Lake George Getaway

Looking out of the car window, I can already tell that we are approaching the quaint town of Lake George. The highway turns into a narrow street lined with small, authentic shops, and we enter a little village that’s only surrounded by wilderness. The massive Lake George sits on the edge of this town and publicizes the village into a major tourist attraction. There’s something so cozy and reassuring when I see the tiny beaches lining its shore. When I look out onto the dark blue waters, I know there’s an adventure waiting for me there. As the ferry boats chug along and speedboats cruise into the distance, I stand on the dock and admire the water. From the shore, I can see boats, islands in the distance, and the Adirondacks creating the perfect backdrop for Lake George.

I could stand on the dock and admire the view, but that’s not really how I roll. I want to be up and about, doing something every minute. But the views sustain me for our first day at the lake. After we make all our bookings for the next day, we drive back to our elegant hotel and spend the evening in the pool.

We wake up bright and early for the next day. As we reach the dock, an instructor helps us onto our very own boat that we rented out for the morning. We all climb on and slowly navigate it out of the harbor. As we reach open water, we take turns driving the boat; I claim to be the best driver, but my family disagrees. We drive around the biggest island on the lake and head back to shore. I didn’t think the view could get any better, but sitting there, I find the view to be absolutely spectacular as the mountains come into focus and the water is literally within reach. We park the boat back near the dock and run to our next appointment activity: parasailing.

The last time we had traveled to Lake George a few years ago, only my sister and my dad went parasailing (I was too young). This time, I am so excited to finally experience it for myself! We ride on a boat to the middle of the lake, where we climb over the edge onto another boat that holds the parasail rope. After waiting for my turn and seeing a bunch of other kids go up, I am brimming with excitement. We are secured into our harnesses and hooked up to the parasail. After a second of waiting, we are thrust up into the air and I am caught by surprise! The whole time, I laugh because it’s so fun and thrilling. It is like being in a swingset-- but 100 feet in the air. They bring us down and dip our legs into the cold water of the lake, which is extremely refreshing on the warm day. We are the last ones to go, so we wistfully drive back on another boat and meet up with our parents again.

We eat lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake and, shortly afterwards, leave Lake George in order to get home before nightfall. Personally, even though I like long, relaxing vacations, I love little getaways like this one. I find myself doing fun activities for a couple of days in a beautiful location, which is much better in comparison to watching Netflix, cooped up in my house for hours. Our trip to Lake George was the perfect way to spend celebrating America’s birthday. As we leave, I watch the small roads melt back into highway pavement. I can’t wait for my family’s next little adventure.

By Megha Thomas

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