Meeting My Match: Part Two
In Part One of this saga, I detailed the trials and tribulations of online dating that at long last compelled me to stop shooting myself in the foot, to meet the love of my life, and to acquire the brains to marry her on June 11, 2017. In this episode, and because today is our third wedding anniversary, I’ll share this story of our very happy beginnings.
After our wedding, we drove to Lake George, NY, to spend our honeymoon at the Inn at Erlowest. This is a photo of the inn, taken from the parking lot on our arrival. Though ominous clouds gathered above the majestic old building and a cold breeze blew in off the lake, the warm hope in our hearts remained untouched by superficial conditions.
After checking in and settling in to the Lake George Suite, we had dinner that evening in the Inn’s elegant 4-Diamond restaurant. Later, with the windows opened slightly, we were soothed into peaceful sleep that night by the sounds of Lake George’s waves gently brushing the stones along the shoreline.
This is a view of the back of the inn the next morning. The skies had cleared. The air was warm. It was as if we were being rewarded for our faith in our convictions, for our faith in each other, for our commitment to being happy with ourselves and each other (in that order), for our determination to accept and celebrate everything and to presume control of nothing.
New Days
Following a leisurely breakfast in the inn, we grabbed our books and walked down the long lawn leading to the lake. We sat on a bench, appreciating the warm sunshine, feeling the primal pull of the crystal-clear water, knowing we were exactly where we were supposed to be at that time of day, at that time in our lives, in that gloriously new moment of living, being, and acute awareness.
Our morning of rest, reading, and relaxation left us hungry for a meal and to explore more of our new surroundings. So, we headed up Route 9N to Bolton Landing to take in the history and majesty of The Sagamore Resort. Sitting in the shade of the restaurant on the second-floor deck of the hotel, we enjoyed a quiet lunch, each other’s company, and the sultry breeze off the lake.
After lunch, we walked down the long steps in the previous photo to the resort’s dock. Looking back up, we took that previous shot. Then, turning 180 degrees, we took this shot of the lake, with the hills of Shelving Rock Mountain rising above the lake on the opposite shore, with the breeze creating subtle whitecaps on the water’s surface, and with our hearts full of grateful contentment.
We spent three more days at the Inn at Erlowest. We got to know the staff members. We met and mingled with many of the other guests. We got a tour of the inn’s kitchen. We came to know the history of the place. We spent more time relaxing and reading, exploring more of Lake George’s 32-mile-long western shore, and trying to believe we were there, that we had actually created the new reality in which we now lived.
Before returning to our obligations in what had previously passed for real life, we said goodbye to our new friends at the inn and promised we’d be back. It’s a likely target for our fifth anniversary.
Epilogue
We enjoyed Lake George and its surroundings so much we decided to go back there with our friends, Donna and Joe, for a weekend getaway at The Sagamore last November. To say it’s colder there in November than it is in June qualifies as world-class understatement. But we had a ball nonetheless. We ate like royalty. We spent an afternoon in the spa. We enjoyed the effortless companionship of some very dear friends.
In this photo, Donna and Joe spontaneously react to the suggestion that I might apply for membership in Mensa. I’m still trying to figure out what they thought was so funny. Oddly enough, Anne isn’t.
