Another destination off the good old bucket list....

About a month or so ago we had decided that we need to get out of this ridiculously warm weather and head up north to experience some fresh, cold, winter air. We booked a trip for Lake Placid, NY as all of our research convinced us that it was always way colder up there than it is here, and Mirror Lake is the place to be for pick-up pond hockey games.  As luck would have it...the ground hog lied up there too...and I have officially come to the conclusion that using vermin as a meteorologist is not a reliable informational source when trying to predict weather.

That being said, though we didn't get as much pond hockey in as we would have liked, and we weren't able to skate across an ice covered lake that was so pristine and clear that you could see all the details on the surrounding mountains in the reflective images below as the website assured us would happen, we still had an amazing time and are glad we made the trek up despite the heat wave.

We were at least able to get some pond hockey in....the ice conditions were quite terrible even after the Zamboni tried to smooth it out for us, but we made it work anyway....

Thanks for trying Mr. Zamboni guy

One of the coolest surprise excursions that we had no idea was even available was being able to go on a dog sled ride. Hunter has been an avid fan of huskies for a while now, so this was a dream come true for him.  He actually declared after his ride that he wants to be a husky trainer when he grows up.

One of Hunter's favorite memories of this ride was seeing one of the dogs pee while walking along...talk about multi tasking

We also hit up some of the site-seeing areas as well:

~ A gondola ride up WhiteFace Mountain

~ A walk through the Olympic Arena where the 1980 USA team "miraculously" defeated Russia for the Olympic Gold

This one was the 1932 Olympic arena which was also cool to see

~ A hike to the High Falls Gorge

~ A expedition all the way to the top of the Ski Jump Competition platform (and let me tell ya, seeing it in person gave me a whole new appreciation for the sport)

~ A viewing of the Olympic Bobsled course (you can actually take a ride on one to get the experience of what its like, but we opted not to pay the $250 for the 90 second ride....we got the drift of what it was like watching the other folks zoom by)

The town of Lake Placid is also pretty neat to walk around. There are lots of locally owned shops and restaurants around, and its a fun walk down the strip.  There is also a walk-way that you can take for strolls around the entire lake.  We spent a lot of time just mozying around town

The store owner of The Hockey Depot took down this vintage goalie helmet from the 70s to let Hunter try it on. It looks more like a costume from the "Halloween" movies to me

Have to get them started on the bar pool skills at a young age

Funny story here....over 10 years ago Alex's mom submitted a scrapbook page to an All Mens Scrapbook magazine....I actually found this magazine in one of the souvenir shops in Lake Placid.  My handsome husband is famous!!

So overall analysis....Lake Placid is awesome and you should all go someday