Monday, June 8, 2009

A Walk Around Lake Algonquin








These are a few of the sights from the walk I took today around Lake Algonquin in Wells, NY with my sister Elise and puppy Brinkley. Elise and I, and our other sister Aly, who couldn't be with us today, have so many wonderful memories of this place but it has become sort of a sad quiet little hamlet in the last decade or so. I remember the hustle and bustle on the bay outside of my grandma's camp when I was younger...jet skis and fishing boats, and tubers and water skiers. And the first weekend of August, there is a town-wide celebration complete with a parade, craft fair, rides, games and food vendors. It was what we looked forward to all summer...but every year the offerings and the attendance dwindle to less and less.
I guess its not the cool hip place to vacation anymore. For me it will always have a special place in my heart; the place where we visited grandma, roasted smores in the patio fireplace, canoed to the island in the center of the bay, visited out-of-state relatives on Fourth of July, played flashlight tag and told scary stories with the neighbor's kids, and dared each other to jump off the dock or the rope swing into the cold lake water first. It's always been a place where my sisters and I got along. No matter how much we fought over silly things growing up, at camp we were three peas in a pod.
It's nice now that we are all getting older that we can come back here and appreciate those times and look to times ahead. Elise and I were able to walk the few miles around the lake and reflect on childhood memories and life in general. Those times are rare and precious; those moments when you can escape the monotany of daily routine and obligations, and just enjoy nature and friendship...and the companionship and curiosity of my adorable puppy dog too! I'm glad I got to take some time out today for that, I sure needed to. I hope that you enjoy the photos and it puts you in a happy state of sunshine and reminds you to take a moment to stop and smell the sweet mountain air and smile.

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