Finding Our Groove on Lake George

The scenic view from our "Lake front" cabin

We arrived at the Diamond Cove Cottages in Lake George as excited as four people could be. We had a wonderful vacation in Vermont two years ago and  I was under the impression - now proven to be somewhat wrong - that Lake George, NY would be a lot like North Hero, VT only a little closer to a grocery store. As vacations go, we're duds. We move fast throughout the year - not as fast as some but faster than many - and our primary goal on vacation is to slow it the hell down. We have little in the way of itinerary. We like beautiful scenery, quiet, and water to fish in. Anything else is a bonus.

Or so we thought - we also kind of want a nice place to stay. 

Nice for a college dorm?

The ENTIRE "game room"

Our parents vacation with us and they hadn't arrived yet. We figured we'd just stroll the premises and take it all in. We wanted to see all the amenities this place had that made the "resort" - it is actually called a Lakeside Resort - something even better than our Lakefront Cabin. There was a basketball court, a game room, an exercise room and of course, a nice beach and dock off of which we could fish. Boats we could take out! It was going to be amazing!!!

They had all of that stuff - just not how we pictured it. We didn't expect a full sized court, a basket and 20 feet of safe area would work - but what we got was a basket leaning over with cones on both sides of the court which separated the court from a road to the main cabins..Oh - the court tilted pretty heavily. 

As for the game room - we had modest expectations as well, ping pong, foosball, maybe a miniature pool table and a couple of outdated arcade games would have been fine. A pinball machine would have been cool. They had four "games" - but only one was a real game. 

The cottages - well - do you remember the fight scene in Dirty Dancing?

All I can say is I was waiting for Patrick Swayze to jump out of one
of these things and beat me up. 

The beach... Very small, the dock wasn't horribly sized but was it wasn't configured so anyone could cast a line. The boats looked dumpy. They had a playground. Our kids are too old for playgrounds - but it didn't add to the charm of the place - I've seen much nicer ones in neighborhood back yards. 

And while we hadn't entered our cabin yet - (it was at least separated from the row of cabins that conjured up Dirty Dancing)  we had seen the outside and had definite reasons for concern. 

Home sweet..,.. (That's a pretty busy road in the back and this
story doesn't even mention our neighbors who had a brawl
after we went to bed. 

I didn't want to say it - but I knew we were in trouble. The place may have been less than we expected but we could have made it work if it were just Mary, Jojo, Jocelyn and I. But we had two more coming - and I wasn't optimistic that my parents would take to the place's rustic charm. 

I called over Mary - who was doing an amazing job of keeping it positive and trying to point out the good things to the kids.  

"I don't want to put a negative spin on this" I said quietly, "but this place is a dump." I wasn't sure what she'd say - we kind of balance each other on the optimism front and I thought she might give me reason to believe that my eyes were deceiving me. 

But even she couldn't pretend that we had found a hidden gem.  

"I know." She said. 

"My Mom is going to die when she sees this."

"I know." She said. 

So I called my first family meeting...You haven't lived until you experience one of my family meetings. "This place isn't quite what we expected and your grandparents might be a bit disappointed. PLEASE try to keep it positive this week. We will have fun and if you seem happy we have an even chance of them being happy."

They assured me they would keep it positive - and I was certain they would. Jojo actually thought the place was OK, and Jocelyn is old enough to understand things like that. 

So we walked to the cabin...My parents had arrived in the interim. 

I knew my parents wouldn't like the place - but I didn't have the foresight to predict the scene that awaited us when we walked in. 

My Dad was seated on the couch. I took a quick look around and realized that the cabin was every bit as dumpy as the grounds. "Hi," he said, "you're Mother's a little upset that there's only one bathroom." 

On cue my Mom stormed into the "great room" - this was a 12X10 room that served as a kitchen, living room and dining room complete with a 14 inch color tv! She was in hysterics - "THIS PLACE IS NOT NICE!!! I AM SO SORRY! I AM SO SORRY! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW BAD THIS PLACE IS!!!" 

She had no reason to be sorry. We had all chosen the place - Travelocity had such loving reviews on the place you would think it was anointed by JC himself. But man was she pissed....

We tried to rally - but by the next day we had to move. The week was paid for in cash and we didn't get a dime of refund. THAT is how much it sucked. 

But it's not that simple. 

My Dad is in horrible health. It can take him five minutes to move 40 feet with his walker. He's frustrated and occasionally loses his temper..."I don't understand any of you people" he growled at dinner one night..."You carry on like idiots all the time and you're just so damn annoying..."

Nobody - besides my Mom - got upset with him. He's going through hell. We all hope we can exit the stage of life with dignity - and he's not. He's peeing in bed, falling regularly, unable to sit up for prolonged periods of time. He can yell at us, we're family. 

My Mom didn't quite see it that way. She went off on him in a huge way and then returned to our loft (our new accommodations at The Juliana  ) and told Mary and Jocelyn that my Dad was a horrible person she should have divorced 40 years ago. 

And you thought YOUR family vacations were fun!!!

All we wanted!!! And we finally

But it's turned around a lot the past couple of days. My daughter had her first college visit and it was so much fun to see her so excited. We spent some time in downtown Lake George and there's quite a bit to do. 

But most of all - we've finally relaxed. We found our peace. Jojo, Jocelyn, Mary and I -  we've kayaked, canoed, laughed and just been a family. We've endured - and we're better for it. 

We're dysfunctional as hell. But we're doing ok.