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.

School's out for the summer!

Today was the last day of this school year. Well, actually, it was the last HALF day of school. Aidan raced off the bus:

Can you tell that he is pleased to be done with fifth grade?

These last few weeks have been busy although with very little actual schoolwork (grumble grumble). In our school district, grades six and seven go to middle school and information sessions were held separately for students and parents at the middle school. Aidan and his classmates are all excited and a bit intimidated by having lockers next year.

The fifth grade field trip at Aidan's school is always an overnight trip to a local camp. Last Thursday morning they boarded buses for the short drive to Camp Talooli. It was pouring rain with a forecast for 100% precipitation, but when I took Aidan and his gear to school, all I saw were smiles. They spent all day and night at Talooli, plus Friday morning. Families were invited to the group campfire and individual class campfires on Thursday evening, so James and I drove up after a quick dinner. The rain had finally stopped but everything was a soggy, muddy mess, including Aidan. Especially Aidan. It was so wet that the group campfire was changed to an indoor gathering where the students sang camp songs and performed skits. How funny that most of the songs and many of the skits were the same ones I remember from my camp days!

We left after the group gathering but I was back the next morning to help with the craft session, in which the students made paracord survival bracelets. (By the third class, I was quite proficient at making the bracelets, and Aidan and I bought supplies to make more over the weekend.) I picked Aidan up at school when they returned after lunch and although every student (and parent chaperone) looked dirty and exhausted, they were all smiles. Anyone can have fun at camp when it is sunny, but this group of fifth graders made the best out of very wet weather and created great memories.

Monday was the spring Olympics, rescheduled from last Tuesday when it rained. Fifth grade participated in the morning, but I volunteered to help with the afternoon session. No sooner had all the volunteers gathered to be briefed on the stations when the thunder, lightning, rain and hail started. Sigh. It was a fast moving storm so we waited out the rain delay. Once the all clear was given, we trooped outside and had a great afternoon of games. I worked the ladder ball relay with two other very fun moms, and went home a sweaty, sunscreen covered mess.

Yesterday was the big fifth grade moving up ceremony, followed by the fifth grade celebration. I helped decorate for the celebration and stayed to help with the serving of food, clean up, chaperoning. Our neighbor Ben was the DJ for the event and he soon had the children dancing, singing, doing the Hokey Pokey and the limbo. I did not expect to enjoy myself so much, but I really liked seeing them cut loose and celebrate.

Aidan leaving behind elementary school and fifth grade has not been a sad or emotional experience for me because he is ready to move on to middle school. I know he is going to enjoy having more teachers, different and more challenging classes, reacquainting himself with friends from other schools and making lots of new friends. But first, a nice relaxing summer!