Crazy 8 New England Adventure — Day Three Lake George, New York, to Burlington, Vermont

 We left our hotel around 10:00, but naturally we needed a Starbucks stop first. Wayne, Freida, and I went through the drive-thru while Mark waited for us—or at least tried to wait for us. Everywhere he attempted to stop, someone would pull in behind him, so he kept driving around in circles until we finally emerged with our coffee. 🤣

Once everyone was properly caffeinated, we hit the road and drove along Route 9. There were still classic cars everywhere for the Adirondack Nationals. After seeing miles of them lining the streets last night, and even more this morning, the guys were happy with what they had seen. That meant we could continue toward Ticonderoga without anyone feeling deprived of car-show time. A successful compromise for the Crazy 8!

We enjoyed more beautiful scenery and lovely homes along the way. We also stopped at a scenic overlook above Lake George to take pictures and enjoy the view. The lake and surrounding mountains were absolutely beautiful. We thought we had a picture of the sign there however we did not but the internet can be a wonderful place allowing you to find one. 

Michael decided that the property below is where he was moving too. 😂

When we reached Ticonderoga, and found beautiful murals on the sides of their buildings I was lucky enough to grab a picture when we were stopped at a stop light. 

We stopped at the Ticonderoga Heritage Museum. Ticonderoga is well known for its Revolutionary War history, but we learned that the town also has a long industrial history involving graphite mining, paper mills, and pencils.

David landed in pencil jail. His crime? Being too sharp! ✏️🤣

A bit of history below about Ticonderogo- 

Graphite was mined in the Ticonderoga area beginning in 1815 and later refined there by the American Graphite Company. The graphite was used in many products, including the familiar yellow Dixon Ticonderoga pencils that most of us grew up using in school. Interestingly, the pencils were not actually manufactured in Ticonderoga, but the locally mined and processed graphite inspired their famous name.

The museum is housed in the last remaining building from the Ticonderoga Pulp and Paper Company complex. We watched an interesting film showing how pencils are made. Grace had previously seen a documentary about pencil making, but she still couldn’t figure out how the eraser was attached. By the time our film ended, that mystery had finally been solved! I never knew there was so much involved in making an ordinary pencil, and I may never look at a No. 2 pencil—or its eraser—quite the same way again! ✏️ 

After leaving the museum, we drove over to the little covered bridge commonly known as the Kissing Bridge,  and stopped to enjoy the waterfall. Neither one had a sign giving its name, so at the time we really weren’t sure what they were called. But my research says the covered bridge is "commonly" known as the Kissing Bridge, although the official LaChute River Walk map labels it only as the “Covered Bridge.” I couldn’t find a reliable history explaining when it received the nickname so still don't know why!

But yet again turning to the internet I learned that the waterfall is on the La Chute River and is known locally as Lower Falls. It is also sometimes called Bicentennial Fall because it is located beside Bicentennial Park. The La Chute River connects Lake George with Lake Champlain. Although it travels only about three miles through Ticonderoga, it drops approximately 220 feet along the way. For many years, the river’s waterfalls supplied power to the town’s sawmills, gristmills, pulp mills, and paper mills. We had no idea how much history was right there in front of us!

These were at the Kissing Bridge and my research says they were pulp-mill grindstones left from the Ticonderoga's paper-manufacturing days. 

While we were inside the museum, the country club was highly recommended to us for lunch, so that is where we went. 

Our first Clam Chowder of the trip

The people at the museum told us there were some beautiful photo opportunities so David graciously took some for us.

After finishing lunch, we remembered an ice cream place we had passed earlier. Naturally, we headed back to the Wind-Chill Factory for a treat. Because coffee, lunch, and ice cream are all important parts of a properly planned Crazy 8 road trip. 🤣

We then continued toward Burlington and crossed into Vermont. Here is the bridge crossing from NY into Vermont - Lake Champlain Bridge 

As we continued toward Burlington, we found Quinlan's Covered Bridge in Charlotte, Vermont. Built in 1849, the one lane bridge crosses Lewis Creek and is still open to automobiles, we were able to drive right through it. 

A little farther north in Shelburne, we saw another historic covered bridge at the Shelburne Museum. That much larger bridge once served as the museum’s entrance but is no longer used by vehicles. Grace and David gave me great pictures of the bridges—thankfully, because by the time I began sorting everyone’s photographs, I had no idea which bridge was where! 🤣

As we traveled through Shelburne, we managed to spot and photograph a rather unusual collection of red fire hydrants along the roadside. It turns out that it is called the Fire Hydrant Jack, created by local artist Chris Sharp in tribute to the firefighters of September 11. We are apparently photographing Vermont landmarks first and figuring out what they are later! 🤣

We finally arrived in Burlington and visited the Church Street Marketplace, a pedestrian area filled with shops and restaurants. There might have been a little shopping involved. 🤣🤷‍♀️

Afterward, we tried to find parking near Lake Champlain so we could walk down and take a few pictures. Apparently, everyone else in Burlington had the same idea because parking was scarce. After driving around and having no luck, we finally gave up and headed to our hotel in Essex Junction to get checked in.

Another full day for the Crazy 8—classic cars, beautiful scenery, pencils, waterfalls, covered bridges, shopping, and, of course, ice cream!

Today we’re off to explore Stowe before making our way through the Vermont countryside toward North Conway, New Hampshire—who knows what the Crazy 8 will find along the way! 🚗🍁