Lake Placid and my Upstate New York bucket list

Yesterday was Memorial Day and to me, that means summer has officially started. When I was a kid, our family swim club, Abbott Run, was open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Summers were defined in Abbott Run swim seasons and that philosophy has not changed for me.

I kicked Summer 2011 off by checking off an item on my newly created Upstate New York bucket list. It has recently come to my attention in a real way that I could not be living in Upstate New York for another full year. At GE, communicators move around jobs every few years and I am days away from hitting my 3 year anniversary of working at the research center. I don't want to move away and feel like I missed out on anything that this area has to offer. So many times people say to me, "Oh you live Upstate, have you ever been to _____?" The list is long and I have tried to define my own below. This weekend I visited Lake Placid with a good friend... we walked the main street, visited the Olympic ski jumps, ate Adirondack popcorn, and grabbed drinks at the Lake Placid brewery. It was a really relaxing and beautiful weekend and helped me to check off another item from my list. Do you have any other suggestions for me? My list is below...

Upstate New York Bucket List

• See the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown

• Ride Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls

• Cross the border and explore Montreal

• See a Syracuse University basketball game - Check

• Relax by the water at Lake George - Check

• Visit the Olympic village at Lake Placid - Check

• Take a stab at one of the high peaks in the Adirondacks

• Learn the history of Albany on the Albany Duck Tours

• Eat at New World Bistro, River Street Cafe and Miss Albany Diner

• See a show at Upstate's Broadway, Proctor's Theatre - Check (Lion King!!)

• Sit on the lawn for a concert at SPAC - Check (John Mayer, Maroon 5, Doobie Brothers and Allman Brothers, and down under for Phish.)

• Check out a show at the The Egg - Check (RENT)

• Enjoy some of the local theatre productions - Check (RENT, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Producers, and Clue: The Musical)

• Taste some local brews at Brown's and Pump Station - Check

• View an old movie at the Palace Theatre - Check (The Wizard of Oz and A Christmas Story; and I've also been to see Tracey Morgan and Chelsea Handler live)

• Place a bet at the track in Saratoga - Check

• Eat the fried chicken at Hatties in Saratoga - Check

• White water raft in the Hudson - Check

• Lazy river tube in the Hudson - Check

• Eat at Dinosaur BBQ - Check (at Syracuse and in Troy)

• Attend a Valley Cats game - Check

• Run with the elite runners at the Freihofer's 5K- Check

• Ski at Jiminy Peak - Check

• Take the train to NYC - Check

• Go to Jumpin' Jacks for the waterski show - Check

• Take a mineral bath in Saratoga

• Lay by the lake in Grafton State Park - Check

• Eat at Cheesecake Machismo 

• Take one of the boat cruises on the Hudson - Check

• Hike Plotter's Kill to see the waterfalls 

• Take cheesy photos of the flowers at Tulipfest - Check

• Drink in the street during Larkfest - Check

• See an Alive at Five show - Check

• Drink a birthday boot of beer at Wolff's Biergarten

• Spend an afternoon at Thatcher Park

• Attend the St. Patrick's Day parade - Check

• Ride the Hudson/Mohawk bike trail

Any other ideas?  A few Lake Placid pictures are below...