Yet one more
 

Almost forgot this one. I also like to find one picture that defines the summer and have it framed and hung in my house. I use is as the cover page for my annual NH scrapbook as well. The picture is almost always a sunset, but it was different this year. Thought I would share it with you all.

Jersey Girl

Jersery Girl:

I have also asked myself that same question and then I realize that the lakes region might not be as special if I lived there full time. There is something about returning to the area after being away for several weeks that is magical. I 'd be curious to hear from those who have moved to the area full time. Is my assumption accurate?

moving full time/traditions
 

Thanks for a nice discussion. I would also like to hear about those who made the leap to the Granite State. I think about it too, but wonder if my sissy self could cope with wintertime, and being an "outsider."
As far as traditions, there is nothing like that first cup of tea — or coffee or cocktails as the case may seem — and the favorite view, upon arrival. I love roast chicken and gravy and mashed potatoes, blueberry pancakes, scent of pine, sparkle and sound of water. The first swim of the season is very reassuring. On leaving by boat at vacation's end, I stare steadily at our house until we round the corner and it is out of sight.

Especially from NJ
 

My family says the same thing. It's especially true for those of us living in congested and EXPENSIVE northern NJ. We just got back yesterday from 4 days on Echo Pt. and I for one am ready to head back after this morning's commute to work.

PS - Jersey Girl: we were 3 houses away from yours, just 2 places south of the tan boathouse across the cove in your picture right next to the yellow house with the big barn/garage.

As good as advertized
 

We moved up full time 3 years ago and have zero regrets. September is the best month of the year (after labor day!). The people are great, the restaurants know you, and there is no traffic or congestion. People who are shoppers and need to be very busy socially may feel isolated. The cold can be brutal but not very often. That feeling of being at the "Lake" never leaves but if you bring your mail and bills with you it does add a dose of reality. People who love the outdoors, nature, and small town living will never be disappointed! Every time I travel and return home I realize why I'm "Lucky2BHere"!

I gotta agree NH is a different world than living here in Queens, NY where it is busy and congested all the time. The people know who you are and everyone is nice. Another new tradition we started is going to Galley in Laconia for dinner the 1st night and then to Ames for Breakfast Monday. The best part is stopping on Weirs Blvd at Lilikulanis and looking at the lake and saying wow how nice it is to be back. This is our 20th season of going to the great Lakes Region in July.

21 Years and counting...
 

We moved to Gilford 21 years ago this coming June.

Our kids were young, and we were looking to get out of the small house we had in Saugus MA. We looked all over the North Shore.. and couldn't afford the houses we liked.

In the middle of Jan. 1986 we took the kids to our "summer place" at Lake Shore Parkfor little winter fun. I went to a local store to pick up some supplies and came home with a real estate magazine.

The rest was easy... we sold our place in Mass.. and bought a house 3 times the size in Gilford for less than what we sold our house in Saugus for. Best thing we ever did for our kids, and ourselves. The people were not at all hard to get to know. Our kids loved it.. the schools were great and now our "summer place" is 6 miles from our home. (saves big time on the commute home after a weekend at the lake! :laugh: )

Lot's of talk out here on the "New Hampshire Advantage" and most of it is focused on the dreaded tax issues. To us the Advatage really was raising kids close to nature in a safe place.

The lakes region is still close enough to the culture and wonderful medical facilities in Boston... but miles away from the traffic, taxes and general hassles of life in greater Boston.

I'm lucky.. as a salesperson I can live wherever I want. High paying jobs are few and far between in the lakes region unless you're a Doctor, Lawyer or own your own successful business. Property "on the lake" is very expensive.. but if you back away from the lake a few miles.. prices are very reasonable for the value received.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Life in Gilford
 

Thanks for sharing your experiences, and wisdom in moving to Gilford. We used to dock the boat at Fay's Boat Yard; was wondering how Mr. Merrill Fay was doing, health wise, etc. Any news on him and the business? He must be looking at...70 or so?

Peechee,

As of mid-September, when I was last there, Merrill looked like he was doing fine. Yeah, I'd guess he is in his late 60s/early 70s. The business is doing well - very busy.

He is in his seventies and had a newborn child in the last year or so. He has more ambition than me, thats for sure! I had heard also that his wife was quite young, in her thirties I think.

on a sweet day like today
 

My tradition on a day like today is to get a chair, a good book, my sunglasses:cool: and a "nice" hot drink, find a spot on the lake out of the wind, and relax for a few hours. Some think I am crazy:D ...maybe...(another time) but it is actually quite nice. Esp after a nice long walk. These days do not last long enough.

Bark
 

When I saw that sign, I thought it was for all the bark that was dumped close by. But my wife went looking and its a place that takes care of dogs. So if you bark real loud you will get a collar put on....

This is a nice thread, I have thought of a lot of things that I never thought of as traditions, but As I travel by boat from north of Echo point to the bay, I go by places that I had friends live and I always think of them, some are still their and I speak with them every year, One just north and East of Sandy point I went to High School in Mass, and she died just a couple years ago. But to remind oneself of all the friends we had and still have.

It used to be to watch the lake launches going down the bay, They have all but disappeared, so now we watch for the Varnish boats. Summer is not that far away.

Puddy-Tat
 

J A B

I know of one tradition you must remember fondly....the ritual of pulling the drian plug on the Puddy-Tat and then taking off to drain off the water that had accumulated. :laugh: I remember being with you a few times especially the first and watching the water just disappear. I miss seeing that boat.

BTW does the boat in my avitar look familar? It is the ELBO 1 a 55 Lyman with mid seat streeing that we had with a 25 Evenrude. Later upgraded to a 35.

JS

Lake Traditions
 

It takes five hours to drive to our camp. I never thought of our "car talk" as a tradition, but...we try to guess how much the gas prices are going to be in NH, usually 25-30 cents cheaper a gallon. Then there's the..."I wonder who is at their camps this weekend..." As we wind our way to camp, the car windows are rolled down and the sweet pine smell...aahhh. We know we're at camp, when the neighborhood mascot, a year round resident golden retriever stops by or swims out to greet us. As for leaving camp, a quiet stare at the lake, a final walk down of the property. We gas up at the country store, get a cup of coffee and the local paper and settle in for the ride which now feels longer than ever.

camp
 

Moose Tracks, I notice another tradition in your comment. You lovingly call it "camp." Ours is very much a camp and - for tradition's sake - I wouldn't think of calling it anything else, but there are fewer and fewer places around the lake that can be called "camp." I wonder how the owners of those mcmansions-by-the-lake refer to their places? ;)

"Camp"
 

Good thought....we can thank my mother-in-law for our "camp" lingo tradition.
How do you know it's a camp? When you're driving up with 14 gallons of water in your trunk...when you hope the local spring is still running or nobody gets to flush...if a tree isn't across the driveway, you may get the honor of pulling up to the camp...when you use rabbit ears covered with aluminum foil to get your one snowy channel so you can watch Fritz Weatherbee's NH Chronicles...and you check the basement to see if the local mice have met their demise at the DeCon diner...

New Lake Tradition
 

That's good stuff Waterbay

Similar Experience
 

We brought our Nephew who is 5 to the lake last weekend.

He also had never seen the lake frozen. He was taken with the planes and
the snowmobiles. But he didnt want to "walk" on the lake. He was very hesitant about it, and that type of caution is good so we didnt push it.

His best comment of the day- IT LOOKS LIKE A GIANT ICE CUBE !!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I love the lake and all that it represents ...

Home
 

I always consider that I am “Home” when I see the lights or houses of Wolfeboro from the Rt. 28 “Hills” in East Alton</ST1:p. What are those hills really called?

Also a fall foliage trip around the lake by boat is a must. This is getting harder every year since my commitments in FL start in Oct.

Our Winni Tradition
 

I am fortunate enough to live in Gilford year round, overlooking the lake from Gunstock Acres. However that doesn't mean that we don't have our own tradition when it comes to the end of the boating season.

At the end of the last trip on the lake before we pull our boat out of the water, we play Don Henley's "Boys Of Summer" on the boat's stereo as we pull in to the docks at Glendale.

It seem like an appropriate song as our summer ends once the boat is on the trailer. That song always fills me with melancholy when I hear it as it expresses the feelings we all have when summer is over.

I always wear my bathing suit in the car up to the lake and as soonas the car is in park, I race to the water and jump in and go AHHHHHH:laugh:
Before we leave, I drop my wife and boys off at the dock and go for a beat run in the boat by myself, just to clean out the carb :D