July 6-11 Hanging in Burlington
“A society with too few independent thinkers is vulnerable to control by disturbed and opportunistic leaders. A society which wants to create and maintain a free and democratic social system must create responsible independence of thought among its young.” It turns out that Burlington and the surrounding area produced quite a few historical figures whose influence persists today. One of them was the author of this quote, John Dewey, born in Burlington in 1859. As we stood in the early morning reading this quote displayed on the Burlington waterfront, we started thinking again about the importance of learning from history.
It’s been a great week. We are quite smitten with Burlington. Plus, we had more time with Alex and Marc, a trip to Stowe with friend Diane to have lunch with her and husband Dean on their spectacular patio in the mountains. We welcomed Cheri and granddaughter Sadie on board for 2 nights and a trip to Willsboro Bay on the NY side of the lake. Sadie, being new to the cruising boat life was alert and inquisitive often asking; “Is that normal?” Two weeks ago, Don successfully flushed the coolant system in the engine to eliminate any remaining contaminants that could cause us issues in the future. As a result, we had a number of 1-gallon jugs of old anti-freeze sealed and stowed in our lazarette. Sadie spied these when we opened the hatch to get the swim ladder and exclaimed, “Is that what I think it is??!!” We were thinking, “yes, obviously its antifreeze”, but Sadie was thinking that this was the method of disposing of our – well, liquid human waste, aka pee. Being the ultimate in potty humor, we laughed about this for the next 2 days. Cheri graciously transported the antifreeze home to dispose of at a sanctioned disposal site and Sadie proudly texted to say the pee had been delivered. It was great having these two on board. Cheri is a great friend, and we loved meeting Sadie who brought a breeze of fresh air. Burlington was also the first place we displayed the full Fegley boating circus putting 2 adults, a dog and an electric bike in the dinghy. My turn to head to the grocery while Don and Spot had a date at the dog park. No injuries and food procured. We leave Burlington well provisioned and with full hearts.
June 29 – July 5th Champlain part I
Crown Point
The gates of the Whitehall lock opened to reveal beautiful lower Champlain. We chugged through the serpentine channel with towering bluffs, past Mount Defiance and Fort Ticonderoga. We spent our first night on the hook just off Crown Point where the distance between New York and Vermont shrinks to a stone’s throw. There are 2 forts here: French and English. The French built their Fort Saint-Frederic in the 1730’s during the French Indian war but found themselves continually harassed by the British. In 1759, the French burned their fort and left. With the French departed, the British proceeded to build “the greatest military installation raised in N. America.” In 1773, a chimney fire spread to the powder magazine and obliterated British fort leaving a skeleton force in place. In 1775, 100 Green Mountain boys took over, capturing 111 cannons and moving 29 of them South to defend Boston Harbor. Benedict Arnold, when he was still a friendly, used this fort to stage his Lake Champlain Navy. What’s left today are spectacular ruins on a stunning point of land, a memorial lighthouse, a beautiful campground, walking trails and the perfect anchorage for a swim call. Spot got to try his swim ladder for the first time. Success = Happy Dog!
Vergennes
We head North and take a right. We zig zag around a bit trying to find the cryptic entrance to Otter Creek which winds 9 miles into town. We felt we’d been transported to the Amazon – deep murky water laced with ubiquitous bugs. Thank goodness for Nereus’s screen doors! We parked at the town floating docks – a bit rickety but just fine with fresh water on hand and a roaring dam and waterfall providing both ambience and air conditioning. The dam was once a hydro electric plant. Before that, it was a lumber mill that supplied the wood for 9 ships that Lt. McDonough built in Vergennes and deployed in the war of 1812 battle of Plattsburgh Bay. Modern Vergennes is a super cute and happening village – cool shops ranging from couture to antiques. Our second night here, my cousin Alex and husband Marc appeared at the town wharf, and we convened for dinner at a marvelous little French Bistro – called the black sheep. Ice cream being a necessity for dessert, we marched up the block only to find the local shop (Lu-Lu) had just closed for the night. As we stood staring forlornly at the doors, the proprietor unlocked and invited us in. Waffle cones for all!
Burlington
It’s July 2nd and HOT, so we fled Vergennes for a slip in Burlington where we could plug in and crank up the AC. We were disappointed to arrive inside the Burlington breakwater and see bright green water full of tiny, green flecks and swirls of green on the surface. The fellow who helped catch our lines called it pollen. Not so. Burlington was experiencing a full-blown cyanobacteria bloom– blue green algae which can kill a dog quickly and isn’t great for humans either. So, no swimming for us or for Spotty. On the 3rd of July, we had to vacate the marina as all slips were reserved for the fireworks that night. We left early and dropped the hook with 4 or 5 other boats in the cove just North of town where there’s a public beach. Kids were swimming when we first pulled in but staff quickly asked everyone to get out of the water due to the bloom. Hence a quiet beach on a beautiful holiday. Peaceful – or so we thought. By 5pm there were at least 200 boats in the cove with us with accompanying Jet skis, paddle boards, hydroplaning skateboard thingies, and other assorted oddities. A party was getting started. Prevalent language: Francais!
To stretch our legs ahead of the fireworks, we hiked over the headland to a place where all the early twenty-somethings in Burlington seem to congregate. In flip flops and very abbreviated clothing, beers in hand they somehow scale impossibly steep rocks and hurl themselves off the cliffs into the lake. One concerned youngster saw Don, Spot and I approaching and said ‘careful, it’s really steep’. Yeah, definitely too steep for Spot – we turned around. Instead, we scrambled down a trail to a rugged beach with clear water and launched Spot to the delight of the kids basking like seals on the rocks around the cove.
Fireworks provided entertainment for the evening. Happy 250 USA!!
Georgia
On the 4th we moved Nereus back to a mooring inside Burlington harbor, so she’d be secure while we ventured out to Georgia, VT to stay at Alex and Marc’s beautiful farm. This place is magical – made more so, by time with family. Spot hit it off right away with his pup cousin, Miss Penny and had a grand time touring the meadows, woods, nooks and crannies of the property. Friends joined for dinner and the party commenced. The two kids in attendance did an excellent job of marshalling the adults into the most intense game of Jenga ever played. It was France vs USA and the winner (that was our team USA) got an awesome American Flag paper plate. Friend David made us cheer by blowing up some almost professional fireworks over the lake. Reprise – Happy 250 USA!!
New Pilgrim Friends
With 4th of July in the rear view but the heat still in place, we move the boat off our Burlington mooring and head South into Shelburne where the water is bloom-free and just right for swimming. On the way, we pass Champlain Yacht Club where Don spies another Pilgrim – the beautiful Miss Lily. She’s hull 45, the last one made. Turns out, the owner lives on the lake and saw us splashing around. He came out for a visit. And thus, we made the acquaintance of Fritz Horton, who connected us with Normand and Johanne Vallee of the Pilgrim Real Mountie, who connected us with Ed Muir of the Pilgrim Encore and the author of ‘A Squadron of Characters’. We feel warmly welcomed to the small family of Pilgrim owners!
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