Two more Canadian cultural notes. First, we tried a Tim Horton donut … not bad but basically like any glazed or cake donut but with a distinctive doughy texture I thought. And they offered a number of maple or honey dipped variations. Second, next to the handicapped spots at their freeway service areas

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After a fine night’s rest in the Canadian Hilton, we took the northern route east across the top of Lake Ontario rather than braving the heavily traffic’d Niagara Falls corridor. That was a lovely drive once past Toronto, and we crossed into the US on the Ogdensburg-Prescott Bridge, an old but impressive two-lane suspension bridge with a metal grate road surface, very little border traffic there (we were alone at the customs gates with a chatty official).

It took us to Stowe via rural upper New York, places like Waddington, “World Carp Capital”, and Vermont. A surprise, not noted in my route warnings, is that it chose a route that required a ferry between New York and Vermont.

Here we are at the very lovely Trapp Family Lodge. It is (now descendants of) the von Trapp family of Sound of Music fame, but the outcome of their serious profession in the hospitality trade once the fame died down. Granted, our room has pictures like these on the walls instead of bland hotel art:

and there are periodic showing of the film and several documentaries. But overall it’s a very nice upscale chalet/Austrian style lodge and resort, a beautiful building in a beautiful setting (apologies for an internet image; I won’t have pictures until morning light)

They started off in trouble with only three handicapped spots, by the lobby, but redeemed themselves by parking the car for us, moving it to a handicapped spot when it became available, and bringing our luggage up to the room. Ahhh, so this is how the rich vacation!

The room is large and appropriately decorated with a private balcony:

Note the high beds … hallmark it seems of luxury bedding; a pain for John to get into from the wheelchair. But quite nice once there!

The bathroom? A tub as advertised, but otherwise a good accessible room:

Note the picture with the toilet. Unlike the Hilton, the towels are placed to the right of instead of above the toilet, allowing use of the towel bar.

The new item of note from those clever Austrians (or ingenious Vermonters) … the auto-close door has a magnetic door stop which holds the door open if you open the door all the way. Problem solved!