Our happy place

Disney World may bill itself as the happiest place on earth, but our happy place is The Hedges in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. James and I fell madly in love with The Hedges last year when we went for the first time while Aidan was in Michigan and knew that we wanted had to go back and take Aidan with us. (You can read about last year's trip to The Hedges here and here.)

We left on Sunday morning and timed our departure so that we could eat lunch at Matt's Draft House/Screamen Eagle in Inlet - love those wings! Vacation has begun when you have a cold one in your hand:

Or two cold ones:

In my right hand, Dogfish Head 61 Minute IPA and in my left, Founders Double Trouble. Ahh.

After poking around our favorite shops in Inlet, we made the short drive on up to Blue Mountain Lake and checked in at The Hedges. This year, we stayed in the Icehouse cabin:

 

That is the view of the "front" door with the lake visible in the background through the trees. Here is the view from the back side:

The Icehouse is a good setup for us with two queen beds, a kitchenette and a small table. We set up our Keurig, popped the growlers in the fridge and we were right at home.

We honestly did not know what Aidan would think of such a quiet place, but he took to it like the many ducks at The Hedges take to the water. He and James did a lot of fishing off the dock:

Even if they did not catch anything, with gorgeous views of Blue Mountain Lake, who cares if the fish are biting or not?

But the fish did bite and they caught/released quite a few fish:

Aidan made friends with a 13 year old boy from Maryland named Ethan  whose visit overlapped with ours for a day or two. Ethan was happy to fish all day and was quick to help Aidan when he needed it. After Ethan left, Aidan met three brothers from Pennsylvania; they played foosball and air hockey in the game room or splashed around in the swimming area.

The weather was the only downside to our trip: it rained. It rained A LOT. But since it was likely raining at home, I would still rather be at The Hedges in the rain than not be there at all. Despite the rain, we were able to get out on the lake in kayaks two mornings and Aidan did so well that we went out in three single person kayaks. One morning, we kayaked out to this island in the lake and even got out to walk around:

After the disappointments of the previous week, it was good to get out of B'ville and go on holiday. All three of us love being in the Adirondacks, and we cheer when we see the "Entering the Adirondacks Park" sign and cross the blue line; it is as though we heave a collective happy sigh of relief. It was so good to dangle our feet in the cold water, breath in the fresh air and listen to the loons. It is a wonderful vacation when the biggest decision you have to make all day is to choose what time to eat dinner.

And we ate well at The Hedges. The price includes a four course dinner each night and a cooked to order breakfast each morning, and it is well worth the price. As much as we adore visiting the Adirondacks, we have found that good food is hard to find outside Lake Placid and Lake George, and doggone it, we want to eat well on vacation. The food is delicious at The Hedges and the service is friendly and flawless. Like many places in the Adirondacks, The Hedges employs many foreign students and we soon were on a first name basis with our favorite waiter, Bogdan. He is from Romania and this summer is his first visit to the United States. We enjoyed talking with him as much as the duties of his job would allow, and he presented us with a small Romanian souvenir on our final morning.

On Thursday morning, we reluctantly packed up and loaded the car. James and Aidan did a little more fishing before we left (and drove to Tony Harper's in Old Forge for lunch). But before we left the property, we made sure to fill out our accommodation request for next year. The Hedges is our family tradition since 2012.