By Cindy Higby
Vacation 2009 was a winner. Barbara and I hopped two planes and stole a Ford Edge from the Albany airport (just kidding we rented it) making our way over clouds, past security gates, between migrating bands of weird people, and then cut a swath through thick green forest to get to our lake house in the Adirondacks. She was grumpy on the way there, due to the fact she did not get much sleep the night before. She has travel anxiety and instead of counting sheep like me, she was packing and repacking in her head and worrying about details for things she had no control over, like the fact she might not get any ATT bars in the mountains. She's usually more animated during the travel phase of a vacation, but this time I think she was stressing the length of time it takes to get to Raquette Lake from Dallas, approximately 10 hours, as well as the fact we still weren't sure we'd have wi fi either, just dial up (ugh!). Disconnecting from the universe is hard for us, since we mainline technology. Normally our vacations are not so remote and room service is just a button on the phone.
Regardless of the lack of amenities, I slept like a baby and jumped from the sack before the alarm even went off, excited like a little kid on Christmas morning. The lake house has that effect on me, even after 35 years of going there.
Here's a picture of our view from our dock in the morning. Imagine waking up and strolling down to watch the fog burn off as you sip your warm coffee, listening to the sounds of a Northern Loon and the lapping of soft waves against the rocky shore. Not too hard to take.
We spent nine days with my entire family tucked into two waterfront pine cabins that smell a little musty and decorated oddly (like empty wall space was a bad thing) (see this is where Barbara is such a trooper - she is used to the Four Seasons and the Ritz, not a little One Season hut in the woods). The Higby Camp walls of the big house are covered with my mother's favorite pictures (mostly Loons), as well as a deer head, a stuffed Bass my father caught, and various old photos and lures. It's cluttered to say the least, but it's also "campy", and we are used to it.
My Dad, right before he died this year, bought us a new fish and ski boat, and man was it fun. That boat can buzz to the village and back in under ten minutes - I know this cuz Cale tested it to get emergency ice cream one night. It was easy to fish out of too, even in tight corners. The trolling motor was smooth and the foot pedal placed comfortably so I could sit, cast, motor, and detangle my line...and drink a beer all at the same time.
Mark, Scott, Kathy, Faye, Quinn, Natalie, and Cale all piled in one day and took it to a little cove/beach and tubed and partied. They came back all excited, tired, happy and tanned. Barbara and I had been fishing in the smaller bass tracker that day, and had gone to the Tap Room (which Faye renamed the Tap Worm) for lunch and a beer.
then came back and sat on our dock sipping cold wine watching the waves. By now we were fully de-stressed, and realizing the power of the mountains and what getting away from it all really means. At the end of the week were were sad to leave, but had my Class of 1977 50th Birthday bash to attend, in my hometown of Orchard Park, NY.My friend Mary Pat and I used Facebook and other electronic means to get the word out about this impromptu 50th birthday bash for the class of 1977, and not surprising - a whole bunch of old friends showed up. (if nothing else my class could throw'm down). It was great seeing my childhood best friend Sherrill, my party pal Lauren, my buddies Mark and Dwight and the carzy cast of characters from high school. The key phrase (as we introduced ourselves - not having laid eyes on most of these people since graduation in 1977) was, "Holy Shit!". Some people recognized me - some did not, and I had the same trippy experience with them. It's fascinating how age can change people, especially when you fast forward them 32 years.
Once again Barbara was thrown into the thick of it and carved out her own good time making friends with my old friends and shooting a slew of great photos with our new camera.
The last day we played golf with my friends Mickey and Deb at the Orchard Park Country Club, Thanks to Mary Pat whose a member. All in all it was a great trip. No one lost an eye. Everybody got along. We had a ton of laughs and it was great getting to see so many people I knew in one trip. I highly recommend the Adirondacks as a getaway, but don't go to Raquette Lake cuz well we like that its not over populated. Try Lake George instead!
Here's a short retro slideshow of the class of 1977.
