Les Flâneurs: Fort Drum

The change of command ceremony was scheduled for 10am and we left our hotel a little after 9am, giving us enough time to make our way to Fort Drum and find our way to the event location. After checking in at the main gate and picking up our visitor passes -- joined by Dick and Dorothy and Carl and Bonnie - we made our way to the gymnasium where Glen's change of command ceremony was to take place.

Originally scheduled to take place outside a couple of days back there was talk of rain so the event was rescheduled to be held inside. So here we were in the Macgrath Gymnasium of the 10th Mountain Division.

The ceremony kicked off on time with introductory music provided by the division band under the baton of Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Parker, our other nephew -- he's married to Melissa Bergman while Glen MacDonald is married to Christina Bergman, in case you needed a program update.

After a few brief opening remarks, thank-yous and farewells the actual handing over of the colors from LTC Jones to LTC MacDonald went smoothly and in less than a half hour it was done. Glen MacDonald was now officially commander of the 2nd Battalion.

Kiera MacDonald

Bonnie and Carl (seated) and Dorothy and Susan

Christina and Liam

visitors wishing LTC Jones goodbye

Glen on the left

handoff complete, Glen is now on the right

The new 2nd Battalion commander LTC Glen MacDonald

After the ceremony there was a short reception of cake and soda at battalion headquarters.

Glen with his dad Bill and brother Scott

Before leaving the fort Daniel Parker gave us a tour of the division band building: lots of rehearsal space, soundproof rooms and instrument storage areas.

practicing

Since we had a few hours before dinner Susie and I left the fort and headed straight for Sackets Harbor, about 12 miles away on a pice of land jutting out into Lake Ontario. Sackets Harbor was the scene of a rather important engagement between the British and American forces during the war of 1812 and for many years Madison Barracks in the village served as the largest Army base in upstate New York.

Upon arriving in Sackets Harbor we came across the military cemetery. In addition to being the burial ground for soldiers and members of their families for many years, it's also the final resting place for a great many men who died in the vicinity in 1813 during the War of 1812, including Brig. Gen. Zebulon Pike. Pike had been tasked with locating the headwaters of the Red River when in 1806 he spied an enormous peak near what is today Colorado Springs: Pike's Peak. Zebulon was killed in action in 1813 in York, Canada.

A couple of curiosities about the cemetery: a great many stones are listed as unknown and quite a few had pennies placed on the top of the government monument; also a large number of children are buried together in two lines beneath government stones -- apparently their families were living at Madison Barracks at the time they died.

Zebulon Pike's grave

memorial to the unknown soldiers and sailors who died at the battle of Sackets Harbor in 1813

the children's section

From the military cemetery we drove the two or three blocks into Sackets Harbor proper where we explored the 1812 battlefield and then made our way to the remnants of Madison Barracks. The buildings of the former army post mostly remain intact, one houses a fitness center and another an inn and restaurant. Buildings once used by military families still stand as well and are today rental units for local families.

battlefield site overlooking the lake

overlooking the site of the fort

memorial to the men who fought in the battle in 1813

Madison Barracks housing

parade ground in the foreground, used by the army's olympic polo teams in the 1920s.

That evening we returned to the Parker home on post and shared a delicious taco bar supper with family. We also celebrated Christina's forthcoming birthday -- she'll be 40 years old this week -- and fondly recall her at our wedding in 1983. Life is short. . .

We got on I-81 at the very beginning in eastern Tennessee and tomorrow morning we're going to see it to the very end at the Canadian border as we begin the final leg of our road trip.

leg 10: 194 miles.
total miles: 3,107.

Rain last night (apparently) and some heavy fog this morning in Corning. No rush for us though since our run to Watertown today will be short so we had a bite of breakfast before heading for Watkins Glen.

Traffic on route 414 out of Corning was very light -- Sunday morning after all -- and we zipped along having the highway mostly to ourselves. At Watkins Glen we switched to route 14 north which took us along Seneca Lake. Along the way we saw numerous vineyards, tasting rooms and wine "cellars" although nearly all were still closed.

Once we reached Geneva we pulled off to appreciate the view of both the head of the lake looking south in the direction of Watkins Glen and the lovely town itself. In fact, we commented this whole area would be a wonderful place to spend a week or so tasting the local wines.

looking south down Seneca Lake

looking back toward Geneva

Maybe another time. But it was time to get back on the road.

We opted to skip getting on the New York Thruway (I-90), which we had travelled many times over the years and decided to meander our way along the upper reaches of the Finger Lakes to I-81 north.

And so we did getting turned around only once in Auburn, NY, at the head of Owasco Lake. From Auburn we passed through the curiously named Skaneateles, at the head of what else, Skaneateles Lake. From there we pushed right along until we reached I-81 just outside of Lafayette, NY and a few miles south of Syracuse, home of one of the world's largest concentrations of state police cruisers. They were certainly pulling in the revenue this morning. Too bad they don't spend it on the roads.

Once beyond Syracuse the drive to Watertown was smooth and traffic light. We exited at route 3, exit 45, in Watertown and found our hotel in short order.

After settling in we made our way to the MacDonald home near downtown Watertown where Christina had arranged a reception for family and friends who came for tomorrow's change of command ceremony.