Drive Report: 0 Miles / 0:00 - Unless ya count the ferry ride...
Just So Ya Know Report: I checked the rudimentary stats provided by blogger.com today. Can't do a lot of analysis, it's not very sophisticated. But I can report that I had readers from Russia, Ukraine and France in the last week. The reader should know that this officially makes The Thin Blue Ride (and by extension yours truly) kinda a big deal. I guess the other reason to read it is to find out what the Accounting Department/Teamster/Team Manager/Smuggler has been up to lately. Now excuse me while I go buy her some bigger hats.
It rained for most of the morning, but that was fine because we read late last night and slept until (I hesitate to admit this) 1100 this morning. I think the last time I slept that late was shortly after we married - we were living in either our first apartment or the mobile home we bought when I got out of the Army and went to K-State. It’s been a loooooooong time. Anyway - we didn’t lose much since, as I said earlier it was raining - that sorta curtails any outside adventures with the scooter as our ride.
This is not to say that we didn’t get out. There was supposed to be a break in the rain between about 1100 and 1600. Since that information came from “AccuWeather” I looked at the radar myself and confirmed that there was a break in the rain which should last for several hours, so off we went. Sometimes the day’s excitement is a curvy road to Smuggler’s Notch, sometimes it’s I-87 to the nearest Wal-Mart. Today was the later since we were running out of milk. Which is, admittedly, my fault. Susan drinks milk like a kid drinks medicine. I, on the other hand, consider it the nectar of life - right behind Diet Pepsi. And since DP doesn’t do much for Reese’s Pieces cereal (don’t ask me how I know this) we made a milk run to Wally World.
The fun part was that we got to take a ferry to do it...
As we waited for the ferry to unload I noticed this - an ambulance. I'm not sure how that works. (911 phone rings) Ambulance guy: Can we help you? Screaming wife: My husband is having a heart attack, please come! Ambulance guy: Sure thing ma'am - just let me check the ferry schedule, then we'll be there right after it docks and we debark.
(Since the Research Department checked on this earlier, I want to make sure I use the right terminology.) This is the scooter on the ferry, right after we barked. We're headed across Lake Champlain to Wally World. This ride lasts about 15 minutes.
Which is plenty of time to go up to the poop deck hamming it up for the camera. Stop rolling your eyes and Google it if you must. Note the couple at the bow of the ship with the stroller. I hope they have the brakes locked on that thing...
You know what the definition of a ferry race is? That's right - two ferries. We got ourselves a race. Well - actually, they run three ferries at this time of day. One is debarking, one is barking and one is in transit at any given moment. We caught a pic of this one just as we left the dock. (Side bar: The California Research Department is headed up by a long time friend - Chuck Putnam. I want to be sure to give credit for the terminology where credit is due.)
We also caught a glimpse of several sail boats plying the waters of Lake Champlain. This one happened to have its sails furled. I gotta say, sailing on a lake this large with those mountains as a backdrop - that'd be a blast.
The scoot wanted a selfie with a ferry.
The scoot's vanity aside, we now move on to weightier matters. In that vein, I ask that the reader next consider the two pics below and then vote for the best Sea Captain pose...
The first pic is Susan standing at the bow of the ferry gazing off into the distance as she imagines Captaining the Mayflower in search of the New World and Plymouth Colony. Note the windswept appearance, the storm clouds and the purple slicker. These add to the ambiance of the pose.
The second pic is me auditioning for the lead in the remake of Master and Commander. The reader should ignore the fact that I'm standing on the shore, the weather is bright and sunny, I have no slicker and am wearing cargo shorts and Merrills.
Let the voting commence...
And as we pulled in to the dock on the return trip, I thought the reader might like a quick look at where The Rig is parked...
OK - that's not The Rig - the danged ferry got in the way. It's about the same size as The Rig, but The Rig is parked on shore, to the left of the yellow house peeking out from behind the trees and is just hidden by the trees above the bow of the ferry.
With no ferry in the way we're just behind the trees to the right of the rock jetty protruding into the lake in front of the gap in the trees. And the campground is pretty empty. Most of the seasonal campers have left and there are very few of us short-termers. As of today, I don't know where the nearest occupied camper is.
Oh - I got the first pangs of, "I'm ready to head home" today as we were walking thru Wal-Mart. Understandable, I suppose, since we left on May 22nd. The timing is probably about right. First, it was just a momentary sensation. Second, we're due to pull up stakes here at Lake Champlain on Monday morning - less than two days hence. I sense that I'll spend some time in the future reflecting on the trip and that I may then be better able to better describe it's impact. But for now, let me just say that I think it was a great way to start retirement. And finally, since the rest of the day will be spent planning the various legs of the return trip and doing some reading, I'm gonna go ahead and post early today.
Till next time.
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