Day 9: Lake George Rest Day 2

August 12, 2017

Tomorrow, August 13, is my brother Arthur's birthday.  Happy birthday, Art!

Today was our second day hanging out with Michelle and Brian in Lake George.  After the excitement of Saratoga yesterday, we decided to spend a quiet, low key day in town today.  We had no plans other than to relax, so we started our day by walking to Flapjack Pete's at 10am for a little breakfast.

A little breakfast to start our relaxing day

We stopped in the hotel office on the way back and I caught Di grabbing a one of the free cinnamon doughnuts the hotel offers.

Caught in the act

Looks like Di's not the only one enjoying the doughnuts

With breakfast out of the way, it was now time to start relaxing.  Before we could do that, Di wanted to fix the flat tire she suffered on Thursday, so we all watched her fix the flat on the hotel balcony.

Brian supervises

Michelle also supervises

I guess I should confess that I, too, did little more than supervise while Di fixed her flat.  Hey, she knows what she's doing and we all helped when needed.  I'm happy to report that so far the tire and tube are doing fine.

Now we were ready to start relaxing, so we walked down to the hotel dock and looked out upon the lake.  It was a beautiful day and we could see a number of folks enjoying the lake.

Looking one way and seeing folks having fun on the lake

Looking the other way and seeing folks have fun on the lake

We decided that before we started relaxing in earnest, we should pile into a dinghy and go for a little row on the lake.

Di jumps in (literally, she just leapt into the dinghy) and is ready to go

We decided to row into the wind so our return trip would be with the wind at our backs.  Brian and I started rowing and within a few minutes discovered that the wind had blown us twenty feet beyond the point where we had begun.  We were going backwards!  We really had to row with serious dedication if we were to make headway into the wind.

Di takes selfie #1

Di takes selfie #2

Di takes selfie #3?

Even though it was a bit of work rowing into the wind, we were having great fun.  Still, I thought it safer to take the camera out of Di's hands.  I took the camera and asked Brian to turn around so I could snap him with Di and Michelle,  He really couldn't turn all the way around from the position he was in, so Di helped him.

Of course your head can swivel all the way around, Brian!

Later, Michelle let me download some of her pictures and guess what I find?

Nice, innocent picture

Hey, what's going on here?

Rowing that dinghy was hard work and we all took turns at the oars, so we were happy when we finally returned to the dock.  Really, we were all ready for some relaxation.  But first, Michelle felt the need to go paddle boarding.  She wanted to try it, so Di said she would, too, and I said I would take a kayak out.

Kayaking on Lake George

Di gets ready to paddle board

Di is up on the paddle board!

Michelle get under way on her paddle board

The result of Michelle's first attempt to stand on the paddle board

Michelle is back on the paddle board and is ready to try standing again

And she is up!

After a while, Di and Michelle looked like pros on their paddle boards

I'll stick with the kayak, its much more comfortable to sit and you go faster

Coming into the dock at the end of our paddle boarding and kayaking

It was getting close to 6pm and we hadn't really started relaxing yet, but we were hungry so decided to head out for some dinner.  We walked to the Boardwalk Restaurant and were given a balcony table. It was a perfect day for eating al fresco.

The Boardwalk Restaurant - we are on that balcony

See, there we are

Dinner is served

We finished our dinner and were then given a wonderful treat - a rainbow.  It later developed into a double rainbow.  It was actually a complete rainbow, meaning the entire rainbow was visible from end to end.

Rainbow over Lake George

It was so huge I couldn't fit it in one picture

We left the restaurant and before heading back to the hotel to relax, we thought we would walk around town a bit.

We listened to live music at the outdoor theater

We stopped to get some Ben and Jerry's ice cream

We strolled by the southern end of Lake George

We walked up a rather steep set of stairs to visit Fort William Henry

We checked out a candy store

We couldn't resist sitting in a big chair (well, Michelle could, but we made her!)

Michelle and Brian in an olive oil store for some tasting

At this point we were almost back to the hotel, but Michelle felt we had to make one more stop - the Lake George Distilling Company.  They offered tastes of any three of their products for only $5! Michelle and I eagerly agreed to sample the assorted bourbons, ryes and moonshine, but Di and Brian didn't want anything to drink.  They both ordered the peach slushie mixing behind the bar.  Michelle and I enjoyed our shots, but Brian said they were strong and was glad he hadn't ordered any alcohol.  The bartender overheard him and said to Brian that the peach slushie he was drinking was spiked with moonshine!  In fact, he told us that the peach slushie was more potent than the three samples Michelle and I had.  Never trust a peach slushie in a distillery.

A little taste of whiskey

We finished our drinks and headed back to the hotel.  The fire pits were lit and we all sat down around the fire to, you guessed it, relax.  It was a wonderful day, filled with lots of fun and laughs and every minute was enjoyable.  And, of course, the entire day was relaxing.

Relaxing by the fire pit (that's the best picture I could do in my relaxed state)

Tomorrow we are off to Fairhaven, VT.  It is only 37 miles away, so it should be a relatively easy day.