Lake Placid

We had such a fun day! We drove 5 miles up the Veterans Memorial Highway, a toll road and FDR project, up to the summit of Whiteface Mountain. At 4867 feet, it is New York's 5th highest peak but the only one you can access by car. The road is winding with sheer cliff edges and panoramic views of the Adirondacks. I drove up and Roger drove down - that way we could both see the views without the driver taking eyes off the road! Once you get to the top you take an elevator built back into the mountain up 276 more feet to the very top. We were fortunate that it was a clear day and we could see forever - 360 degrees!
We had a relaxing lunch in Lake Placid - sat outside with a view of the mountains. It was the host of the 1932 & 1980 Winter Olympics. Hard to imagine how the town (about 30,000 now) accommodated all the athletes, families, media and spectators.
Then we toured the Olympic Ski Jump area. There were athletes practicing the high ski jumps and freestyle jumping. It was amazing! TV does not give you a real understanding of how high the jumps are - scared me to take the elevator up and stand on the observation deck! The practice runs are made out of porcelain and marble and are sprayed with water to simulate snow and the landing areas are strands of green plastic - like the plastic "brushes" in drive thru car washes - that they also spray with water. The freestyle jumpers go down the "slopes" - flip in the air - and land in a pool of water. The current in the pool pushes them to a ladder so they can get out easily. A little difficult swimming with snow skis on!