Happy Birthday, Gene

Monday is Gene’s birthday. Since we are going to be traveling on Monday, we decided to celebrate on Sunday. He thinks he’s old. In the scheme of things, he’s really not, just a mere 58. He is only 3 months older than I am, and I don’t think I’m old at all. He has had a pretty good day, I think, and he won’t really be old until tomorrow.

Mirror Lake in Lake Placid

As is the case whenever we are moving to a new location, especially when we have been sitting for a month, there are several chores to do to prepare for moving. He started his special day by checking air pressure in tires and dumping waste water holding tanks. Next we went for our morning walk. Instead of walking around the campground, we walked about Wilmington for one last look around. By the time we got to our walk, the mountains were already shrouded in haze. Not a good morning for photos. I had promised to treat him to his mid morning coffee at Starbucks in Lake Placid. However, we had dilly dallied too much and were not ready to go to Lake Placid until after lunch. So instead of coffee, he got ice cream. As treats go, he’d rather have ice cream anyway.

Mirror Lake with Whiteface Mountain in the background

We spent a little time in Lake Placid. There was a table runner I had my eye on, but finally decided I could live without it. Gene wanted to look in the antique store. That was kinda fun. We saw several things which reminded us of our childhood. I guess that is pretty appropriate to give you a real perspective on your birthday to see stuff you used as a child with a big price tag in an antique store.

For a special birthday dinner I fixed him some heart healthy salmon and a not so heart healthy chocolate cake. The cake decorating is not what you would call “professional”—I call it a “hand made, I did this just for you” type of decorating.

The perfect finish for this special day was the 3rd episode of Lord of the Rings on TNT. Happy birthday, Gene.

Mt Van Hoevenberg

Mt Van Hoevenberg

We ventured up another mountain today. This one was a little shorter than the last one we tried to climb. The trail was a little shorter, also—only 2.2 miles one way.

A large beaver pond

There are many trails to choose from within a short distance of our campground. We chose this trail to the top of Mt. Van Hoevenberg in honor of the man who started it all. Henry Van Hoevenberg was a lover of the great outdoors and he dedicated his life to helping provide opportunities for others to enjoy nature in this area. He was the first to map out a trail to the summit of Mt. Marcy in the 1880s. That trail which bears his name is the one we hiked on our trek to the top and it is the most popular route to Marcy’s summit because it is the shortest. Van Hoevenberg was also the builder of the original Adirondack Lodge (now spelt Loj) which was destroyed by a forest fire in 1903. He also founded the Adirondack Camp and Trail Club in 1910 to provide hiking opportunities to the early visitors coming to the Lake Placid area. Although the practice of marked trails with shelters coursing through the wilderness was not the brainstorm of Van Hoevenberg, he is credited with getting it started in this area.

Gene did a little work while we were there

So today, in his honor, we climbed the mountain that bears his name. Except for the really wet stretch around the beaver pond, the trail was mostly dry and in good condition. It was a very enjoyable hike to the summit and a rock ledge provided a great lunch spot.

View from our lunch rock

Lake Placid, The Lake

Lake Placid as seen from Whiteface Mountain

Lake Placid, the town, is named of course, for Lake Placid, the lake. The lake is roughly a figure 8 shape. You can see that in the picture taken from Whiteface Mountain.

A secluded picnic spot

Judi at Whiteface Landing

There is a foot trail which begins at highway 86 and comes in at what I would call the back of the lake before the trail makes a sharp right turn to ascend to the summit of Whiteface Mountain. One day last week we hiked this easy 3 miles to the lake at Whiteface Landing. The trail is the remnants of an old road cut to salvage the timber felled by the 1950 hurricane. This is a popular stretch of trail due to its easy terrain and relatively short distance to a fantastic swimming spot with a great picnic area and a dock for catching a few rays or a few fish. Although a popular trail, we went early on an overcast day and had the place to ourselves. Sweet!!!!

Fun in the sun?

Main Street, Lake Placid

Made famous by the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games, this small community draws the sports enthusiast year round. And rightly so with such events as Ironman USA, Ice Dance Championships, and a Sports Film Festival. There are horse shows, marathons, bike races, and a BBQ Festival. I certainly don’t want to fail to mention the shopping opportunities. There seems to be something for everyone. It was here in 1980 that the US Hockey team beat the Soviets. I was in a Mexican restaurant in Detroit when that event happened. The whole place went up in a roaring cheer.

Today we drove the 10 miles from our campsite to Lake Placid. We needed a few things from the grocery. The Little Supper Market around the corner from us is truly little and we needed more then it had to offer. So here we are for the first time in Lake Placid. Our impression is that it is a very up scale tourist village. Main Street is for shopping and the shops offer antiques, high quality arts and crafts, fine art galleries, coffee shops, delis, outdoor dining, and sporting goods.

Outlet Mall with an Alpine feel

Plenty of outdoor eateries

About midway along Main Street we came to a small park and the band shell. Overlooking Mirror Lake it was a great place to sit, relax, and enjoy the view—just soak all the goodness up.

Mirror Lake

We were in a bit of a hurry this afternoon, so didn’t spend much time. Here are a few shots of Main Street and Mirror Lake. We’ll be back to investigate further.

Starbucks, of course