Dear ADK,

For some their first love is a person. Mine was a place. There is a small lake off the Northway that has been waiting for me every season, every year for as long as I can remember. When I was under the age of ten, I would count down until the last two weeks of August for family vacation with aunts, uncles, grandparents,and cousins. We’d pack our cars and set out for a five hour trek to the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Our two weeks were spent swimming and fishing all day, and sitting around a campfire making s’mores by night. We had an itinerary that never changed, complete with trips to the Great Escape, Frontier Town, Stone Bridge and Caves and the outlets in Lake George.

As I grew older, the family group grew smaller as we became entangled in sports and friends. Trips grew shorter, a weekend here and there, but my cabin waited for me. Then I turned sixteen and remembered the magic of my house. I missed days spent racing my dad to the raft from our beach, or on line for ride on the Screamin’ Demon at the Great Escape. Frontier Town has since closed but I still have a pink six shooter complete with caps in case anyone gets out of line on vacation. It was that summer I met four boys who became my best friends. At the time none of realized how important a role we’d play in each others lives but when I look back on my best memories they are always there. From that summer my group of friends only expanded. Home no longer meant my address on Long Island. Home was my little corner of sand and a back porch filled with friends.

ADK, you have become my home and are home to friendships that have lasted over a decade. There’s a movie theater on main street that is the site of my first official date. You were the first place I lived after college and the site of my first group up job. Even when I thought I had outgrown family vacations you reminded me that sometimes there’s no better reminder of how much you love one another than cramming into four rooms for a week or two. ADK, you have seen it all, childhood, break-ups, college and everything in between. No matter where I was in life you never stopped loving me.

ADK, you are the love I will never get over. We are never ever breaking up. Don’t ever change.

Sincerely,

A Summer Girl

Want to know more about what's happening in the Adirondacks area? Follow our community page or request an invite to join our team!