My first summer vacation to New Hampshire took place in my second year. Forty-six years later, I've…read morenever missed a summer.
To say I'm an enthusiast of the Lakes Region would be putting it mildly. I'm mad for it. From Winnipesaukee to Wentworth, from Mirror to Winnisquam, from Waukewan to Squam, I've stayed at camps and rented cottages on all. And with each visit I've fallen more irrevocably in love with New Hampshire.
So it always surprises me, after four decades of visits, to find something (or somewhere!) new. And should that new place prove to touch my heart as other have, I am at once delighted and dazed, amazed that a region I already love so fervently might have hidden treasure left to show me.
And so I address my recent stay at the Pow Wow Lodges Motel and Cottages with troves of enthusiasm, fond memories and gratitude.
From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by Sally (Fairbanks) who welcomed us to her long-held family lodging like old friends. After giving us a short tour of the grounds (which include a charming public dock complete with fire engine red geraniums, two matching Adirondack chairs, and a knock-your-socks-off view of Mirror Lake) we ended up at Cottage #2. Like its three sisters, our cottage featured two small bedrooms (perfect for our family of four), a well-equipped kitchen, a typical lake cottage bathroom (serviceable, not fancy), a darling sitting room with an overstuffed plaid loveseat and rocker, and a "sleeping porch" with another twin bed. We found the accommodations clean and comfortable, if a bit squeaky, and a throw-back to simpler times when air-conditioning was eschewed for fans that didn't totally muffle the call of the loons as the sun went down. Our very reasonably-priced cottage included use of our own dock and rowboat (my son caught several sunnies on Mirror Lake!), a paddle boat, and a public float about twenty feet from the shore. We spent every day in the lake and found it to be a perfect respite from the hot sun of lower New England; clear and refreshing, a longing rises within me as I remember the many happy hours we spent swimming, splashing and jumping off the float.
Sally is an efficient, gentle omnipresence at the lake-camp her parents started, and where she was raised with her sister, Betsy. She is warm and kind, knowledgeable about the surrounding area, and helpful without being intrusive. If there is such thing as a "perfect" host these days, Sally surely fits the bill.
I cannot recommend the Pow Wow Lodges Motel and Cottage highly enough except to say that we left a piece of our hearts in Mirror Lake, and it remainds there, looking up at the gray cottages that dot the shoreline. We will certainly need to return one summer soon, if only to be reunited with it once again.
Five enthusiastic typical-lake-camp-with-a-hint-of-magic stars.
Thank you, sweet Sally.
