A weekend of camping in the Adirondacks

My friend, Nancy and I, in the past have backpacked, canoe camped, snowshoed, and cross country skiied all over the Adirondacks.  However, due to time constraints. . . okay, and maybe old age setting in! . . . we haven't been to the Adirondacks in a couple years or more.  Awhile back we decided to set a weekend aside and just do it.  On Friday we headed up to the Adirondacks with my canoe on top of the car and the inside of the car loaded with gear.

A funny thing happened in my garage Friday morning when she came over to help me load the canoe onto the car.  I was emptying out the life jackets, and a few other minor items that had collected in the canoe since last I used it.  I found a pair of sunshades.  "Hhmm, where did these come from?"  I turned around to throw them in the garbage can behind me.  They weren't mine.  I have to wear prescription sunshades.

Nancy gasped.  "Are they Raybans?" she asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

After the initial shock wore off, we determined that possibly last summer, when she was helping me hang my kayak on the wall, above the canoe, the Raybans fell off her head into the canoe.  They belong to her husband who wasn't any too pleased that she lost them.

All packed and ready to go, I said goodbye to Morgan and Molly and promised them I would return and they would be well taken care of while I was away.  I tried to ignore their sad looks.

We ended up camping at Fish Creek Ponds, a state run campground just east of the village of Tupper Lake.  We had a nice site on the water.

Saturday morning, as on ANY morning, my first priority is to get the coffee ready.  Darn, that percolator takes much longer than my Bunn coffeemaker at home!

We went for a canoe ride in the early afternoon.  Over the last 30 plus years, I have spent a lot of time paddling these waters.  There are so many neat little streams and ponds where motor boats can't get to and you can really enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature.

On Saturday afternoon, I received the following e-mail from the neighbor who was taking care of Molly and Morgan:

Not sure if you have email access out there in the wild....but Molly is such a sweety- she melts my heart. I swear I saw her roll her eyes at Morgan when Molly and I were playing a nice game of fetch and then Morgan came along and took the thing but didn't return it to me and just hopped all around with it in her mouth....I think I heard Molly say "Seriously Morgan, can't you just watch me and learn. If you want this human to play with you then you give the toy back to her- not jump all over like a crazy dog"  :-)

On Saturday night, we had kabobs for dinner.  We eat well on these trips!

We expected an uneventful trip home on Sunday. . . and it was, except for one minor bump in the road.  As we were coming around the bend in the road in the tiny hamlet of Floyd, NY, my jaw dropped as just ahead we saw a huge road block, with, no kidding, 10  police cars with their lights flashing.  I've never seen a road block with that many police.  As I pulled up to the officer, he asked me to pull over to the side of the road.  WHAT?  Not one to talk back to a law enforcement officer, I did what I was told, with no idea why he chose me, when all the other cars ahead of me were motioned on.

"May I have your license, registration, and insurance papers, please?" he asked.

At this point, visions of mistaken identify and all kinds of unpleasant things were bouncing around in my mind.  I grabbed my purse and produced the items he asked for.  It was then he told me that my vehicle inspection sticker had expired in May.

Some relief set in as he left the side of my car to go check out my identify on his computer.  At least he hadn't confused me with some fugitive from justice!

He returned and explained the paperwork.  I am to produce proof that my car was inspected - that will be done TODAY! - and then send the paperwork to the Court of Floyd, NY.  I will then hear back from them to know if I will be fined or not.  It was then that he told me, "You may get away with just a warning and no fine, since you have a clean record."  

Ha!  Yes, I am squeaky clean when it comes to matters of the law!  My last speeding ticket was over 20 years ago and that was in a state (that will remain anonymous) that does not like people from New York State.  They think everyone that lives in NYS is rich and they are not a wealthy state!

It was a fun weekend and I especially enjoyed the slow pace, listening to the loons on the water and the breeze blowing through the trees.