Land of the free, home of the brave

On the border of New York and Vermont there is a wonderfully restored fort which was witness to a poorly remembered chapter in American History. In April of 1775, before the British occupying the fort knew of the colonists' rebellion at Lexington and Concord, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys occupied the poorly garrisoned and unsuspecting Fort Ticonderoga and the intersection between Lake George and Lake Champlain.


This became extremely important because Henry Knox then moved the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston to lift the siege of the British.

Not only is the fort beautifully restored, but the living history tour guide were fantastic. The actual taking of Fort Ticonderoga was fairly I dramatic, but our guide wove a story with humor and insight that held the intention of even our smaller ones.


The unexpected highlight of the fort visit, though was a very a very sophisticated corn maze (if you can use the word sophisticated and corn maze in the same sentence). It had two phases, a series of questions about the fort which helped you navigate through the maze and eight rubber stamps you could collect at various stations. After our oldest four collected all eight stamps we loaded our tired dusty troops in the vans and headed across
Lake Champlain by ferry into Vermont. The drive through the rolling hills and farmlands in the setting sun was breathtaking. I have not been to New England in a long time and I was struck by how picturesque the lakes are and the miles of stone walls along the roadsides. The weather could not have been more beautiful, clear and sunny with just a hint of fall in the air.




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Location:Fort Ticonderoga, NY