Robbed in the Adirondack’s

07/07/2024 – 07/17/2024

Don’t get too excited, we weren’t really robbed, well not of anything physical anyways. But I do feel we were robbed of our time in the Adirondack’s. As we made our way over to the little village of Ticonderoga we were treated to stunning views of the Adirondack Mountains and I couldn’t wait to get out there and explore.

Our camp was about 90 minutes away from the heart of the park and Lake Placid, which we would visit on Saturday. However, there were a lot of other places to explore close by. We planned to kayak on Lake George one afternoon when Bill finished work. Crown Point was close by on Lake Champlain with a really cool looking lighthouse. Fort Ticonderoga and the Star Trek Set Tour were less than 10 minutes away. Lots of exciting stuff to squeeze in this week.

But life had a different plan… I caught a little cold, which I then shared with Bill and he had an extremely busy week at work. Like 10-hour days. Oh, and it rained quite a bit. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time at the motorhome. And to add insult to injury, the campground we would be moving to in Vermont called and postponed our arrival due to flooding. Bonus, we get an extra 3 days in the Adirondack’s but one of us was ill…

So… What Did We Get to Do?

Lake George

Our camp was located just a few minutes from the shores of Lake George. Lake George sits at the southeastern end of the Adirondack Park. It is 32-miles long and drains into Lake Champlain. One evening after dinner we took a drive down the lakeshore. Now, I don’t know what you think of when you picture lakeside houses, resorts and villages up north but what we saw is exactly how I pictured it. Large homes with matching boat houses, small cottages, quaint resorts and little general stores selling ice cream dotting the shoreline. The perfect place to spend a summer vacation. We stopped at a little park and put our feet in the water and just a little further down the road found a little chapel that was built in 1884. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Star Trek Tour

Friday afternoon rolled around. I am over my cold, but now Bill is feeling like he is starting to get it. He’s all done with work for the week and still wants to get out and do a little exploring. I can’t remember exactly how I found the Star Trek tour but think it was on Trip Advisor. Anyway, when I was planning our trip this summer and looking at campgrounds and what was nearby, I saw this and knew right then and there, we would be staying in Ticonderoga so Bill could live out his dream and tour the Star Trek television series set.

Bill has been a Star Trek fan for as long as I’ve known him. I can remember him watching the show in college and me making fun of all the cheesy scenes… “Captain, we’ve been hit!” (everyone falls to the right, stumbles to the left) it was SOOOOO fake. LOL And the funny thing is, they know it! Despite his love of Star Trek, I still marry him and here we are today. 😊 I will admit, I do like Star Trek: The Next Generation and all the Star Trek movies, but that’s it.

Why Ticonderoga?

How did Star Trek come to Ticonderoga? James Cawley. Growing up in Ticonderoga, James was a HUGE “Star Trek” fan. When he was 17, he contacted the head costume designer for Star Trek, Bill Theiss, to see how he could make his own Captain Kirk costume. The two became good friends and James was eventually hired to work as an intern for the costume department for Star Trek: The Next Generation. After the first season, the two left the show and went their separate ways, but remained friends.

When Bill Theiss passed on, he left James a complete set of the blueprints for the original series and Next Generation. This was amazing! You see, when the series was cancelled in 1969, the original sets were destroyed. Only a few small items from the set remain today and they are all in private collections. James took these blueprints and recreated the complete set for Star Trek: The Original Series, to the T. The sets, fully licensed by CBS, were originally built at a car dealership in nearby Port Henry, but then moved to an abandoned Dollar General in Ticonderoga. He opened the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour to share his love of Star Trek with all the other Trekkies in the world.

Geeking Out!

Our $30 admission included a guided tour of the set, tons of Star Trek trivia, many many photo ops and me getting to see my husband “geek out” over his longtime favorite TV series. 😊 His smile was ear to ear for a good majority of the hour it took us to walk through the set. I should also mention, William Shatner was here this weekend for Captain Talks on the bridge and photo ops. Those tickets would have cost almost $150/person! We passed on Captain Kirk.

Boarding the USS Enterprise

As we are waiting to board the USS Enterprise, our entertaining guide explained to us how the doors worked on set. It was the 1960s, there were no automatic sliding doors yet. A pair of closet doors were mounted on rails and hooked up to a pull string like a set of curtains. It was a set assistant’s job to pull the string when the actor said “Doors” and with a swoosh the doors opened automatically. HAHAHAHA!

Our first stop was the Transporter Room. Almost everyone on our tour stood in front of the transporter, in awe. (Did I mention there were A LOT of Trekkies here?)

Next up was a walk around Sick Bay. Everything on this set is exactly as it was during the 60’s. Even the sheets on the bed and all the items on display.

After we left Sick Bay, we headed over to the Conference Room and Lab (I’m making these names up because neither one of us can remember their exact names.) While we were in the lab, the guide was talking a little about the props they used. Some of the “bottles” on the shelves were trombone mutes. A small computer was actually a clock radio.

But my favorite was the writing tablets you see everyone carrying around, especially in Sick Bay, it was one of those Magic Slates in a wooden box with some little gum-drop shaped lights. How funny is that??

Before going to Engineering, we made a quick stop at Captain Kirk’s Quarters. Then we boarded the lift for a quick ride up to the Bridge.

The Bridge

As the doors swooshed open all the Trekkies gasped. For real! Even Bill! We were now on THE bridge of THE USS Enterprise! This is where Captain Kirk made life and death decisions. Where the fate of human existence was in his hands. (Just kidding) But it was pretty cool. Bill sat in the captain’s chair and enjoyed the moment.

This was a pretty fun experience and it was cool to see Bill enjoy it so much. I even suggested we go back to the motorhome and watch an episode or two. It was pretty neat to see the show after just being on the sets.

The Batmobile

As we were getting ready to leave, the Batmobile pulled in. Everyone in the parking lot flocked over to see this incredible looking car. The owner has recreated the original Batmobile using a 1979 Lincoln Continental. It even had a bat phone!

Fort Ticonderoga

After the Star Trek tour, we grabbed a slice of pizza and then went to learn about historical Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Ticonderoga was built between 1755 and 1757 along the shores of Lake Champlain. It saw action during the French and Indian War and during the colonial conflicts between Great Britain and France. It also played a role during the Revolutionary War.

In 1775 the fort was occupied by the British. Under the command of Ethan Allen (didn’t he make furniture? No, the furniture company was just named after him) and Benedict Arnold, the Green Mountain Boys captured the fort. The cannons were then taken from the fort and transported to Boston to fight the British. The British regained control of the fort in 1777. The fort lost its military value after 1781 and when the US gained its independence from Great Britain, the fort fell into ruin and local residents took most of its usable materials.

The Fort

The fort was purchased by a private family in 1820 and by 1909 had been fully restored and opened to the public. This was the first restoration of its kind. There is so much to do here, you could easily spend a day exploring the fort and the surrounding grounds. There are guided tours throughout the day of Lake Champlain, the gardens, Mount Defiance and the fort museum. If you don’t make it on a tour, there are live demonstrations to watch as well. Throughout the year there are reenactments on the Carillon Battlefield and in the fall a corn maze to get lost in. Check out their website here to plan your own visit.

We walked around the fort and through the barracks and officer’s quarters. There were several exhibits with displays from the revolutionary period that included some uniforms and weapons. I thought the craftsmanship on these swords was remarkable. Then I came across this intact coat from the Revolutionary War period. This is thought to be from the late 1770’s or early 1780’s.

We listened to some soldiers talk about life in the barracks as they mended some shoes and listened to a fife and drum ensemble as they marched from the fort down to the Kings Garden. As I’m watching and listening, I’m thinking, how can they wear those wool uniforms? And not just them, the real soldiers back in the 1700’s. Weren’t they hot? I mean it’s the middle of summer and 90° out and these guys have long-sleeved wool coats over long-sleeved shirts that are buttoned up to their necks! I’m withering away here in my shorts and t-shirt.

The King’s Garden

The gardens provided food for the soldiers and officers at Fort Ticonderoga but when the fort was abandoned, so went the gardens. When the fort was purchased by William Pell, he rented the pavilion and the surrounding land to a series of tenants who in turn ran it as a hotel. The hotel and farm operated for the rest of the 19^th century then closed in the early 1900’s. At that time, the Pell’s made this their summer home and planted the private gardens we see today.

The gardens are beautifully maintained by the Fort Ticonderoga Association. After we walked through the vegetable and flower gardens, I wanted to go see what was on the other side of this very old brick wall. We peeked through the gate and were greeted by a more formal garden filled with zinnias, daylilies and several other flowers we didn’t know the names to.

Collecting Ideas for a Future Garden

I love walking through gardens and learning the names of plants and flowers. Bill and I both want to have a nice vegetable garden when we get back to a sticks and bricks and I want to have lots of pretty flowers too. Hopefully, Bill has that Lott gene that will make our garden a success.

His mom’s side of the family, The Lott’s, are notorious for having excellent green thumbs and being able to grow anything. I mean my mother in-law can throw a few tomato seeds into the yard and grow so many tomatoes she doesn’t know what to do with them all. It amazes me how she can pick a few seeds out of a dried-up flower, plant them and get gorgeous plants! Me…I can’t even grow a cactus. No joke. But maybe one day, with perseverance, consistent attention and a lot of luck, I can have a garden that will rival this one. 😉

Mount Defiance

Included with the Fort Ticonderoga admission ticket is entry to Mount Defiance. Mount Defiance is an 840’ hill overlooking Fort Ticonderoga. From the top of the “mountain” you have a birds eye view of Lake Champlain, the fort and Vermont’s Green Mountains. It is quite spectacular.

During the fort’s occupational years, artillery was used at this site to protect the fort, but since the hill was not considered to be accessible it was never fortified.

It was interesting to learn about Fort Ticonderoga and its role in our early history.

The Adirondacks and Lake Placid

Originally our plan was to get up early on Saturday morning and head out to the mountains and visit Lake Placid, however, Bill woke up and wasn’t feeling very good at all. Sniffly, sneezy and fatigued, he still wanted to go. Alright, if you’re sure… you be the passenger and I’ll do the driving today.

And it was a beautiful drive but there was no where to pull off the road. There were plenty of places where an overlook would have been nice but nope, no overlooks. Every once in a while, I had to remind myself that I was the one behind the wheel and therefore could not gawk like I normally do.

Lake Placid

In 1932 the Winter Olympics were hosted by Lake Placid. With 252 athletes competing from 17 nations, it was the first city in the US to host any of the Olympic games. They also hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics with 1,072 athletes from 37 nations competing. Out of curiosity, I googled how many athletes competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Any guesses? 2,871 athletes from 91 nations. I’d say participation has grown a little bit. Bill and I thought we would try our hand at ski jumping and hockey. What do you think?

Are you a fan of the Olympics? Will you be watching the 2024 Summer Olympics that kick of this Friday, the 26^th? I will.

Mt Van Hovenberg

Mt Van Hoevenberg was our first stop and where the bobsled, luge and skeleton events are held along with the Nordic and cross-country skiing events. There are a lot of activities to do here in the summertime too. Mountain biking is big here and if that isn’t your jam, you can ride on the cliffside coaster and pretend you are in a bobsled as you zoom down alongside the 1980 track. At $55 a ticket though, it is a bit spendy.

Olympic Jumping Complex

The next stop was the ski jump facility. We came around a corner and wow! Right before us were these two huge towers! Measuring 100 and 128M, these things are monstrous! We got out and stood at the base of the big jumps, I cannot imagine the cojones it takes to be a ski jumper. There are several smaller jumps that I guess you train on first before heading up to the big boys. LOL

Later in the week we watched Eddie the Eagle on MAX. I love inspirational sport stories. All the Rocky movies, Ice Castles, Field of Dreams, The Blind Side, Karate Kid, and on and on. Eddie the Eagle is a great movie about Michael David Edwards who wanted to be an Olympian from a very young age. After many attempts and failures, he finally realized his dream in 1988. If you haven’t seen it, it’s very good.

Olympic Center

Bill was getting a little tired but had enough energy left in him to see the ice arena. I mean you cannot come to Lake Placid and not see the ice where the men’s hockey team played hard and brought home the gold in 1980. I vaguely remember watching a little of the game on TV when I was 11 but loved seeing the movie Miracle when it came out in 2004. I’ll still watch it today if I come across it while scanning the channels.

Rinks

There are 4 ice rinks at the Olympic Center, the 1980 Herb Brooks arena, the 1932 Jack Shea Arena, The USA Rink and across the street the James C Sheffield Speed Skating Oval. We walked around the 1980 rink and imagined the excitement of that gold winning game.

Then we checked out the 1932 rink and were treated to a figure skater practicing her routine. Outside the rink were some pictures of the figure skaters that competed in the 1932 games. The outfits have changed just a little bit, don’t you think? 😉

And here is the James C Sheffield oval where speed skating events are held. If you look out in the distance you might be able to see the ski jump towers and of course the gorgeous Adirondack mountains.

Museum

Also located at the Olympic Center is the Lake Placid Olympic Museum. The museum houses the second-largest Winter Olympic artifact collection and it was our hope to see it. Bill, however, just wasn’t feeling it today. His energy level is dying quickly, so we begin making our way back to the motorhome.

A Scenic Drive

I do not like going back the same way I came, if you know what I mean. I always try to find a different way home so we can see new stuff along the way. Today was no different. Even though my sightseeing partner was d.u.n-done, I found a different way home via a drive to Whiteface Mountain. I saw on the map there was a road that took you to the top and I imagined the views would be phenomenal.

Well, I’ll never know. Wanna know why? We came to a toll booth and they wanted $40 to drive the 5-mile, 2,300’ elevation gain road to the top! No thank you, I’ve seen views from the tops of bigger mountains than this and I didn’t have to pay a toll to do so. Buh-bye! I turn us around and we make our way home where Bill is very much looking forward to a nap.

Wrap Up

Our time here this week has only wet our appetite for more. Bill and I talked about it and decided that upstate New York has moved up to the number one position on our list of places to revisit. Since our week in the Finger Lakes was short and our week in the Adirondacks was filled with a very busy work schedule and illness, we feel that we barely got to experience these two amazing regions in New York. We are, however, grateful for what we did get to do. We’ll be back. (said in my best Terminator voice 😉)

What’s Next

We’ll move northeast about 2 hours to our new home in Morrisville VT. Due to flooding from Beryl, yes Beryl, the hurricane that made landfall in Houston… our time in Vermont is cut short by 3 days. We are still going to try and squeeze as many sights as we can.