Sackets Harbor- Saturday June 28

Sleeping wasn't bad last night, but the girls probably expected we'd be off more in the woods then we are.  The campground is mainly RVs, and judging from the number of decks and fences people have built, they are mainly regular customers here.  Anna said it was like camping at the Erie County Fair.  We are at the edge of the campground, with only the trail to Lake Ontario behind us.

Scott was up earliest, before the sun came up.  He walked around a little and went down to the beach while waiting for everyone else.  Once everyone was up and ready, we went into Sackets Harbor where we took the kayaks off the car and put them in at the boat launches by the big gazebo in town.  Julie went out in her new one, and Anna and Emma went out together.  Scott went to get directions for the 1812 walk, and then played guitar.   Emma's foot went to sleep, so they dropped her off after a little bit and circled around the harbor again, and out to Lake Ontario.

When they returned, we stowed the kayaks atop the car and started the 1812 walk.  We began by circling through the pretty park where the battlefield was.   It seems like an obvious place to start, but a lot of the walks so far have missed the 1812 part of the town.  We circled around through the park, reading signs and admiring the view.  The tour went back through the town, and we decided to take a lunch break because we were all dragging a bit.  Unfortunately, nothing was open for lunch yet in town because it was only 10:30.  We decided to head into Watertown where we knew there was a lot of chains, and we went to McDonalds.

Part 2:

After lunch we picked up the walk where we left off.  It felt like we were doing an awful lot of work to have fun today.  The temperature was in the low 80s, and in spite of our lunch break, we were all still dragging.  But no one was getting grumpy, and Sackets Harbor is a really cute little place.  Our tour took us out to the Madison Barracks, and eventually to the military cemetery where General Zebulon Pike is buried along with many other soldiers of the war.  We saw several houses that dated back to the war or before.  We had to take a lot of breaks, sitting in the shade when we could.  We got drinks and snacks at a grocery store at the barracks.  We also toured a model home along the way just for a chance to enjoy the coolness inside.  Julie is convinced that this walk was more than 5K, and its possible that we went too far when we were exploring the battlefield park this morning.  Emma called it the Death March.

Still, Scott has earned another pin.  Just one more and he'll have the complete set.   Truth be told, he already has them all, because when the receptionist handed him the box with information this morning, he found that it not only contained Sackets Harbor pins, but also those for Ogdensburg.  He took each of them, but still feels we have to earn the Ogdensburg one by doing the walk tomorrow.

We had an early dinner at the Sackets Harbor Brewing Company, home of one of Scott's favorites-- 1812 Amber Ale.  He just had one glass this afternoon, though, because we're so tired.  We enjoy eating here.  We learned from other trips that we want to eat on the pub side, not the restaurant side, because we like the menu there better.  Today, however, we were early enough that the pub menu was still being served as the lunch menu on both sides. 

We finished dinner and returned to camp by 4:30.  Julie wanted a nap and we all needed to relax.  We probably didn't get as restful of sleep as were trying to tell ourselves that we did this morning.

Part 3- 

After a rest, we were sligthly more recharged and went out for a drive.  Julie and Anna got smoothies at the nearby ice cream stand, but they didn't care for them.  We went to Westcot Beach State Park and stuck our feet in the water to cool down, then made it back for a campfire before bedtime.  We went to bed about dark.