So this week we went to Lake Placid for a business meeting. Having been to Lake Placid about 100 times over the last 20 years, I figured I would do a video on the Olympic venues around the area. Interestingly enough, I had never actually been to them before. I had skied Whiteface Mt. a couple of times, and you can’t really miss the ski jumps from almost everywhere in the Adirondacks. But I’ve never really got up close and personal with the ice arenas or the bobsled run.

Unfortunately for this particular day the weather was not cooperating at all. It was raining and snowing all at the same time. Just a little amount, not enough to really impede driving or getting around. But it was enough to make shooting video through the car windows a poor idea. Also since I had the boys with me, it wasn’t as easy to let them out because each time they would get muddy and wet. And that of course would cause the windows to fog up.

But we did get around and saw the sites that were seeable. The ice arenas were in use by the kids hockey tournament which occurs about this time every year. The ski jumps weren’t open to go to the top due to the weather and maintenance.

And while there was some kind of competition on Whiteface Mountain, there was only one small section open and it was really fogged in so it wasn’t worth going up Whiteface either. The bobsled run had time trials for luge going on, and that made going there very cool. It was the first time I’d been to the bobsled track. What’s really amazing to me is that people pay upwards around $40 to experience a “beginners ride” on the bobsled run. And an entire run takes less than a minute. Seems like an expensive experience.

We also stopped at some of the local sights in area that have always been gems in my opinion. Santa’s workshop at the North Pole on the side of Whiteface Mountain is reported to be the oldest theme park in the United States. Possibly even the world. It is actually a really neat place to go for 3 to 4 hours with kids of the age that might believe in Santa Claus. My brother and I took our kids there when they were five and three and they had a ball one summers day. And it really isn’t all that expensive. I also made a quick stop at the flume falls gorge for a few minutes. This is a wonderful place to stop and cool down on a hot summers day. Interestingly it seems I’ve never been bothered by bugs while there. It may have something to do with the breeze coming down the waterfalls or the amount of mist in the air. There is a big commercial operation just upstream called “High Falls Gorge” which is also very interesting. But its a bit expensive for a 15 minute video grab.

What I did not put in this first video about Lake Placid and the Olympics Arenas is where we stayed and the Inn where the meeting was. The boys and I stayed at the High Peaks Resort-Lake House. It was very reasonably priced and very nice. Though it did not have a continental breakfast, which I usually like. The boys had a nice way to go outside and water some bushes when they wanted to in an enclosed front yard area. Though technically they weren’t supposed to be off leash, they never go out of my sight so at three in the morning when they wanted to go outside I didn’t have a problem opening the back door to the room for them to go water bushes.  A very nice setup for me.  I’ll definitely be back !

The place that we had my business meeting was the Mirror Lake Inn. It is a old fashion Adirondack Great Camp type building, which burned down in 1990. They rebuilt it almost identical to what it was only with modern utilities (electrical, plumbing, lighting). So it is a marvelously beautiful place to sit around the great big stone fireplaces (that are actually gas driven) and quietly read a book or just contemplate the beauty of the Adirondacks through all their beautiful picture windows. In the last 10 years they have more or less banned pets, cell phones, eating outside the restaurant, and any other activity that might distract from the experience in their beautiful hotel. Normally rooms go from $250 to I think almost $1000. They are a true resort with a spa in the basement and a pool that looks more like natural stone flowing River  in the basement and  outside their own beach and canoe collection for patrons to use. Inside the hotel is fairly dark so I may not be able to extract a decent video from what I took while there. But if you ever have the chance to visit Lake Placid, make it a point to stop in the mirror Lake in and just walk around. Pretend like you’re a guest and walk through the hotel and see the magnificent beauty of it. You’ll be glad you did. And I think they’ll even let you steal one of their  signature chocolate chip cookies they keep at the front desk  at all times.  Really, they’re just really nice like that!