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The Clear Waters of Lake Champlain
Allow the Sun to shine below a Sailboat |
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| Pure White Water Falls |
After departing Whitehall, we made our way up the southern portion of Lake Champlain. The sky was filled with grey clouds. It did not take long for the clouds to produce a light rain. We were traveling with Seahorse. We elected to make the 8 mile trip up Otter Creek to Vergennes. Glad we did. As it has been raining here off and on for over two weeks, the waters levels were up over three feet.
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| Our location at Vergennes |
What a beautiful view from a secluded free dock, near the Otter Creek Falls, in downtown Vergennes. The roar from the falls could be heard at all times. Many locals stopped by to see the solid white water falls, instead of the water falls with rocks showing. We walked UPHILL to the town and it was a very nice village, with boutique shops, etc. We spent some time cleaning Blue Willow, as we have neglected her for too long. Nice to get her cleaned up some. I cleaned the area at the water line. The next morning, to my dismay, the 'soap suds' created from the falls and laden with silt/mud accumulated to a height over a foot along the water line of the boat, causing a dirty mess.
While at Vergennes, we saw newly weds fishing.
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| Boat Building Forms |
In the park, at the free dock, there were some marble forms and/or fixtures for boat building. The forms had groves for the frame members and side planking, and of course they located the keel etc. These were really nice pieces from the local boat building history.
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| Thought I was dreaming |
The bride and groom still in their formal wear, were bass fishing at 6:30 AM!
We met a real Pirate. He told us so. We were working on the boat, when a six year old kid, filled with a gift to talk, showed up, announcing that he was a Pirate. Okay. He then ran home, and proudly appeared with his pirate hat on. I told him that I liked his hat a lot, and he did look like a real pirate. Then he went home and got his pirate flag. He proceeded to tell us a story about pirates and their flags.
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The Pirate of Vergennes
With his flag and wood for a raft. |
Next the Pirate went home and found his 4x4x6 inch, hand decorated (wish I had a picture) Treasure Chest, filled with Doubloons, beads, and real coins from Canada. We looked it over, and it was a beauty, that he was very proud of. Vicki, then remembered that we had a necklace, and a few dollar coins on the Blue Willow, she went back to the boat and proceeded to find them. We made a big deal about the coins, and the pirate was so excited to add to his treasure chest. He kept looking and touching his new bounty with a huge grin on his face. As we talked further, he showed me his pile of wood, that we intended to make into a raft. I asked him, how much rope he had to tie it together. He replied, while looking at Blue Willow.... "I do not have any rope, but I need some", he then proceeded to say his mom is going to get him some soon. Before he departed for the night, he went looking for a goose feather. He found one, and then ran back to the boat. He said to Vicki, while handing the goose feather to her "This is all I got to say thanks". Vicki and I melted. The next day, we wondered if the Pirate was going to show. Yes he did, in the afternoon.
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| Ready to take on the seas. |
Wearing his hat, carrying his flag and now carrying his prized Pirates Sword. He was all smiles. We talked further about his raft plan, while gathering sticks and small logs. The next morning, as we were departing, the Pirate showed up. He asked if we could come back next week. I said maybe, I then thanked him for being a friend. He then walked down the dock, as close to us as possible, constantly waving good-by as we departed. What a Pirate.
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Getting Closer to
French Speaking Canada |
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| Lighthouse on Lk Champlain |
We motored down Otter Creek back to Lake Champlain. There were grey skies again, and we made our way to Burlington VT.
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| Daisy gets a swim in CLEAR WATER |
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| Vicki having fun |
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| Nice |
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| Art in the Park |
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| Adirondacks in the Background |
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| They even put artwork on the bridges. |
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| Blue Willow with the Adirondacks in the background |
What a great City. Sitting between the Adirondacks Mountains of New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the very clear waters of Lake Champlain, this is a wonderful place that we instantly, fell in love with. Awesome. Vermont University is located here. It is easy to see the youthful energy in everything here. Many sport shops, ski shops, everything GMO free, Vegan, etc, and many of what I call (the free spirited) Kool-Aid Kids (colored hair). The parks, waterfront, bike trails, and many visitors make for an active city. The sunsets were beautiful.
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| University of Vermont |
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| I would call this a Hockey Barn |
I toured the university by bike, and it is a beautiful campus. Many old good looking buildings, and very clean and landscaped real well. I stopped to look in a few buildings, and the Ice Rink (not Ice Arena). The Ice rink was awesome. The rounded wood ceiling, wood bleachers, wood floors made for a great venue for Ice Hockey. Vermont has had some good years in Ice Hockey.
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| Blue Willow in Burlington |
Thanks for taking a moment to look in on our Blog.
