Day One

As I write this, I am surrounded by wild turkeys (the bird, not the drink), Canada geese and screwdrivers (the drink, not the tool).

I am staying at the lovely Paradox Lake Campground tonight, due to the kindness of the two gentlemen at the booth. I had a reservation for last night, but as we know, it rained all day and I postponed my departure. Chuck called and was told “no refunds” and he couldn’t even make me a reservation for tonight. I pulled up on my bike and said, “I’m here to beg, plead and cry if necessary.” One of them said, “Crying’s cool.” I told them my story, asked if I could stay here, and they said, “Sure! You’ll be the only one in the campground! Take any site you like!” (Hallelujah)

As for biking today…let’s just say climbing Route 74 out of Ticonderoga was absolutely the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life (so far). Heck, I was exhausted just getting to the ferry! Route 74 in Vermont is just hill, after hill, after hill.

I need to digress for a moment…I just noticed that the back of my left leg is COMPLETELY sunburned. Why only the left? Gotta be better about the sunscreen…

Anyway, I pulled up to the ferry landing JUST as the ferry was pulling away. (They come back if cars pull up, but not bikes apparently…) So, I was OK with that. More time to rest and relax after the long ride. I ate my Blueberry Clif Bar and wandered around. The ferry came back and they wouldn’t take my free ferry pass. I said, “It says it’s good for ANY Lake Champlain ferry.” And he said, “Well, not this one!” So, I wasn’t a jerk about it. I paid the two dollars and thanked him for the ride.

I used the public restroom (ewww) and hopped on my bike. I noticed the “Welcome to New York” sign and I want to take pictures of me at every state sign, so I clumsily attempted to set the timer, and run back to the sign and look cute before the camera snapped. This wasn’t working out. A crew of telephone repair guys had been getting a good laugh out of this, until one of them graciously offered to take my picture. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to figure out my camera, so the picture didn’t come out. I snapped one of just the sign before I left. As I was leaving, I heard him talking to one of his co-workers: “That girl is riding her bike to Seattle!” “Seattle, the STATE????” his friend asked in disbelief. I smiled and rode away.

So, the campground is just beautiful, I have the whole place to myself, I’ve already been for a refreshing swim and I’m about to take a shower after I finish this. Munching on rice crackers and pistachios, since I can’t get my can of soup open, but that’s OK! I can pick up a can opener any old time. It’s supposed to rain off and on tomorrow, so hopefully I can time my bike riding accordingly. Supposedly the general store down the road makes a really good breakfast. Hmmmmm……..