I am happy to report that the Belgrade Lakes in Maine are still fabulous. And in related news, Boston is also still delightful.I know that everyone here has been distracted by our beautiful beaches and may have failed to consider just how those on the Eastern seaboard are faring this summer. I, however, never forgot about our right-coast brethren and, just to make sure all was as it should be, I left our own paradise behind for a full week to check up on them.
Well sure, it was glorious, but it could have gone either way. It’s August, after all and Boston can get pretty hot and sticky this time of year. And Maine has had a rainy summer.
Being the intrepid adventurer I am, however, I optimistically packed my flip-flops, a sweatshirt and jumped on that plane.
Apparently the chambers of commerce heard I was coming and pulled out all the stops. It was the kind of week that can make usually-sane Californians longingly eyeball lakeside real estate priced under $200,000. It was the kind of week that almost makes you forget those very long, very cold winters.
The sun was out without humidity. The only time it rained was from midnight to 5 a.m. I visited lighthouses on majestic Maine coastline and sipped morning coffee from a lakeside dock as the loons paddled by. I swam in warm lake water and ate lobster and sweet corn and laughed with good friends.
I then hopped a very comfy bus down to Boston to visit my son and his friends, and the perfect weather held. I spent three days absorbing as much of their adorable youth as possible and eating my way around every restaurant within walking distance.
It was a very good thing that I had paradise to come back to.
As I dragged onto my flight home, my son very graciously mentioned that he still misses the sweet, sandy summers at the beach. Then he reminded me that I haven’t worn a winter coat in a couple of years.
Yeah, OK. It’s good to be home.
