Lake George

It's the first day of summer, a symbolic day in many ways, to start our road trip around the United States. The most beautiful weather is upon us and the feeling of liberation on the open road with the company of my sweet husband, Jim, and our dog, Mrs. Wiggles is great.

The initial purpose of the road trip is for Jim to attend conferences in Atlanta, LA, and Portland. The great thing is that I had time off between adjournment and law school to join him in his travels. Instead of flying, we thought we'd use the extra time to visit friends we have not seen in years. We are heading down the eastern seaboard to Atlanta and then straight across the desert and back up the Pacific Coast where we will catch a flight in Seattle to Indianapolis to visit my sister-in-law's family and their new bundle of joy. Then we'll drive back around the Great Lakes to pick up Mrs. Wiggles where she will have been staying with Jim and Janet during our ten week Homeric adventure.

Our first day started out fabulously until we had car trouble outside of Montreal. A lurching engine kept us waiting in a Canadian Tire parking lot surrounded by nothing but Boston Pizza and big box retail stores for three hours. The wait wasn't that bad: we found a shady spot, took out MRs. Wiggles' portable water bowl and hung out reading under a tree until we needed some lunch. We made it to Lake George by 7:30, a full three and a half hours past our arrival time. I would have loved a swim in the Lake, but it was starting to rain when we arrived.

I just have to say, I love Lake George. It's gorgeous. Some would call the LG Village tacky, but for me it represents all the good natured, innocent small town America I only knew from television. There's the main street (interestingly named Canada street) with its arcade, salt water taffy shops, ice cream parlours, gift shops, banks and boutiques, the high school, the boat launch. Walking around is like being on a movie set. Today we drove through on our way to Elizabeth Island, but tomorrow I hope we wander in and get all dressed up and take Old Time Pictures! The Adirondack Theatre festival is also on, so we are headed to a musical tomorrow night.

When we arrived tonight, Jim's dad, Jim, picked us up at the dock. We managed to get the lurching engine (no, they didn

It's great to be here, surrounded by the warmth and peace of the Lake, and all the wonderful associations and memories I have of falling in love with Jim and his family. A perfect destination to rejuvenate from city life before launching into our Odyssey.

Buck Mountain
Taken August 14, 2008