The Races at Saratoga

Saratoga for the races has always been on my to-get-to list, too. Sounded so genteel and civilized. Today we get to find out.

Well, the track is pretty and we love the paddock parade where trainers and jockeys bring out their horses for an up close and personal look before each race. While, there might be more families here, the crowd looks pretty much like any other race track...maybe it's fancier for the Travers Cup.

It takes us forever, but we finally figure out how to buy clubhouse reserved seats...it's very warm and sitting in the shade will be far more comfortable. We have a good time...haven't a clue of what we are doing and lose a bunch of money.



Leave after the 7th race and go into the village of Saratoga Springs. It's adorable...graceful Victorians with hanging baskets everywhere. We're going to Hattie's for dinner. We've been told to have the fried chicken (the restaurant won a throwdown with Bobby Flay) and the jumbalaya. The place is packed and we're glad we are arriving so early. It's old down south comfortable (been there since 1938). The jumbalaya is thick, huge and very good. The chicken, however, is dry ... even the dark meat...and the cornbread is dry too...big disappointment.

The Lake George Schroon Valley RV Resort unfolds in mysterious ways. While it caters to a kind of Nascar crowd and isn't in the slightest bit attractive, since we've moved to the river site and had a rousing night of dancing, it feels better. We also find out they lend DVD's out for free (very necessary because no TV or cable here). They also have WiFi, but don't really tell you about it. (And we need it because our roaming internet relies on cell phone coverage and there's none of that here either.) You get an hour free a day they say with extra time available for purchase. Fact of the matter they just give you the code for the extra time. The pool is also fairly nice and there's a big game/video room. They also rent go-carts and tubes for going down the river. It's understandable why there are so many kids here...they are having a great time.

When Rick is in the office taking back a DVD, he hears tonight's entertainment is a hypnotist. He goes down for a while and it's mobbed.. the hypnotized people on stage are convinced they are glued to their chairs and they really can't get off! There's a lot going on at this place...wish it were prettier.

Lake George

We re-entered the States yesterday. The TransCanada Highway between Quebec City and Montreal is in incredibly poor shape for such a major thoroughfare. Pass through Customs easily ... great relief because last year we got busted for having a lemon slice topping a piece of leftover salmon!

Lake George is the destination for the next four days. Had never been there and it was very high on my list.

Don't actually know how to properly capture our feelings when we drove into the Lake George Schroon Valley RV Resort. Horror and angst, perhaps. We were very close to leaving and seeing if The Sagamore had a room. Spent a dreadful night, very loud and very unattractive.

Rick is a god! While the park is not what we had thought it would be, there are a few sites on a very pretty river. I had tried to book one months ago and couldn't. This morning Rick marched up to the office and found out someone had not shown up for their river site. We were unhooked and there within 15 minutes. Site #54 is the best there is here.

We go from the ridiculous to the sublime...lunch at The Sagamore on Lake George in Bolton Landing. We spend a leisurely afternoon, dining on the terrace, watching the water and investigating the grounds. It is lovely. Tried to book a dinner or luncheon cruise...totally full. If you come here, should reserve in advance. The schooner, Morgan, is a beautiful 75-year-old vessel, gracefully appointed.







Wander into the village...have to drive all the way into Glen Falls to find a grocery store, go back, grill shrimp on flavor infused skewers and intend to lock ourselves in. Little did we know how the evening would turn!

We hear a band tuning up. They start to really rock. We throw on some jeans and follow the sounds to a big pavillion on the property. There's a huge crowd, from infants to grandparents, movin' and a groovin'! Of course, we spend the next two hours dancing to the sounds of Standing Room Only. They are very good!

Quebec City - Part Deux

We love dining al fresco...and that's including breakfast. Awake to a stunningly beautiful day...cook bacon on the grill, make fresh wild blueberry pancakes inside...and have a picnic dejeuner. These Canadian blueberries are like the ones in Maine...very, very small and very, very sweet.

Our plan is to have a big breakfast, skip lunch and have an early dinner, then head to a free concert on the dock that is part of the 400th anniversary celebration. That will be followed by a slide show projected on huge refinery containers about Quebec history.

Catch the ferry, drive through Battefield Parkland (which is gorgeous) and down Grande Allee, Quebec's version of the Champs E'lysee. It's very pretty and very hip...crammed with sidewalk cafes and nightclubs. We will return later.

Notre Dame in Old Quebec is not of the scale of its namesake, but it glitters with gold everywhere. We enter during a celebration of parents and children all applauding enthusiastically. Find out it is some sort of school award ceremony.

We return to the one store I had scouted out yesterday for a serious visit...Boutique De Noel De Quebec on Rue De Buade. I am a serious Christmas freak and have carefully acquired a very large number of Victorian style ornaments. They are not that easy to find anymore, but here I hit the motherlode! I find some exquisite additions for the collection and can't wait to see them on this year's tree.

Comes 4 p.m. and we decide, we need a nibble and go back to Grande Allee to one of the chic little cafes. We choose Cosmos and it's terrific. Rather chi-chi food. The paninis sound too good to pass up, though they're more than we want to eat. But whatever...Rick has a chicken, mango, avocado, accompanied by frites....I order smoked trout with chevre with a couscous salad side. We can only make it through about half the food...have them package the leftovers and know we are toast for filling 3 hours until the concert and 5 hours before the light show. Sometimes you just can't do it all. We take the ferry back.