Last week while Matthew luxuriated in a vacation from the rest of us (if staying home to work can be considered a vacation), the rest of us luxuriated in the crystal clear waters of Lake George, NY.

My grandparents met at the beautifully situated Silver Bay YMCA. My grandmother, a coal miner’s daughter from Pennsylvania who became one of the first women chemistry phDs, was working there for the summer.

She apparently served my grandfather a milkshake at the soda fountain, and then politely suggested he sip it less loudly. I think that might be a bogus story, because this guy doesn’t look like the sort who would slurp a milkshake.

Anyway, in the forties they built a cottage partway up the mountain and went back there every summer (no small feat, given that my grandmother lived to be 101!). My father and aunt spent their summers there as kids, and every now and then after the fishing season my family would make it up for a visit. The cottage is made of handcut lumber and is a cozy little nest in the woods.

My aunt has been tending to it carefully for her whole life, so it’s quite well-preserved (as is my aunt). I think all of the appliances in the kitchen are original.

At any rate, the cottage is the perfect place for family time. Cousin Raiden came all the way from California to be bossed around by Alden. He managed to hold his own against Kato, who is one year his senior but appears to be at a weight and height disadvantage already.

However, Raiden’s relative youth definitely showed through in a few key areas. Manipulating the ipod, for example.

Though we’re not particularly proud of that one.

Olympic season made for good down-time activity, with Alden getting caught up in the gymnastics and diving competitions, and Bob getting caught up in sleeping on the floor.

August insisted on updating Bob with the current medal stats, since Bob insisted on falling asleep every five minutes.

While Bob and the kids entertained themselves, my brother and I were occupied with more important things.

My brother, being a good ol’ boy from the Eastern Shore, is crazy about blue crabs. So I brought up a half bushel as a surprise. Well, it was a great surprise, except that a half bushel of crabs takes a really long time to pick. Especially when you cheaped out and got the $30 ones (sweet but small) instead of the $80 ones (big and meaty). Yes. That pile of destruction took a significant toll on vacation time. The good news is we had two days of crab cakes to make up for it.

But as lovely as it is to spend time hanging out at the cottage, the real pleasure is in the lake itself. Beautiful, crystal clear water. Breeze enough to keep the bugs off. Water temperatures that seem to cool you in the heat of day…

… and warm you when the sun falls down behind the mountains.

Absolutely blissful.

And when the sky gets dark and a rainstorm rolls through, you’re already dressed for puddle-jumping.

What an idyllic place to spend a week. We made sure to visit with my grandparents, who made the wise choice to be laid to rest in this beautiful, magical place.

And many thanks to them for giving us the perfect palette for summer memories.