Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, s/v Philadelphia II one of the exhibits

The weather forecast for our likely last full week in the Lake was a mix of sunny & calm and windy & chilly.  A few miles further south than where we anchored for Otter Creek was Mile Point and there you could dinghy ashore to visit the Maritime Museum on Basin Harbor Rd, Vergennes. Tuesday was the day.

A classic

The LCMM comprises five exhibit buildings, a working replica 1776 gunboat Philadelphia II, several large outside displays and workshop sheds. A program called Lake Adventure Camp is offered too. The campus layout is comfy and the buildings don’t appear large at first but boy they are packed full of just about everything you’d want to know about Lake history, heritage and happenings of old.

Not easy trying to work as team when all are newbies!

At the welcome center we learned that a teacher group was here today, so that explained who was in the row boats.

Portion of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum campus

At the Watercraft Center the 1902 ice yacht Storm King stole the show and the entire two stories! She is the centerpiece in a large collection of dugout and bark canoes, kayaks, rowing skiffs and other small watercraft used over the years on the Lake.

Storm King is too huge to fit into a camera shot

Storm King; the velvet seat made her very fancy for this type of vessel

Lovin’ the CT- VT connection

 This looks to be one way to hunt for Champ!!

Boats, docks and the teacher group who got to row, row, row your boat!

When you step aboard the Philadelphia II you are back in 1776. The man who awaits you dressed in period clothing is worth the price of admission (although the museum cost is low). He has more knowledge about the Revolutionary War era in this area especially, than 50 people combined. Just fascinating to listen, ask questions and try to absorb even a smidgen more than the brain can hold.  The topic of how people slept was very interesting and something I hadn’t ever fully considered although I knew people didn’t always sleep in comfy beds back in 1776.

While aboard, the men slept in shifts- ok they take turns got that. But they would sleep basically sitting up and leaning back into the guy behind them, sorta like fallen dominoes. When people were traveling – rebel colonists, regular citizens, etc, it was common to sleep at the base of a tree or better yet in the space where two trunks were joined, put your wool blanket under your butt and fold it over and around you. Even when at home, the sleeping position was only a partial recline. Beds were smaller back then, plus the typical diet often caused acid reflux, so best not to be fully reclined.

Gunboat kettle pot cooking

Wednesday we fueled up, got pumped out and thanked again for calling about s/v Sunset Breeze, and learned why this marina chooses to pump the fuel for you. Basically, it’s the liability and the fines assessed for a spill or for not reporting a spill.  If they pump the fuel there’s no question as to who is responsible. Good timing, as the price was going up with Friday’s delivery, thanks to Harvey.

Wednesday, at the fuel dock I got a close look of the sunken barge in the still waters

The prior marina owners used sunken barges to protect the outer floating docks that lie left and right of the long fuel dock. Warning buoys mark the area but accidents do happen. Not sure what course of action will be allowed once they more fully break up and fall apart.

On the other side of the fuel dock is another sunken barge that has become more visible since we arrived

Sea planes were a regular event and every time, even with less-than-perfect conditions, no crashing into the dock.

Here we go again. Another day another seaplane

Fueling up. See the man sitting on the wing?

Incoming! At bit more wave action for this sea plane

All aboard! Very fully loaded, liftoff took noticeable effort

One time the plane had to back off from the end and I missed a good shot of the pilot standing on a float, paddling to get far enough off the dock so he could turn.

Stay tuned for just a bit more of our Lake Champlain visit.

We enjoyed such a great four weeks in Lake Champlain that I’m very glad to keep a log, otherwise the too frequent senior moments would win out.  Benj had to assist with the morning Farm Market so we made plans for the late afternoon and evening.

The Middlebury Co-op was our second stop, after donating a bag of books to a huge used book shop. Benj had told me about powdered humus that you reconstitute with water/oil to turn it back into “real” hummus. He said it was very good and I thought it was an ideal boat item; long-lasting and you can make just the amount you want when you need to. Picked up a bunch of other non-perishables and checked out the new huge deli “and more” section which was due to open in a few days.

We wanted to stroll and shop in downtown so Benj headed home and we enjoyed a pleasant walk. Russ obtained another birthday gift while I hunted for a card; our sneaky gift acquisition plan working like a charm.

Dinner at American Flatbread in the MarbleWorks was long overdue. It hadn’t made the cut in prior visits to Vermont, and since they were closed Sundays we had to plan for a Saturday night.

I don’t know, forget the food just focus on the creative and delicious cocktails you can find on nearly every menu throughout Vermont; Rutland, Middlebury and the surrounding town, yes, Burlington too. I settled on a New York Sour, which was not described, and wow, just wow!  I wanted bourbon instead of whiskey though. The sour mix was not your usual heavy “too this or that”, it had to be homemade. So that and the bourbon, in a glass with a huge round iceball (I can’t call it a cube), topped with a Malbec floater.  I had to look it up to be sure it’s a real drink and not just an American Flatbread creation.

My New York Sour with a huge round ice ball was divine!!

Ok, then we ate pizza. 🙂

Dinner for four- one large and one small. The young ones took home leftovers- not that much was left.

We had walked from downtown- yep all of a six-minute walk. Benj and Lily walked from home, so that meant a walk back for all. Warm and lovely evening, perfect to walk.

Sunday: Russ had been wanting to hike and Mt Philo was very close and not too strenuous. I opted out as the long hike around Valcour bruised my left big toe under the nail; the same sneaks that ruined my right big toe nail last September. Plus, father-son time was rather overdue and I had some things I needed to get done.

View from Mt Philo. Gorgeous. So much green, so many mountains. Farmland too

The view proved amazing, the temperature on the cool side; perfect for a guys’ hike. And since we seem to follow up pleasant outings and meals with a grocery stop, this would be no exception. Of course Benj selected the veggie items. He also selected several items for his lunch; more than I could eat in four meals! He, and all the farm crew, burn so many calories that they have to focus hard on consuming enough calories every day. Peanut butter, honey, huge salads are common because eating healthy is important. So proud of this guy!

The guys returned and we got to hang out with our son for a couple more hours. Life IS good.