lake winnipesaukee.

The days are simple on the lake. You wake up, look at the weather app on your phone, and go from there. Will it be a boat day? Beach day? Sit around the house and watch the Olympics day? (By the way, how unbelievable is Usain Bolt?!) Almost every day we’ve been up here, our weather app has predicted rain. There’s been some, but nothing like they predicted. The Apple weather people are really pessimistic.  One of the rainy mornings, we headed to Donna Jean’s Diner in Weirs Beach. Given that Weirs Beach is one of the most well-known spots on the lake, this is maybe my first or second time there. It’s where you’ll find the arcades, and a bit of nightlife, which is not typically what we’re doing on the lake. I can do some of that–hello OC boardwalk–but when we come to the lake, that’s not what it’s about. Oh the past times you come up with when waiting for food at restaurants with kids. Boating around the lake never gets boring. It’s the ultimate AC–turn up the speed and you cool off immediately; jump in the water and you cool off even quicker–but it’s also the ultimate house-hunting. Rustic, tiny cabins on islands (like the one pictured above), huge homes (we heard about one for sale that’s 22,000 sq.ft!), with all the toys (water trampolines, jet skis, hammocks, boat garages, etc.). There’s such a variety and I feel like no matter how many times I’m on the lake, I see something I’ve never seen before. The lake is something like 20 miles by 10 miles, has roughly 200 islands and all sorts of tiny channels (check out “Sally’s Gut” or the pass between Mark Island and Mink Island), and a few small towns, so there’s a lot to look at. When I see a for sale sign, I start dreaming.
We rented here through Airbnb. We started this search later than we usually do, so pickings were slim. This one is up in the mountains in Gilford. It’s beautiful, and the views of the lake from above are awesome, but being right on the water as we have in the past definitely beats it. You live and learn. My Dad kayaked all the way from Gilford to Wolfeboro last week. It’s something like ten nautical miles. Go Dad. I, on the other hand, sat in the boat for the journey. No stop in Wolfeboro is complete without ice cream at Bailey’s Bubble. This kid. His favorite seems to be getting swung around the water by his hands at the sandbar we’ve affectionately dubbed “the red-neck yacht club” (tons of boaters tie up here and swim and grill, etc.). Anders is all giggles and kicks and smiles for days. Getting kids to sleep on boats is tricky. I mean, they fall asleep great, but then sometimes I’m giving Steve the eyes, “Keep driving! Don’t stop this boat!” because then the dreaded wake-up-too-soon might happen. They were particularly exhausted this day and both fell asleep in the bow of the boat by my Mom. Their naps just kept going. They needed it.
And a closeup of that sweet scene.This! Parker wanted to tube (and has before, but going very slowly). He kept motioning faster, and then that he wanted to go outside the wake. We couldn’t believe he was interested in all of that. He had the biggest smile on his face the whole time. Of course, William and Lindsey both got a much faster ride after Parker was off the tube!