Lake George

Hawkeye and I headed up to Lake George for a quick getaway in June. Instead of writing a recap of our itinerary, I decided to share some of the lessons I learned along the way.

1. When in doubt, don't Zipcar. There's me looking all happy after renting and picking up my Zipcar Mini Coupe. Too bad when I got the whopping $600 bill afterwards I wasn't so happy. Zipcar is a huge rip-off. Here I thought I was being economical by renting a Zipcar, but little did I know to read the fine (invisible) print on all the forms. What was quoted as a $200 weekend car rental tripled after I got stuck in Yankees traffic which resulted in us being 40 minutes late to return the vehicle, and we exceeded the miles driven and travel radius limits. Who knew? Never again, Zipcar, never again. They keep sending me a survey request and I can't even utter the name without getting upset.

2. Bring a map and a compass when leaving Manhattan and do not trust Mapquest as a substitute for either. It took us nearly two hours to get out of the city, into New Jersey and back again. It was some of the most frustrating driving I've ever done in my life. It was worse than Clark Griswold in "National Lampoon's European Vacation." We kept seeing signs for the exits we were supposed to be taking, but never saw the actual exits. I-95 is the devil's highway.

3. If you're thinking about visiting Lake George, don't stay in the village. It was shockingly very seedy. The strip had a lot of souvenir shops, some low-budget motels, miniature golf courses and arcades -- not quite what I was expecting. To find the beautiful, quaint, charming parts of Lake George you have to drive north to Bolton Landing, which leads me to No. 4.

4. If you can afford it, spend the money to stay at The Sagamore. I remember seeing a "Save the Date" on Carebear's fridge several years ago and it planted the Lake George seed in my head. I made a point of making it out to Bolton Landing just to see if The Sagamore was as beautiful as it looked in the pictures. It was. No wonder people get married there. The best part is the dock filled with lounge chairs. We lingered out there for a few minutes but couldn't take the bugs. You can just sit and lay out with the lapping water at your toes.


5. Eat at Mr. Brown's Pub (the hotel's casual dining option). And while eating, stay tuned for their live musician. A round burly man was performing the Saturday we were there and he was amazing. He sang everything from Matchbox 20 to Willie Nelson and he sounded fantastic. Every time he started a new song I couldn't believe how great he was and I kept on saying it to Hawkeye. "This guy is so good!" The fried ravioli and macaroni and cheese are a must.



6. Bed and breakfasts in Lake George are hard to please. We tried booking a single weekend night at several and most of them wouldn't take us. The majority have two-night minimum stays. All except Alynn's Butterfly Inn, named after the lovely couple Al and Lynn who run it and Lynn's love for all things butterfly.


7. Lynn is a fabulous cook and you won't want to miss her morning frittata and French toast. We enjoyed meeting the two other families staying at the inn and sharing breakfast and chitchat with them. The experience at Alynn's inspired me to want to enroll in a hotel management program so I too might open up a bed and breakfast someday.

8. Show up with a bottle of wine so you can relax on the porch and play Scrabble. The inn is located in Warrensburg, about 15 minutes from downtown Lake George, so if you need anything, best buy it there. There isn't much to the town of Warrensburg except antique shops.

9. Whether or not you are a chaps-wearing urban cowboy, make a stop in Rafter J Western World. You will not be disappointed. I walked away with a straw cowboy hat and a lot of love for the place. This store had more of a cowboy boot selection than anywhere I'd ever seen. I found a pair that I fell in love with and am extremely excited I just discovered its Web site and I can now order them if I wish. Scratch that, the Web site actually only has a few pairs of boots on sale. Bummer. The store sticks out like a splinter --you can't miss it on the main Warrensburg drag.

10. An overnight stay is not enough to really enjoy Lake George. Instead, take a three-day weekend. We had ambitious plans to go sailing, kayaking and hiking and we accomplished none of these. Going the bed and breakfast route is the best way to take a break from hectic city life. Fall is fast approaching and I'm already planning some weekends to road trip and discover the fall foliage. The bed and breakfast stay is relaxing, peaceful and it's not bad having someone else who loves to entertain wait on you hand and foot, and actually enjoy it. Al and Lynn were some of the warmest and friendliest and smiliest people I've met in a long time. They clearly enjoy what they do and though they work 48 weeks out of the year (I asked when they take a vacation and their month off is in April), they did not seem overworked or tired or burnt out. I hope to find something in my future that keeps me perky and smiling 365 days a year...