Lewis, NY

We had a great breakfast this morning at the diner across the street from our motel, then headed out in...rain! We didn't get very far before we had to dig out the rain jackets. Even with that, the temperatures are perfect for riding. Today took us north on Route 9N, passing through Port Henry, kind of the gateway to the Lake Champlain area. In addition to breathtaking vistas of the lake, we were treated to the sight of the beautiful homes overlooking the lakeshore. We agreed that the architecture in this area is unlike any other; the homes are imposing and strong, as opposed to the more fussy Victorian style often seen in other places, but built around the same time. We did a couple more climbs today, early enough in the day to not be too daunting, and enjoyed lunch at a wonderful cafe in Westport, where we talked with the owner for a long time after enjoying our meal. She is a very savvy business person with a great eye for decorating and we really did have to tear ourselves away from the pleasant place. The afternoon was mostly jackets-on, jackets-off as the weather played with us. We arrived in Elizabethtown around 3:00 and contacted the campground where our friend Brenda stays in the summer. We found out she wasn't there yet, but ended up having a great conversation with the librarian where we had to go to get wifi. At that point we decided to just call it a day and stay in E-town, but alas, it was not meant to be. When we inquired at the town's only motel, though there were no cars in the parking lot, the owner told us he had no rooms available: a group was cycling from Montreal and had reserved every one. We decided then to head out for the Magic Pines Campground, where we rented a cabin and traded Brenda stories with the owner, but not until we had met the rowdy group from Montreal on the way. They informed us that there would actually have been s room, since one of their group took a spill on some diagonal railroad tracks and broke his arm. Since it was raining when we arrived, we rented a small camping cabin and at least used our sleeping bags, if not our tent. We were actually beginning to be frustrated pulling them around in the trailer and not having used them yet. For the past three years it's been too hot to camp, and we are just too spoiled to set uo and camp in the rain if we have a choice. so we enjoyed our dinner from the deli we stopped at earlier and are cozy in our cabin, planning our route for the next few days. Life is good.