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Day 5: July 17

We woke up and after some coffee, we broke up camp with plenty of time to make it to jumpy rock for some good jumps in before heading on our way. We decided to take a trip through Lake Placid to say hi to Mike and Andrea on the way home. Of course, being in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, there is no direct way to Lake Placid from the 1000 Islands, so it was a long trip, but a lovely lone. We drove by Fort Drum, the military vehicles going to and fro and the little glimpses were impressive.

We finally got to Andrea and Mike's place and after a visit to see the progress in their new house (where one of our children discovered that their floors were still wet the hard way), we proceeded to eat a delicious dinner and catch up. It had started to rain during our dinner so we headed into the maple store where there is a big table. Ellie decided to play store behind the counter top and the boys found a broken locked drawer that they took it as a challenge to open. Andrew succeeded in locking the drawer with no shot of opening it. Owen set to work and succeeded in not just undoing what Andrew did but success in opening the drawer. Flushed with his new lock picking skills, he immediately went out to our car, locked it, and attempted to pick the car lock... with the keys inside. Fortunately, Mike has connections all over Lake Placid and was able to call a friend who could open the car. Soon after, we hit the road for a night in Lake George and then back home to Albany, another adventure accomplished!

A jumpy rock photo series:

The Macho

I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags

I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags
Day 4: July 17

Sunset on the St.Lawrence

The high point for any scavenger hunt is getting the reward for finishing it and going into town and buying some souvenirs. The last full day is a perfect one to take a bit of time for shopping. after a trip to jumpy rock,

Elizabeth and Ginnie headed with the kids to Alex Bay for a bit of souvenir shopping. After visiting nearly every store on the small strip, each of the kids had a really great souvenir that was worthy of a well finished scavenger hunt. Meanwhile, Rob and Josh took the Mighty Puffin out for a sail.

The sky was ominous all day and after a quick trip to the grocery store we head back to make dinner and keep our fingers crossed that the weather would hold out for a sail. After getting back and starting dinner, the sky broke open for a quick storm. The shelter kept everyone dry and as we continued our dinner prep we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.

Come Sail Away

Come Sail Away
Day 3: July 16
It might be better to dub the day "Chicken on Charts" day and if I can get my hands on the O'Neil boys re-written version of the song that the kids (with the exception of Owen) sang over and over again, I will post it here!

Tuesday was a day to remember love and family in different ways. We were lucky to spend Rob and Liz's anniversary with them last year and repeated the honor this year. I was a bit later getting wildflowers together, so there was no surprise to greet them, but will not forget to post Elizabeth's friend Mary's beautiful rendition of "Make You Feel My Love" (for those that can't see that video, here's Dylan's version). I can't tell you how fortunate we feel to have celebrated this special day with them for several years in a row. Something tells me that no matter who this day is spent with in the future, they will always be surrounded by people that love them!

Project Time!

In addition to the anniversary tradition, there is the Josh and Rob project tradition. This year's project was erecting a tarp ceiling in case of rain. Several ancient tent poles and car brace tie ons later and a sturdy shelter was built to protect from the rain and sun. Even the weather was intimidated by the shelter and the rain stayed away the whole day. The children played together and fished, catching sunnys almost the moment the line went into the water.

Fishermen

After a solid project done, we headed for some beaching and boating. Different crews of children went out exploring on the boat with Josh and Rob
while others played on the beach with Elizabeth and I. The St. Lawrence seaway is an astonishing river with huge ocean liners sliding over the water next to power boats. After heading in to lunch, we then went to the point of the peninsula where we heard there was a large rock for jumping. Jumpy rock, as the place was dubbed, became the run

Island in the Sun

Island in the Sun
Day 2: July 15, 2013

Andrew on the boat with Boldt Castle in the background

Kids at Boldt Castle Generator Building

Nothing is as effective for an alarm clock as a group of grackles chatting. After a slow moving morning, we made our way to the beach. There were two lifeguards on duty, one for watching the swimmers and the other for raking the muck out of the water. Despite the occasional mucky surface, the water was cool and clear and refreshing on a hot day. The kids tossed a frisbee ring, built sand castles, and played Marco polo. Adults marveled at the tranquility of the place and wondered how much a small island for sale nearby would be.

After gathering back at the campsite for lunch, we headed forth to Alexandria bay and the Uncle Sam boat tour for millionaires row. Alexandria bay is a tourist town with tshirt shops and big signs. We made the one o'clock tour despite set backs by elderly ladies cutting line and miss-parked laundry trucks. We boated over a section of river with a boat wreck that was 250 feet deep. There were mud flats only 10 feet deep, island after island, many with fancy houses, a pool slide right into the river, huge ocean liners boating right next to pleasure boats, and a tour guide that tried to sell item after item. The tour ended at Hart Island with the

Indoor Pool

fabulous Boldt Castle. George Boldt was the self made millionaire who owned the Waldorf Astoria hotel and the originator of the saying "the customer is always right." He also loved the thousand islands and had quite a few properties here. He began building Boldt Castle as a gift for his wife Louise. When she passed away suddenly, bereft, he stopped work on the castle suddenly and left it to molder. Eventually it became a ruin that boaters would go to and write their names throughout. The transit authority took it over and began to refurbish it as

On the Road, Again.

On the Road, Again. 
Day 1: July 14, 2013

Owen, Ellie, and Andrew getting ready for another road trip.

The trip began in a low-key way. When you have looked down the long end of a 30 hour car ride, 3 1/2 hours seems pedestrian. But beautiful country and dear friends beckoned so we hit the road on the early side, but not too.  

Our crew has skills in the long car ride arena, so since there was time to kill, we took the long way round on the National scenic byway. The first town we hit was cape Vincent, a lovely town on the tip of a peninsula on the shipping line. Nestled among the Victorian era homes was craft tents celebrating French fest. As far as we could see only one tent had anything French (crepes) but its always fun to happen upon a festival and all enjoyed strolling through it. Cape Vincent is a town of porch dwellers, I don't think I've ever seen so many people sitting on their porch in one town. It made me love it immediately. As we were leaving cape Vincent we took it to a vote whether to visit a light house or not. Owen, thinking he was calling our bluff, orchestrated a no vote. So, no lighthouse. Shocked that the vote was not weighted, the children quickly capitulated and we were on our way to Tibbetts point light house. 

Cape Vincent Seaway

Islands in the Stream

Islands in the Stream, yes, I know there are much cooler island songs out there, but who doesn't love the chance to hear Dolly Parton say, "Hit it Kenny!"

So, with two years of bigger road trips under our belts we looked around the fair New York and realized there was one famous destination we had not been to, so famous it has an internationally renowned salad dressing named after it. The Thousand Islands. Back in the 1890's the Thousand Island was the place to go. Wealthy families built elaborate summer homes there and crazy boat houses for their yachts. It also has fun sights and great camping, so it seemed like an exciting trip within our great state.

What is a road trip without a scavenger hunt? And what is a scavenger hunt without Elizabeth Dubben working her magic on the scavenger hunt? The hunt is below. The fun part of trip prep is now over. Now we just need to pack the car, figure out that we have all the tents, sleeping bags, plates, and bug spray that we need and we'll be ready to hit the road tomorrow morning. Now is the time that I'm jealous of the families in the 1890's that just had people around to pack them up.

2013 Scavenger Hunt:

1. How many islands are i the chain o islands called the thousand islands?
2. What is another name for a chain of islands?