Food For the Soul

Lake Champlain
44 17.69 N 073 18.82 W

A week or so ago, I wrote about the joys of returning to home territory. More on that subject today.

We spent the night in Porter Bay. Porter Bay on Lake Champlain is a particularly idyllic place to anchor. The bay is about 1 mile in diameter, sheltered in all directions. There are no houses or structures visible. The perimeter is marked by cliffs, and forests and a marsh. Last night the wind was totally still. That meant that we could see and hear the surroundings particularly well.

We had the whole place to ourselves; no other boats. Just us and two ducks and a family of geese with 3 goslings. As the sun set, we were reminded anew of the sights and sounds of nighttime in the northeast. The crickets and frogs were all making noise the best they could. Ah yes, we thought, one forgets things like the sound of nighttime when visiting exotic places in other states and countries. In West Charlton, we used to have the joy of nearby peepers from May through June. Peepers are tiny frogs the size of your finger tip that can make extraordinarily loud sounds. No peepers here in Porter Bay but the other frogs made up for it.

This morning, before getting out of bed, we awoke to the din of a nearby flock of migrating geese. The geese are fond of putting down for the night in places like Porter Bay. About 1 hour after dawn, they're ready to take off again. Believe me, it is a very noisy affair when a flock of geese decides to take off.

What other rewards? Soon after departing, we caught our first glimpse of Mount Mansfield and Camel's Hump in Vermont. We lived many years at the foot of these two spectacular mountains. We climbed each of them several times, and I learned to fly planes and gliders in their vicinity. A few minutes later, we passed Split Rock Point. That is where one departs the narrow part of Lake Champlain, to the broadest part. Out in the broad part, one is treated to an unobstructed view of BOTH The Adirondack Mountains in New York, and The Green Mountains in Vermont. The beauty of that view lifts the soul. It is the reason that so many people, ourselves included, just love living in this area.

Today, we'll stop in Burlington and get to see our daughter Jenny for the first time in almost a year. Ah, more food for the soul.

p.s. Porter Bay was also the site of two of my all time favorite sailing stories. See "Opening Day", August 26, 2007, [http://dickandlibby.blogspot.com/2007/08/moment-opening-day.html] and "The Great Super Chicken Caper", September 2007[http://dickandlibby.blogspot.com/2007/09/great-moment-great-super-chicken-caper.html] Last night, we anchored at the exact spot of that super chicken caper, and it brought back strong memories of my departed father.