Summer Memories

photo via cup of joe. source unknown

Lately I have been daydreaming of summers past, winding my way back to the place we spent long summer days by the lake. Bringing an arsenal of summer reading and climbing into a row boat with a couple of those books. Rowing out as far in the lake as was possible to still be able to drop the anchor and not drift off, and lazily lounge in the warmth of the sun devouring book after book.....this is what a 10 year old in 1968 thought was "the life". Even then I knew it would never last...

My Dad was obsessed with two things at that time: sailing and his movie camera. Sadly we don't seem to have any still pictures of those times at Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. But the memories are sharp as a tack in my mind's eye. Sometimes I will watch some of those old home movies which have since have been transferred to VHS.



For several summers of my early years, my family would pack into our station wagon ( 5 kids and grandma) and take that scenic route north on the interstate to spent some time on the lake with several other families- each year, it seemed there were more and more kids! Guess the parents were busy over the winter as sometimes there would be a pregnant Mom or two in the group.

But the best part about all the kids was that there was always someone to play with and explore with. We found wild raspberry bushes one year and picked so many our fingers were stained for days. I learned how to fish with my brothers and the other boys (but didn't much like it- putting the worm on the hook was the deal breaker!)

a cabin much like the one we stayed in. photo source unknown

Dinners of hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad and watermelon.....cold lemonade and sandwiches on the beach....roasting marshmallows around a campfire and making s'mores....this was summer.

how I picture my dream cabin.photo via architectural digest 2003

These days I want to go back there....to that special time when life was so simple. Driving into the town of Northville, getting soft-serve ice cream- watching my little sister try to eat her cone while it dripped relentlessy down her arm....me with my standard blackberry ice cream with marshmallow syrup....I don't recall the name of that place but I dare say it's gone now.....We watched the men land on the moon for the first time ever in July of 1969. I was 11 years old. It was magical.

our cabin was on a hill and we had to walk down it to get to the lake, most often in our bare feet. (this photo is similar to my memory of it.) source unknown

I am grateful for those days and know that my siblings are too. It' s a place we will all have in our hearts forever.