A Cabin to Call Our Own

 

My love affair with the Adirondack Mountains began soon after I met Billy and he brought me to his family's cabin that they co-owned with friends for the first time. I had travelled to the area with my parents growing up, but we stayed in the very commercial village of Lake George, which isn't anything at all like the parts of these mountains that you find when you venture just a little further north.  

Boreas Ponds in North Hudson, NY

It would be hard to imagine the story of us without this place. Billy asked me to marry him in front of the fireplace here, every one of our three baby boys came here within their first weeks of life and we've celebrated countless birthdays, holidays and anniversaries here in these mountains. Perhaps even more importantly, it has also served as our safe haven when life gets hard, as it inevitably does. I can distinctly remember finding peace here after the death of my father, in the rare days we snuck away following my mother's stroke, after the deaths of our beloved dogs who lived many of their best days here and, most recently, during the pandemic. I think that even if we keep coming here for the rest of our lives (as is the plan), we will never tire of exploring these mountains. There is always someplace new to discover. Or a familiar place seemingly transformed in different light. Or us ourselves, equally transformed in a new season of life.

Cabin in Autumn

My mother and father-in-law generously offered for us to treat this cabin as our own and we certainly took them up on it through the years. We have wonderful memories here with my husband's side of the family, and also with my own parents, brother and our many friends who we were able to share it with thanks to their kindness. Every one of those memories has made this place what it is. We will be forever grateful to the gift that they provided to our family as time at this house. Our family is closer because of our time here together.

Cabin in Winter

So, a couple of years ago, when it began to feel like it was time for Billy and I to buy our own piece of Adirondack Park to share with our own young adult children as it had been shared with us, we thought about all the things we loved about this house and set out to replicate it as much as we could. We looked at fixer-upper cabins and finished cabins and property to build a new cabin. But, like the story of the 3 bears, each was just too big or small. None felt just right.  

 

Around the same time, Billy's parents and their friends began to feel that the upkeep on their house was becoming too much of a burden in relation to how often they could use it. To our surprise, they offered to sell it to us. We happily agreed on the spot. In the words of our youngest son, there could be no better house for us, this one is totally perfect. He was referring to the fact that this house sits right on the snowmobile trail that is his year-round playground but he was totally right in that you just can't buy memories like we have made here and that's what truly makes it the perfect house.

Real Estate Closing in the Time of Covid

And so, on a recent Thursday morning during the 3 month shutdown of the NY metro area thanks to Coronavirus  we attended the closing for our new old cabin. We joked that of all the things we've accomplished in innovative ways thanks to the lockdown, purchasing a house at a drive-thru closing will probably remain the most memorable. 

Front Porch in Spring

 The house needs work which we have already begun in earnest. We've started on fun projects like the kitchen and decorating which I will share more about soon, but there are also lots of necessary, not-so-fun jobs in our near future like painting the exterior, tree work and a whole new electrical system to name just a few. Fortunately, we have lots of experience working on houses and we are happy to have our boys' help now that they are older. They will be investing in their own future through sweat equity and hopefully learning some skills for their future houses.

Cabin Kitchen

We've been thinking about what we should name our cabin, or "camp" as properties such as this are often referred to in this area. We came up with "Camp Lucky Dog" because our dogs, along with the dogs of our family and friends, are such a fun and integral part of being here. We simply can't imagine Camp without them!

Dax welcoming you to Camp!

More than anything, we are grateful. Grateful to have a place to escape to that we love so much. Grateful for generous parents who have shared everything they worked so hard for with us. Grateful that our kids (and hopefully our future grandkids!) will continue to come together and make memories in this special place. I hope you'll enjoy following along on our journey both in our NJ home and, now, at our family's cabin in the woods.