New Yorkers' Vacationland- Ahhh!

So far our last week has been reminiscent of our first week in Washington. We are in mountains and lakes and it is rainy and cool. But there are some significant differences. There are SO many people, and they are from New York and New Jersey! We even see New Jersey license plates. And the climate and landscape remind us of hiking in New Hampshire. We are almost done, and it feels like it.

Two days ago we rode from Fulton to Boonville, New York. On the way we picked up some beer, which I of course bungeed to my bike. When my 24 oz can of Labats Blue broke free of its bungee in a pothole 2 miles before camp and exploded, I was forced to shotgun it with haste. I was standing in someone's yard at the time, and he and his teenage daughter came out to talk to us. We tried to give Trixie some responsible advice on getting into road biking as I was drinking beer as it gushed out of the can. Fortunately I was not too intoxicated to make it to Stysh's Brown Barn Campground. Stysh was a great character who gives the cyclists, not the RVers, the run of the place. That was the second night we camped with Chip and Seth, a father and son pair of cross-country cyclists from Oregon. We talked and swapped stories almost the whole evening. After sharing pancakes with them the next morning, Chip promised us cake if we made it to Blue Mountain Lake the next day. So obviously we booked it there and arrived earlier than usual, but Chip and Seth were not there.... We hope we will see them again and we really hope they will still have some cake. Their blog is, bikingforallergies.blogspot.com.

Yesterday was a whole day of dodging vacationing New Yorkers as they drove yellow taxis- I mean minivans and RVs- through the narrow roads of the Adirondacks. The towns we went through, Old Forge and Inlet, were hopping because the weather was bad. We realized as the day went on that there was only one explanation for the crowds- it must be the weekend. We started to get a little nervous about finding a campground. Luckily the proprieter of the Blue Mountain Lake Inn allows cross-country cyclists to camp on the lawn, and even use the shower and sit on the porch when it rains! Thanks Mary Jo! We had a great night's sleep in the soft grass even though the town was celebrating the anniversary of its boat club with exuberant festivities.

Today we are making slow progress in the bad weather. We are only 11 miles from Blue Mountain Lake in the town of Long Lake. Tomorrow we will get to Ticonderoga, New York, which is where we will depart from the Northern Tier route and head for the southern coast of Maine.