The Great Refrigerator Clean Out

So we leave Monday back to the city and we are trying to make it through without grocery shopping. I am not a freezer/defroster by nature but seem to have accumulated quite a bit. There were lots of plans dropped for impromptu fun which means meals were left uncooked. We have a few flank steak, shrimp, lamb and lots of chicken breasts so I will be doing quite a bit of defrosting during the next few days. Tonight, we had frozen shrimp. With it, I decided that I would make a heaping of pasta and Joe and I would have pesto shrimp pasta(a plethora of fresh basil in the garden, of course), and Clarke and Oscar would have shrimp pasta with a simple wine/garlic/butter sauce. Oscar declared everything not to his liking (harrumph) and he ended up with leftover bacon and bread. (I am not used to this persnickety eater thing and am trying not to make it a big deal but it is realllllly annoying. ) I wanted to add fresh tomatoes but unbelievably, my tomatoes are not ripe yet and I am saddened that I may be taking them back green to Manhattan. I am already researching cold climate gardening methods for next year...

Camping Trip - Day Four

Our last day. We all agreed we wanted more days but sadly reality called. We had a leisurely morning. Joe made bacon (bought at Donaldson's the night before), pancakes and we broke down the camp. We didn't hit the water until 11am and still had a fairly aggressive paddling day ahead BUT WITH NO CARRIES! Our plan was to make it through Follensby and have lunch at Donaldsons. Then head through Fish Creek Pond (also called Square Pond), take the Fish Creek through to Little Square Pond, continue on the creek and land in Floodwood Pond. Our car was parked about a mile from there, at the Long Pond parking lot. We didn't take lots of pictures, as our arms were pretty much paddling all day!

It was a windy day, so Clarke needed a break from the kayak after Follensby. I took over and had a great time. The weather was just beautiful. In fact, it was beautiful and perfect all three days, which is an Adirondack miracle. We had sandwiches at Donaldsons and finished our journey through the creeks. Once we got back into Floodwood, it felt like an old friend. No navigation or maps required. It's amazing how a pond that looks just like the other ponds, can feel so familiar and unique. The boys and Joe took a swim to cool off while I hiked the mile to our car. We ended the trip with Donnelly's ice cream and dinner at Casa Del Sol.
The trip was tremendous. Between the loons and the moon and the chance to relax with my favorite people in the world, it was really quite perfect. For those whole like the outdoors, canoe camping is the way to go, as you can be a bit more luxurious in your packing because you don't have to haul everything on your back (except for the carries of course) The entire St. Regis/Floodwood canoe area is the best of unspoiled, spectacular beauty. In most of the ponds, there are no motor boats allowed, no development or private houses, and very few people. Because this draws a certain type of enthusiast, the camp sites are left super clean, and well stocked with firewood. "if you carry it in, carry it out". There are no reservations, you just paddle up and see if there is a tent set up. The sites typically have a fire circle, a clearing for tent and/or eating, some have picnic tables, and some have been accessorized with hooks and nylon lines etc. We did hang our food high in th trees away from our site, and some use bear cannisters, as there is plentiful wildlife throughout. We saw three blue herons, dozens of loons, ducks, chipmunks, fish, but thankfully no bears. There is no accessibility to any of this land unless you paddle in. Can't wait for next year. Joe and I have our eye on a lighter, bigger canoe!
Now, we start organizing for our return to Manhattan. GULP.

Camping Trip - Day Three

"Up and At 'Em". We jumped up at sunrise, downed some great coffee, and got to work, breaking down camp. Our goal was to be on the water by 9am. Over the fire the night before, I had made muffins in tiny cake pans, wrapped and tented in tin foil. They were "eh" but I think would work with some tweaking. They fit the bill for the boys as they scoooped them out with spoons and had fresh oranges. We loaded up and shoved off...on time! This was going to be a challenging day, as we wanted to get all the way to Follensby Pond which meant paddling all of Long , Slang, Turtle, and Hoel. There were some carries, some long, some short, in there, which would be the hardest part.


Long Pond was a beautiful paddle - it is long and narrow and really quiet. The carry to Slang was short and we managed quite well. We each made two trips with Joe and I handling kayak and canoe. Clarke did a great job kayaking through Long, Slang, and Turtle. Slang to Turtle was happily accessed by a stream and before we knew it we were at the end of Turtle looking hopefully for a waterway to Hoel. No such luck, as there was one under the train tracks which was way too shallow. It was a funny thing because the ponds were about 100 feet apart, but between them was a steep hill up to a train track and then a steep hill down. Annoying but quick and relatively painless. Oscar took over on the kayak through Hoel Pond, while Clarke took a break. Our thought was to have lunch at the boat launch at Hoel before we made our big carry to Follensby.
I won’t lie to you, things got a little rocky here. While we had lunch, Joe took the gigantico backpack and decided to scout out the carry. He came back gamely trying to keep us having fun with some "good news and bad news". The good news was that the trail was really lovely and the bad news was two-fold. The carry was longer than anticipated and we couldn't find the Follensby trail so we'd have to portage to Polliwog Pond and then do another very short portage to Follensby. The boy shrugged, picked up some stuff and were off down the trail. I, on the other hand, may have shown slightly more emotion....ahem. The carry was about a mile and all I could think of was carrying first a canoe, then a kayak, then our dry bags each a mile, after paddling all morning. Gulp. During our first trip across, Oscar cheerfully told me I shouldn't think of it as a carry but more like a little hike. Adorable and wise words. Joe shouldered the canoe solo for most of the trail, we managed the heaviest stuff, and for our last trip, I put Oscar's socks on my hands and we carried the kayak through. Joe was patient as I made many many rest stops. The boys were really amazing grabbing camping chairs, gear etc. While Joe and I made the last trip with the kayak, the boys swam at a beautiful beach at Polliwog. We then made the short Polliwog paddle, found the carry and before we knew it, we were in Follensby Pond, looking for our next camp site. Follensby was a beautiful pond with lots of islands and great, beachy camp sites. Our camp site was huge with pine trees everywhere and lots of clearing. We set up in the late afternoon and Joe had a great suggestion to canoe another 45 minutes to a real store, to buy treats, meat for dinner and some cold beer. With those incentives, we treked to Donaldsons in great spirits ( right under the Route 30 bridge before entering Fish Creek Pond-also called Square Pond) and then ended the day with a sunset swim back at our site in pristine, beautiful water. It was totally rejuvenating. For dinner, we cooked potatoes seeped in olive oil, fresh basil, lemon juice. I couldn't figure out the formula to cook them without burning on the fire and the results were not great. We also roasted corn on the cob over the fire, which was fabulous and we split steak and italian sausage on rolls. The boys fell asleep in about 30 seconds and Joe and I hung by the fire, listened to the loons, and watched another great moon.

Camping Trip - Day Two

One of the best things about setting up camp at nightfall is waking up and discovering the site in the morning. No matter how exhausted I am, I always wake up around sunrise because I am so excited to see what is around me. When we fell asleep Sunday night, the caucophony of animal sounds was almost comical. The loons taking off from the water sounded like hordes of splashing teenagers, the loon calls went on for hours, and there were lots of unidentified howls and chirps and rustles. When I woke up, it was almost silent, except for the bird calls, and the mist was still on the pond.

Today was just about relaxing at camp with no plans so I took a quick early morning trip around in the kayak (ironically, I stumbled upon a waterfall. I swear it wasn't planned). After a breakfast of oatmeal and stewed apples with cinnamon, lemon juice and sugar ( a winner), the boys and I headed out for a bit more exploring while Joe had some down time. We headed into the swamps and found a small pond called Pink. We deemed it not up to snuff and headed back. We then had our lunch (cured meats, french bread, cheese, peanut butter, chocolate etc.) and the afternoon was for swimming, napping, reading. Heaven. A tribute to Oscar's conversational prowess is that Joe found him happily chatting with me in the tent, while I was dead asleep.
The chipmunks became our nemeses and they literally stole a serrated knife from the site. It was quite a scene seeing Joe chase down the cute furry creature with a huge knife in his mouth. Oscar was aiding the effort and threatened "i'll make a sandwich outta you, chipmunk". I'll call the therapist when we return. For dinner, we had spanish rice with grilled quesadillas and homemade salsa ( a winner). The boys had their special root beer treat and marshmallows, and Joe and I had a great pinot noir and some dark chocolate. At nightfall, we were treated to an amazing site, a beautiful full moon. I mean, we couldn't have planned it better! I wasted hordes of digital camera space trying to capture the beauty but Joe wisely suggested it was of no use. I'd have to try to remember. It was huge and literally lit up our camp site with no artifical light needed. We all went to bed early, as the next day was going to be our big paddle day.

Camping Trip - Day One

Sunday afternoon, the plan was a quick dinner in Saranac Lake, get to Long Pond launch in the early evening and canoe to a camp site before nightfall. Of course, we were running a bit later than planned and when we put in, the sun was already lower then the trees. We knew the camp sites we were aiming for and then passed one, two, three sites that were full, the sun was officially set, and we were just starting to stress it, when bingo, we found a great site. Joe lit the propane lantern, we quickly set up, and then relaxed for a bit before heading to our tent ( you'll notice the singular here. We opted for one large tent for the family.)

Per Joe's planning, here is the route we are going to tackle. It centers around the Saint Regis Canoe area. Joe has pretty much canoed every pond around here and it seemed every camp site we passed he had camped at one time or another so we were in good hands.

A Frenzy of Activity

I will post some pics and updates from our weekend with Joe's dad later but we are in the midst of chaos over here getting ready to shove off on our 3 day canoe trip tonight. I am heading to trusty Price Chopper to try to find last minute camp friendly food for our finicky Oscar. He doesn't suffer casseroles, soups, noodly or rice concoctions or cheese...and he doesn't like peanut butter, which pretty much rules out the entire genre of camp food. We've decided the cooler can't fit which rules out proteins or anything needing refrigeration. Meanwhile, Clarke is asking if we can figure out how to make red Thai curry noodles, so this is like some kind of Top Chef Challenge.

Joe is heading into his Eagle Scout treasure trove finding useful camp tools and trinkets and Clarke was thrilled to see Joe's actual Boy Scout issued swiss army knife with "Joey" written in nail polish. The boys are making the claim that if Joe and I get red wine (which is not exactly canoe friendly), they get root beer. hmmmm. Deal with the devil.

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner

We were lucky enough to meet up with some good friends from the city who have an annual vacation at Brant Lake in the lower Adirondacks through the University of Michigan Alumni Association. They go to "family camp" at a tony girls camp call Point O Pines (one of those Manhattan kid places that scare the pants off me.)

Anyway, they have 2 boys exactly the same ages as Clarke and Oscar and the boys were just thrilled to see their good buddies. First they came up to the barn, we waterfalled, hung around the barn, and then...we Tailed (I refuse to type out the name of that restaurant again!). Then their boys slept over, and the next morning, I drove everyone back down to Brant Lake for some camp fun. What a great day. Oscar and Clarke played bocci ball, took a tennis lesson, watched a euchre tournament, played some hoops and went to the horse farm to meet the horses. I got some tennis in with Robert, who kicked me around the court. Janet and I hung by the lakefront with our books...but never cracked them open as we chatted the afternoon away. The boys are begging to go back next year already. It's not something Joe and I would naturally plan but it sure was relaxing and fun.

Back home exhausted, I am fighting a bad cold and expect to lay low today. Tomorrow Joe's dad comes and Joe returns from the city for a fun weekend.

Late Afternoon Sunday

After our work day, we decided we had time for 9 holes of golf. Joe has been dying to get all of us out together. We went to the Saranac Lake Golf Club and 4 of us golfed with 2 carts for less than it would cost 4 of us to have lunch in Manhattan. And, we just walked on. The clubhouse is super low key and the golfers were wearing tevas, work boots, jeans, fleece; and there were more pick-ups than BMW's in the lot. And that is why we love Adirondacks golf- just the love of the game without pretension. Not to mention the stellar scenery -it was a beautiful afternoon, sunny and cool with the backdrop of the mountains. I played the best golf I have ever played (of the dozen times in my life), Joe had his worst round "ever" ( I intimidated with my skills, clearly)and the boys amazed us with the skills they learned at Sunday golf this year. Oscar had a birdie on the last hole. On our way home we had to pass Tail O the Pup and heard our favorites, Blues Noir, so we decided to have an outdoor dinner and some blues to end a great day. They played our favorite "Big Fat Momma" ("Big fat momma. She's as wide as she is high. When I make myself a chicken...I'm lucky if I get a thigh") and the waitresses came up on stage to sing backup! That's a first for us. BTW, Joe and Oscar can now unequivocally recommend the Big Kahuna burger (bacon, red onions cheese, BBQ sauce, tomato, lettuce).

Work, Plebians!

Barn Quote of the Day (Oscar): "It feels good to hold a hammer. Like I have all the power"


After a hearty Blue Moon Cafe breakfast, Team Williams is tackling the next round of carpet squares. If I haven't mentioned, the entire house (some walls included) is paved in carpet squares, which at some point was probably hip, practical, cheap, and warm. Not now. Tomorrow, we are having new, cheap, clean carpeting put in the bathroom and guest room which means squares come up today! And yes, at some point, we'd love to refinish those lovely wood floors.

Recipes

From the pig roast. Here you go, folks. In case I haven't been crystal clear, if I post a baking recipe, you can pretty much assume monkeys could have made it successfully. I am no baker but I sure am having fun trying this summer. Pix of both dishes are below in slide show.

Peach Blackberry Tart
Make oatmeal-cookie crumbs by blending cookies in a processor until finely ground.

Crust
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups oatmeal-cookie crumbs (made from about 32 crispy oatmeal cookies)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
2/3 cup peach or apricot nectar
5 tablespoons sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
2 2/3 cups coarsely chopped peeled peaches
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups large blackberries

For crust: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 10-inch-diameter fluted tart pan with removable bottom with nonstick spray. Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter in medium bowl until moist clumps form. Press dough evenly over bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake until dry, about 10 minutes. Cool crust completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with foil. Let stand at room temperature.)

For filling: Whisk nectar, sugar, and cornstarch in heavy medium saucepan until smooth. Add half of peaches and lemon juice. Using potato masher, mash to coarse puree. Simmer over medium heat until mixture is thick, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Fold in remaining peaches. Spread filling evenly in crust. Arrange blackberries around top edge of tart. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 6 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Bridget Notes: I pushed extra peach parts through sieve to get juice for nectar, as the peaches were really juicy. For crust, I added extra butter as the crumbs didn't seem to be staying together. In tasting, the crust was a bit too buttery (Not by joe's standards) so I'd go back to regular. I omitted 2 TBL of sugar in filling as I don't like tarts that sweet and the peaches were already very sweet. I added vanilla to filling. I used wild berries which were tiny so I just polka dotted the top. I added some fresh whipped cream. Shockingly I didn't have time for proper chilling so I threw in freezer for an hour and it worked like a charm. I didn't have tart pan so I used regular spring form

Pecan Bars (Cook's Illustrated)
Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup, packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup toasted, chopped pecans
6 TBL unsalted, cold, butter, cut into small pieces

Filling
4 TBL unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBL Bourbon
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cups pecans, toasted and chopped coarse

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray 9 inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Fold two 16 inch pieces of parchment paper and lay in pan perpendicular to each other. Spray them and push into corners.
2. Place flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and pecans in food processor. Process until it resembles course cornmeal. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles sand. Pat mixture evenly into prepared pan and bake until the crust is light brown and springs back when touched (about 20 minutes)
3. For filling: While crust bakes, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, and salt in a medium bowl until just combined. Add egg and whisk until incorporated
4. Pour filling on top of hot crust and spring the rest of the pecans over the top. Bake until the top is browned and cracks start to form across the surface 22 to 25 minutes. Coon on wire rack, remove from pan and cut into square

Bridget's Notes: I added fresh rasberries to the top of the filling before I baked and in my opinion, they made the dish great. A bit of tart with the uber-sweet and looked pretty. i also goofed and used dark corn syrup -didn't notice big problem. We didn't have bourbon ( sorry Barb and Jason, we left in the city!) so I used Jack Daniels. I used 2 TBL as I like the boozy taste -per CI instructions :-). I didn't have square 9 inch pan so I used my 13 x 9 pyrex. was worried but all was well. We don't have food processor here (but we will after this recipe) so I used the blender on crust. Not so fun. Not recommended.

Joanne had some great recipes, including a BBQ sauce that the men in my life can't stop talking about so I will try to post those later.

Live Hot Pig Roast Action

Great times were had by all today at Joanne and Dave's pig roast. The pix were shot by Oscar which means they are mostly focused on animals and food. And really, that was a great portion of our day. We had a blast - not knowing another soul except the hosts. Great people, great food and great fun. On another day, we will post about the great compound that Dave and Joanne have built. We have outbuilding envy. And...Happy Birthday Dave MacDowell!!

The Favorites

Wednesday night we went out to dinner at one of our favorite places in Saranac Lake, Casa Del Sol. (our other favorite is Eat 'N Meet which deserves its own story). We've been coming here for a decade (joe longer). It's one of the places that feels like home. The owners, Harry and Diane (yikes, I think it's Diane) are always there and seem to know everyone. The food is always good, with mixes of ambitious stuff and standards. Don't expect fancy new ideas or lots of changing menu items but it's always solid. The margaritas are stellar and the prices are great and the service is always lovely. I sometimes have the baked tortilla soup which is a twist on french onion soup. I also like chipotle shrimp, which is really simple, just shrimp in chipotle sauce with fresh tortillas. Joe always has chimichangas, and Clarke is all over the menu (which is quite extensive), depending on how STARVING he is. They accommodate Oscar's finicky tastes too. The decor is just great with open windows and great art. There is a patio with picnic tables for waiting and drinking margaritas (sometimes the wait can be extensive). The owners are Mexico enthusiasts, have travelled there often, and have brought back flavors and art...and the laid back attitude. It is one of those places where we go when we are all in a great mood. I'm kind of smiling just thinking about it, as we've had so many memories there over the years. (after we hiked Cascade and Porter, we showed up freezing, wet, dirty, starving and dehydrated. We chugged gallons of water and then gallons of margaritas and the boys had appetizers, entrees and then a few side dishes. Is it hyperbole to say that Casa saved our lives?!)

New Heights of Kitty Hunting

So we came upon Roxy today in her self-satisfied lounge position, which means she has been on the prowl. We started to look around for mice when we noticed she was laying right next to a snake! He got away but not without sustaining some damages.

Folie a Quatre- We found Split Rock Falls

So we picked Joe up from the train station and then broke the news that with just a slight detour we could find the fabled Split Rock Falls to which we had been searching. Joe was of course, up for it ( even though he was wearing black socks and khakis- city slicker!) , and we made our way to Route 9, toward 87, through New Russia. Our previous foibles were related to following intersection of 73 and 9N, not 73 and 9. We heard the rush of waters from the road and found them easily...and they were worth the wait!
It was not the warmest day and the water was f f f freezing but the swimming was incredible. I liked the multiple levels of swimming holes with each successive fall. The site hosted some tragedy through the years and was the only place we visited with a chain link fence. Just as we were leaving, a guy did a double summersault flip off the top of the falls into a narrow hole. It literally took my breath away. I am torn between the love of the local know-how and past-time to the realization that if he was off a few feet from his quest, we would have witnessed another tragedy. Nevertheless, for us city chickens,was a thrill just to splash around at the base of the falls and enjoy the pristine beauty.

Perhaps I have a disorder

After we finished the pump house, we were looking for a small adventure...and again we decided to go on a waterfall hunt. Yes, I have an obsessive, compulsive disorder regarding waterfalls and the saddest part is I have sucked the poor innocent children into my disorder. It's Folie A Trois. Armed with our trusty book, we decided to check out the falls of Wilmington, just NE (I think) of Lake Placid. First we stopped at Monument Falls, right at roadside 4.3 miles from 73/86 intersection on 86. These were nice, small, lovely for a few hours of wading. Sadly, we are becoming waterfalls snobs and moved on. We went further on 86 ( about .9 miles after High Falls Gorge) to the Wilmington Notch falls. Holy Cow. Scary. So Scary. No fences, warnings or anything and you are on cliffs looking down on a raging, huge, rocky waterfall. Really awesome. The most amazing we have seen. I kept screeching at the boys to stop throwing sticks and I kept hugging the nearby trees. The setting is weird. It is a public campsite, run by the state. You pay $1 and then basically head down this gulge- no real path. You just follow the sound of soul shaking crashing water. After that, we headed about 1.1 miles further on 86 to the Wilmington Flumes. You park in a designated area, just over a bridge on the left, cross over to the south side of the bridge and head down a path which takes you next to multiple falls and cascades. We continued further and landed at the Grand Central Station of swimming holes. About 30 people, swimming in an olympic sized swimming hole, at the base of a falls - very very deep. Of course, there was the requisite cliff and rock jumping which Oscar immediately jumped on (and Clarke joined later.) People were swimming under the falls and riding the current. Water was crystal clear and freezing cold. What a fantastic scene. We met folks from Montreal, Toronto, Virginia, Colorado...and Long Island of all godforsaken places. I practiced some french with the little Montreal kids who had the words for rabbit and frog mixed up. The thought of a large, green "rabbit", trapped under the rocks was almost too much for me to bear. Great day. We ended at tail o' the pup because we were too dirty and ugly for anyone else.

Side note, we have yet to pay for the commercial attraction of High Falls Gorge, though we have heard it is worth it. We thought perhaps when Joe's dad comes it would be nice, as it's not quite as rugged as the other hikes.

Little Pump House on the Prairie

The boys earned their keep this morning staining our pump house and our picnic table.

Why The Children are Well Behaved This Summer

So I've always believed that you have to run boys like dogs but today was a fascinating science experiment. We did NOTHING - almost nothing. We ran to the library, ran an errand at the printers, and then came home and lounged. The boys played video games, watched YouTube, played guitar, did some light reading, homework etc. We had a lazy dinner, I didn't make them help with dishes...and then we attempted to play Yahtzee. I never realized Yahtzee was a full contact sport. The boys were in perpetual motion during the game. They twirled the dice cup, rolled dice from their ears, did the "Yahtzee dance" and wrestled over the score. They dropped things all over the floor and ran around the table. They threw cookies at each other and made bizarre loud noises. Clarke screamed "Smack Daddy" whenever he rolled a good turn. In my finest parenting hour, i just yelled "STOP....MOVING" They are now in bed and sound like they have hours of energy left. Suffice to say, tomorrow we return to the rigors of mountain living. I have them slated to stain our Pimped Out Pump House, followed by an afternoon hike. I hope they are limping to their bedrooms with exhaustion tomorrow night.

Tip a Canoe

Quick note: Before Joe left today, we grabbed lunch at a restaurant in Keene, called Tip a Canoe. I think it's been recently re-opened. What a great place. Nothing fancy but everything was well thought out and prepared. Really nice service and good prices. I told Joe I had to remember to blog this because they seem like they are trying hard and it's not easy for new restaurants to make it around here. It's right on route 73.

Wild Turkey Crossing

Three cars were stopped on McKenzie Pond Road today waiting for a wild turkey family to finish their evening stroll. We tried to grab a pic after they headed back toward woods. For the record, turkey babies are equally as ugly as their parents.

Another Swimmming Hole

On the way back from Westport, in Elizabethtown, we pulled into a parking area on the side of the road because we saw the telltale "towels drying on the rocks" and have been in search of more waterfalls and swimming holes. After figuring out these were not Split Rock Falls ( after asking more folks, I now think I can find them), we don't know what to call these but it was really fun.



The locals there seemed like reasonable and smart people and assured me that the hole was plenty deep so the boys should try to jump. For the record, Oscar would like it stated that he was first and quite brave. Even Clarke would agree. After great jumping fun, we hiked around a bit and found that there is quite a large waterfall further down the river. We are going to hike to bottom and explore that on a different day. Here are my directions as best I can remember.

It is on 9N in Elizabethtown. Coming from Keene, about 9 miles from the intersection of 73 and 9N on the left side of road. After you see "welcome to Elizabethtown" wood sign drive about .2 ;miles you'll see parking area on left side of road)

Westport

First a rant: I hate Amtrak. After my brother bade farewell, it was Joe's turn to head out and we drove him 45 minutes to the Wesport train station for his trip back to the city. He then waited 3 more hours for his train to actually show up. This would be annoying if it happened once in awhile but it is virtually guaranteed that the train will be at least 1 hour late. Why can't they get it right? I am sure there are many forces at work here but how I wish train travel in the US was efficient and civilized. Nevertheless, check out the cute Westport train station...and there is a theatre company inside to boot. "How to Succeed in Business (Without Really Trying)" is playing now. The boys and I ventured briefly into Westport to check out the scene. Last year we looked at a few houses there while searching for real estate. It really is lovely, right on Lake Champlain. Great architecture and feel, but I just don't connect with it - feels too civilized and not mountain rugged. More sailboat than canoe. Gov. Pataki had a house here I heard and that about says it all for me.

Playing Tourists

So even before we read the New York Times yesterday, we had planned to go to the summit of Whiteface, then troll around Lake Placid for a bit. BTW, we are none too pleased to read the plethora of recent Adirondack travel stories in the paper of record. Shhhhhhh. Everyone just keep going to the Hamptons and we'll be just fine. No need to travel up to these parts.

Anyway, we took 2 different scenic routes to the top of Whiteface: by car and by gondola. You'll notice I didn't say "hike", as my brother has 2 smaller kids so we still haven't conquered this one as a 46er yet. The girls (Leslie, Eleanor and me) drove to the summit while the boys (Joe, Michael, Oscar, Clarke and Brendan) took the gondola. The girls' adventure was short and sweet as our adorable Eleanor had just woken from a nap and wasn't dressed properly for summit weather. Still the views were wonderful. Then we headed to Lake Placid for lunch at The Cottage. We chose this as Joe and I had drinks there previous and loved the setting. The food was "eh", the menu was boring, the service was "eh"...but the view was great so next time we'll stick to drinks! We then strolled town and popped into the Ice Rink (Miracle on Ice baby). The kids must have drank their adorable juice that morning because before we knew it the guy at the door had let us all into the Junior Hockey Championships with USA vs. Sweden - great fun. The highlight was the small crowd of hockey buffs bowing to the Zamboni as it zipped by.

Island adventures

So what to do with an 18 month old in the wilderness. We had a lovely day yesterday with the Mitchell family. The goal was to take a brief 15 minute paddle so Eleanor could handle and then find a base camp spot on an island for the day so our Eleanor could have a place to romp and rest while we got some canoeing in. The plan worked like a charm. We had snacks and lunch at base camp, and the big boys swam and explored and canoed around the lakes.

Effects of Wine on Adults

Ok, so the barn has a trapeze. Like I said, the man who built was a free spirit and we haven't brought ourselves to take it down....because of nights like last night. Watch and learn my friends. Observe the mother of my nephew and niece...an upstanding citizen.

No way to start a day

So we popped up this morning to ready for our next set of visitors, my brother and his family when Joe and I heard thump, ta-thump, da THUMP THUMP, followed by a loud scream. Poor Oscar has tripped on a blanket he was carrying and crashed down his stairs (really more like a ladder). After assessing the damage, he was quite lucky with just a big shiner to show for it. Here's Rocky Balboa, giving his new tough guy stare down.

Mission accomplished

At the beginning of the summer, Clarke and I decided we wanted to bike to Donnelly's one day. It is a challenging 10 mile round trip ride through some serious hills. Today, we accomplished our mission. He tackled each hill, even though he stated at the top of every one "i think i'm going to puke. No, mom, stop laughing, i mean it". The mission was made all the more sweet when Clarke realized he hadn't eaten breakfast so technically...he was having ice cream for breakfast. The breakfast of champions. Here's our future ironman with the flavor of the day, Black Rasberry.

Oscar's Apple Baseball

Live music with ribs -the way it should be

We ended our weekend at Tail O the Pup with the only band that should ever play there, called Blues Noir. We have been quite disappointed this summer with the live music (2 jokers with a drum machine, bad melodies, and fake reggae), but these guys have been our perennial Tail o the Pup favorite and we finally figured out what days they play. Some of the lyrics are decidedly not PG and you can imagine that maybe one (or two) of the guys did some time in the slammer. Now that's some good blues.

Tough Mountain Chics

So Sunday morning, we sent the men folk off for golf at Saranac Inn and Ann and I decided to go canoeing...with Harlan. Do I even need to continue? We started out great, Harlan was a bit nervous. The echo quality is so good that he was convinced he was surrounded by a pack of coonhounds who kept repeating what he barked. About midway, something made him very jumpy and next thing we knew we were all in the water and the canoe was completely capsized. Harlan was a little shocked and swam back to the capsized boat to get back in but Ann coaxed him to shore (luckily we were not in the middle of the pond at the time). I then gathered our paddles and dry bag in the water, we regrouped at shore, and emptied the canoe. Needless to say, the ride back was a little less leisurely and Ann held tight to Harlan. It was 5 minutes of chaos, and a day of giggling at our adventure.

Weekend Recap - Recipes

Saturday breakfast:

• egg strata (recipe courtesy of Whole Foods). I substituted artichoke for asparagus, used wild mushroom mix instead of portabello, added ham, and fresh rosemary and didn't use garlic.


• ginger muffins (recipe courtesy of FoodTV.com)


• fresh tangerine juice


• melon

Afternoon snacks: Our guests brought treats from Fairway, including great cheese, olives, hummus.

Saturday Dinner:

• Skirt steak, marinated in garlic, lime, soy sauce, a dollop of maple syrup and dash of cayenne pepper. (ok, we also grilled ny strip and thank god we did because Clarke aka skinny hendrix decided to eat his weight in beef that night)


• Fingerling potatoes with white balsamic, olive oil dressing and fresh cilantro


• Heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella on a bed of chicory


• Corn on the cob with jalapeno, lime butter (from epicurious)

Sunday breakfast:

• Pancakes with fresh, wild berries


• Bacon

Weekend Recap

So much to cover! I'm going to break this up into a few posts to capture the Best Of. Our guests arrived Friday night and Saturday morning we started the day with our adorable dog guest Harlan checking out the place and having a morning conversation with the neighbor rooster. The kitties showed some initial bravado but quickly learned that coonhounds aren't messing around in their love of the hunt. We didn't see Rex or Roxy for the rest of the weekend, except to glare at us from upper rafters. We then narrowed our choices for days activities and decided to try another waterfall hike, Deer Brook Falls. This one was 2 miles south of Keene Valley. Heading from Saranac Lake, park on the northwest side of the East Branch of Ausable River Bridge and start at the trailhead of Snow Mountain. Follow the path along the brook all the way up. (if you want more specifics, email me. Lovely setting, beautiful day, Harlan had a blast. The falls were not dramatic like our earlier hikes to see Beaver Creek and Rainbow Falls but about 80 foot up and still worth the short hike of about 1 mile. We met a really mean family with a cranky mom. She yelled at Harlan and yelled at us and her husband cowered in the corner. We then amused ourselves on the way down with the rhetorts we could have said if we were more clever. Geez, I could stay in Manhattan for that treatment.

We then tried in vain to find Split Rocks Falls in Elizabethtown, which are supposed to be almost roadside but to no avail. We consoled ourselves by planning an alternate late afternoon activity consisting of camp chairs by a fire, cold beer, and treats from Fairway.

Garden

So this year I planted a very modest garden, as I wasn't sure what the climate would accommodate or if my years in the city had made me incapable of keeping plants alive. Nevertheless, my little square is in its heyday and I checked this morning to see dozens of green tomatoes, a pumpin plant that looks like it could take over the yard, basil, cilantro, rosemary, enough lettuce for a few salads. Very exciting -I've already found a 10 x 30 plot for next year in which I'll do some real damage. On the other hand, my flowers stink. The deer ate my hydrangea to stubs, my peonies failed, and my astillbe, echinacea, lavendar etc. are anemic. Here are a few pics of garden and nightfall at barn (trying out the new camera!)

Canoe Trip

We are starting the planning for our 3 day canoe trip next week in the St. Regis Canoe Area, a chain of pristine lakes with no development or motor boats and very few people. Here is our packing spreadsheet work in progress. I am noodling with the menu so we won't be carrying everything listed there. We have amazing memories from our trip a few years back where we had a site on our own island in the middle of a lake with our own beach. Under our tents were a foot deep bed of soft pine needles which both smelled terrific and provided a most comfortable mattress. Canoe camping is my preferred vehicle as you can be way off the beaten path but don't have to carry everything in. We also love the small creeks and inlets between the lakes where you can almost imagine you are touring the Amazon circa 1910.

daddy's coming home today