The Trip to Albany and an Unexpected Detour...

From Niagara we took off to cross New York. We stopped at a few rest stops to fuel up, but mostly to get a few caches. In fact, at one stop I was spotted by a guy in an orange vest... he was a part of the New York Highway Department, cleaning the area (I must say, the rest stops in New York are extremely well maintained). Anyway, he came up to me with a big smile. He knew exactly what I was doing. He then explained to me that while he was cleaning the area before, he had found the cache and wondered what the heck it was. When he opened it, it had the usual documentation in it, so he researched it when he got home. He thought it was very cool and decided to leave it alone. He checked in on it every now and then and even dried out a wet log once on his dashboard heater and replaced the plastic bag. What a great guy! It's times like this that make me love geocaching... this guy didn't even play the game but he thought it was so cool that he was willing to help those of us who do!




Joe
(New York Highway Department)


We then stopped in Rome, NY to check out Fort Stanwix. This place was pretty cool... and free! We even got to practice shooting a cannon. We didn't actually shoot it, but we did get to go through the motions with a few other kids and learn the names of some of the jobs and tools used. We made a good team! Fort Stanwix was pivotal to the Revolutionary War. The British laid siege on the fort, expecting it to fall quickly and easily... they were then going to meet up with General Burgoyne at Saratoga to continue down the Hudson River. With the Fort able to hold off the British, it delayed British troops long enough for the Americans to win at Saratoga where General Burgoyne surrendered to America's General Gates. This was a turning point in the war and convinced the French to join the American cause.



The family outside of Fort Stanwix



After getting to Albany, we relaxed. We swam in the hotel's pool, ate some pizza, and read a chapter in my daughter's AP World History's summer reading, Genghis Khan! Ok, maybe it wasn't completely relaxing, but the book is cool. We wouldn't want to go a whole night without learning something (heehee).


We slept in a little longer than I had wanted, but we were off and on the road to Saratoga National Historical Park by 11:00. This place was cool. After watching a quick movie and a really cool map replica with fiber optic lights, we took the self-guided car tour where you get out at 10 different locations. We also called a recording with our cell phone that gave us information at each stop. Each stop explained more information on this historic site. We even got to see a Ranger shoot his musket! This place was really cool!!!

Me and the kids at the entrance to Saratoga



Readying to fire a musket

We took a little longer than we had planned at Saratoga, so after leaving the park, we decided to try something not on the itenerary... We just HAD to get a cache in Vermont!!! We were only an hour's drive, so we punched Bennington, VT  into the GPS (which seemed to be the closest city to the border from us) and drove. What a great idea! This town was very quaint. We stopped at a restaurant called Peppermills and with a lovely patio area next to a river, we decided to dine outside...until it started to sprinkle, then rain harder, and then finally HAIL!!  As we tried to "wait out" each step, we finally got a quick respit in the hail and ran indoors, laughing the whole way in. Anyway, the restaurant turned out to have delicious food and enjoyed it thoroughly...even the unexpected hello from Mother Nature! We were really enjoying our Vermont decision, so after our meal we headed out for our geocache find.




At Peppermills on the patio overlooking the river
(before the hail storm ran us inside)

 We chose a 2 difficulty and 2 terrain because it was big enough to hold a travel bug. We had done many "2's" before and thought that we could handle it pretty easily. The obvious route to the cache would have taken us through the middle of a softball game/practice, so we decided to take a "trail" behind a dirt bike track...only, there wasn't an actual trail. Going down 45 degree slippery hills, we finally make it to the back of the softball field. Following the tree line, we get to the actual trail. Calling it a trail is a bit generous, with grass and weeds over the kids' heads. We zeroed in on GZ. Did I mention that it had rained earlier? Well, we were soaked, but we HAD to get a cache in Vermont. When all said and done, it was another greaqt adventure in the state of Vermont. Ethan said that next time we would need to bring a machete!!

On the way back to Albany, we found Troy, New York, so we had to stop and take a picture.

Today, we are off to Boston!