Adirondacks In Depth

We had a wonderful trip to the Aidrondacks. We started our journey at the Pumpkin Festival in Aurora with Olivia (who refused to go on the trip but at least came to the Pumpkin Fest) and then picked up Bruce from his class. We began the trek of driving 1800 miles thinking we would stop near Buffalo on Sunday night. The kids stayed busy in the car with Dramamine-induced naps, books, coloring books, and iPod playlists of children’s music. Once everyone fell asleep somewhere in Nebraska, I took over the wheel and was shocked to see that the GPS said we could arrive a 4:45 pm the next day. When we stopped for gas around midnight, I asked Bruce if he had put Buffalo as our final destination–since he hadn’t, I had a new plan: to arrive Sunday night and surprise Elizabeth on her 31st birthday. I drove like a wildwoman all night long, only stopping once to nurse my screaming toddler (who refused even M&Ms!). And at 9:45 pm, after driving on up-and-down, dark, curvy, tree-lined, two-lane roads for two hours, we found the small dirt road Elizabeth had described and pulled into her driveway–only to discover an empty log cabin. Fortunately, people don’t lock their doors in the Adirondacks, so we made ourselves at home, set up the kids’ beds, and gave the girls a much needed bath after hours of sticky granola bars and trail mix plastered all over their hair. When Elizabeth and Zak arrived home from dinner, we met them at the door with her gift! What a great way to end her birthday.

We spent the next couple of days hiking some pretty-intense-for-young-children trails, with spectacular views and perfect cool fall weather. The leaves fluorished in every color of the rainbow, and it made me long for my childhood years in upstate NY. On Wednesday we met Zak’s family at the airport and went out to lunch at Chili’s. Then the Vittetoes visited Saratoga Springs, where we walked around the beautiful Congress Park with all the flowers still in bloom and the horses painted! We then continued our journey to Elk Lake Lodge, the place of the wedding and where we’d be spending the next several nights. The door was locked (so we thought), so we took a hike on one of the resort’s 40 trails until Zak’s family arrived and informed us that there was an open door. We traipsed upstairs and settled into our miniature, two-twin-bed-room, pushing and shoving to make floor space for both the air mattress and the playpen. We then headed downstairs into the industrialized kitchen and started to cook a meal for fifteen–quite an adventure! We enjoyed our meal overlooking the lake in the gorgeous dining room with Zak’s family teary-eyed with joy.

On Thursday Elizabeth and I picked up her friend Rachael in Ticonderoga and our parents in Burlington, VT–adding state nine to this trip! The Church Street Mall is exactly like Pearl Street Mall in Boulder–so you don’t need to drive all the way to Burlington to see it!

Friday, Bruce, the kids and I returned to Ticonderoga to visit the famous fort and learn more about its significance during the Revolutionary War. The fort was neat, but expensive–$12 a person–and probably not the best idea for small children. When I was trying to explain to Isabella that all the cannons were for killing people, she looked up, bright-eyed and frightened, and said, “But I don’t want to get killed!”

On Friday evening, Zak’s parents treated 24 of us to a delicious dinner at the Wells House in Pottersville–45 minutes away, of course. Following the traditions of a Kentucky meal, we ate either smothered chicken or cranberry ham–both delicious. The night was topped off by Elizabeth and Zak opening some of their wedding gifts–including the quilt my mother had made when Elizabeth was just a baby–late into the evening.

Then, the Big Day! We of course had to start it off with another hike with Grandpa. Then the Dowlings arrived from their various New England locales, and the party began. We took pictures before the ceremony and wrapped our hand-sewn-by-Jeanie (Zak’s mom) capes around our shoulders for warmth, because it was pretty cold and windy. The minister did a great, personalized service, and then we all headed inside for the receiving line and cheese and wine. The lodge had been beautifully decorated the day before with handmade flower arrangements created by Jeanie and a friend of the Danks’s family, Daph, who also made the three-layer cake. After cocktails and cheese, we sat down to a delicious steak dinner, then began dancing to the bluegrass band and drinking the night away while the New England cohorts tuned into the only available media source–the Internet–for their beloved Red Sox game.

The next morning, after breakfast with the Dowlings at the Wells House, we headed back home. We arrived at 8:30 this morning (Wednesday). What a whirlwind of a wonderful trip!