Lake Placid

So way back in June me and my parents went up to the high peaks region of the Adirondack's and stayed in Lake Placid. The trip was slightly delayed (and I was still feeling a little under the weather) due to a stomach virus making its nasty way around our apartment but we made it up there eventually!

Lake Placid is about a 3 hour drive north of Albany, and it's a very pretty drive too. We spent the first afternoon walking around the downtown area and Mirror Lake (we barely saw Lake Placid itself as it's hidden behind various hotels and houses).

Mirror Lake

The Lake Placid ironman triathlon was a few weeks after we were there so there were a lot of people out on bikes, running and swimming. Certainly not a bad place for outdoor activities. After an early dinner and a compulsory game of mini golf at Pirates Cove (which I won with multiple holes in one despite the tummy aches) it was back to the hotel. We didn't have a view of either lake from our hotel room, but the room itself was huge - at least twice the size of "typical" hotel rooms!

We headed out to the Olympic ski jumps bright and early the next morning so there was only a couple of others visiting when we were there. After seeing the jumps, I honestly have no idea how people can do it!

Olympic ski jumps at Lake Placid

We went up the ski lift to the base of the jumps (which you can see in the picture on the right hand side) and then in a elevator to the top of the 120 m jump. I am not a big fan of heights when it comes to tall buildings but I even managed to go out onto the adjustable platform the the jumpers start from. The view from the top was great though and when the next winter Olympics comes around I will have a whole new level of respect for those ski jumpers (I don't think the pictures quite do it justice though)!

My parents on the jumping platform. It was scary.

Not a bad view but I will never be a ski jumper!

After going up the jumps we headed back down and watched some of the athletes at the Olympic training centre doing practice freestyle jumps into the swimming pool. It was fun watching them and it looked like fun doing it. Although swimming to the edge of the pool while wearing skis and carrying poles was maybe a little less fun. Anyway, I took a couple of videos and some action shots.

This looks like more fun

We then headed out towards Essex, NY and took a ferry across Lake Champlain to Vermont. We drove through Vermont to Waterbury and took a tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory. If only my stomach had been feeling better I would have enjoyed my free sample a little more (of course I still managed it all though). The tour was good for an ice cream loving family!! After Ben and Jerry's we stopped by somewhere to taste lots of cheese (my stomach enjoyed the cheese) and buy some real Vermont maple syrup for me, my parents and as a gift for my brother (I hope the maple syrup thieves are caught)!

A night in Rutland, VT and a trip to the outlets in Manchester, VT (no sales tax and a few super cheap bargains) on the way home completed the tour. I don't have any pictures of Vermont sadly as the camera battery died and I didn't realise I had the charger until it was too late.

Hopefully we can go camp in Vermont and the high peaks sometime!