The Martins' Grand Adventure II: Day 33, 34, 35, 36

A break in the action is upon us, almost. First we have a very long day in front of us (~9 hrs) as we leave Philadelphia and head to my niece's camp on Lake Champlain in St. Albans, VT.

The drive had its moments. Heading up the NJ Turnpike, near NYC, we needed to take 3 different roads to head to upstate NY vs. heading up 95 to New England. Well, we missed the first one and had to scramble. The miss added some additional time to an already long drive. Just beyond Glens Falls, NY we turned off and headed towards VT. Lake George is along the way and is just beautiful. After heading through Shelburne and Burlington we finally got to St. Albans. Cindy and Jeremy met us at the entrance to the road heading to their camp. The road has a couple of tight turns and one location where the power line hangs pretty low over the road. No problem with the turns but Jeremy had to use a long stick to hold up the power line while I drove underneath. Parked and rig and setup camp. They have a great location on the lake, looking East. We had power and water but no sewer connection so we needed to be careful in our use of the toilet, sink, etc. The power was only good for lights and such but not the AC, so sleeping was a bit uncomfortable given the heat and humidity. BUT, given the location and company, no one was complaining. The first couple of days it was bascially us but as the weekend approached more of their friends and neighbors arrived. The group dynamics were fun to watch. Everyone pitches in to do something (i.e. cook, clean, mow the lawn, watch kids & dogs, etc.). All of this happens without any direction either. It just happens. They definitely have their act together. Cindy and Jeremy have a great group of friends.

We pretty much just hung out the day we arrived (Wed). The boys and the dog were in the water almost instantly. Heck, they pretty much were in the water the entire time we were there! Thursday morning was more of the same. My friends Dale and Sally arrived from MA. Very nice of them to take the time to drive up and spend a couple of days with us. We hadn't seen them for a few years so it was great to get caught up. Jeremy cooked us a couple of great meals both Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I washed the truck and trailer Thursday morning. Let's just say, both needed it badly. Joey, one of Cindy and Jeremy's neighbors, took the boys and I out fishing Thursday night. Pretty fun. Initially, I didn't think I'd get my rod in the water since I was running back and forth between the boys either taking off a fish or putting on a new worm. Nothing to keep but the boys had a blast. They hadn't caught that many fish before so it was something new and different for them.

I had my truck serviced on Friday. I needed to have the oil changed and have them look at a couple of things under the hood. No issues and I got the truck back later that afternoon. Dale, Cathy and I rode our bikes to a small store on Friday to get ice. Nice little ride. The bags of ice were only 5lbs and I'm pretty sure given the heat and humidty they only weighed 2.5 lbs by the time we got back! Friday night was interesting. A severe thunderstorm came through in the late afternoon / early evening. The sky was purple just before it hit us. Funny watching all us batten down the hatches before the storm arrived. Pretty strong winds and heavy rain. Fortunately it didn't last too long but long enough to do some damage. A big tree came down across the road and separately, a big branch fell and hit Dale and Sally's car, which put a few dents and scratches on the top. Fortunately nothing too big hit the trailer or my truck.

My sister-in-law (Jean) arrived on Saturday. Nice to see her and get caught up with her as well. She was sporting a new ride (SUV). Took another ride on the pontoon boat across the bay to a marina on one of the islands. Fairly big swells when we crossed the bay as the winds were blowing pretty good.
The boys got out on a speed boat late in the day. The boat was pulling a big tube and all the other kids were heading out to have some fun. Both boys were reluctant at first. Connor rode in the boat for one of rides and then headed to the tube after watching everyone else. Greg then got in the boat but never made it to the tube. They both had a blast. Dale and Sally left Saturday morning. Looks like we might do a ski trip with them, maybe next winter. I hooked up the truck Saturday night and packed most things up as we need to leave early Sunday morning. We decided to stay an extra day in VT and make the long drive to Niagra Falls on Sunday vs. making a layover in Syracuse.

The time in VT was great. It was great to see my niece Cindy and her husband Jeremy. Great people. Their friends were fantastic as well. Faithy jumped off the dock and swam more times there than all the other times in her life combined. She'll be sleeping for days!

Here are a few pictures.

Faithy off the dock.