Lake Placid is a town with a population of 2,500 people. I've been there twice. You'd think I'd have done everything there possibly is to do... but alas, I haven't. (Hopefully this says more about Lake Placid than it does about me but, y'know, jury's still out on that one.) But I refuse to go there a third time and leave with a list of things "to do next time"! So this is what I still need to accomplish there. Hopefully if you go before I do, you can be a little more efficient. :)
+ Skate at the speed skating oval. To be fair, the first time I went was in August and the second time I went it was about zero degrees every day, so this activity was barely an option on both of my visits. But I flat out refuse to leave this box unchecked. Eric Heiden winning five gold medals here is one of the greatest feats in Olympic history, and if I skate only one more time in my life, it will be here. I'm not playing around.
+ Get a picture of myself in the Herb Brooks Arena. GUYS. I've been in here five times (five. times.) and don't have any photographic evidence of myself in the building. On my most recent trip, the lights were off all three times I was there (seriously, what the heck), and on my first trip, I was a dumb 14-year-old who didn't really get it. THEREFORE, next time? I'm not going for a special event. I'm going when the ice is visible and the lights are on so I can accomplish the exceedingly simple task of getting a photo. It'd also be cool to just kind of... sit there quietly and soak it all in. I do love me an empty arena. And stadium photoshoots.
(Also, how do people get to skate here? Is this a thing I can make happen? Because if so... yeah, that's a must.)
+ Check out the Olympic Sports Complex. This is where the bobsled, skeleton and luge tracks are and, while I did take a bobsled run on my first visit, I don't remember anything besides flying down a track with G-forces so intense I couldn't hold my head up. I don't even know how much there is to see there if you're not hopping onto a sled and throwing yourself down an icy chute, but a self-guided tour is less than $10. And I've seen every other Olympic site (besides the cross-country skiing and biathlon areas, but to see those I think you actually have to ski?), so I'm all in.
+ Explore the town. I think I did this on my first trip, but I don't remember anything and only have a t-shirt as evidence. (See, this is why I blog: so in ten years, I can look back on my trips and actually know what I did.) But Main Street is so cute, and the lake is probably beautiful when the weather is nice enough to actually enjoy being outdoors. I want to walk around without worrying about losing feeling in my limbs, and instead get to enjoy my surroundings a little bit!
+ Go for a dog sled ride. This was a planned activity for this last trip, but again, the frigid temperatures severely discouraged anything that involved being outside for longer than 15 seconds. I don't think I've ever been out on a frozen lake, and I've definitely never been on a sled pulled by a dog, and it all just sounds like so much fun! I wouldn't say no to a toboggan ride on Mirror Lake, either.
So basically, what I need to do is go either right at the beginning or right at the end of winter season; winter sport activities will be open, but temperatures won't be too arctic. My mom has already volunteered to go back with me (enabling my obsession: parenting done right!), and Amanda and I have been talking about going together for almost three years now. So this hypothetical trip is not a matter of if, but when. :) How does next March sound? Too soon?
Anyone have tips on traveling to glacially cold places? How do you stay warm?!
The fact you've been to Lake Placid not once, but twice makes my inner Olympic nerd jealous ... can't wait to read about trip numero tres!
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence! A few coworkers and I were talking about Lake Placid the other day (and about the horror movie that was filmed there?)! I would love to visit the Adirondacks one day—especially Lake Placid :)
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