Adirondacks, NY

Shore Forest Campground in Hop Bottom, PA

Five days of traveling and we’ve made very good time.  The route north on I-81 is an easy drive bypassing all the big cities of the NE.  It took us right through Chambersburg, PA where an old childhood friend of Leonard’s now lives.  We were able to meet up the Wayne and Theresa for breakfast and they took turns riding north with us in the RV  and now have the RV bug bad.  We’re eagerly awaiting the day they do get one so we can travel together.   We are now in the general vicinity of our destination and have decided to take a small detour and a break and explore the Adirondacks for a couple of days.

The weather has been very hot all the way north and even here it was in the 90’s when we arrived but alas the day that we go on a scenic drive a cold front comes through and we get rain.  Oh well, it made for a nice change with temps now in the mid-70’s.  Our drive north from the village of Lake George where we are staying, and deeper into the Adirondacks took us along the shore of Lake George which is dotted with small motels and cabins for rent and small villages full of old Victorian buildings.   Just past the cute village of Bolton Landing is the historic Sagamore Hotel.  We’re suckers for these gorgeous old hotels and this one does not fail to impress.  It was originally built in 1883 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The back porch overlooking Lake George

Dining on the patio, darling?

How about some croquet before cocktails?

Or perhaps the pool, I just can’t decide what to do!

We spent another day exploring the Saratoga Springs area, originally famous for it’s mineral springs and baths and now for it’s Victorian racetrack, the only one of it’s kind still remaining in the country.  The town is beautiful and full of grand Victorian architecture.  We wanted to see the old racetrack but unfortunately it was closed, not yet open for the season.  The highlight of the day was when we went into a hotel for lunch and discovered that Tommy Emmanuel was holding a 4 day guitar workshop there.  He is probably one of the best guitar players in the world, originally from Australia and we have seem him twice in small venues, most recently 2 months ago.    It was lunchtime and guitar players were sitting in various areas all over the hotel playing in the style of Tommy.  Leonard was speechless with excitement.  We watched them for awhile then had lunch and when we came out most everyone had gone into their classes.  We looked around for Tommy but didn’t find him…. too bad.   Apparently he has the camp there every year, so now we will have to make plans accordingly and perhaps Leonard can attend.  

The beautiful architecture of the racetrack is hidden behind this entrance

Just a few of the gorgeous Victorian houses near the racetrack