Belgrade Lakes. . . you can't exactly go home. . .

We arrived at our cottage on Long Pond in Belgrade Lakes on Saturday. Jasper took to the place right away, though to be fair, his bed seems to make every place home. A good thing, since we have been on the road for more than three weeks now.

I had lost heart regarding finding a new home. New Hampshire and Vermont came up empty. How does one explain when a place simply doesn't feel right?

The good news is that this was the real vacation time. Sarah and John-the-younger arrived at 7:30p or so, and we had dinner together, and fell into an easy rhythm. Then, on Sunday, we left them to their own devices with Jasper, and went house hunting with M, our newly found real estate agent. The first house we saw was spectacular, though not a waterfront property. We spent the rest of the day chasing down places that we had seen on Zillow. We were inevitably disappointed. But the memory of the first place kept us going, and by 7p, we bid M adieu, promising to get back to her regarding that first house after a nights sleep. And consideration. We found ourselves so excited about it. We drove through nearby Waterville, where Colby college lives, along with several other colleges and community colleges, reconsidered the solar panels and spectacular layout of that first place, and decided to submit a bid. We did this knowing that 2 bids had already been submitted. Long story short, our bid was accepted, and the wheels have been put into motion. What excitement. What terror. What. What have we done?

Still, it feels right, if overwhelming. And now we can spend some time enjoying this place on a huge lake, swim, eat, drink, be with our family. And make our plans. I have been remiss in documenting this place, and I will remedy that situation tomorrow.