Last weekend I had the pleasure of accompanying a very close friend of mine to a wedding in Lake Placid, NY. If you have never been to the high peaks of the Adirondack mountains, you are missing out. It was exactly what I needed after 5 months in the confines of NYC and Long Island. Friday afternoon let concrete give way to conifers and the most beautiful greenery I’ve seen this side of the western Great Plains. Jaclyn and I made it into the village of Lake Placid late Friday, after a minor vehicular incident (a tire blew out on the highway, ya’know – no big deal) and dinner with an old friend in Albany. We woke to a serene landscape of water and mountains, and fresh, crisp air sprinkled with a healthy dose sunshine and gentle breezes. Spent the day wading in Mirror Lake, sniffing the still-in-bloom cherry and crab apple trees, and getting some ice cream as well as a sunburn. The second half of the day was devoted to celebrating friends Margo and Patrick’s wedding, but the following morning we woke early and managed to sneak in a few more of the most beautiful sights the Adirondack region has to offer before heading back to the concrete jungle of Manhattan. The Empire State Building just didn’t seem quite as tall to me as we sat in traffic on the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel. I love the wilderness, and being in Lake Placid made me just want to go back to Montana that much more. Maybe August I can swing something; a long weekend perhaps. We’ll see.