I Love NY!

Blue Mtn from Lake Durant at sunset

It's been a little over a week since we returned from our trip to the great state of New York. Trevor's lovely Aunt Sherry graciously came down and drove the kids and me back to her place in Buffalo (North Tonawanda for those of you who are familiar with the area).

After driving back and forth on Route 15 for the past 13 years I finally got to stop at Colonial Candlecrafters (see below). Trevor merely scoffs at me when I suggest that we stop, but not Aunt Sherry! :) It was a very cute little place. They make some of their own candles. I bought Jenna a pink hippo candle. It was her birthday afterall.


While we there the kids enjoyed playing in their huge, fenced-in backyard. We also took a picnic lunch to a new playground by the Niagara River. That thing by Ian's right arm is a really cool periscope. I was very impressed with the play structure.


That Saturday we went to Niagara Falls and unfortunately I have zero still shots. If I can figure out how to upload footage from my camcorder I'll post the snippet here.

Then on Sunday we were off for the Adirondacks (after first stopping in at Genesee Country Church for worship and a picnic.)

Here's Ian eating GORP on a trail up Chimney Mountain.

Here's the gang on top of Chimney Mountain. I did not go up. Jenna is still much too small for such feats so I volunteered to stay back with her. So good of me, huh?! After seeing this picture with Ian hovering at the edge I'm glad (and I'm sure Ian is glad) that I did not go up. I'm sure I would've been panicking the whole time. "Ian get away from the edge." "Be careful." etc, etc, etc... Take a look at the look on Veronica's face. Apparently, she was not too fond of the heights either. Trevor said she spent the rest of the time on the other side of that rock, huddled in the fetal position (well, maybe not quite the fetal position, but pretty close).

The next series of picture were taken at Lake Durant, the campground where my parents were staying. We found this cool tree that was felled by a beaver. (Ian is in the stage where he must act goofy for every picture we take. Either that or he's on some kind of controlled substance that I'm unaware of.)Here's Grammy and Jenna navigating the very short trail away from the water and back to the campsite. This short little jaunt was proof positive that Jenna was not going to go on any serious hikes that week. In 20 feet I think she tripped or lost her balance 20 times.

Ah, the campsite. We enjoyed smores over the campfire. Well, the adults did anyway. Ian liked roasting the marshmallow and putting the smore together, but when it came time to eat it he declared he didn't like it. (Have I ever mentioned that my son is weird?!) So instead he stuffed himself with unroasted marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate - all separate from each other.
Here we are on Adirondack Loj Rd. This is one of my favorite views of the high peaks. Grammy and Opa graciously volunteered to watch the 4 little kids so that the adults and teens could go into Lake Placid for the day. We had to stop here first because you can't go to Lake Placid without stopping here for the view. This road brings back a lot of memories. We used to camp at Heart Lake at the campground at the end of this road. The trailhead for Marcy Dam is also at the end of this road. We backpacked into Marcy Dam many times when I was a kid.

You can just make out the ski jumps from the 1980 Olympics to the right of Veronica.

With Pipe and Book is a Lake Placid institution. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were welcomed by a sign announcing that the proprietors are retiring and closing up shop. I was surprised that I was sad even though I never bought anything there. There was just something so nostalgic about walking in there and being greeted by used books and the smell of raw tobacco. This time when we walked in there was no smell. They already sold off all of their stock of pipe tobacco, cigars etc... :( I'm glad we were able to be there one more time before they closed up. I'm sure the owners were glad we were there too because from what I hear Jon just about cleaned out their inventory. ;)

Here are the girls relaxing beside Mirror Lake right off of Main Street in Lake Placid. (You know, I just realized I don't even know if that street is called Main Street. It could be called Olympic Drive for all I know. I've just always called it Main Street because that's where all the shops and restaurants are.)

A beautiful view of Mirror Lake. Trevor and I came here one year for the 4th of July and saw fireworks right here.
The Adirondacks hold a special place in my heart. My dad became obsessed with the state park when I was in early elementary school. From that point on I'm pretty sure we spent every vacation in the ADK's. My dad and brother climbed all 46 of the high peaks over 4000 feet. I didn't have as much interest in climbing or backpacking. As a child I don't think I appreciated the beauty that the mountains held. It was just where we went every summer. Now that I'm grown and I've been away from it for so many years I truly appreciate all of the gloriousness that the Adirondacks hold. I hope to take our kids there from time to time and I hope that they will see God's handiwork throughout the unspoiled land.