Another day, another byway, and for this trip it will be my last one. I have been pretty content freewheeling around the country for the last 47 days, and am actually in no hurry to get to the finish line. Today's ride will go north from Albany to Whitehall, along the Lakes and Locks Passage, touted in travel advertisements as the great Northeast Journey. The scenery is bound on the east by the upper Hudson River and Champlain canal and on the west by an elevated terrain of the Adirondacks Mountains. There is water everywhere in the form of lakes, rivers, canals and waterfalls. What a blessing! To my surprise the bike lane conditions on the shoulder of the road were far from ideal and often bumpy, full of cracks and potholes, sometimes repaired but mostly unattended. This US Route 4 could stand some stimulus funded road repair!
As I passed through Waterford, the annual tugboat roundup was under way warranting a quick detour to take in this local spectacle. Tugboats were lined up from stem to stern alongside the canal and a fair like atmosphere filled the air with sound bites of local music and tantalizing tasty delicatessen. Further down the road in Stillwater a restored and well-preserved Blockhouse built in 1927 was open to the public, replicating the early 18th Century blockhouses of the region. At the town of Schuylerville I got off the bike to make my acquaintance with the homestead of general Phillip Schuyler. A historical landmark visited by notaries such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Luck had it that the tour guide was still on duty and offered me an elaborate private tour. What a treat! When I stumbled across a little roadside motel in Whitehall it was time to call it quits for the day. Across the street was a local diner with homegrown cooking and an assortment of old fashioned brews.
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