Labor Day 2002 Trip

By Miramar from Sept 5, 2022

I lumbered up the Miramar porch with my backpack on, a duffel bag in one hand and my tea set in the other. Before I could set my bag down to plunk in our secret entry code, the door swung open and Bill and Robin greeted me. “We’re kayaking in 10 minutes!” they said.

“I’ll be ready in 5! By the way, my name’s Rick . . .”

With that, our Labor Day weekend was off and running (er — paddling)! Bill, Robin, and I were joined by Regina, Ruth, and Lauren for an easy afternoon exploring Blueberry Lake. Regina and I paired up to explore the inlets along the bank. We stopped whenever a particularly interesting plant or bird caught her naturalist’s eye. Our top find was a Kingfisher bird — a first for me!

The next day was filled with adventures. Robin directed me to the Appalachian Gap Trailhead at the top of Rt. 17. After wandering along it for a while I was surprised to pop out on top of Mad River Glen! From there I kept on going up and up until I found the charming and storied Stark’s Nest at the summit.

Like many fine things these days, our fun was cut short by that wily virus. However, like Helen is fond to remind us, “This is Miramar!!” As we went our separate ways I was touched by the affection members showed to each other. If anything is going to get us through the rest of this pandemic, I think it is just that. The affection we have for this special place and the generations it has touched won’t fix everything, but without it nothing’s worth fixing.