling alley. It is now a National Historic Landmark run by the Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks.

After the tour of the camp, we hiked around Sagamore Lake before driving back through Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.

It is always a tradition when we are home to go at the North Country Club, our old high school hang out, for pizza. We stopped on our way back but, unfortunatley, it was not as good as usual. After more than 40 years, I guess that there is bound to be some changes. We did have a good time visiting with old friends and several people that I used to babysit for.

The next day, we went for "michigans" for lunch and then to Banker's Orchard for some machintosh apples. It was fun watching all the little kids pick out their pumpkins for Holloween. I have always loved carousel horses and they had a beauty on display.

Saturday was a gorgeous day and the temperature hit 80 degrees. That evening, we took Bob's parents and my brother Jim out to, dinner at Harmony, overlooking the golf course and Lake Champlain in Port Kent.

 On Sunday, we took Bob's parents on a ride to Keeseville where we grew up, stopping at Ausable Chasm, one of the earliest and oldest natural attractions, opening in 1807. We aslo stopped on the bridge overlooking the Ausable River, adjacent to where my mother owned a restaurant called the "Little Kitchen".
Keeseville used to be a lovely little village and it is sad to see how much it has changed.

My oldest brother, Harold, came up from Queensbury, NY to visit us for a few days. We all went for a hike and ended up down by Flat Rock across the brook from Jim and Sherry's property. It was a spectacular day to be out walking in the woods; big red maple leaves falling, the sun shining, and the birds singing. That evening, Jim and Sherry spoiled us with a lobster and filet mignon dinner with apple crisp for dessert. My poor nephew, Ryan had to listen to the same family stories that he has heard a gazillion times, each time with a little different twist.

On Wednesday, we got together with several of my cousins and their spouses for lunch. None of us could remember the last time that we had all been together. We exchanged old family pictures and shared family memories. Since my parents and all of my aunts and uncles are now deceased, I appreciated spending time together and thank you all.

One of our favorite places to hike when we are home is at Point Au Roche on Lake Champlain. The fall colors were lovely.

Another highlight of our trip was seeing some old friends, Julie Lattrell and Frank Preston. We went for a drive up by Paul Smiths and went for a hike. Some hungry gray jays decended upon us looking for some handouts. They were brave and bold enough to eat out our hands. After the hike we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in a cozy restaurant nestled in the woods. Thanks Julie and Frank for a great day.

It is always sad to say good-bye to family and friends, but hopefully, we will be back in the Spring.