When I was sixteen I was fortunate to spend the summer in Lake George with my Aunt and Uncle and enjoyed myself so much that I returned each summer for three years. It has been 40 years since my last visit and this year I have decided to return to see what Lake George is like at Christmas.
Lake George is a beautiful town, situated on the lake with the stunning Adirondack mountains in the background in upstate New York. In summer I would image what those mountains would look like in winter and I thought I would share my “Back to New York” experience.
After a 6 and a half hour flight from Belfast into New York City, I immediately felt the spirit of Christmas descend upon me. “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was allegedly inspired by the festive atmosphere in one of the cityʼs downtown markets in 1822, and even though it was still five nights until Christmas; there was no doubt that this amazing city was really getting into the swing of things.
I spent the night with a friend, and although I was a little disappointed that there was no snow, I was assured that there would be plenty on my 4-hour bus trip to Lake George the following day.
After an early start I was on my way and the further north into the mountains I went, the whiter the landscape became.
I could not contain my excitement when I arrived at Lake George and saw how picture postcard perfect it was. My memories were of swimming in the lake every day; I would not be doing any swimming on this trip though.
This town really does know how to light up and the atmosphere was lively as I made my way to the Christmas market.
The highlight of my trip has to be a when my friend came and took me high into the mountains and I will never forget these images and it is hard to believe that in a few months all of this snow will be gone and the Adirondacks will once again return to the beautiful green mountains that I remember for 40 years ago.
Now it really is coming up to the night before Christmas and I am travelling back to New York to spend the festive season with my friends. I have ticked off an item from my bucket list and will cherish my memories of Lake George at Christmas forever.