June 25 - July 1 Lake Champlain: Waterford NY to Bulington VT

Sometimes it's hard to tell what state you are in and it is complicated by the fact that Lake Champlain looks more like a winding river than a lake for the first 30 miles. We left Waterford NY at 8:30 for a nice 21 mile cruise with no locks. We arrived, and docked on the opposite side of the water and were in Chipman Point (Orwell) Vermont. The lake takes you on a rural path mostly populated by a few cottages, lots of blue heron, deer, and eagles - we saw them all. We passed many small fishing boats but only one cruising boat - a 65 footer that was headed north like us. Actually, he passed us!

The Chipman Point Marina is small and run by a lady in her seventies. The office is on the first floor of a stone and timber four-story building. The second floor is the restrooms, showers and laundry facility; the third floor houses her apartment. The office offers free cake and coffee all day and has home made dried fruit, cookies and other sweets for sale. The building, along with a twin 100 feet north, were built in 1810 as warehouses.

Chipman Point Marina (not really crooked).

Beautiful morning!

Fort Ticonderoga   as we passed by.

Lighthouse and monument to Sam Chamlain

We left the next morning for another 29 miles to Westport NY (opposite side of the lake). The water was flat, the sun shining and it was a beautiful day. Within minutes we could see Fort Ticonderoga on a hilltop on the NY side. We also passed a new bridge and monument to Samuel Champlain. There is no way to access these from the water and we would travel there in a rented car from Burlington in a few days. The lake got wider and the water got clearer and about 11:30 the wind decided to blow. Luckily we were almost to Westport. We secured a great slip with dry docks - important since half of the docks were at water level due to the high water level in the lake. We had lunch at the marina restaurant and then Judie did laundry while Ger washed the boat. Casual supper and early sleep.

High Water

Low docks

The next morning was a repeat - flat water, hazy sun and a great day. We covered the 24 miles to Burlington VT in 3 hours and our slip was not yet available, so we cruised the harbor for an additional hour and then docked by 12:00. The lake is now wider and looks more like the Chesapeake Bay - you can see the other side, but not much detail. After checking in, we had lunch on the deck of the marina restaurant ( I know, has a familiar ring to it) and took the free shuttle five blocks up hill to the Church Street Mall. The city has closed five blocks to traffic and pedestrians and cafe's/shops have taken it's place. There was also a farmers market this day and we bought a few things for the house and a cigar for Ger to smoke on the back deck with a glass of rum. Back to the boat for a few hours of R&R for  Judie's knee. Took the free shuttle back up for dinner at a Pizza restaurant before walking back to the boat. Two Drifters, a boat we had met at Westport Marina docked 2 slips down - lots of great folks! Started to rain on our way back.

Day 2: The rain continued. Plain and simple. We worked on a few chores in the morning and some of this blog and in the afternoon took a 1.5 hour trolley tour in the rain to see the city. Not certain if it was the rain - but not too much to see after you leave the waterfront and the main downtown. The University of Vermont is here, so it does have a college town flair. Main industry is the University, summer tourists and some high-tech. After the trolley tour we took the free shuttle back up the hill to purchase some better rain jackets from LL Bean. Had all three meals on the boat!

Day 3: Rented a car to do some errands and sightseeing. First hit the Wal-Mart for prescriptions, then West Marine for misc. stuff and then  went to the Shelburne Museum just south of Burlington. The museum is an eclectic collection of items important to Vermont history that were procured by Mrs. Electra Havemeyer Webb and then dedicated to a trust. Items include the last constructed and serviceable paddlewheel steamship on the lake, a train and train station, a one room school, the last operating lighthouse on the lake, many 17th century homes, and misc. other buildings. She then proceeded to furnish them with items she imagined should have been there - not necessarily were there. Makes for an interesting day. One of the docents commented that it was like seeing all of New England in a day - we agree. We had dinner at the baseball park (25 cent hot dog night) as we watched the local Oakland As' affiliate - the Vermont Lake Monsters play the Lowell Spinners of the Red Sox's. Fun time but the rain caused us to leave in the 6th inning.

One of 4 guest cabins on the steamboat.

Moved 2 miles from the water! in one piece!

Twins!

Home built by Electra's children and furnished from her NYC estate.

Lake Monster's Mascot - Champ

Day 4: Up and away early to Ft. Ticonderoga! It's about an hour and a half drive south of Burlington and you can cross the lake on the new bridge I mentioned earlier. The fort, originally built by the French in 1756 and named Ft. Carillon sits at the junction of Lake Champlain and Lake George (that flows into the Hudson River and down to NY City) a critical spot in our countries history. Way too much to talk about, but a great tour that went thru the entire history and many docents dressed in period clothing performing cooking, sewing, shoemaking, and other tasks, all according to how the French did it when they occupied the fort. We spent about 3 hours and then visited the vegetable gardens as they would have planted them along with more formal gardens that were developed by the folks who bought the Fort in the early 1900's to preserve what was left. After the fort was abandoned, local settlers commandeered the rock and timber to build their own  homes and barns. Stopped at the Samuel Champlain monument and the waterfall at Vergeness on the way back.

Officer's Quarters

16 enlisted men to a room.

When restoration began

Outdoor kitchen - making bread and green bean soup.

Day 5: Returned the car after making a stop at the grocery store and spent the rest of the day inside, out of the rain,  working on keeping the blog up to date. It is supposed to be nice starting this evening for a week - it will be welcome after 4 days of rain.

Sunset from the flybridge.