Lake George.

So, as mentioned previously, Ben and I were at the mercy of my work schedule this year and didn't feel like we could commit to any kind of vacation until late July/August. We knew we wanted to probably head to New York, since we were trying to budget and make the most of limited time. By chance, Ben's good friend, Dave (you might remember him from Napa in this post) and his girlfriend, Laila, invited us to his father's house on Lake George. It was three days of pure relaxation. Let me try to do justice....

Lake George is gorgeous! Huge and expansive. It is a busy lake but has quiet pockets, little islands throughout, and it is surrounded by mountains (or at least what New Yorkers think are mountains!). By day, by night, by sunset...just beautiful.

Their house is also beautiful. It was just finished in February, and the details are impressive. The woodwork and layout. The colors and the thought behind every corner. Fred and Linda are both very  creative in design and architecture and they built an incredibly comfortable, warm, and easy home. It also helps that we felt like we were at camp the entire weekend! The number of toys and activities were phenomenal - water skiing, jet skiing, sailing, swimming, hammock time, and paddle boarding.

Not to mention, we ate very very well. Dave went to the Culinary Institute of America, Laila is an extremely skilled cook, Ben can hold his own in any kitchen, Linda is just as much a foodie, and Fred dominated the grill. The first night, we ate some of the best ribs I have tasted.

And some sweet corn...

Night two was pizza night made on the grill.

And our last night, was taco night. Intermixed with that, was Fred's home-made sorbet and Laila's unbelievable chocolate cake.

We also went on a couple great runs, one of which included a short hike with this view. 

All in all, a great couple days. It made Ben and I miss Walloon a lot. We loved paddle boarding so much that we have talked about getting a couple for the lake. We departed Lake George and headed to Saratoga Lake next...details forthcoming!