Firsts and Lasts

By: Sheila P.
Kingston, ON

Our first visit to the Mirror Lake Inn was a time of firsts, but also a time of lasts…but only for awhile we hope! It was the Pinchin family’s first visit to Lake Placid, the first time our kids skied Whiteface, and the first time we took Delana Hockey and Jordan Wilkins with us for a vacation…

March 18 saw the Pinchin family, Sheila, Stuart and kids Ian and Kate, with Delana and Jordan embark for the journey through Adirondack State Park to get to Lake Placid from Kingston, Ontario. It was an enchanting journey—through tunnels of trees, and hills and snow that bore no relationship to our comfy, flat, snowless home in Kingston, Ontario. Delana’s dad is in the Canadian Military and their family had received notice of transfer to Alberta, several thousand kilometers away, where troupes train for postings to Afghanistan. So our daughter Katie was, at the ripe age of 9, due to lose her oldest and dearest friend—the little red headed girl who’d been her kindergarten buddy, and stayed true all these years. Kate was heart-broken, and so we arranged to borrow “D” to take her skiing—her first time. We decided on Lake Placid, a short 3 hour drive away. And we decided on the Mirror Lake Inn because they were so wonderful on the phone, the photos on the website looked ethereally beautiful, they assured us they had lots of room for our 4 kids (!) and would be glad to see us—and they even threw in free breakfasts for the kids!

Just before we booked, the Wilkins family agreed to lend us their son Jordan. They too were moving—to the Bahamas! Kathy Wilkins was transferring to that lovely island for her work, and so Ian’s first friend in Kingston, Jordan, was due to exchange hockey gear for scuba gear. Too many losses were happening to us all—so we picked up Jordan too. He and Ian first met on a school ski trip 6 years previously—it was time for that circle to come around.

Fast forward to our first views of Lake Placid and the lovely Mirror Lake Inn—it was snowing, fairly hard, as we swung into the drive, twinkle lights glowing, and the inn softly silhouetted. The kids and Mom got out and headed into the lobby. “Ohhh,” sighed the girls. “Mom,” whispered Kate, “It looks so fancy!” Just at that moment, a group of kids headed into the lobby… “C’mon,” they said. “It’s cookie time.” And from that moment on, our kids were a part of the Mirror Lake Inn family! Chocolate chip cookies, a friendly server who kept the hot chocolate coming and a comfy couch with a fire for Mom and Dad—who could ask for more?

Our lovely rooms had the kids awed—until they got into swim trunks and enjoyed the pool and hot tub! Ian and Jordan had fierce games of checkers in the lounge, while Kate and Delana quietly explored the first floors of the Inn. Need I mention that Mom and Dad were back on that comfy couch in front of the fire again, glasses of wine in hand?

Three wonderful days of skiing, walking the town, playing laser tag, visiting the historic arena, and wonderful meals ensued! Did I mention the food? Oh my goodness! The breakfasts alone were enough to keep us coming back. But one evening, we ordered up pizza for the kids and the grownups went out for a grownup dinner at the View with some of the most delicious food ever! Add in the lovely pool, the decadent hot tub, the fitness room, the spa, the great little nooks and crannies that had us and our kids trying new spaces after new spaces—well it’s a wonder we had time to ski, and to visit our rooms! But the most comfortable beds in the world (and we’ve slept in many!) and the lovely view out the balconies made sure we enjoyed our rooms too! Now, we’re Canadian, folks. We don’t enthuse so you’d notice, we tend to stay in the background, and we appreciate our good fortune in a fairly subdued manner. But I bet if you asked the staff, they would know how much we valued our wonderful time at the Mirror Lake Inn! For quiet Canadians, I think we told everyone who would listen how much fun we were having!

Four days later, a tired but happy group left Lake Placid. It would be a wonderful link to friends who were moving on, and a time of great memories. Three years have gone by and we have been back a few more times to the Mirror Lake Inn, and hope to come many more! And in fact, we have sent friends down who have vowed to come back too! Delana’s family is still out west, with her dad poised for service abroad. We’ve visited them, and they have come east on holidays. Jordan’s family is ensconced in the Bahamas, although Jordan has been up to ski with us, and to visit in the summer. He misses the snow, he says. We were fortunate to visit them in their lovely new home at Christmas. He hauled out his photos on the computer, and there we all were at the Mirror Lake Inn—captured at a wonderful time, on the ice in front of the Cottage, just prior to our dog sledding! It was a truly magic moment of ice and snow frozen on his screen in the tropics.

“Wanna go back,” he said with a grin? Definitely! We never say goodbye forever! So the plans are made: in a year, we hope to reunite the group and bring ‘em back! Jordan will come up for a ski before he and Ian head off to university, and Delana will be back, all willing, in Kingston. Mirror Lake Inn: are you ready?