GRISWOLD 2009 - "GRISWOLDS GO FOR BROKE - THE RECESSION TOUR" - DAYS 10, 11 & 12 SUNDAY, MONDAY & TUESDAY, AUGUST 23 - 25
We began day 10 early, leaving from home and heading up through New Hampshire and into Vermont. It was a little early, but not as early as this makes it appear. (I think they were up late the night before!)
Our first stop was the New England Maple Museum, in a little town just outside of Rutland, VT.
After being greeted by this comical character, we entered the main part of the small museum.
We learned about the history of maple products in the U.S., dating back to American Indians and then learned more about the current production techniques, which really haven't changed much over the years.
We also got a kick out of a display of old syrup products and how little maple syrup they really had in them.
From the museum, we headed towards the Vermont, New York border. Here, we took the ferry across Lake Champlain to the town of Ticonderoga, NY.
It was interesting seeing that the ferry was guided by two large cables and powered by a tugboat on the side of it.
We really enjoyed the short ride on this ferry, something that you don't see that much anymore.
From the ferry, we headed into the small town of Ticonderoga to look for some lunch. In the process, we came across this little park in the middle of town with a lovely little waterfall.
Look carefully...it says that this is the "Kissing Bridge". What were we supposed to do? (And yes, the kids both said, "EWWWW!")
After lunch in Ticonderoga, it was on to the fort. After arriving at the fort, we looked around a bit first.
Then we saw a fife & drum demonstration.
The fife & drum display was followed by a demonstration of the firing of a musket and a cannon. The cannon was much louder! (Thanks to the image stabilization of our camera, you can't tell that Steve almost jumped out of his skin following this blast.)
Then we took a tour of the fort with a very animated guide. He was a lot of fun and very informative.
When we left the fort, we took a drive up Mount Defiance, an appropriately named mountain because the lack of directional signs in the area almost defy you to find it. We finally had to stop and ask for directions and even then it wasn't easy. Once we found our way up though, the view was wonderful and offered us a nice perspective of Fort Ticonderoga.
From Mount Defiance, we drove to Lake George, NY, where we spent the night after having a good BBQ dinner in town.The next day, day 11, we got up and headed to the Saratoga National Historical Park. We went to the Visitor Center first, where we saw this original cannon, captured on the battlefield in Saratoga. (The carriage is not original.) We also talked to some very informative and enthusiastic park rangers and saw a film about the park. 
One of our stops in the park was at a reconstruction of a home that was there at the time of the battle. We really enjoyed a lengthy conversation with this young gentleman in costume. He told us all about the character he was portraying and then told us a lot more about the battle in general. He was young, probably around Rebecca's age, but he was very knowledgeable and very interested in history. He does a lot of reenactments.
One of the biggest surprises of our visit here and in upstate New York in general was what we learned about Benedict Arnold. We've always heard about and thought about Arnold for what he's best known for, being a traitor to the U.S.. While the people in upstate New York certainly acknowledge his mistakes, they look up to him for some of his heroics, like at the battle of Saratoga. This boot is a tribute to Arnold, but like so many other tributes to him in this area, his name is nowhere to be found on the monument.
This monument was erected around 100 years after the battle of Saratoga and stands about 7 miles nothing of the battlefield. Three of the sides of the monument feature statues of people who were important to the battle. One side though, the side facing the battlefield, has no statue. This is the side that's a silent tribute to Benedict Arnold.
From Saratoga, we made a brief stop at a cemetary in Troy, NY, where we visited the grave of "Uncle Sam". It was a little hard to find, but we eventually stumbled upon it.
From Troy, we headed west to the town of Howes Cave, NY, where we visited Howe's Caverns.
We bundled ourselves up on this very warm day, because the temperature in the caves is a constant 52 degrees.
We saw a lot of the same things we've seen in caves like this before...
(Okay...we don't always see the kids being this nice to each other!)
...but what made this cave different was an underground lake and the 15 minute boat ride that you get to take on the lake. That's different!
The tour ended at a location where many couples actually come to get married in the cave. Workers at the cave sunk this large rock that they carved into a heart shape into the walkway. This rock actually allows a good deal of light through it, so with lights mounted under it, it glows.
We spent the night very close to Howe's Caverns and after dinner, had a relaxing evening that included Anne and Erik swimming in the hotel pool.Day 12 revolved around the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. After a big breakfast buffet, we took the 45 minute drive to Cooperstown and entered baseball's hallowed halls.
We began with a multimedia presentation that was sent in an auditorium that looked very much like a baseball stadium. It was a very nice design.
We saw displays on many of baseball's greats.
We also saw memoribilia from players that while not as well known as Babe Ruth, were still looked up to by boys who grew up in the Chicago area in the 60's and 70's. (Mr. Cub says, "Let's play two!")
There was lots of old stuff, but also some newer stuff that was very recognizable to the kids.
This wheel was part of the scoreboard at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago.
We really enjoyed the display of baseballs from no hitters. Here were two that involved the Red Sox, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester.
Of course the highlight of any visit here is the plaque room, where we saw plaques from way back to the present. Steve had to find Ernie Banks of course...
...and we also found recent inductee Jim Rice from the Red Sox.
We then stopped to take one last picture outside before leaving Cooperstown, a tiny town that is likely well funded by parking ticket revenue! (Yes, even though we were parked in a legal spot, we stayed over the two hour limit which they strictly enforce, to the tune of $35! Ouch!)
From Cooperstown, we headed southeast to the little town of Prattsville and Pratt Rock.
According to legend, a man once walked up to Zadock Pratt and asked him for a handout. Instead of giving the man something for nothing, Pratt asked him what he could do for a skill. When he found out the man was a stone cutter, he employed him to make stone carvings on a hillside that noted things that we special and important to Pratt and his life.
We hiked up the hillside and after taking a wrong turn that took us too far up the hill and ultimately above the carvings (we should have taken that first unmarked, right turn!) we eventually found the carvings.
From Prattsville, we went a very short distance to the town of Ashland, NY, where parked on the side of the rode was this replica of the Partridge Family bus. Come on...this is a Griswold vacation! We had to stop and take a picture of something as important as this!
Of course eating the lobster was only part of the fun. Watching everyone experience their own difficulties cracking the lobsters open and the unique solutions that each of us came up with was part of the fun. Watching Erik making lobster claws talk was another silly part of the fun. In the end, a great time was had by all, even though we made a bit of a mess!
