Hopefully the final disposable breakfast on this trip, after an OK night’s kip.

I’ve referred to the extensive construction work going on around here. We can only assume it’s to do with the new centre celebrating Lake Placid’s contribution to the Winter Olympics. It really is big news around here.

I’ve mentioned that we hadn’t seen the real Lake Placid yet, so after checking out, we drove to a place called Whiteface on the shores of said lake.

This is a very twee area – archetypal affluent New England/Upper New York State. It’s lovely.

Time to drive to our next destination – the Kimpton Taconic in Manchester, Vermont. There are at least two other Manchesters in New England – one in New Hampshire and another in Connecticut, which led to some confusion checking weather forecasts!

Another super drive, interspersed with lots of rain, some of it very heavy. Amazing fall colours on the way – I felt at times I was driving through avenues of red and orange tall trees on both sides of the road.

Reached the hotel in plenty of time, to be greeted, or at least acknowledged, by a woman on the front desk, who couldn’t care less, but at least the reservation (one night only) was recognised. The room was ready, and this looks like a great hotel, our last country stay before hitting the big cities of Boston and New York. Excellent after a succession of OK, but rather basic hotels.

Well appointed room, if a bit small and no kettle! The latter was rectified right speedily. As was a non-working hairdryer.

Certain essential supplies (tonic water, wine, lemon and ginger tea inter alia) had been running low for a while, so a suitable source to top these up was sought. A 15 minute walk brought us to an astonishingly huge Waitrose style supermarket with some very nice real estate and fall colours on the way.

Manchester, Vermont, is even twee-er than Lake Placid! Faux marble pavements, for heaven’s sake! It is pretty, though….

Jean simply had to look in a clothes shop on the way back, and I know from past experience this can be a long process. I set off back to the hotel with the shopping in the interim, and she got back empty-handed about half an hour later.

The hotel offers a “social hour” between 5 and 6 p.m. where one can get a free wine/beer and mix with other hotel residents. A nice idea, and we got talking to an American lady whose daughter was studying at Queen Mary College in London. She was playing bridge on her laptop, and she could only engage with us because she was dummy at the time. Bridge players will understand….

Anyway, she just loved our accent! What is it about the way the Brits speak that so appeals to the Americans? And why are the Americans so fascinated by the Royal Family? Answers on a postcard….

Earlier attempts to find places to eat had come to grief, as none of them were open on a Wednesday evening. (?) Unreal. Maybe another result of staff shortages.

So… we went to the local pub. Mulligans, 150 yards down the road. An excellent meal, too.

Tomorrow we depart for Boston, where we will have to surrender the car. We will have driven over 4,000 miles in it by then, ever since we started out in Toronto, aeons ago. Some logistical issues face us, but we will overcome. Because we have to.

Next day’s exciting instalments awaits. Please join us.