Hello there!
Once we had packed up all the instruments once again, and taken a quick look at the photos on a laptop (just to be sure that we got the desired photos), we were back on the road again, now heading to the United States border!
Here I am, back again with a post outlining our eventful three day trip to Lake Placid.
I should probably start at the beginning for you...
A few months ago, Miriam came up with a random idea. Why don't we put on a few concerts with the theme of "The Sound of Music" sometime this year? Some of us were very enthusiastic, others not so much, so the idea was soon pushed to the side with more pressing issues at hand.
Last week, Mama decided that it was time to take that idea, and get serious about it. "Girls," she said, "I came up with a great plan!" We three girls looked at each other, and smiled... Mama and Miriam were always coming up with exciting plans and so we were eager to hear what this one was all about.
"Since we were planning to do a 'Sound of Music' program this Fall, I thought, why not just seize the moment, and drive down to Lake Placid to take some pictures of you in the mountains. I can call a friend to see if she has any dirndls (traditional German, or Austrian dresses) and then we would be set! Also, we could stop at some old church ruins that I saw online that are somewhere in Cornwall, I think they are on the way, to do a photo-shoot for Quintessence. What do you think?" We all looked at her in surprise, and then slowly nodded in approval. Me, being the more practical one asked immediately "Do you think it is possible to accomplish all this in just two days?" Yes, we could, and we would!
In order to get all of this done, we would be required to be out of the house at 5:00 A.M sharp! Tricky, but if we all worked together, we knew it would be possible.
After discussing these plans with Papa, and getting the "okay", we were off to find the best deal possible for hotels in Lake Placid!
Friday, we received three dirndls from a friend, and surprisingly, they all fit perfectly.
Things were quickly falling into place!
By Monday night we were excitedly packing up our last few things, before having an early night so we would be refreshed for the next morning.
Tuesday morning:
Alarm goes off at 3:50, snooze. Alarm goes off at 4:00, snooze. 4:15, I jump out of my bed, and while making it, call out to the other two older girls, "Mimi, Abby, time to get up! We are going for our trip today." Mimi who loves her bed the most out of us all mumbles "okay, okay, five more minutes." I smiled, and walked out to get dressed and ready. At 4:30, I slowly turn the lights on, dimly of course, and walk over to the little's (what we call Sarah and Grace) beds. "Sarah, Grace, we are going to Lake Placid today! Get up and at em', so we can get on the road early!" Sarah jumped out of bed immediately, but Grace needed a little more coaxing. She looked up at me with her adorable little, sleepy face, and snuggled back into her covers. "Grace, don't you want to come with us? You wouldn't want to be left at home would you?" She quickly jumped out of bed. Of course not!
Soon the house was bustling with energy. You could just feel the excitement in the air!
"Mimi, did you get the music binders?" "check!" "The music stands?" "check!", "Okay! I have my cello packed, the dirndls packed, my performance outfit packed..." I quickly checked off everything I had written down on my packing list.
Before we knew it, all of us were packed into the car, and we were off! Running a bit late, but all the same, leaving for our trip. Thank you Lord:)
We stopped at McDonald's for a quick breakfast, and some much needed coffee, before getting back on the road.
Since we had left our home at 5:30, and it was now 11:00, we were definitely not in the condition to do any kind of photo-shoot. It was an important necessity for us to stop and freshen up. Change out of our travel clothes, clean up our hair, apply some makeup, etc...
Our only dilemma was being discreet in walking into a Tim Horton's with clothes on hangers in one hand, and hair pins in the other. Awkward!
Up we drove to a Tim Horton's. I was already getting quiet nervous about it. "Mama, is there any other way we can do this?" I asked desperately. No. This was the only option... **sigh**...
Mimi quickly jumped out of the car and started unloading her clothes. With Abby in tow, she headed to the restrooms. I was much more reluctant, and waited a few minutes before grabbing my clothes and attempting to hide them behind me, while walking as quickly as I could to join the girls.
It seemed as though everyone in the restaurant was staring at me. Ugh! I walked faster to reach the restrooms!
After a few hilarious incidents (one in particular that comes to mind, is when Mimi stood under the hand dryer by accident and it went off so loud that we were all plugging our ears praying that it would stop!), we were back in the car, and ready to continue.
By about 11:30, we were pulling up in front of the breathtaking St. Raphael's Ruins!
I have truly never seen anything so beautiful!
God provided us with amazing weather, which we were so thankful for. The clouds were unbelievably fluffy, and the sky the most vibrant blue!
Here are a few of the many gorgeous photos that we managed to capture while there:
Outside view
Inside view (You could see where they would have had the pulpit, and the congregation!)
~Spectacular~
Setting up the tripod to prepare for the photos
Here I am, carrying my cello to the area where we were planning to shoot.
The wind was literally crazy, so I also had to hold my hair back to prevent it from blowing away:)
Hey! Looks good, but... where is Abby?
Around the front of the church.
~Serene~
Free!
Due to the unbelievably wild breezes, quite a few of our photos ended up like this...
Single shot- Miriam, Violin I
Umm, okay... What exactly is going on here girls!?
That's better! Single shot- Hannah, Cello
Single shot- Abby, violin II
We were quite relived that this photo-shoot turned out in the end, and that we
accomplished one goal out of the two that we had set!
Next destination: The Market Barn in Malone, NY
We had visited this market/store almost five years ago, and loved it then, so we thought, "Why not go and check it out again?"
It is very vintage, and is filled with a combination of antiques, used goods, and also new merchandise.
We were on the mission to find a vintage vase that matches one that Mama already owns.
She had purchased one last time we were there, but it has since been broken by one of the many hands in our house, and we thought that, by chance, maybe they would have another one sitting around.
After looking around for about twenty minutes, we still had not found one. We had some homemade caramel to purchase, but no vase.
I was determined, and kept on looking! Walking into one of the many rooms, I noticed that it contained a large amount of glassware. Hmm... That is a good sign, I thought, and started to scan the room with my eyes. Hey! I saw something white, which looked strangely similar to the vase, peeking out from behind a large porcelain doll. Could it be..? Yes! I triumphantly grabbed the vase and ran to Mama to show her my find!
She was thrilled, and we purchased the vase for $10.00. What a bargain!
The trip to The Market Barn was worth it after all.
{The Market Barn}
So happy to finally be out of the car, and able to stretch our legs!
...Dear Mama...
After cashing out, and taking a few pictures, we were on our way once again. But, not for long!
Just down the street, we saw a small 50's style diner which was so adorable.
After hearing from a lady, that we wouldn't likely find anywhere to stop to eat between here are Lake Placid, and since we were not scheduled to arrive at our hotel until around 7:30, we quickly agreed to eat there. Papa was not so thrilled, but after some mild coaxing, we pulled up in front of the diner, and ran in.
It was so cute! And painted pink?! Adorable!
Here are some pictures:
Table #1
Table #2
Divine vanilla milk-shake
Abby with her vanilla milk-shake... so cute!
Chocolate milk-shake
The food has arrived!
The interior
~Sisters~
We ate a delicious (but very unhealthy) meal of cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes, which was amazing, and then for the (let's count)... 1-2-3-4-5th time, we were back on the road to Lake Placid, now, hopefully for good!
Here are some photos from the drive:
I was fiddling with the settings on Abby's camera, and trying to capture the sun rays... Success!
Another one!
The scenery was amazing!
We drove through so many small towns while climbing the mountains to Lake Placid, and this is one of them!
Almost there!
Upon arriving at the hotel, we immediately checked in, and then ran out to a grocery store to stock up on some food for breakfast the next day.
When we returned to the hotel once again (Only Papa, Mama, and I went shopping), everyone were already in their swimsuits, and ready to go for a refreshing swim.
So nice to swim with the whole family!
Then, we went to bed, dreaming of all the fun we had had, and would have the next day.
I hope you enjoyed this post!
Watch for post II, which will outline our second day, and also feature some photos of us dressed up in dirndls!
Blessings,
~Hannah
This trip sounds like such fun! I'm looking forward to seeing and reading about the next day. :)
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