Idylls of the Queen

My parents' philosophy was, that with all of Maine's natural resources right at our door, my brother and sister and I had no need for children's summer camp. And it was true. We were within walking distance or a short drive of several lake or river swimming holes, picnic spots, and hiking trails. The ocean, whether sand beach or rocky shore, was only an hour away. But with all respect to you, my parents, I now know that EVERYONE needs to spend at least one week a summer at a cabin by the water in Maine. And I learned that this summer.

My daughters and our families rented a cabin on Highland Lake in Bridgton, Maine, in July -- a first for us. None of us live in Maine at present, yet we still think of Maine as the summer Place to Be.  As always, I have some pictures to show you. 

First of all, the beach. Sandy. Warm water. A nice balance of sun and shade. I raked bushels of waterlogged pine spills off the bottom to make more of the clean water available for water play.

Rachel and her friend Margo, with Leah's children, Kaleigh
 and Gavin, on the water monsters. 

Rachel's friend Marguerite watches as her little Jacques
patiently fills and fills, and fills his ditch with "cho-it milk".
Kaleigh is in the process of constructing a sand turtle.

One hot morning we climbed to Emerald Pool,
somewhere (I'm not tellin' where) in the White Mountains.

The scale is that the ledge in the upper left corner of the photo is about 12 feet above the water, but the pool is so deep and the rocks so configured that it is safe for people to jump off. If they do, they receive a shock at the icy coldness of that beautiful water. My style is not to jump in, so I get no credit in the "adventuresome" column; but I gradually accustom myself to the cold (self-induced hypothermia, I suppose), enabling me to stay in the longest.

We had the pool to ourselves for our splash time and lunch,
then several groups of campers stopped by.
Though out of focus, this shows how much the pool
is beloved by hikers hot from clambering mountain trails.

Daughter Leah (far right, below) is an artist and art teacher, so part of the week's fun was for her to give a master class for the rest of us. 

Left to right: Rachel, Gavin, Rachel's Rob, Kaleigh, and Leah.
We are on the town green in Waterford, sketching
old New England residential architecture. 

A long-time family friend, Ruth Fearon, lived year-round on Highland Lake. Every day during the swimming season she and some friends would swim across the lake and back, guarded by Ruth's husband, Wendell, in their canoe. My daughters can remember some fun times at their house, including joining Ruth on that swim. I cannot truthfully remember if I did that swim 'way back then, but Rachel and Leah got the idea that I could -- and should -- do it now. Rachel, herself a long-distance swimmer, made it over and back lickety-split. Leah accompanied us in Elaine Gallant's kayak, trying to keep watch over the aquatic hare and turtle. It took me at least an hour, but I DID IT.

Sara and Rachel at the mid-point of their big swim. Photo by Leah.

I had a nice picture of the view from the deck of our cabin, but I cannot find it. We loved it. The neighbors called it "the upside-down house" because the bedrooms are on the ground floor and the living rooms on the second floor. We found that design ideal, however. 

The cabin was across the street from the lake, so the second floor deck gave us almost as good a water view as though we had been in a waterfront cabin. Lots of fragrant trees, loons and other birds galore. We could eat in the dining room or on the spacious deck. Great place to entertain friends and family, which we did all week. 

Special commendations go to Leah's Eric, who only had two days at the cabin before he had to return to work in Missouri, and to my Roy, who gave Eric a ride to Logan Airport and stayed the rest of the week in the super-hot suburbs of Boston, working on the showings of our house. It was super-hot in Maine, too, but we were equipped, not only with the lake and mountains, but with air conditioning -- and dishwasher and washer/dryer, making this the easiest vacation outside of Club Med. Hence my otherwise unexplained post title, "Idylls of the Queen." That's exactly what I felt like, queen-mother of all I surveyed. 

I should put in a good word for our rental agency, Krainen Realty of Raymond, Maine.