NOSTALGIA – If you want a dose, read through this report by the chauffeur.

Day 6, Saturday, began with an early morning wake up call by the alarm clock so we could make the first ferry from NY to Vermont.  No traffic on the state highway bordering Lake Champlain, so we made our drive from Plattsburgh to the ferry port (Port Kent, NY) in near record time (about 18 miles in 45 minutes – at a leisurely pace of 40-45 mph), arriving there with an hour to spare.

We boarded our ferry (it carried one motor home with a towed car, 14 cars, three motorcycles, and several foot passengers) almost on time for the one-hour voyage across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont.  Nice sunny but cool weather made the trip quite enjoyable.  There was a pretty strong wind from the southwest, which created white caps on the lake surface, so we got a pretty good dose of sea spray for most of the journey (where else can you get a car and windshield wash included with the ferry fare).

We were on a tight schedule to make it to a couple of local Burlington area attractions before they early for the day, so we wasted no time once we got ashore.  We drove immediately to Winooski, Vermont and stopped to visit a woolen mill museum.  Mom’s ancestors moved to Winooski in the 1870s to work in those mills so it was interesting to see where and how they worked.  After the tour, our stomachs hinted (frequent growling) that it was time for lunch, so we found a picnic table near the museum that offered a great view.  We could see the old mill across the Winooski River, just above the Winooski Falls that previously provided the power for the water-driven machinery in the mills.  As we “dined,” the wind reminded us of home; we fought to keep the plastic table cloth from blowing into our faces, but the sunshine helped keep icicles from forming on our ear lobes and chins.   Afterward, we followed our map to find an old U.S. Army fort where the Vermont Genealogical Society offices are located.  It was open until 4 pm, so we spent the afternoon (really only a couple of hours) there looking for info on ancestors.  Found some additional and some clarifying info, but no startling discoveries.  Had to cut short our efforts so the volunteers could close up and get home.

Needed fuel in the car, so stopped at a local station where unleaded regular sells for $3.53 a gallon (a far cry from the nearly $4 we paid in Washington before commencing this journey!).  We then headed to our lodging, and that’s when nostalgia began.  We’re staying in the “Bel-Aire Motel,” and it’s truly a motel (remember those along many major American highways back in the 1950s and ’60s where you parked your car immediately infront of your room door?).  Not a cheap place to stay, but you can’t get nostalgia for free.  This place competes with the name brand facilities and is our most expensive lodging for our entire trip. Our room reminds me of those I stayed in during several long trips with my parents in the 1950s.  The bathroom is vintage 4-inch square FLAMINGO PINK ceramic tile; the TV is a tube-type 19-inch model (but it does have a remote control); there is NO microwave or coffee maker (essential for morning hot chocolate or tea); and the wall electrical outlets (needed to run this computer) are few and certainly not in the most convenient places.  This place also offers no breakfast (continental or otherwise), but, in spite of the high cost and old atmosphere we’ll make due on this leg of our trip.

The desk clerk did provide a great recommendation for a dinner restaurant.  We ate @ “The Shanty on the Shore” in Burlington near the ferry terminal.  GREAT seafood!  September is their lobster fest and I was tempted to order their “twin,” which is two one-pound lobsters garnished with a huge ear of sweet corn and a baked potato.  But my vision of lobster is Maine, so we’ll have to wait for that trek.  I noticed that my favorite seafood, swordfish, was on the menu, so that’s what I ordered.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  After sharing a bowl of lobster stew with my companion, “Genie,” my plate arrived, filled with a huge plank of fish (probably 4″ x 6″ and a half-inch thick) and a baked potato.  Yum!  Mom opted for baked Haddock, but was disappointed in the taste.  She regretted not ordering the swordfish, also one of her favorites.

Before heading back to our motel, we decided to find a super market where we could purchase vittles for Sunday’s breakfast.  After successfully navigating the aisles filled with lots of choices, we made our selections, paid our bill, and headed to the temporary homestead.  That was our exciting day.

If you notice that I’ve used paragraphs in this report vis-a-vis rambling on in one paragraph, it’s due to the feedback I got from “those more educated in journalistic style.”  Ha!