Few days ago, we were at a friends place. The discussion turned to summer plans. Someone turned to us and asked what our plan was. Then another friend said "I know you will be going to Plattsburgh. What is your summer plan in addition to going to Plattsburgh?". Our annual visit to Plattsburgh is emblematic of our summer plan. Everybody that knows us knows about our annual pilgrimage to Plattsburgh in summer.
Plattsburgh is a quiet town of about 20,000 residents by lake Champlain. Named after the great explorer Samuel de Champlain, this lake was supposedly included in the list of great lakes. But then just as Pluto was kicked out of the list of planets and made into a dwarf planet, Lake Champlain also lost the designation of "Great lake". Plattsburgh is only 30 miles from Canadian border. Once I took a wrong turn and ended in Canada. It is obvious that the region has a french connection. It used to be a part of French colony in colonial era before changing hands to British. The region became a part of America in 1783 through the treaty of Paris. But it would be another century before Mr. Platt would found the city of Plattsburgh.
We wanted to beat the Friday traffic but we did not have much luck. However, the crowded road became more deserted as we drove through New Hampshire. The journey took us through the picturesque mountains of Vermont. The road, with pine tree on both side, curls up around the mountains and vanishes somewhere in the horizon. Driving in this hilly terrain brought memories of driving in Swiss Alps and Scottish highlands. When we started, the bright sun was over our heads. As we drove through Vermont, it turned to a bright red ball and started playing pick a boo with us as it would intermittently hide behind the mountains and then would suddenly show up.
When it finally took refuge behind the mountains, thick black darkness descended over the landscape. We could tell that we are close to French speaking Canadian province of Quebec as bilingual signs in the interstate highway becomes more frequent and the unit in mile stone changed from Miles to Kilometers. The final phase of the trip is crossing lake Champlain by ferry from Grand Isle Vermont to Plattsburgh NY. My kids eagerly wait for this part. Ankita kept looking for the state line, which is in the middle of late Champlain, in the GPS. She always gets very excited by the number of states we have crossed in a road trip. The above video was taken during our return trip.
When it finally took refuge behind the mountains, thick black darkness descended over the landscape. We could tell that we are close to French speaking Canadian province of Quebec as bilingual signs in the interstate highway becomes more frequent and the unit in mile stone changed from Miles to Kilometers. The final phase of the trip is crossing lake Champlain by ferry from Grand Isle Vermont to Plattsburgh NY. My kids eagerly wait for this part. Ankita kept looking for the state line, which is in the middle of late Champlain, in the GPS. She always gets very excited by the number of states we have crossed in a road trip. The above video was taken during our return trip.
