I flew today, from St Louis to Washington Dulles, to Albany, NY. Miraculously, my hockey gear, sticks, and regular luggage arrived just fine. Flying into Albany, we passed over some really beautiful scenery: green, mountainous, NY state at its best.

I rented the car and hit the Thruway toward the Adironadacks. My last time in this area, I was camping with IBM Research people for the Fall Colors annual trip. This was over 20 years ago. Some boots I have still has Adirondack mud on them -- black and irremovable.

It's about a 2 hour drive from the airport to Lake Placid. Once you get off the highway, you pass through some small towns well suited to receiving tourists, but everything looks beautiful all the same.

Lake Placid is about 100 times more amazing than I thought it would be. The lake itself is large and beautiful. The hotel is right on the lake, and I can view it from my balcony. I walked through this part of town, and it has the expected tourists shops, but the views and the cool weather change things completely. It has started to rain, but that's not detracting from things at all.

I check in tomorrow afternoon for camp. I hope I'm not in too far over my head, but I'll find that out tomorrow. Tonight it's a little bit of work (wireless access in the room), a nice dinner, and seeing the rest of my Netflix movie I brought.