Oct 11, 2017

Lake George

10/11/2017 — cori
This past weekend Chuck and I had the pleasure of flying out to Lake George, New York to celebrate my cousin's wedding. We'd never been to this part of the country before and were excited to explore. We flew into Albany, New York and drove an hour north to reach our destination, Lake George. On our way we stopped by this adorable little town called Saratoga Springs. We passed by a park entrance that was so alluring, we had to drive down the winding, tree-lined path to see what was set back in the woods. We were not disappointed. The place was called: Yaddo. I just love that name. Turns out that the mansion and the grounds were donated in the 1920's as an artists retreat. You can see how artists are inspired by this alluring place - and to think we found it on accident. 



Below is the fountain that the mansion faces. To the right of the pond are beautiful rose gardens.



In the rose garden is this intricate sundial.




The sundial alone was a piece of art. But I loved the poem carved into the sundial.


We eventually made it up to Bolton Landing, on the shores of Lake George where our hotel, The Sagamore, awaited us. This is a view of the front of the hotel. The grounds are immaculately kept.




And here is the back of the hotel. This is the side that faces Lake George. Just stunning.


The views are good and picturesque from everywhere.


Unfortunately, the fall colors of the Adirondack Mountains that this part of New York is famous for were in short supply. Because the summer-like weather stretched long into early fall, it didn't allow the colors to proliferate as early as they usually do. There were small pockets of color, as is shown in here next to the covered walkway we used each day to get from our lodge to main hotel.


We explored the surrounding towns the day of the wedding since it wasn't until later in the afternoon. We visited Fort William Henry in the village of Lake George (the southern most tip of the lake). This was a famous fort during the French and Indian War and made famous in the movie, "The Last of the Mohicans."


After exploring this small town, we drove to the top of Mount Prospect which was at an elevation of 2,030 feet. We were treated to 100 mile views. It was serene watching the clouds settle snuggly between the mountains.


Again, not much color. Everything seemed a bit muted and dull.  But you can imagine how these mountains look on fire when they are at their peak of brilliance.


Then it came to the moment we were all waiting for. Kelley and Luke's wedding. She chose this venue because of the special memories it has of her childhood taking vacations to Lake George every summer and staying at the Sagamore Resort.



Kelley's Aunt Grace officiated the wedding. She was pure joy and her message was expressed so beautifully. She spoke on Colossians 3:12. Her analogy of clothing yourselves with love, patience, humility and compassion will not soon be forgotten.



Kelley is a born actress. She and Luke both adored the spot light.



This is during the Father/Daughter dance. After Uncle Mike and Kelley had their private moment, all the rest of the dads and daughters were invited to go out to the dance floor to join them. My Uncle Mike is a the father of 3 daughters. This was their special dance.  



Finally, our turn with the bride and groom. It is always so exciting sharing each other's love.


The next day we took a boat tour of Lake George on The Morgan.


Here we are enjoying the mild weather. Unfortunately, it quickly took a turn for the worse and we all had to run downstairs and seek shelter inside the cabin when an unexpected storm blew in.


This is the view of the resort from the boat. The hotel and grounds are extensive.


Again, we got to see small pops of fall color during the boat ride. We also learned that the lake is spring fed, 32 miles long, only 3 miles wide at it's widest point and it runs north, dropping 226 feet and empties into Lake Champlain. The color of the water is a beautiful aqua blue that unfortunately is hard to tell in this photo.


The rain forced us to change our plans. Instead of hiking the rest of the day, we stayed around the resort to watch a cooking demo with one of the chefs. Here we learned the tips and tricks of making a delicious apple pie.


On our last night there, the clouds treated us to a spectacular show of color during sunset. Always a treat!







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