Another Day, Another Concord (NH, VT & NY)

Or... How Green Were My Mountains.

I didn't leave Dover until 9 am. I wanted to go at least a half-hour before that, but I decided to have breakfast. The hotel had one of those do-it-yourself waffle irons, so I had one of those.

And then I drove for three hours (including passing through Concord, NH). Winding through little towns, each with either a Civil War monument or a WWI monument. Lots of little houses and big green fields. I crossed railroads and drove by old railroad stations. On scenic Vermont highway 131 I followed a river for miles. After climbing up steep grades I had sweeping views of the Green Mountain National Forest, stretching on forever. I passed horse crossing signs, moose crossing signs and even turtle crossing signs. :)

Unfortunately, the address I got from the Internet for the Vermont Country Store was for their corporate offices near a regional airport in Clendenon, VT. You can't win them all I guess (I felt like an idiot). So instead of bustling of to the battlefields I went into a nearby shopping center and found a Denny's for lunch. I asked about the Country Store there and learned where a real one was located, just a half-hour south of there. So I gave up my chance to see Hubbardton and Mt. Independence (both having to do with the Saratoga campaign) to retrace some steps and experience the Store. I'm so glad I did! I spent about an hour there, looking at their wide variety of interesting stuff ranging from older fashioned clothes and night-ware to food and soaps and old fashioned toys for the kids. I bought some venison summer sausage, some real Vermont syrup, and a skirt and top that Betty would have been proud to wear. LOL! I couldn't help it! It was her kind of store!
So from there I again re-traced steps and headed off into some real mountains. What views! It took at least another hour to reach the ferry for New York and Fort Ticonderoga across Lake Champlain. The sun started to come out as I approached. It was an old fashioned cable ferry! Wow! What fun!
Fort Ticonderoga was within a mile from the ferry. I got there just under an hour from when they closed at 5pm. But it allowed me enough time to shop, walk the fort and examine all there displays in the stone buildings. I really wanted to get the reproduction European short infantry sword they had for sale, but I restrained myself. :)

From there I continued south (wow! I'm going south for the first time! - I've hit my highest northern point) along Lake George on an extremely beautiful roadway that twisted and turned through gorgeous trees and sweeping views of the lake. I deftly avoided hitting a darting chipmunk more than once... :) so cute!

So because I left so late and got turned around in Vermont I arrived at Fort William Henry (from the French and Indian War) just as it closed at 6pm. Darn! So I went for a walk around it as best I could, saw Lake George from the shore and went into a shop for a postcard, found a beautiful pocket knife and a book on the French and Indian War and then stopped at the nearby "Blacksmith's Steakhouse" for the most delicious French onion soup, salad bar and hot bread I've ever had. The sun was still up when I pulled into Saratoga Springs, but I was so worn out I just laid on my bed here and eventually killed that spider that had climbed up the wall three feet away from me. I didn't even get excited really... I was too tired. :)