Re: Sunday in our Village PWYC
Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2023 4:44 pm
Last day here. Sigh....
Very, very, thick mist on the water this morning and it lasted quite a while. Around 9 I heard a slow moving boat and could hear two men talking (and swearing!) clearly. They were lost. I listened for a long time, then finally made them out, barely, through the mist. They spotted the docks and cottages and realized they were no-where near where they thought they were. And that they were going in circles (there are a couple of floats marking rocks and they kept seeing them over and over.) Finally I went down to the deck at the lodge (since it goes out into the water, unlike my deck which just overlooks the water) to call out to them to tell them to pull out their cell phone to see where they were. But they were getting further away at that point so I waited to see if they would circle back. They didn't.
This afternoon I visited with the former owner and she had heard them too (she got in at 1 a.m. last night). I said I thought about calling to them but didn't. She said if they were so stupid as to go out in that mist and not hug the shore the whole way, they were beyond help and deserved whatever trouble they got themselves into! To be honest, I felt that way too and that's why I took so long to decide whether to call out to them or not.
In the late morning I headed over to the park and went for a quick hike on an easy 3/4 mile trail and then picked up the overpriced toys for dgs. Then I stopped in town for a longer walk and discovered they have a wonderful beach about a mile from the main road with a dock, a swim platform, sandy beach, beach chairs, picnic tables, and washrooms. I sent a picture to dd.
In total I got an hour of walking in so can strike that off my to-do list for the day.
I had a wonderful visit with the former owner and we talked about her plans to go to Ireland for 6 months next year. This 'resort' has 6 cottages and 2 permanent homes on it but the land was split between her and her ex-husband. He owns his home, the boat launch and swimming spot, his dock, 2 of the cottages, 'my' little one-room one and the 4 bedroom winterized one next door with its own dock. She owns the lodge, parking lot, and four cottages (two winterized) plus her home (which used to be a cottage but she converted it) and her former house is the 'cottage' (really a proper house) that dd uses each year. She also owns the point with a sandy beach, screened in gazebo, and fire pit. (Her former and current homes also have fire pits and there's a gas fire pit at the lodge.) Her home has a dock and a place to pull in a kayak or canoe. Swimming off the dock, or wading in from there is easy.
For years (maybe decades), she has handled all the resort rentals. Then, after last season, which followed the sudden death of her second husband in Dec. 2021, she decided to split the property and lease out two of the cottages for six months of the year, and only rent, quietly, the other two to her previous guests. The two of them decided to continue operating Since I had two cottages booked, one belonging to each of them, this has been a complicated year. But it worked out (just cost me more than I bargained for.)
Now, she wants to be away from May - November and is offering me to lease her home for that time. I'm seriously considering it. It will cost me ~4x as much as I paid for the 2 weeks I've been up here this year (along with paying for dd's cottage) but I'll have it for 6 months and be able to come and go as I please without having to plan ahead. I could have my sister up for a few days or dd's godparents, be here with dh or just get away on my own.
It is winterized, heated by wood stove, a 2 bedroom with modern kitchen, new windows in the porch (they nest into themselves so can be open so it is a porch, or closed so it is a watertight room.) It is at the end of the driveway so no cars going by. And because it is her home, it has internet that works all the time. I forgot to check my cell phone signal there (it wasn't good 5 years ago when I rented it before she converted it to her home) but there is also a landline phone. The views are as good as here.
It will be a bit crowded to have dd's family up with me but it will work. I can pitch a tent there if I wanted or set my cot bunk-beds up on the porch so that every one has their own room. I could also bring the grands up on their own. Ds's family could come because dogs are allowed on this part of the property (this is new and not allowed for the short-stay rental part of the property under the husband's control.)
So many intriguing possibilities. I could probably rent something closer for about the same amount of money or less if it didn't require me taking it for all six months. But this is a known. I know how noisy the lake is (pretty good), I know how there's no traffic (too far from the highway) or air traffic noise (I see con-trails but the flights are too high to be heard.)
So, that's what I'm thinking about as I sit here on my porch, looking at the sun reflecting off the water (and blinding me as I type!)
Very, very, thick mist on the water this morning and it lasted quite a while. Around 9 I heard a slow moving boat and could hear two men talking (and swearing!) clearly. They were lost. I listened for a long time, then finally made them out, barely, through the mist. They spotted the docks and cottages and realized they were no-where near where they thought they were. And that they were going in circles (there are a couple of floats marking rocks and they kept seeing them over and over.) Finally I went down to the deck at the lodge (since it goes out into the water, unlike my deck which just overlooks the water) to call out to them to tell them to pull out their cell phone to see where they were. But they were getting further away at that point so I waited to see if they would circle back. They didn't.
This afternoon I visited with the former owner and she had heard them too (she got in at 1 a.m. last night). I said I thought about calling to them but didn't. She said if they were so stupid as to go out in that mist and not hug the shore the whole way, they were beyond help and deserved whatever trouble they got themselves into! To be honest, I felt that way too and that's why I took so long to decide whether to call out to them or not.
In the late morning I headed over to the park and went for a quick hike on an easy 3/4 mile trail and then picked up the overpriced toys for dgs. Then I stopped in town for a longer walk and discovered they have a wonderful beach about a mile from the main road with a dock, a swim platform, sandy beach, beach chairs, picnic tables, and washrooms. I sent a picture to dd.
In total I got an hour of walking in so can strike that off my to-do list for the day.
I had a wonderful visit with the former owner and we talked about her plans to go to Ireland for 6 months next year. This 'resort' has 6 cottages and 2 permanent homes on it but the land was split between her and her ex-husband. He owns his home, the boat launch and swimming spot, his dock, 2 of the cottages, 'my' little one-room one and the 4 bedroom winterized one next door with its own dock. She owns the lodge, parking lot, and four cottages (two winterized) plus her home (which used to be a cottage but she converted it) and her former house is the 'cottage' (really a proper house) that dd uses each year. She also owns the point with a sandy beach, screened in gazebo, and fire pit. (Her former and current homes also have fire pits and there's a gas fire pit at the lodge.) Her home has a dock and a place to pull in a kayak or canoe. Swimming off the dock, or wading in from there is easy.
For years (maybe decades), she has handled all the resort rentals. Then, after last season, which followed the sudden death of her second husband in Dec. 2021, she decided to split the property and lease out two of the cottages for six months of the year, and only rent, quietly, the other two to her previous guests. The two of them decided to continue operating Since I had two cottages booked, one belonging to each of them, this has been a complicated year. But it worked out (just cost me more than I bargained for.)
Now, she wants to be away from May - November and is offering me to lease her home for that time. I'm seriously considering it. It will cost me ~4x as much as I paid for the 2 weeks I've been up here this year (along with paying for dd's cottage) but I'll have it for 6 months and be able to come and go as I please without having to plan ahead. I could have my sister up for a few days or dd's godparents, be here with dh or just get away on my own.
It is winterized, heated by wood stove, a 2 bedroom with modern kitchen, new windows in the porch (they nest into themselves so can be open so it is a porch, or closed so it is a watertight room.) It is at the end of the driveway so no cars going by. And because it is her home, it has internet that works all the time. I forgot to check my cell phone signal there (it wasn't good 5 years ago when I rented it before she converted it to her home) but there is also a landline phone. The views are as good as here.
It will be a bit crowded to have dd's family up with me but it will work. I can pitch a tent there if I wanted or set my cot bunk-beds up on the porch so that every one has their own room. I could also bring the grands up on their own. Ds's family could come because dogs are allowed on this part of the property (this is new and not allowed for the short-stay rental part of the property under the husband's control.)
So many intriguing possibilities. I could probably rent something closer for about the same amount of money or less if it didn't require me taking it for all six months. But this is a known. I know how noisy the lake is (pretty good), I know how there's no traffic (too far from the highway) or air traffic noise (I see con-trails but the flights are too high to be heard.)
So, that's what I'm thinking about as I sit here on my porch, looking at the sun reflecting off the water (and blinding me as I type!)