ADK: Loving Lake Placid

I've been totally spoiled by having the Sailor around for THREE whole weekends in a row! This weekend, we headed to the Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, where we also went to ski  last March.


On our way to town, we stopped to hike in Henry's Woods, a new-ish 212-acre community preserve with miles of trails. For those of you that know Lake Placid, everyone there is a super-athlete, training for an Ironman or the Olympics...For example, on the drive up there, we saw a car with an LP Euro-sticker and a license plate "TRI- 46ERS." Obnoxious. Orrrrr maybe I'm just jealous since I could barely hike one of the 46 high-peaks in the Adirondacks. Forget about calling myself a "46er."

So, when part of trail in Henry's Woods was marked "strenuous," I seriously panicked. In LP-speak, I worried that meant "impossible." Not the case at all though. It was such a serene walk up a slight incline, covered with a new layer of snow. The "strenuous" part was a 1/2 mile winding path up a hill, leading to great views of the Whiteface Mt. summit.

On the loop back, there was a Bridge to Nowhere...Fortunately, this one wasn't government funded (Had to throw in the reference to the debacle involving an earmark for ALASKA, just for the Alaska-obsessed Sailor).

Following our hike, we rewarded ourselves by relaxing in the whirlpool and sauna area before dinner. The indoor pool is designed to look like it's nestled in the woods, and the sauna is a little cabin in the woods. Bliss!

This photo of Mirror Lake Inn Resort & Spa is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The owners of the Mirror Lake Inn are the parents of Olympic alpine skier, Andrew Weibrecht, so we were keeping our eyes peeled for a celebrity-sighting of the bronze-medalist. No such luck.

However, the fact that the Inn offers complimentary tea, coffee and chocolate chip cookies, 24-7, makes up for any disappointment we might have felt by not seeing Andrew. I actually got "my" recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but they're never quite as good as when I'm eating them sitting by a roaring fire in the library of the Inn.

The picture is a little dark, but this fieldstone fireplace is just like the one I hope to have in our house someday.  It's the one feature I absolutely MUST have. The Adirondack style is my favorite. (It's TBD whether we will ever have a mounted-head on the fireplace or anywhere else in the house, for that matter.)

I'd also consider something like this arrangement below- although it would be difficult to decide whether to watch the fire or look at the scenery. 

Tomorrow...more fireplaces from seriously luxurious Lake Placid Lodge, where we stopped for lunch. Here's a sneak peek--