First, let me tell you that this was one of the best vacations we have ever had. It was fun, relaxing, and even slightly educational (don't tell the kids!). Months ago, Stephen and the kids discovered that Broadway is also Route 9 and that if you stay on it long enough you dead end at Canada. So that's what we did. We drove through tiny towns, amazing scenery, and plenty of farm country. We averaged about 40 mph, drove with the windows down, and stopped whenever we felt like it. We played games, sang songs, told stories, asked questions and explored. We rarely had Internet access and our phones were silent for most of the time. It was wonderful to have so much uninterrupted, undiluted family time. It was the perfect way to end the summer.
Day 1: NYC to Albany
The big event of day 1 was really just making it on the road. Due to a crazy, last minute home reorganization project we were up until one in the morning the night before, and still had to find our floor before we left. Once we finally got out of the house, the adventure began! Our first official stop (besides a cute baby consignment store and a slurpee run) was at the Walkway Above the Hudson, which is exactly what it sounds like. It was quite a warm day, and the temperature on the walkway had been at 110 earlier in the day, so it turns out we were glad that we arrived in the late afternoon. The views were amazing, and the story of how they built the walkway was quite interesting. Stephen and John made it the two miles all the way across and back, but the rest of us turned back half-way (it was still really hot!).
Once we were done, we piled back into the air conditioned car and kept going. We stopped in Hyde Park to see FDR's home and some amazing mansions. Then we found a cute little inn with a pool outside Albany and ended our day with a splash session.
Day 2: Albany to Lake George
We started our morning with another lovely swim and a delicious breakfast at the inn's little coffee shop.
After a stop at a local farm stand we headed into Albany. We had Italian ices in the park, explored some local architecture including the capital building (gorgeous!) and The Egg (weird!), then had some amazing BBQ from a food truck.
After some necessary stops for Internet (Stephen), a playground (the kids), and Walmart (me!), we drove on to Lake George where we discovered Gooney Golf, and simply had to stop.
Once that adventure was over we snuck into our campground after dark and settled in for the night. We fell asleep to rolling thunder, but miraculously did not get rained on. It was another great day.
Day 3: Lake George to Champlain
When we woke up on day 3 we discovered this lovely surprise:
The day before we heard a loud pop while we were driving, but couldn't figure out what it was. Turns out it was our tire popping. Our weight and the weight of all our stuff kept it sealed, but once we unloaded all our camping gear (and ourselves) it opened right up. It was an honest to goodness miracle that it lasted the rest of day 2 and then long enough to backtrack to a tire shop the next morning. More specifically, it carried us to four tire shops, because we discovered that we have weirdo tires that nobody carries. We did finally find a match, though, and after a lovely morning watching Let's Make a Deal and Price is Right on the auto shop tv, we were on our way through the Adirondaks!
We stopped to hike a natural stone bridge and caverns. It was incredibly beautiful and the kids were really good sports about all the walking. There was a gift shop, too, where John got a geode for his rock collection and have them cut it open for him. Definitely a fun stop.
After camping and hiking, a swim sounded great, so we finished up our day at a hotel with a pool (and an ice machine- yay!).
