Going to See America 2018

     Hard to believe that Fall has arrived on Chateaugay Lake, and it's time to close up the house, and begin a new adventure.  We had such high hopes to get out on a few adventures this summer, but numerous projects, and attempts at projects, kept us pretty busy.  We spent most of the summer dealing with contractors, hoping to build a barn large enough to store Big Red.  We had a massive land clearing project last year, intending to get the project going upon arrival home.  After meeting with several contractors, we discovered that we needed just a little more room, so the project was scrapped and delayed till maybe next year.
     We were successful in completing a porch renovation which substantially added to our enjoyment of the fall season.   We completely gutted the screen porch and added sliding doors, giving us a very comfortable sun room to enjoy the cooler days and fall colors.  We added a new gas stove as our primary heat source, a little insulation in the floor and ceiling, and it was quite comfortable even when the temps dipped down into the 30's.

     We had a wonderful visit from Teddy and Maryanne from Alabama.  Teddy and I worked together out in Campo, CA, along with Walter.  I put some ribs on the smoker, Walter and Jeannie came up from Mooers, and we had quite an afternoon of visiting and reminiscing.  Teddy and Maryanne hit the fall colors right at their peak, the weather seemed to cooperate, and we had a nice ride down toward Wilmington, and up to the top of Whiteface.  Temps were quite a bit cooler up there, but the views were pretty awesome.

      We just HAD to make a stop at  Adirondack Chocolates in Wilmington, which we all remembered as the Candy Man.  I didn't realize that everyone had such a sweet tooth!  Afterwards, we stopped and had a wonderful dinner overlooking Whiteface Mountain at the Hungry Trout.

     Dean and Joanne, our travel buddies, cane over from Vermont, and another couple racks of ribs were consumed.  Seems to be a pattern being started???  We met them over in Las Cruces, NM last year traveling eastbound, and spent a month or so together in Sarasota, Fl.  We'll be meeting up with them again in Las Vegas on our way west to visit Ben, Joanne, and Liam.  Then after Christmas, we'll meet up over in Sarasota again.  

     

     Ben, Joanne, and Liam came for too short a visit early in the season, and Liam seemed to get the hang of waving to the tourists as we drifted down the lake.  I'm getting a little out of order in my stories, and I'm trying to catch up......but we just got news from Ben that he's being transferred back to Champlain at some unknown date, and that will put the families back together again!!  You can just about imagine how excited Grammie is!!!  We'll have to keep you posted on that news.

      So there's the news from Chateaugay Lake and the preparations for our 2018 adventure.  We've been on the road for about a week now, having departed on 11/1/17.  

     Our neighbor Andy hated to see us leave, but we'll catch up with he and Patty down in Florida later on next spring.  We'll be hanging around down south till Thanksgiving, and then heading back north to spend  time with MaryAnne, Scoobs and Tony.  Today the weather is cool and rainy in Naggs Head. Maybe I can catch up a little bit.