My daughter asked me how I got to love being in the mountains so much. I don't think it's an easy answer but I do know I started out my young adult life as a “beach” person. From the time I had my first car I went “dpwn the shore” as we Jerseyans call it. I loved the salt air, the wide stretches of white sand and the fact that I always wound up hanging out with great friends while I was down there. I went to the beach at every opportunity – on dates, by myself in the winter and the summer. It didn't matter time of day or time of year I would go to the ocean. If the weather was too severe for me to brave the biting wind and the wet spray, I could just sit in my car and watch the waves rolling in. As I got into my adult years I spent a little less time at the beach but I still loved it and when it came time to decide about a second home I had to consider which was best for me – the mountains or the sea.
In order to help me make my decision, one year I split my vacation between the ocean and the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. I had been to the Adirondacks a number of times and I fell in love with the high peaks, the clear blue lakes and the way the area had avoided most of the trappings of modern life. The county where I finally built my little cabin doesn't have a single traffic light and our cabin doesn't have internet access or a television. It's a place to go where I can unplug and unwind. I can walk down the path to our little lake and watch the loons paddle by with an occasional display of their magnificent wingspread. I can hear the beavers slapping the water before I finally see the top of their heads out of the water just enough for them to see and breath, or I can count the trees they have taken down to add branches to their den at the edge of the lake that we share. The stars blanket the sky and trim the trees with sparkling little lights and the moon hangs low and full and because it's so dark, it casts moon shadows that seem like I am in the middle of the day. Day or night, there is plenty to do in the mountains and I like that my choices are simple and uncomplicated.
In the end I chose the mountains because at this stage in my life I love the solitude and the idea that I am going back to a simpler time. I don't need all the bells and whistles of suburban life all the time. I certainly appreciate technology and all of the conveniences I experience at home. But when I get up in the hills I take a deep breath and the air is fresh and clean and smells of pine. We use a kayak or canoe on the water and don't feel the need to go fast or even to use a motor. It's nice to meander. I love when family and friends visit and we sit out on the porch and just relax together. The phone doesn't ring, the television isn't playing in the background and nobody has their nose buried in a screen. A water fight, throwing a stick for the dog to retrieve in the lake, cooking over the fire or taking the boats out for a paddle are the big excitement for the day. I still love the beach and I have a wobnderful time when I vacation there for a bit each summer. But, when it comes right down to it, my heart belongs to the mountains.
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