Gettin' religion

Spent the day in Lake Placid, New York, today. It was the site of both the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympics and all of the venues are still in existence and most are still being used by athletes in preparation for future competitions, both the Olympics and others.

One of the fun things we did was to drive up to the top of Whiteface Mountain, site of the downhill skiing competitions. Unfortunately though, the last 1/5 mile to the top is by way of a rocky foot trail over large boulders and which offers a very tiring test of one’s balance and stamina. I certainly have a new respect for mountain goats now. Once at the top though, the view was quite spectacular down to Lake Placid and for 60 mile in all directions.

What has to be the highlight of the day was a ride down the Olympic bob sled run. In exchange for 30 photographs of George Washington, almost anyone (you must be at least 48 inches tall to ride) can strap on a helmet and semi-securely belt themselves into a contraption vaguely resembling an Olympic bob sled for a half mile ride down that famous tube. Now obviously, in the summertime, with the temperatures in the low 80’s, the track isn’t covered in ice. No, the sleds have wheels on them and the surface of the track is the non ice covered concrete that it is made of. So, helmet on and prayers offered up, we began what would become one of the fastest expenditures of 30 bucks we’ve ever experienced. 41.85 seconds later we were a half mile away, thankful that we were still in one piece but exhilarated by the experience. We were told that the pro’s do the one mile section of the track in something over 50 seconds, almost double the speed we attained. Knowing what we went through, I just hope they are on a first name basic with some very good Minister's, Priest's, Rabbi’s or Imam’s because if you aren’t religious before going down that track, you certainly are thankful to the man upstairs by the time you get to the end. Pictures in the photo gallery.