We went back to the Poconos again this year to visit John’s friends at their cabin on the lake. I brought books, my camera, my writing notebook, and my bathing suit— perfect.

Sailing! I’d only been in a small boat once since I signed up at the community boating center in Boston 25 years ago and learned how to sail on the Charles River. John too—who used to live on a sailboat and even went to the Galapagos via the Panama Canal—hadn’t been in a tiny Sunfish in a long time. Here he is with Richard in the race (the two boats on the left).

I spent a lot of time in this beautiful little library, reading and working on some writing. Every day I had my favorite corner table to myself, with a view out the window of the birch trees.

Katherine seemed to hit it off with Jackie the cat. They spent afternoons chilling out on the porch together.

Katherine also passed the lake’s very rigorous swim test, which was a big deal because it meant she could participate in fun activities like pirate sailing (where you try to board and commandeer other sailors’ boats— or just tip them over) and paddleboard jousting (where you knock other people off their boards with giant pool noodles).

I think she had the most fun just hanging out with her dad, though.

I went for a walk in the woods every day…

… and spent some time in the nature center. This was such a cool place, with books and activity guides, tanks of fish and frogs and snakes, and taxidermied local animals and pressed flowers and plants, birds’ nests, skulls, and monarch butterfly caterpillars munching on leaves — pretty much anything you’d find at a natural history museum but on a smaller, more intimate scale.

Ever since swimming with lily pads in New Hampshire a few years ago, I think they’re especially magical. It could be easy to get tangled up in the tendrils floating underneath, but if you just float through without moving too much, it feels like you’re being caressed by underwater fairies.

The lake is quiet. There are no jet-skis allowed and even motorboats can only be a certain size. When we swam off the dock it felt like our very own world.