Keeping it loose at the lake

A place where the most special tradition is just being there

I have a cat meme bookmarked from the old I Can Haz Cheezburger era called “Saying Goodbye to the Summer Vacation Spot,” and it’s how I feel when we drive home from New Hampshire each summer.

There’s something to be said for taking a vacation to the same spot every year. . . but not doing exactly the same thing every time. We’ve been spending a long July weekend at our friends’ LM and B’s cabin¹ on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee for about a decade (give or take a COVID summer).

Yes, I know how lucky we all are to have this.

And it’s more about the group of friends getting together and being in the same space at the same time than the actual activities that take place, though there are some recurring favorites.

None of these events are particularly groundbreaking — most would fall under the umbrella of Things People Do at Lakes and at Beach Houses — but they are treasured nonetheless. Greatest hits include:

• lavishing all the affection on the animals, which are usually dogs, and the dogs are always at least 13/10. (If you don’t know WeRateDogs, you really should get acquainted. It’s a shot of happiness every day.)

  

  Marty loves kisses! And head skritches!

• rating the sunsets from the beach house, which get a much stricter ratings scale than the dogs do. LM in particular is a tough critic! I believe the sunset pictured above might have been an 8/10

• paddleboarding around the lake, with priority given to the cluster of islands across the channel from the beach

  

• playing ukulele in my downtime (and of course making videos!)

• staying up way too late talking on the porch after sunset, listening to the frogs’ intermittent bowmps and eventually caving in to the offer of a whiskey nightcap

• visiting Bailey’s Bubble² in Wolfeboro for ice cream at least once, but preferably thrice in my husband’s opinion

• drinking as much Polar seltzer as we want, because everyone rolls up to the house with their own cases of their favorite flavor and it’s hilarious that there’s an entire fridge drawer devoted to seltzer

But it’s always fun to keep it loose.

I love knowing there are outlines of routines we follow while leaving room for newness, evolution, and surprises. For example:

• 2024 brought a different animal species into the mix: NICK NUGGET, the dwarf hamster. Nick is a tiny fabulous survivor³ and I am obsessed with him.

• For the second year in a row, we threw together a clams, steak, and corn dinner because I want steamed clams whenever I can get them, even if they’re not particularly a New Hampshire Official Food⁴. I like this tradition very much.

• But we didn’t make it out to the wine barn⁵ for an antique junking expedition this time around. And that’s OK, because we all know I do not need yet another cast iron skillet to refurbish. Nor does Dan need another piece of olde timey baseball ephemera, but don’t tell him that.

And even if we didn’t get to Bailey’s at all one year, or even if the entire weekend was rained out (as it nearly has been a few times) with sunsets that were 0/10, it wouldn’t matter. Even if Mill St. Meat Market closed and no one could get their favorite steak tips for dinner, we’d still remember when we did have it.

I don’t have the rustic thrill of trying to make Bolognese from scratch in a tiny kitchen with no counter space and a 1980s electric stove now that the cabin has been expanded and renovated. And guys, don’t worry, I love the new induction stove and the massive prep area!

But I now think back with extreme sentimental fondness on those Bolognese dinners and that time we watched a snake eat a frog underneath one of the beach loungers and when we got caught in a hailstorm at the beach house and the epic Slip n’ Slide kickball game of 2021.

I love that the lake weekends become an accumulation of little stories to tell amongst ourselves next year, and the years following.

And even though we just got home, I already can’t wait till next year.

1. The story of the cabin and the entire property is a great one, but it’s not mine to tell, and now calling it a cabin feels wrong because it’s recently been expanded into a full four-season house. But artistic license, blah blah blah.

2. Portions are huge! I recommend the coffee Oreo if available, and the fluffernutter sundae if it’s the only thing you want to eat all day.

3. Again, Nick’s stories aren’t mine to tell publicly, but rest assured, this bebe nugget has bounced back from a concussion and lives with two murderous and ravenous kitties, so we all must send Nick good vibes daily.

4. And I must interject that one of the many things I love about New England food is the regular presence of top-loading hot dog buns. They just feel so much more civilized and make eating stuff in buns more of an Event!

5. The wine barn is now just a barn because the winery on the property that served wine slushies moved out a few years ago.

This was a sad occasion until I remembered that I know how to make frosé and that we have a whole bunch of YETI wineglasses in the house. So now we just BYO and the tradition of slushie junking continues!