Let the vacation begin

Jeff, Biscuit and I took a nice long trip last week to see Jeff's parents. Jeff wanted to take Biscuit to a couple of the touristy places he went as a kid.

So we went to a lake and a couple of forts.

At one of the forts, they enlisted my boy in the army. The King's Army!

Fort William Henry is in upstate New York. And I learned from Jeff that anything north and west of the Hudson River is considered upstate. It's almost like there's New York City ... and then everything else.

I really enjoyed seeing the landscape in that part of the state. I bet when people think about New York, they don't picture the lushness of the non-city part. There are lots of rolling hills and mountains, lakes, rivers and brooks, farms, red barns and old farm houses. It's very scenic.

When we got to the fort, we took a guided tour. The fort was used during the French and Indian War in the mid-1700s. Since I grew up in the South, I had heard of the war, but I knew virtually nothing about it. The cause of the war was basically waterways. The fort is built on the southern tip of Lake George. North of Lake George is Lake Champlain. South of Lake George is the Hudson River. And in a time when boats were the main transportation, those waterways were very important.

The original fort was burned in 1757, but it was
rebuilt in the 1950s using the original plans.

Biscuit hangs out with Grandpa and Grandma.

Jeff at the flogging post. You have no idea what
restraint it took for me not to follow through!

Grandma and Biscuit shoot arrows at the target.

A small garden in the middle of the fort.

Biscuit walks up to the top of the fort.

The top of the fort overlooks Lake George.

The lake has several types of boats for cruises
around the lake, including the Minne Ha Ha riverboat.

Biscuit gets ready to fire his cannon.

Grandpa and Biscuit talk about how cannons work.

Pretty stonework around a fireplace in the barracks.

Jeff reads every sign at every site we visit. Every time!

Biscuit walks out of the armory, where they store gun
powder, cannon balls and other ammunition. They stored
it underground so it couldn't be blown up by the enemy.