Lake and fall colors reflected.

We hadn’t planned to spend the day boating and flying above lakes in the Adirondacks. It just worked out that way. Bike touring has a way of creating the unexpected though, and since we rarely book a place to stay, we’re always open for a random adventure. And of course those are always the most fun!

The day started out on schedule. Up early and on the road through Old Forge in upstate New York on a beautiful fall day. A quick stop to enjoy some hot tea at a coffee shop and we’d be on our way, though we lingered a few extra minutes in the sun watching the city wake up.

A few hundred feet over the lake.

Then Peter, an interesting gentleman in a suit jacket, struck up a conversation. Which turned into lunch at his boathouse, a ride in his old restored boat and a flight in his 1946 Piper Cub seaplane. We then toured the area with him followed by drinks at the country club and dinner in town, followed by trading stories in front of a fire and a night’s stay at his “camp,” as they call cabins in New England. (This can range from a one-room shack to a 15-room palace.)

Little diversions like this are the stuff of memories, even if we only made it five miles that day. The biking is fun and the scenery is great, but deep connections and the bond that develops with someone in just 24 hours is what it’s all about.

Dakota

P.S. Here’s a little video I took from the plane. Below are more pictures as well!

Chelsea and Peter cruising on the lake.

No right side window. Oh boy!

View from the Piper Cub. The little metal stick with the bend is attached to a cork and acts as the gas gauge. Old-school!

Fall colors looking good from the sky!

First Lake, part of an eight-lake chain. We stayed out at the tip of this peninsula.