Ticonderoga, NY to Middlebury, VT 20 Miles, July 23

We left our warm motel today in what was predicted and was pouring rain. We rode the short distance to the ferry to cross Lake Champlain. At the ferry dock, Pam decided to hitch a ride over the mountains in order to arrive in Portland, ME to catch an airplane home by July 29. Carol and I decided to brave the elements and make it a short day into Middlebury, VT.

Immediately upon arriving in Vermont, we felt the difference between New York. We were out of the forests and into the green rolling hills, small dairies and fruit orchards. The pouring rain continued and upon arriving in Middlebury, Carol and I decided to have some maintenance done on our bikes before we cross the last two steep mountain ranges of our journey.


While Dave at the Bike Center competently and efficiently took care of our bikes, Carol and I went to have coffee. We found a wonderful local hangout and enjoyed schmoozing about the awful weather with Sandra Murphy. After hearing about our trip, she spontaneously made a generous contribution to our cause. I love Vermont.

We were invited to stay with Peter and Margaret Carothers, who have done much work for Habitat in this area. They opened up their 1830's farmhouse to us. They live on the 175 acre Nash Farm which General Nash started in 1830. The farm has a long history, including several years when it was used as a hippy commune. It has since been refurbished and Carol and I were given a lovely bedroom.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner which included fresh picked vegetables from the organic garden. When I say fresh, I mean Peter literally picked the lettuce and broccoli, during the rainstorm, just as Margaret was ready to prepare them for dinner. We had quite a treat.

After dinner Margaret needed to run to a meeting. Peter's job was to haul the kayak, possibly an emergency escape vehicle, to higher ground. When the rain let up I offered to help him haul the kayak up, but I didn't want to get my one pair of shoes wet to do it. I asked Peter if I could just put on a pair of his shoes. I grabbed a big muddy pair from the porch and clomped around trying to keep my shoes on and hold up my end of the kayak. We relocated the kayak and were ready to prepare ourselves for tomorrow's ride.

The weather continued to be the topic of conversation. Ten years ago Peter and Margaret had been flooded out of their home when the river overflowed. So Peter was monitoring it constantly during this rainstorm. We were told as we went upstairs for bed that we would be notified if there was any need to evacuate during the night. We slept well in spite of these warnings.