Up, Up and Away

Thanks to my in-laws’ kindness in watching the girls, Jim and I were able to take a little trip up North to Lake George, New York this weekend.  We drove up late Friday night (hooray for road trips filled with adult conversation and radio broadcasts, rather than toddler bantering and kids music!), and then spent the whole day Saturday exploring upstate New York.  The weather was gorgeous – it was in the mid-fifties with a bright blue sky, perfect for taking in the breathtaking views around the lake and its surrounding towns.  We drove up to Gore Mountain and found a gondola ride that took us to the summit.  It’s always nice being able to enjoy the mountaintop views when you didn’t have to actually expend any energy to get up there! 

Once at the top, we took a leisurely hike and tried not to get blown off the mountain by the high winds in some spots.   

Jim was thrilled to be able to use our iPhone as a compass and constantly told me which direction we were heading and what states we were viewing in the distance.  I didn’t really care, as long as we stayed on the path, but I was glad he was happy and felt useful!  I was also secretly relieved that we at least had the compass, since neither Jim nor I will ever be able to approach Bear Grylls’ wilderness survival skills, and I figured we would be hard pressed to navigate by constellation, if need be.  

We successfully navigated back to the gondola, without the need for compass or constellation.  Although Jim was evidently still in “Man Vs. Wild” mode, because when our gondola inexplicably stopped halfway down the mountain and didn’t resume for several minutes, Jim assured me that, if push came to shove, he had a plan whereby he would force open the doors of the gondola, sling his jacket over the cable suspended above, and slide down to the nearest guide pole where he would descend the ladder and go get help.  Needless to say, I was very thankful when the gondola roared back to life and we were able to travel the rest of the way down in the comfort of our enclosed cage, with our pride and necks still intact. 

After the excitement of the morning, we decided to slow things down with a leisurely train ride.  Starting off in the little ski town of North Creek, we boarded an historic passenger train that rode us along the Hudson River to the tiny town of Riparius and back. 

In between delightful bursts of bluegrass music playing from the loudspeaker, our friendly conductor informed us about the history of the Upper Hudson River Railroad, as well as the towns’ histories (like the little tidbit that it was at the North Creek train station in 1901 that then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt found out that President McKinley had died of gunshot wounds and he was now President). 

After our train returned to North Creek, we headed back home to Connecticut, thankful for the time we were able to spend together and the beautiful sights we enjoyed (and for the yummy food at a Chipotle’s we found!).  We joyfully reunited with the girls at my in-laws’ house, and promised the girls to take them back up with us next time so they could ride the gondola and train as well.  Throughout our time away, Jim and I had kept commenting about how much the girls would love it up there.  We may have been far from the girls in body, but they’re never far from our hearts!