Lake George Excursion, September 8, 2025

 September 8

 Today we started with a drive a little ways up Route 9 North to check out Bolton Landing in case we wanted to go out for a fancy dinner at the Chateau for our anniversary. We got a nice cup of coffee at a coffee shop, but decided that we really didn't want a fancy dinner.

  We took the Mohican Steamboat for a 2.5 hour ride up Lake George which is 32 miles long. It has over 120 islands, only some of which are privately owned. NY State owns and has forever preserved the rest. Quite a few are designated as "camping islands." They have little docks, designated campsites and an outhouse. Some islands have only one site. It looks very cool and we saw quite a few people camping. Other islands are for picnics only. And, one bay is for overnight boat campers. 

   The Adirondack State Park is the largest state park in the country with 6,000,000 acres. 

    During the late 1800s, the area became a place for the likes of the Astors and Rockefellers. 2,000 resorts were on the lake, accessible only by boat. Only one such grand hotel still exists-the Sagamore.

The Sagamore, relic of times past

     The largest lake-front property still in private hands belongs to the Paulist priests and it has also been used for over 100 years as a retreat.

     We also passed Wiawaka Women's Resort, a resort that grew out of the women's movement and opened in 1903, mainly to give poor, mostly immigrant women an affordable vacation. Most were employed in the garment industry in Troy and Cohoes, NY. Wiawaka means "The Great Spirit of Woman" in Abenaki. The resort is still open to women of all incomes and offers workshops and classes. The resort is open to women with disabilities, women who are economically disadvantaged, victims of abuse and women in transition. It is also open to any other women and they are charged on a sliding scale according to income.

    Afterwards, we came back to our hotel and had another picnic on our porch. This time we had corn on the cob (microwaved), tomatoes, cucumbers and cheese.

    What a lovely day!

The Mohican

      

One of the camping islands

Lake George for 44th Anniversary, Sept 7

 September 7 

    Today we left Norman and Jane's around 10 and drove very rural back roads to Lake George. We never went through anything bigger than a village. The weather is beautiful- blue skies, puffy clouds and in the 70s.

    We ate lunch in Vergennes which was the biggest town we saw.

     We arrived around 3:30 at Lake Crest Lodge on Lake George which is very nice. We have a King sized room with a nice balcony looking out toward the lake.

     We took a short drive to get our bearings and found a very nice French bakery and bought a baguette. 

    Rather than go out to dinner, we decided to eat on our little porch - a baguette, pate we bought in Montreal, a delicious tomato from Jane's brother's garden and some Tost.

View from Lake George Village looking up the lake

View from our room, Lake Crest Lodge

Celebrating 44 years of marriage

Pate, baguette, Tost, tomato

To - Friends in Holland, Vermont,

 September 5

We had another hearty breakfast and left Montreal around 10:30. We drove to Stanstead, Quebec, close to the U.S. border and got lunch at Auberge Sunshine there. We also got baguettes and croissants to take to Norman and Jane's.

  Crossing the border at the Derby Line was easy.

  This is our first visit to Norman and Jane's new house which is just up the road from where they were before. It is a log home. The weather was spectacular and we sat on their new deck all afternoon with its fantastic view.

  We had a fabulous dinner with corn on the cob, hamburgers from cows down the road and a delicious salad. 

September 6

This is the first cold, rainy day we have had in a long time. We both wore jeans and long-sleeved shirts and rain jackets.

Our first stop was Haskell Free Library which was built deliberately on the border and meant to serve both Stanstead, Derby and Rock Island. It started as an Opera House in 1904 because Mrs. Haskell loved opera and thought it perfect to entertain people traveling by train between Montreal and Boston. The Opera House funded the library. It was declared a heritage building by both countries in the 1970s and 80s. 

Citizens from both countries used the front door, although an exit on the Canadian side was an emergency exit. However, since the advent of D.Trump, things have changed. Canadians can no longer use the front door. Each side has to come in and leave from the door on "their" side.

It is a beautiful old building. Norman and Jane both signed up for library cards.

After that, Jane drove about an hour to Knowlton on Lac Brome where Louise Penny based her Three Pines, Inspector Gamache books. We visited the bookstore and ate in the cafe in the basement where we all had croissants Gamache- ham, brie and apple. 

As a surprise, Louise Penny actually walked in. She was so gracious talking with everyone and open to posing for photos. One of the patrons was a beautiful, sprightly 101 year old. We had our photos taken with her, too. Barbara told her that she'd heard her at the Nantucket Book Festival and she said that festival is one of her favorites. And, Jane thanked her for her help with the Haskell Library.

The guys in the book store

Louise Penny's signature on a column

Jane and Louise Penny

Then, we came home and had a wonderful sweet potato, black bean, tomato chile with baguette - and green beans from Jane's brother's garden. 

What a nice way to spend a rainy day.

Note: Hank left the island today to begin his next adventure in England; this was his fifth summer working at the Juice. Bar

Second, and last, full day in Montreal, Sept 4

 September 4

    Today was a city-walking day. And, it was hot. We walked just shy of 5 miles. The temperature started out cool enough as we started early and there was a breeze. But, by mid-day, it was about  80 degrees, which was challenging.

   We took the Metro to Old Town where we basically walked and window-shopped. Of course, we stopped for coffee and split a croissant.

    We decided to take the Metro one more stop as we thought we'd go in the historic bank, but never found it and then got a bit muddled on directions to walk. Eventually, we figured it out and decided to walk over a mile to Sherbrooke and pick up a bus. About mid-way, we stopped for lunch. (burger, salad) Afterwards, we persevered and go to Sherbrooke where there was no shade as we walked to find a bus stop - which we found. We took the bus back to St Denis and then walked to find Vielle Europe Market because we wanted cheese, baguette, sausage and pate for evening dinner in our room. We stopped for another coffee en route to cool down. Then- walked back.

Coffee break in a shop with a LOT of different lights

In Old Town

In Old Town

Notre Dame Cathedral

First full day, Montreal, Sept 3, 2025

 Sept 3, 2025

    We had a delicious breakfast, prepared by Ephraim in the beautiful dining room here. There were 3 Australians as well. Both Ephraim and Yves, the owners of the B and B, sat with us. Ephraim made a zucchini frittata.   

Breakfast at Gingerbread Manor B and B

Our bedroom at the B and B

   

    We walked to the nearest Metro and bought a day pass. We took the Metro downtown and walked to the Apple Store where Barbara had her screen protector replaced, which was a relief, as she had feared it was a cracked screen.

    Then - stop at a coffee shop.

    Next up- the Art Museum.

   We went to a wonderful, thought-provoking exhibit of the art dealer of the Parisian avant garde, Berthe Weill. We had never heard of her, but found how important she was to the careers of many artists, including Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, Chagall, and Rivera as well as many women artists we had never heard of. In fact, she arranged the only solo exhibit of Modigliani while he was alive.

    She inherited an antiques store from a relative and and first started by collecting and selling posters such as from Toulouse Lautrec  She arranged the first showing of Picasso's art in Paris when he was just 19. 

    What was impressive was her eye for new talent and trends. She was not just a keen businesswoman, but also befriended struggling artists, even when they did not make her money. In fact, her first show resulted in not one sale. But, she persevered. What was also impressive was the friendships she made with the artists.

    During WWII, she was persecuted for being a Jew as well as for showing what the Nazis considered degenerate art. She closed her gallery and was destitute. Artists such as Picasso and Dufy put on a benefit show and raised enough money for her to live comfortably until the end of her life.

    

Picasso's sketch of Berthe Weill 

     

A Marc Chagall

Picasso - done at age 19

by Emilie Charmy of Berthe Weill

Another early Picasso, done at age 19

We took the bus back to St. Denis, got coffee and went back to our B and B for a rest.

Then - to Le Fabrique, a French restaurant on St Denis and only a block away. It was a very special meal. The waiter brought us homemade pickles and bread to start. Mark - started with  tuna tataki appetizer made with peaches and spices, followed by roast pork with carrots, bok choy, sweet potato-peanut sauce etc etc. That was followed by a French toast with maple and carmel sauce. Barbara had vichysoisse followed by halibut in a yellow bean, artichoke hearts and caviar and spices.

At Le Fabrique

Onto Montreal, September 2

 September 2

   We left the B and B in Ottawa and drove Route 50 to Montreal, thinking it would be a more scenic route and not a big highway. We are not sure that it was more scenic and it was also a highway, but not crowded.

    As per a recommendation we stopped at Smoke Meat Pete's a famous smoked meat place of Montreal. We were told that Montreal is famous for the different spices used in their smoked meats, possibly clove. At any rate, we stopped there and had smoked meat sandwiches which were very full. 

Then we drove into Montreal. Realizing we were too early to check into Gingerbread Manor B & B, we went to Mont Royal Park. The last time we were here you could drive to the center overlook. We did drive to a smaller overlook and then drove to a parking lot more in the center of the park where, had we had the time, we could have walked to the other overlook. We parked and sat in the shade (81 degrees) and waited about an hour.

From Mont Royal looking toward the Olympic Stadium

Then we checked into the B and B on Laval Street. We reserved a garage space behind the building in an alley. It required tricky backing up. The room we have on the second floor is gorgeous, but, once again, we share a bathroom. However, on day 1, we are the only ones on the floor.

After checking in and taking a little rest, we walked in the neighborhood to a pedestrianized area and ate at a Venezuelan restaurant, Arepera and had arepas which were truly delicious. Both of us had shredded chicken salad made with avocado, not mayonnaise. We split a plate which had rice, black beans and plantains, too.

Pedestrianized area

Last Day in Ottawa - Art in the morning. Boating on the St. Lawrence in the afternoon!

 September 1, Labor Day

    We had an idyllic day today.

     After breakfast we drove to the National Gallery which is in an impressive building. Barbara bought a pair of earrings in the museum shop as well as gifts for Book Club. 

      

 

We went back to The Nelson Pub for another fish and chips (or salad) meal for lunch. And, later, we drove to Orleans where Michelle met us and drove us about an hour to where Jason keeps his boat on the St. Lawrence. It was so much fun to be with them. There was not enough wind to have an exciting sail, but he did manage to put the sails up for part of the ride and it was quiet and peaceful and a real treat for us. Conversation was great as they are interesting people. Michelle will retire from her guidance position in 4 years and Jason will retire as head of music at a high school in 2 years. He will continue to do music gigs, some of which he does with their

 son, Sean, who is a mathematics major at Carleton College. It was nice to meet Sean when we were at their house.

 

After sailing, Jason made a delicious meal of steak fajitas with grilled veggies. The yacht club where Hakuna Matata is moored is a low-key, casual place. We left around 8:30. Mark rode back with Jason and Barbara with Michelle. 

A special day, for sure.

The Hakuna Matata

Captain Jason at the helm

Four happy people

A fine end to a wonderful day!