Miracles Along Our Journey
Our journey to Lake Placid, NY began with four chatty and very excited girls wearing several layers of warm clothing, and more luggage than Newark International Airport on Christmas Eve It was a bitter cold morning, and a long six our car ride, but in the end it was all worth it.
When I arrived in Lake Placid on Tuesday, February 22, temperatures were in the single digits. Although our car was filled with happy sounds of anticipation, I silently said to myself, What am I doing here? What about all the work I have to do for my classes? Then I stopped and remembered, if I were ever going to successfully design my collage, I would need hundreds of pictures, and there was only one place to get them.
Before another thought ran through my mind, we were in front of the Town & Country Motor Inn, a kind of European-looking motel. The parking lot was filled with snow, the air was cold, and we soon realized that we needed to add on more layers of clothing, but the reception was warm and friendly. The agenda for the day was longer than I ever imagined, and I wondered how we’d do it all.
We would see authors, interview friendly locals, use dozens of rolls of film, go to a winter beach party, finish off with a panel discussion, and somehow manage to squeeze in dinner at a good Italian restaurant. It was the tightest schedule imaginable with very little time for relaxation – to be quite honest it was a marathon and I wondered if I would be able to finish the race. There were no options, so after a brief meeting we were off to visit the community, cameras in one hand, and notebooks in the other. We stopped and clicked at virtually every place along Main Street, and suddenly 4 degrees wasn’t so cold after all.
At the Bookstore Plus we met Wayne Coffey, author of The Boys of Winter. He was an engaging man and he would become part of the profile I intended to write on the many faces of Lake Placid, NY. Before the journey was over, I met a parade of people including John Malcolm, Karen Tomich, Dr. John Lucas, and even Mike Eruzione and Patti Brooks. Suddenly my anniversary poster was beginning to fill with images – I had taken over seven rolls of film in just the first day.
The three-day event was one of the most incredible moments of my life, and incredible journey of many valuable lessons… lessons in life I will never forget.
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