Days 9 & 10: Plattsburgh

Days 9 & 10:  Driving to Plattsburgh and Staying in Plattsburgh 

Plattsburgh was picked as a destination for no reason other than the fact that it was the closest Avis drop-off to the Canadian border.  So, Shawn looked around at things to do and see near the area and found this place.  I did a Google search for "Lake Champlain sea glass" and found that although this is not the "sea"...they do indeed have beach glass.  That was a plus!  And so, we picked staying here for two nights. Click here to visit their website.

I love the term "Pleasantly Full" rather than "No Vacancy".

We drove leisurely to get here and arrived around 3:00 pm.  The day was HOT for the locals, but just seemed a little warm and stuffy to us Floridians.  The lodge wasn't set up to have central AC but had plenty of fans and window units in our rooms. 

My mom and dad took the upstairs room called the Spinnaker and the rest of us took the larger room ( Weaver ) with a king and a roll away bed.   We got settled a bit, looked around, and then headed out for dinner at the nearby marina.

While we were waiting for our food to come, my mom kept looking at this woman who was sitting at a table outside on the porch and remarked at how much she looked like someone she knew from Vero Beach, FL.  Oh well, right?  No!  It turned out that this was a couple from Grand Harbor...where my folks live!  Amazing!  (And to make it even more amazing, they had a similar thing happen when we were in Talkeetna, Alaska, two years ago.)

After dinner, we drove around a little bit and enjoyed the sunset...

No filter

Sleeping Beauty

Summer woke up early and asked me if it would be ok if she wandered around taking arty photos. 

The breakfast was made to order.  There was a choice of a frittata...

Or waffles with fresh strawberries.

My mission was to go for a walk and try to find some sea glass.  As you can see from the map, the water's edge wasn't far!  So, I set off wearing sneakers, jeans, a sweatshirt, and a ball cap. 

I walked around the "Long Point".

Out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement in the meadow to my left.  I figured that it was just a bird.  But then, I looked again and realized that it was two large brown animals!  They were hopping like gigantic rabbits through the tall greenery.  I walked on.  When I looked up again, one large deer was standing in a bit of a clearing...checking me out.  I fumbled around for my phone and managed to get a picture.

And then I walked a little closer and took another.

And then another!  It was totally posing!  OMG!  It was quite huge too.  My guess is that if I stood next to it, its head would have been almost a foot above me (and I'm 5'4").  And the tail was huge too!  It was very long and very fluffy!  She stuck it straight up in the air when she turned to hop into the woods.  That was cool! 

Still on alert from my deer encounter, I made my way into the marsh and into the woods.

As I walked, I was being bombarded by sensory happenings.  I had my earbuds in and had to turn up the volume to drown out the bugs buzzing around my face.  I was being stung by mosquitoes THROUGH my jeans and sweatshirt!  The ground was squishy and I had to be aware of where I was walking.  Spiders were conspiring to attack me.  Every few steps there was rustle at my feet...  Oh the sacrifices one must make for their sea glass. 

The critters at my feet turned out to be frogs.  (Nicholas took this picture while he was on a walk with Summer and my folks.)

Luckily, there was a kind couple who shared their bug spray with me and I was able to go on hoping that I was not going to be eaten alive THROUGH my clothes.

Where there was a chance to leave the path, I did.  I held onto some roots and "repelled" down to the shoreline.

I'm still working on getting a good picture of a yellowjacket.

Meh

Alright, but I wish you could see more of his body.

Ta Da! 

There were about 15 of these rock piles.  Some good natured person stacked these up for passersby to enjoy.  I placed another rock at the top of each one that I came to.

THEE POINT!  A storm was brewing and I knew that I should head back. But, I dilly dallied and explored around, taking some arty shots along the way.

I spied this perfectly hollowed out log and tried not to be attacked by the Sasquatch sized spider living inside.

One rogue day lily through the log.

And a shot of the lily just standing tall.

Another rock pile.

I collect buoys and couldn't resist this biggin!  My thought was that I would give it to the owners of the lodge and they could keep it or toss it once I was gone.  Nevertheless, I could not pass this up!

I walked on, got SOAKED, and enjoyed myself a lot.  This picture shows my very handsome walking stick (and spider whacker) and the buoy.  Note that the buoy now has a lovely matching rope!  I found that later and decided that it should come with me. 

(This picture of Summer is from the front side of the same building as the above photo.  Summer, Nicholas, and my parents also went for a walk at the same time that I took my walk.  She's dry here, but they too got drenched!)

During my adventure through the woods I found black raspberries and collected a few dozen up for my dad who loved eating them as a child.

And lo and behold, I actually found some seaglass.  Not much, but that blue one was worth the hunt.



W  E  T !

Luckily, Shawn was out running some errands and was able to pick me up.

After a lunch of sandwiches and an in room jacuzzi, I warmed up and enjoyed sitting in the great room...reading with my mom.

Later, Summer and I played Scrabble.  As you can see, we are not great logophiles!  I won, but not by much.

Apparently when in Plattsburgh one must have something called a "Michigan".  There are at least three places in town to get one, but we chose the restaurant that also served beer.

This is a Michigan.  It is a red hot (but not spicey) hot dog served with chili, mustard, and onions.  It tasted like a coney dog...or a bit like a Skyliner.

They can be ordered with the onions on top (left) or buried (right).  It was quite good both ways.  (My dad, needless to say, had his WITHOUT onions.)  We topped off our Plattsburgh, NY, stay with a Michigan.  ???   

Day 8: Baseball Hall of Fame & Farmers' Museum

The Baseball Hall of Fame!  

My dad, Shawn, and Nicholas were thrilled. (Me?  Not so much.)  

Truthfully, I can't comment much about the Hall. I really have not much interest in baseball. In our brochure/map of the Hall was a scavenger hunt!  Ooo...something to do!  Summer and I worked on trying to complete it. My mom tagged along with us. My dad went at his own pace. Shawn and Nicholas viewed each piece of memorabilia, also at their own speed. 

Obviously I know a little bit about baseball, having lived near baseball towns for all of my 45 years. (Cincinnati, Boston, Miami, Tampa) Also, as a teacher in Hillsborough County, I have read and taught a few baseball related books. And that is about the extent of my knowledge of baseball...despite my best efforts to ignore it, a little baseball seeped in through osmosis. 

In our HCPS reading series there is a story called, Mighty Jackie, about Jackie Mitchell - a female pitcher who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The book has only cartoon type illustrations. It was nice to actually see the real Jackie!

She's not a bad lookin' gal!

Another reading series we have in Hillsborough County has a piece about Roberto Clemente. There was a large section in the Hall about Hispanic ball players. But, I just snapped this one set of trading cards as a souvenir for when I teach that story next year. Summer and I continued on with our scavenger hunt. 

Even though I am not a baseball fan, I pride myself in knowing all of the baseball/softball cheers and one-liners. In case I run out of inspirational chants, here's a whole wall full of sayings!  

Needless to say, Summer, my mom, and I were done with seeing what we "needed" to see. We turned in our scavenger hunt and earned a package of trading cards for our hard work. We gave them to Nicholas. He was pleased with the set.

We met up with my dad and headed to the Cooperstown Diner.  One of their claims to fame is that they have the biggest burger in the smallest diner. The diner is so small that it only has half of an address. 

I ordered the "Lo-Cal Burger". Ummm... This is NOT low in calories!  The burger was enormous!!!

Summer and my mom split a cheeseburger. You can sort of tell the scale of the burger by looking at Summer's blue phone on the napkin. She has a a 5C iPhone and half of the burger is bigger than her phone!

(Later, Shawn and Nicholas went to the diner too. This is Shawn's bacon burger.)

After stuffing ourselves, we went to do some OTHER things of interest...I'd had my fill of baseball and shopping for baseball memorabilia. 

Summer and my folks took a boat tour of the lake. And I took myself on a walk. 

I walked down a street that ran away from town, towards the lake. Then turned left, and just walked on. I came to a sign that said that the Farmer's Museum was nearby. So, I kept on walking...and walking...and walking.  And then I finally came to it. Ahhh... Critters!  Farming!  My people!  Something on my level!  And not swarming with people carrying selfie sticks. 

I happily paid $12 for my admission!  I strolled through the garden, looked at the crops, read each and every sign, and just relished in being in that place at that moment. 

I sent this picture to Shawn to see if he could guess the plant...

HOPS!

Hello, Friend!

I tried to call this cow over to me. "Heeeeere cow!"  She wouldn't budge from her shady spot under the tree. Obviously my reputation as a world class cow petter has not preceded me. 

I moved on to visit the other critters and get my animal petting fix that I sooo much needed! 

Hi, pig. Ooo... What a nice puddle. And in the shade too. You must be a happy little piggie. Bring your little face here. Let me pet you. Ooo...you like that, huh?  Ok. Gotta go. I've got other animals to see. 

Hello wittle baby lamby. Oh goodness. You are so soft and fluffy. You need me to pet you?  Ok. Ah...you like that?  Lemme get under you chin. Yeah...?  I know. Tell me all about it. Well, it's been nice being here with you but I've gotta go see the kitties. 

Hi there big guy. I bet you like it here. Are there enough mice for you?  Oops. You're not in the mood to be petted. That's ok. I'll just pet you friend over there. 

Hi. Ooo. You're a biscuit maker. Well, then. And so soft!  You don't look much like an old barn cat. Mmm. Ya like that?  Sweet kitty. A little scratchy scratchy under the chinny winny.! I've gotta go see the bun bun over there. See ya later. 

Hi!  You're so big!  What a nice wabbit. Do you need a little scratching between the ears?  I'll bet you do. Alrighty then. I've gotta go see the others too. No, I'm so sorry. I can't stay with you. Be a good bunny. 

Well. Hello, my handsomeness!  Gimme a kiss. Lemme pet you. You are so good lookin'!  What nice horns you have. And such a good wet nose. Oh dear. So many flies. I'll get rid of them for you. How 'bout I rub your whole face?  That's right. Close your eyes. I'll get that part too. Kissy kissy. I love you. 

"Heeeeeere cow!"  Nope. Your loss, buddy. 

There was much more critter petting, but you get the idea. 

Eventually, I moved on to the "town" and went through all of the buildings and saw all of those sights as well. (Homes, broom maker, printing, post office, blacksmith, pharmacy, school, church, general store...etc.)

I continued to attempt to photograph a yellow jacket...

Learned a little bit more about farming...

And then found out that Nicholas got hit by a knuckleball in the batting cage. 

Back to reality.