if you only had 1 day left on the lake..

[BroadHopper]

Originally Posted by jayp603

i meant the last day of my vacation! i know i will be back, but is REALLY nice to wake up and have the boat at the dock, steps away, instead of an hour drive with arguing kids. why does it take so long for a posting to appear? i am reading this after unpacking...

i thought you meant the last day of your life! Oh well, it was fun writing my 'bucket list'.

[angela4design]

I thought we were talking about a bucket list too!

[MAXUM]

Maybe this is a little bit retrospective, but often times when I'm out on the lake on a beautiful perfect sunny summer day I can't help but think of all those who are less fortunate who don't have the means to or even have any idea of how beautiful the lake really is. Maybe it's a single mother or father just barely able to make ends meet and stuck in some crappy apartment complex in the middle of the city and the kids have no place to play or go on a hot summer day.

I think if I only had one day left I would want to share that with a nice family who otherwise would never have the chance to do so. At the end of the day I'd toss them the keys to the boat and walk away with a smile on my face.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Thinking like every day is the last day at the lake is a great way to make sure you treasure each one to the max. Cause one of these days it will be the last. You just might not know it at the time.

[BroadHopper]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Maybe this is a little bit retrospective, but often times when I'm out on the lake on a beautiful perfect sunny summer day I can't help but think of all those who are less fortunate who don't have the means to or even have any idea of how beautiful the lake really is. Maybe it's a single mother or father just barely able to make ends meet and stuck in some crappy apartment complex in the middle of the city and the kids have no place to play or go on a hot summer day.

I think if I only had one day left I would want to share that with a nice family who otherwise would never have the chance to do so. At the end of the day I'd toss them the keys to the boat and walk away with a smile on my face.

My parents use to host city kids at the camp. The YMCA had a program to bring kids up from Boston, Hartford and NYC to share our experience with the lake. We even hosted a teenager from Sweden. I still remember their wide open eyes and 'WOW'!

[StephenB]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Maybe this is a little bit retrospective, but often times when I'm out on the lake on a beautiful perfect sunny summer day I can't help but think of all those who are less fortunate who don't have the means to or even have any idea of how beautiful the lake really is. Maybe it's a single mother or father just barely able to make ends meet and stuck in some crappy apartment complex in the middle of the city and the kids have no place to play or go on a hot summer day.

I work with at-risk teenage boys at a residential treatment center in the suburbs of Boston. Most of our kids fit your description, though some of them are from suburban and rural areas themselves. One fine cobalt-blue-sky, July, Saturday morning a few years ago, I piled all the "on level" (meaning well behaved) kids into a van along with our picnic stuff and did the 2 hour drive to the lake. Most of them had never been to New Hampshire, never mind Winnipesaukee. They were all excited to be going, anticipating this "big lake" that I was talking so much about, being so much better than some of the local ponds we usually go to. (I guess they ignored the fact that we often went to some nice ocean beaches such as Horse Neck in SE Mass.) I set my sights on Ellacoya State Park.

Anyhow, as the kids are finally getting tired of the near 2 hour trip, one asks me if we're there yet, just as we're cresting the last hill top on the Laconia bypass. Their glimpse of that million dollar view of the lake quieted them down real fast right there.

A bit later on, they're taking in all the sights of the lake from the beach at Ellacoya as I say, while one of them wanders over and looks at a navigation map of the lake the state park staff had posted on an information board. He asks where we are on the map and I point out Ellacoya. Then he looks through the trees, over the beach, towards Welch Island, and then back at the map, and he realizes what he sees beyond the beach is only a fraction of the true lake. His jaw kind of drops as he quietly, and a bit reverently says "Wow! This is a BIG lake", again, looking out over the water.

A bit later in the day, after our BBQ, we climbed Mt. Major so they could see most of the rest of the lake. It was Mt. Washington clear that afternoon too, if memory serves.

That was three summers ago and since then, all of those kids have graduated and left our school.

Oh, and by the way - the kid that was so amazed that day, comparing the map view of the lake to the real thing - he eventually moved to Littleton ----- New Hampshire. And myself? I'm still stuck in MA. Go figure

[trfour]

And I would hope that some folks have enjoyed my photoPost collection that has some 1276151 views to date with my enjoyment and involvement over the many years with a taste of the magnificent Lakes Region area. Kind of neat to know that I lived all and will be among the four seasons twixed.
My favorite seasons in order are as follows. Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.

Now, here in Texas, they have Summer, some more summer, some more summer, with a sprinkle of winter for maybe a week or two.

Thank God I got to live the good life in New Hampshire since years.

You mention a snowmobile down here and they'll throw down any hardware, and the overcoats come out quicker than a loon in the heat of spring up north!... What Wimps!

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by StephenB

I work with at-risk teenage boys at a residential treatment center in the suburbs of Boston. Most of our kids fit your description, though some of them are from suburban and rural areas themselves. One fine cobalt-blue-sky, July, Saturday morning a few years ago, I piled all the "on level" (meaning well behaved) kids into a van along with our picnic stuff and did the 2 hour drive to the lake. Most of them had never been to New Hampshire, never mind Winnipesaukee. They were all excited to be going, anticipating this "big lake" that I was talking so much about, being so much better than some of the local ponds we usually go to. (I guess they ignored the fact that we often went to some nice ocean beaches such as Horse Neck in SE Mass.) I set my sights on Ellacoya State Park.

Anyhow, as the kids are finally getting tired of the near 2 hour trip, one asks me if we're there yet, just as we're cresting the last hill top on the Laconia bypass. Their glimpse of that million dollar view of the lake quieted them down real fast right there.

A bit later on, they're taking in all the sights of the lake from the beach at Ellacoya as I say, while one of them wanders over and looks at a navigation map of the lake the state park staff had posted on an information board. He asks where we are on the map and I point out Ellacoya. Then he looks through the trees, over the beach, towards Welch Island, and then back at the map, and he realizes what he sees beyond the beach is only a fraction of the true lake. His jaw kind of drops as he quietly, and a bit reverently says "Wow! This is a BIG lake", again, looking out over the water.

A bit later in the day, after our BBQ, we climbed Mt. Major so they could see most of the rest of the lake. It was Mt. Washington clear that afternoon too, if memory serves.

That was three summers ago and since then, all of those kids have graduated and left our school.

Oh, and by the way - the kid that was so amazed that day, comparing the map view of the lake to the real thing - he eventually moved to Littleton ----- New Hampshire. And myself? I'm still stuck in MA. Go figure

Not to worry..............There is a place reserved for you and all the others who work so hard to make this world a better place for all. Your post was very touching and just to let you know that you certainly do a good job! Those kids got lucky when they got you!

[ApS]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

i thought you meant the last day of your life! Oh well, it was fun writing my 'bucket list'.

My thought exactly!



1) Had it been for the last day of my life, my thought would have been:

Eek! I have to hire help to close up the cottage!

2) Had it been for the last day of the season, it would have been:

Eek! I have to hire help to close up the cottage!