Well, we arrived on the east side of the state, in the heart of the Hudson River valley, in Lake George. Fort William Henry is right in the middle of the town on the south side of the lake. We parked up front and walked up the hill to the site. This is another timer fort that was reconstructed to reflect the fort layout in its heyday during the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War periods.
This is another well done fort that includes onsite vignettes, museum areas and the usual gift shop. There is not a place to eat on the fort grounds, but as you are right on the waterfront, there are plenty of places within easy walking distance.
We went in and got our tickets and waited in the first barracks room for the on-site tour guide. While we waited, we looked over the museum pieces they had on display within the large room. The presentation started and was about forty minutes. I must say, our presenter was one of the finest I have ever seen. He knew his history of both the fort and the campaigns in the region. Not to mention he was a very entertaining speaker, while fully uniformed as a Black Watch Highlander!
We followed our normal clockwise walk from there, catching the musket demo and the cannon firing demo from the south east bastion. Most of the buildings here are focussed more on museum presentation items than living history vignettes, but there is enough of both for the visitor.
We spent the majority of the afternoon at the fort and headed out to our hotel at closing time. However, not until we grabbed ourselves some ice cream and enjoyed the view of the lake before checking into our hotel. A nice jaunt and with the trip, if nothing more than to hear our tour guide!
- Manteuffel