Davy, Davy Crockett...

 

 

A perfect day with clear skies after a night of torrential rain. We woke late and drove south and west to Fulton County just outside the Adirondack park. We were heading to the towns of Gloversville and Johnstown where Jeff's grandparents lived many years ago. As you may know I have been researching our family histories for almost 20 years and we have never found any record for Jeff's paternal grandparents. Today we crashed through and finally found information on them.

We drove through beautiful back roads and passed many small lakes and miles and miles of lush green trees. Along the way we happened upon the Northhampton Diner and enjoyed a late lunch. The place is adorable as you can see in the first photo and the owner was working her tail off preparing the food. We had a good meal and good conversation and were on our way. Along the road we saw this huge Davy Crockett in a field advertising his log homes.

 At the courthouse in the county seat of Johnstown we settled in the records room and found many old volumes of handwritten records pertaining to petitions for naturalization and citizenship as well as birth and death records. We found a cousin of Jeff's grandparents and started making photo copies. We did not find anything on Jeff's grandparents or his aunt who was born in Johnstown. Just as we were putting everything away I noticed several thin journals that had no dates on them. Behold, one of them was 1906 and the first name under the G's was Robert Glazer! We had found his Declaration of Intent to become a citizen and information on the boat that brought him to America and when. Anyone interested in genealogy will understand my excitement.

We left Johnstown and drove to the nearby city of Gloversville where we found the cemetery where Jeff's relatives are buried. Unfortunately they only had a large family stone and individual small stones with no information other than their names and dates of birth and death. But, it was good to visit anyway and we got pictures to add to our records. The last photo shows Jeff at a farm stand where we stopped to look at lawn ornaments.

We drove east through Saratoga Springs and to the town of Glens Falls where we had reservations for dinner and a movie. Jeff had found a cute place online called Aimie's Dinner and Movie and they were showing "The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel." We have been anxious to see this movie and this was great as we were seated in a banquette, ordered dinner and ate during the movie. We got out and it was still light and we had time to grocery shop and drive home at a decent hour. We hope to go back again as the food was good, the place was clean and attractive

Hey There Little Red Riding Hood

 

 

 

What a great day we had today. We slept late which makes us happy and then set off to explore the eastern shore of Schroon Lake. We had heard about the Adirondack General Store and drove eight miles on a bumpy road to find it. We passed some magnificent homes on the lake and finally reached the miniscule town of Adirondack which has the store, a post office and a few homes on the main street. We went into the store and found shelves and shelves of cabin decorations, clothing and knick knacks. Also a nice food section and we ordered sandwiches and sat at tables amid the merchandise to eat. We found a book with restaurant reviews for the Adirondacks and some really good mustard that we remembered from a few years ago. Jeff got a pool noodle to use for bumpers on our reclining chairs. After eating and shopping we got back in the car and continued around the southern tip of the lake. We found a nice beach and a large condo community and many more lake front homes. Back on Route 9 we headed north and stopped in tiny Pottersville for dessert. There is an ice cream stand that looks interesting and what a find. They have soft serve in 20 flavors, but we are not that adventurous and stuck to vanilla and chocolate. We decided to splurge on the large cones and this is a true tale of our eyes being bigger than our stomachs. The cones were so big that we laughed when they were handed to us. The gal gave us each a 16 ounce cup in case they started to melt and we put the ice cream in our cups and they filled them and there was still stuff in the cones. It took a while to eat them and Jeff finally gave up without finishing. We will return and get the small cones which will be more than enough to satisfy any sweet tooth.
After resting and eating a quick dinner we returned to Schroon Lake for the Wednesday night dance. We expected square dancing near the gazebo and got a real slice of Americana. A terrific caller from Albany with a three piece band delighted the crowd for two hours. There were a hundred or so people and tons of kids. We learned some circle and square dances and everyone participated and was enthusiastic, even the teenagers. Jeff and I waltzed and did all the dances and had a great time. Can't wait to go back next week.

Blue Moon

Last night we went to an a capella doo wop concert at the Boathouse Theatre in Schroon Lake. The group is called The Flipsydz and very enjoyable. They encouraged the audience to sing along and Jeff sang all the bass parts while I did lead. We had lots of fun. During intermission we chatted with the guys and they asked us to get up and dance hoping that would get more people on the dance floor. We did it and got tee shirts for our effort.
During the day we drove to Lake George and did grocery shopping. Driving home it began to rain and was such a terrible storm that I couldn't see two feet in front of the car for a few moments. Had to turn on the emergency flashers and really slow down. Luckily there is very little traffic on the Northway once you go past Lake George heading north. The temperature dropped from the low 90's to 71 in a matter of minutes and the rain continued off and on all night.

Sugar Shack

 

 

This is chocolate weekend and yesterday we had fun at the beach. First was the chocolate pudding slip and slide. Then into the river to wash off and return for the pudding eating contest. It looks like the kids are bowing to Jeff, but they are getting ready to eat! Here's some of the happy campers in a group shot.

Anchors Away

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we slept late and I did laundry while Jeff went to the grocery store. Later we drove to Bolton Landing and picked up Rick at his motel. We drove to Lake George Village and took a dinner cruise on the Lac du Sainte Sacramente. It is a large boat with three levels and a nice buffet dinner. We were seated by a large picture window and able to look out and see beautiful houses and scenery on the lake. After we ate we went outside to enjoy the fresh air and more sights. The second photo is the beautiful Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing with it's extensive grounds. Next is a tiny island with a house and a small sailboat with the setting sun. Jeff and Rick relaxing on the top deck and a magnificent private home along the lakefront. That's me as we arrive back at the pier after a delightful evening.

Bits and Pieces

 

 

 

 

 

Rick is visiting and we did a circle route around the Adirondack Park today. We left the campground and headed north and then west to Lake Placid. We visited the site of two winter Olympics where summer training is in full swing. We all got on the chair lift and went up the mountain where the ski jumping and free style takes place. On top we took an elevator up the 40 meter tower and looked down the steep slopes where the skiers compete. Pretty high up there and scary too. At the bottom we saw young athletes practicing their moves and then somersaulting into a swimming pool. No mean feat wearing skis and boots and crash helmets. We then drove through the towns of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake and stopped in Long Lake for dinner. We sat outside overlooking Long Lake and then had ice cream and relaxed in comfy Adirondack chairs. Perfect ending to a great day.

Wunderbar

Jeff and I saw a great production of "Kiss Me Kate" at the Seagle Colony last night. This summer program has been bringing music to the Adirondacks since 1915. We saw a talented cast of summer interns who are either in college or graduate school and the voices were fabulous. I am standing in front of the theatre which is charming and they also have a new rehearsal hall and lots of cozy cottages and houses scattered on the property. Hopefully we will see more of their shows this year as they are located in Schroon really near our campground.

Bird is the Word

Jeff and I were off today and went to Albany on errands and grocery shopping on the way home. Along the way someone mentioned a pair of parrots living in Watervliet, just north of Albany and a short detour off our route. We found the place and there was the nest, just outside a Rite Aid Drugstore. We didn't see the birds, but did see their interesting nest on a utility pole. The opening is in the side. Turns out they are Monk Parakeets, also called Quaker Parrots. Originally from South American they now live in NY and Chicago and their nests interfere with utility lines. One of the birds had been removed and they are trying to catch the other one to put it into a shelter. They are robin sized and there are no eggs or babies in the nest according to newspaper reports. Would have been fun to see them.