A TRIP TO THE COTTAGE

My mother has been traveling the two hours or so from Pittsburgh to Lake Erie on weekends ever since she was born...first to rented cottages with an entourage of her parents and various aunts and uncles, and later with my Dad to his mother's cottage.."the Iroquois". She now comes with us on many a Friday afternoon...with Woof attempting to sit on her lap as she did as a puppy.

My favorite way to leave is with nothing but my car keys, but my mother's "luggage" is another story altogether. I told her that she needn't bring what one might pack for a trip on the Auquatania for a summer in Europe....it's just a weekend at the lake....but alas, we eventually get on the road. Part of what takes a bit of time is the fact that she packs us a lunch.  There's something about that  which is so familiar, and such a treat...and something that only happens when she comes along...but something that I treasure and have locked away somewhere as one of those little things that people don't do very often of...but should.

It's an easy and beautiful drive on a good road that traverses typical Pennsyvanian landscapes of lush greenery and purple, pink, and white wildflowers. The rest areas are all landscaped and pristinely clean. We usually make one stop for my mom and I to stretch and for Woof to check out who else has been to the pet area. There's a tower on the courthouse in Mercer that we've all tried to be the first to spot along the way. The first one to see it always says " I SEE IT ! ". I remember doing that as I kid, and even when I make the trip alone I still say it when it comes into view. At one point the highway goes across a big swamp...my dad used to tell me that it was so deep that they'd never been able to locate the bottom. I think of that when I drive there too...sometimes my dad made things up.

We've had our cottage for 16 years now...( the best thing my partner and I have ever done together....except maybe when we spent his birthday in a remote little cove on Capri stretched out on white chaises between the rocks while the waves crashed all around us and the waiter returned periodically to see if we wanted another glass of wine). Anyway the trip is easy, the landmarks all familiar, and sometimes includes a stop at Eddies famous hot dog shop which has been there since 1947. My friends from Japan came to visit a few years ago and I think it was the highlight of their trip.

We exit the highway by Paschske's Mums...which has been there for eighty years. I buy cuttings in May and by Fall I have about ten million plants. Woof begins to come to life about there...and as we travel the last few miles through the vineyards she knows where she is. As I pull into the driveway, there's a feeling that I only get when I pull into that driveway. Whatever has been challenging with my job, or my busy days at home ,seems to just vanish into thin air as I put the key into the door. It's as exhilarating each time as it was the very first day that we owned it. I marvel at the vastness of the water, the ever present fresh air coming off the lake, and the inescapable feeling of being the luckiest guy in the world.