This amusement park is located in Lake George,New York, just about twenty minutes from where I grew up. Its an old amusement park, and is now known as the Great Escape, but it still retains the charms of the many decades of growth, and the changing tastes of children. The girl's favorite part were the little houses - which I remember from when I was a boy, they also loved the Cinderella carraige - all of there are a hold out from it's very early days. There is also an old west town, swan boats, rollercoasters, a waterpark, Now that the park has been purchased by the Six Flags conglomerate it also has a looney tunes park - all of it was fun, and it was great to see the girls enjoying the same things I did as a boy. Gone now is the massive gorilla that stood, beating it's chest above the entrance to the jungle area. When I was three I screamed, closed my eyes, and demanded we be home by the time I counted to ten just from the sight of that beast. We met our friends the Cotas there on a Thursday afternoon, we had a great time.
In the morning I would rise early, with the sun, and tip-toe out of the apartment. Quebec is a night-loving town, and in the morning the streets are empty - usually the boardwalk you see below is full of people, but this was taken just before six in the morning, and it was just me and the pigeons. Throughout the old town it was the same, I saw a bread delivery man, and that was about it. Though I did see a few young travelers sleeping against the old fortifications, and below the headstones in a churchyard. Tory was happy to see me go out early, as I was not chomping at the bit to get out, or drag the family all over, and as long as I stopped to get her a cup of coffee and croissants (chocolate ones for Lizzie and Zoe). One morning I took my guide book with me, and planned out a treasure hunt of sorts - ending in a cannonball lodged in the base of an old cottonwood in one of the high streets. I also discovered you can visit Montcalm's scull in one of the church's museums, and see a lantern stand donated by Louis the fourteenth to this most French of North-American cities. On the Third night we convinced the girls to take a nap, and spent from 6 till 11 watching the street performers, fire throwers, jugglers, one man bands, acrobats, and cabaret. Lizzie danced on the cobbles to a violinist in the low city (confusing passer-byes as to exactly who they should throw money to), and Zoe was fascinated by a lantern ghost tour, which re-enacted on the very spot, what was supposedly the only time in history that an excutioner was forced to kill his own wife - she was fascinated.
It seems that my camera's disk was damaged when I tried to use it in an older camera, I had nearly given up hope of retrieving these images, but handed the job over to computer services at the University and they were able to retrieve them. There are quite a few, and I will share a few at a time over the next week. Towering over the skyline of the old walled city is the Chateau Frontenac with its towering stone walls and green copper roof. Within the walls, and below the cliffs are many small alleys lined with buildings, many dating from the 17th century. One street Tory dubbed Diagon Alley, for obvious reasons. We stayed at a friends apartment on the Plains of Abraham, a grassy expanse that has seen many battles for possession of the city, it sits next to the citadel, and on top of the cliffs. We arrived in Quebec City mid afternoon, and entered the old city through the highest gate, we spent the remainder of the day wandering about, and watching the street performers. The picture of the girls below shows them next to one of the monuments outside the old city hall, watching a show. Most of the performers spoke mostly french, but the appeal was universal. The weather was perfect, lower seventies and sunny during the day, and cooling of at night.
