Nomad Life - Day 18

Even though I slept well, I didn't get all the time in bed I'd hoped for; I was wide awake by 0530 and figured I'd get an early start on my telework day.  At about 0700, I went down to the lobby of my Super 8 hotel and found mini-donuts, small muffins and some yogurt.  After scarfing down my "breakfast", I drove to the nearby Walmart to redeem deposits on some bottle.  Unfortunately, the store was open but the bottle machines weren't ("come back at 8 o'clock").  While there, I noticed a sign in front of the building that warned people about the high winds ("please return cards to the store") - I found it interesting that there must be enough of the conditions I saw yesterday to warrant a formal sign for high winds... This morning, however, was mostly breeze free (temps in the 60s) and the sun was shining.  Returning to my hotel, I grabbed a few more yogurts and then resumed teleworking for another hour.  I repeated this entire exercise at about 0815 and, this time, I was successful in my mission.  Using deposit redemption slips I'd gotten from this visit (and another four previous ones), I bought myself some sparking water (apple flavored).  This was actually the first pure grocery shopping trip (where I spent money) of my Nomad Life so far - I'll need to start doing this more...  I worked from my hotel room for the next several hours (meetings until almost noon) and then the day started to wind down in intensity.  By 1545, I decided I'd worked long enough and departed the hotel.  A few days ago, I realized that Ticonderoga seems to shut down all the attractions (and a lot of the businesses) on Mondays.  Sadly, today was no exception.  Hoping to make some lemonade from the metaphorical lemons I'd been dealt, I located a pathway called the LaChute River Walk Trail (arrived at 1615).  For the next 45 minutes, I explored most of the pathway that paralleled the little river.  Actually, I should be fair and note that this waterway included some serious rapids and small waterfalls - it definitely did not appear to be navigable (later, I learned that this river is the outflow for Lake George and flows into Lake Champlain next to Fort Ticonderoga).  It was very clear that the residents of Ticonderoga have a lot of civic pride because I saw a series of interesting signs, displays, monuments and banners.  Reaching Bicentennial Park, I checked out yet more landmarks, including signs for the Empire State Trail.  Having seen this trail in several other places during my travel, I became intrigued about where it might lead.  Sadly, I determined that it was mostly followed road surfaces in this area.  After passing the so-called "kissing bridge" in the park, I decided to check out the town's Main Street, which included a lot of closed businesses, a Star Trek (The Original Series) television set recreation and, to my great surprise, a Knights of Columbus Council Hall (Council 333).  With the latter location, I was even more surprised that it was actually open (they were having a blood drive) - even more shocking, they were planning to have a Council Meeting later in the day!  Filled with anticipation of my first opportunity to join my Brother Knights at a formal event, I walked back to my car and went in search of food.  The only place that appeared to be opened was just across the LaChute River so I drove a short distance to reach the Paper & Pencil (1705).  It a nice sized restaurant with an interesting menu and I tried to order beer to start - unfortunately, they told me they'd sold out.  Continuing my daily attempts to hydrate enough, I settled for some water.  My dinner, though, consisted of a delicious turkey sandwich (the meat was lightly grilled) on a toasted ciabatta bun and a side salad.  Afterwards, I decided I should try a dessert and was impressed by their New Orleans style bread pudding (I believe it lived up to its name).  The staff seemed to be quite overwhelmed (I learned that it was their version of Friday, since the restaurant was closed the following day) and I tried my best to be patient and pleasant.  It seemed to work, since they asked me to come back again when they opened on Wednesday at 1500.  Sadly, I plan to be gone by then...  Since it was already 1835 by that point, I repositioned my car near the KofC Council Hall and went inside a bit early.  There were some friendly folks in there (especially Ed, Bob, Peter and Dave) and they definitely made me feel welcome as an honored guest from another council.  I should note that my home council only has one meeting a month but this one has two - the one I was attending was called a social meeting, which was very informal.  There was still some business involved, though; when the meeting began (1900), the main topic of the evening was the fate of their historic (1921) three-story hall.  I learned they'd been working on a plan to renovate and expand the usage of the building to accommodate even more activities for other groups in the town.  The whole conversation was very interesting and I hope their efforts will bear fruit.  Afterwards, I got to hang out socializing with my new Brother Knight friends - they all seemed very interested in me and how our council did things.  Before I left, one of them showed me the wonderful outdoor (covered) performance venue that has been the site of a weekly concert series.  I was earnestly invited to attend the last such event of the summer on the following evening (hoping I can attend).  Leaving the "downtown" area (2045), I drove back to my hotel and immediately walked over to the nearby Walmart to get the rest of my daily 10K steps (I only had a few left to get and reached the milestone in the parking lot).  In my room again (2115), I read and blogged until it was time for bed (2230).  It was another interesting day but I am really looking forward to the attractions and businesses being open tomorrow!