Discoveries today: 20-mile Bay, caterpillars sink, there are BIG rocks in the lake and Sandwich Creamery DOES have sundaes.

In the movie  “You’ve Got Mail,” the store was called “The Shop Around the Corner.” Today we visited “The Bay Around the Corner.” Lake Winnepesaukee is huge. Now that we have the boat, we’re enjoying finding places we have never visited before. Today, we wanted to take a quick ride, go for a swim and come back for lunch. Doug now has a Lake Winnepesaukee app that gives him great guidance on where we’re going. Turns out 20-Mile Bay in Melvin Village on Route 109 is about a 5-minute boat ride. It would probably take 20-minutes by car. We anchored in the middle of the bay; Doug inflated the big, blue tube and I floated around for about half an hour. Doug had the music on and we just – relaxed.

The afternoon was a lazy one. Of course, I got the energy to sweep the deck and rearrange the deck furniture; I read a book; worked and answered email and decided to have bottomless Skinny margaritas. THAT was a good decision. Why not? Late in the afternoon, Doug came in with a new friend attached to his hand – a big, green caterpillar. After he showed it to the family, he decided to feed it to the fish in the lake. He discovered caterpillars do not float. the thing sank straight to the bottom. He sure was pretty – the caterpillar, that is.

Doug decided to take my brother, sister-in-law and mom on a boat ride. When they returned, my mom said that Doug hit a rock in the lake. I had visions of the boat sinking and a huge loss. Fortunately, he was going slow and just brushed a rock; the damage amounted to some lost paint. (I hope.)

Dinner took us to Lobsterquest in Ossipee – a 40 minute drive. We will have great memories of mom and dad sharing a twin lobster dinner with Doug giving them directions on how to eat a lobster; Sue trying her first steamer (she loved it) and Doug giving terrific instructions on eating lobster and showing us his formerly pregnant lobster.

On to dessert – It was back to Sandwich Creamery. It’s a place you’ll never find anywhere. This is a dairy farm tucked way off the beaten path – and when that path ends, it’s on a long, winding dirt road. When you think you’ve made the last turn – you still have a quarter-mile to go. But the shack with the screen door, ice cream freezer case; refrigerator case with fresh eggs and cheese has not changed. The place is open until 10 p.m. but no one is on duty. You pay for your ice cream, cheese and eggs on the honor system. And this ice cream is worth the winding, dirt road to get there. The do indeed have brownie sundaes in addition to select flavors such as Almond Joy, black raspberry chocolate chip and coconut. The best part is showing this place to people who have never been there before. My sister-in-law asked how we find all these places. Many we just wander upon – others we hear about or read about. We’ve been coming up here for 15 years – Doug for much longer – so we’ve found many nooks and crannies.

Riding home from the creamery, Sue really had to go to the bathroom. We were riding through Center Sandwich where a play was underway upstairs at the Town Hall. The front door was open so Doug pulled over and Sue jumped out to quickly find a ladies’ room. Steve went with her for moral support. A couple of minutes later, the play upstairs, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was reaching some sort of crescendo. Sue was walking out the door when one of the actors upstairs shouted in fear – Sue hit the roof in innocent fright.  Thus – a Midsummer Night’s ..pee. Literally. Another great day.