Wandering America
July 2007 - Part I
| A Special Visit July began with a visit from our son Marc, his wife Amie and our granddaughters Briana and Lola. It was a nice sunny day and the first order of business, after exploring the campground, was to set up their tent. Marc, Amie and Briana worked on putting the tent up while Grandma tended to Lola. Lola is three months old and loves attention. Briana is almost nine years old and she is very good at it! She has more energy than four adults combined. So, Monday morning Grandpa, Marc and Briana went canoing while Grandma walked with Lola and Amie caught up on some much needed sleep. In the afternoon Grandma took Briana to the playground. The next day Briana, with Grandpa in tow, did some bike riding and then Grandpa took her to the pool to swim. In the afternoon Grandma and Briana went to crafts where Briana made a flowerpot. The various activities continued for the remainder of their stay. Briana has lots of energy, as you can well imagine, and it didn't take long for four adults to be tired leaving one child with a lot more energy to burn off. Being that Marc and Amie both have full time jobs they just wanted to spend the time relaxing and enjoying the campground; therefore, we didn't go anywhere except out to eat dinner on the Fourth of July. It was fun spending time with them sitting around the campfire and stuffing Briana full of "smores" - not a good idea considering the sugar high that followed that little escapade (it took us the next two days to settle her down). However, it was a great four days and well worth the tiredness that we experienced. As you can see below, the arrival of Miss Perpetual Motion. The mission: Wear out four adults!
 The
following photos document a strategy gone bad. The plan:
Take shifts to wear out the nine year old. The results:
Child = one, Adults = zero. We didn't even have enough energy
left to take pictures of the four adults sprawled out in defeat!!!!
Phase One: Once the bike was repaired, grandpa took Briana for a four mile bike ride.
 Phase
Two: Dad and Grandpa take Briana on a three hour canoe ride,
somehow our thinking process was flawed. Look who's doing all of
the work!!!!!
 Phase
Three: A quick ride around the campground in the frog cart, again
not enough expended energy on the part of "The Kid". Whose planning these activities, anyway???
 Phase Four: Miss B takes up golf - foouurrrrrr!!!!!!!
 Phase Five: It's off to the playground to blow off some energy, still no sign of surrender!  Phase Six: Certainly the Bouncy House will be the winner - NOT!!!!  Final Phase of the Battle: The gang meets Honey Bear in Honey Bear Square - any suggestions HB???  We ended up with four defeated adults and one nine year old looking for pop corn and soda for the outdoor movie at 9:00 PM. "Briana, we surrender - just put us to bed!!!" Well, we do have another granddaughter who vied for our attention and with the condition of her lungs, she had no problem getting it. She sure looks sweet and peaceful in these pictures, but believe me she can be a little demanding and yet she is still, oh so, adorable.    Amie and Briana decorated our campsite for the Fourth of July. Here are a couple of pictures, notice the Dragon that showed up in the rock garden!   It's
a sad day when these visits have to end but we look forward to seeing them
again in September before we take flight for the warmer winter climate.
Yaddo Gardens When it comes to romancing your woman it's hard to out do Spencer Trask. We may say, "I never promised you a rose garden" but Spencer was no slacker. He built his wife a rose garden, a huge one at that, along with a rock garden and fountains. In 1881 Spencer and Katrina Trask from New York City purchased a farm on the out skirts of Saratoga Springs and named it "Yaddo" at the suggestion of their young daughter. Ten years later the house burned and they built the mansion that is currently located on the property. Then in 1899 Spencer built the gardens as a gift of love to his wife. He designed it after rose gardens that they had viewed during their trips to Italy. As you enter the property the first thing that you see is the mansion. Today this is used as a retreat for budding artisans who come here for peace, quite, and inspiration. "Yaddo's mission - to provide artists uninterrupted time to work, good working conditions, and a supportive community." The mansion is not open to the public and by invitation only for the artisans.  The mansion overlooks a fountain which you will pass by on your way into the gardens.
  You enter the gardens through the main gate. "The
Rose
Garden is laid out on a north-south east-west axis. It is divided
into
four beds centered by a fountain and overlooked by three terraces, a
balcony, and a rose-covered terra cortta columned pergola."
Unfortunately we did not get any good photos of the flowers.
It was the hottest day of the season with temperatures in the mid
nineties and high humidity, the poor little dears were keeled over and
wilted with heat exhaustion.
   "East
of the rose beds are are Italian marble statues of the four seasons and
a statue of a youth, 'Christalan,' sculpted in marble as a 'memorial
to the children of this house.' Christalan represents youth,
chivalry, and victory over mortality. The white plantings around
the base of the statue symbolize innocence."
   The Balcony overlooks the gardens from the west side, you can see Christalan among the pine trees.
   The Poet's Bench is located at the North end of the gardens and is a peaceful place for reflection.
  The
Rock Gardens are located west of the Rose Garden and Pergola. It
is designed with a upper and low ponds which are connected by a small
stream. Each pond has a fountain and the stream is bordered by
dolomite rocks. You can walk the outskirts of the Rock Garden via hallways between the Pines.
   Quotes were taken from the brochure entitled "The Gardens at Yaddo."
One final tidbit, the gardens are maintained almost entirely by volunteers who come in twice a week. Not only do they have a love for their work and do a great job but they are also very knowledgable regarding the Yaddo Gardens and the Trask property. Saratoga National Battlefield  The Battle at Saratoga was the turning point for the Revolutionary War for our freedom. In 1777 the British were beginning to gain the upper hand on the American Revolutionists. They controlled Boston, New York City, and the portions of Canada around the St. Lawrence Seaway. Gen. Burgoyne had a plan to "cut off" New England, where a lot of the rebellion was originating, from the rest of the colonies. He would head south through Lake Champlain to the Hudson River and onto Albany. Col. St. Ledger would advance east from Lake Ontario through the upper Mohawk Valley entering Albany from the west and Sir William Howe's troops would head up the Hudson River from New York City and join forces with the others at Albany. However, Col. St. Ledger got bogged down in a battle at Oriskany which subsequently resulted in his retreat to Canada. Sir Howe was committed to moving against George Washington's troops in Philadelphia leaving Gen. Clinton in charge at New York City without enough troops to support Gen. Burgoyne's plan. This left Gen. Burgoyne to carry out his plan alone. The Continental Army had entrenched its troops at the Nielson Farm on Bemis Heights, eight miles south of Saratoga (which is now Schulyerville), where the road to Albany is squeezed between the Hudson River to the east and higher ground to the west. The Nielson Farm is located at the crest of the hill and was headquarters for the staff officers, one of which was Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold.  On September 19, 1777 the battle began when American troops encountered Gen. Burgoyne's forces on the Freeman Farm. The battle lasted approximately three hours with the British retaining possession of the field.  During the period from September 20, 1777 to October 6, 1777 the British "dug in" and built five redoubts, the Barrcales Redoubt at the Freeman Farm, the Breymann Redoubt about 500 yards north, and three additional redoubts along the Hudson River which was used to protect the supporting troops and supplies (these three are referred to as the Great Redoubt).   On October 7, 1777, without the arrival of promised troops and with supplies dwindling, the British were forced to either retreat or engage. Gen. Burgoyne decided to engage and initiated the resumption of the battle by sending 1500 troops to attack the Continental Army's left flank. The Americans pushed the British troops back to the two battle redoubts. The Barrcales Redoubt was able to withstand the American advances so Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold rallied the troops by riding horseback ahead of a charge against the Breymann Redoubt which was manned by German mercenaries. Arnold was wounded in the leg during this charge but the German's were forced to retreat to the Barrcales Redoubt. Darkness fell which saved the British from a certain defeat. During the night Gen. Burgoyne, leaving the campfires burning, retreated to the Great Redoubt along the Hudson River.   During the following night, October 8, 1777, Gen. Burgoyne further retreated eight miles north to fortifications at Saratoga. Finally, on October 17th, Gen. Burgoyne formally surrendered to Gen Howe at Saratoga (which is now Schulyerville).  This battle was a turning point in the American Revolution and the "hero of the day" was none other than Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold whose tenaciousness rallied the American troops to persrevere in overtaking the Breymann Redoubt. A marker has been placed at the spot where he was wounded with the inscription "In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot". Later, as we know, Benedict Arnold was hanged for an act of treason in his attempt to sell the British plans for a fort being constructed at West Point.  |