the luckiest

How did we get so spoiled? This weekend, the Warren kids all headed up to Land's End, an incredible property on Lake George owned by our great-aunt and -uncle, Sally and Bill. Yes, we decided to gather together on our father's birthday, but not to invite our father. That's the kind of thoughtful kids we are! Family is so important to us! Except when it interferes with lounging lakeside! (Not that I think Mom and Dad really missed us as they cheered on the home team at not one, but two Red Sox-Yankees games in Boston...)

First, a tour of the property:

The 1876 House, built in 1876.

The Horse Barn, which slid down the hill when it was being moved years and years ago, and has since been converted into a full home. The inside is still charmingly askew.

The Boathouse, where we stayed and which houses the Chris Craft.

The Reading Room, a second boathouse.

Antique lanterns line the pathways.

The New York contingency of Warren kids met up in Albany, where the plan was that Mariah would leave her her car and then drive up to the lake with Dan and me. That plan went to the wind, however, when Dan got rear-ended on his way to pick up a pizza for dinner. Luckily, the police and NY state law are on our side and hopefully the other driver's insurance will cover the entire cost of repairing our now buckled and dysfunctional trunk. Despite this delay, Mariah, Dan, and I arrived at Land's End first, followed by Tyler and Sarah, who had taken a scenic "detour" through the Lake George village.



The next morning we made Maine blueberry and banana pancakes with real Maine maple syrup for breakfast, which was probably more like lunch for Sally and Bill, who had already been up for about 5 hours.... After breakfast, we played a rousing game of Scrabble down at the Boathouse.



It turns out that Sarah is a game-shark, who empties her tray onto the board at least once per game for a 50 point bonus. Her score was routinely two to three times my score. We also learned that it's good that Mariah has enrolled in college, as she asked questions like "Is 'funplate' a word?" And Tyler is the ultimate used car salesman, trying (sadly for us, successfully) to convince the other players that words like "jekel" (did he mean jackal?) are legit.

Mariah and I went canoeing after Scrabble, and when we got back, Tyler and I went for a dip in the lake in our typical fashions (Tyler leaping off the upper deck, and me torturing myself by slowly climbing down the swimming ladder). The outdoor thermometer read 52 degrees.

In the late afternoon, Bill and Sally took us for a tour of the lake in their classic Chris Craft, and we all bundled up for the ride. Us girls brought just flip-flops and no socks, so here are our styling feet wearing Tyler's and Dan's socks.

Bill, our able helmsman.

We had a great meal up at the Horse Barn, courtesy of Bill and Sally, who grilled up some delicious hamburgers and hot dogs.

Sunset from the Horse Barn

Tyler and Sarah enjoying dinner on one of Bill's handcrafted chaise lounges

After dinner, we retired to the Boathouse for Monopoly (Sarah won, of course, with Mariah on her team) and then Hoopla (a Cranium game).

Sunday we expected sunny weather, but it was still intermittently cloudy. We read on the porch and played games for a while, and then when the sun finally came out around 3 PM, Tyler, Sarah, and I took our chance and jumped in the lake again. I did jumping jacks first to try to warm myself up, and Sarah ran up and down the stairs. The outdoor thermometer read 48 degrees.

Mariah is intrigued by her college course reading.

Silhouette of a med student studying

After our body temperatures returned to normal, we packed and cleaned up, said a big thank you for a wonderful weekend, and headed home.