Brian Ottomas Ch. 10 Three Lakes Pt. 1

When their transportation arrived, Papa (Brian's dad) waved goodbye as Brian, Meadow, Heath, Brook and Willow set off with their suitcases. The heavy snow was still on the ground and the children anticipated lots of skiing in the mountains since Brian had said it usually snowed first in the mountains before it snowed in Pleasantview.

The higher they went, though, the less snow there was until when they finally got to Three Lakes it was just like fall--a fairly mild fall.

"Hmm, unusual weather we're having, ain't it?" Brian quoted Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion.


"Oh, Brian, it's just gorgeous!" Meadow breathed. The cabin was called "Mountain Aire Lodge" and was situated above Three Lakes itself. The only building higher up the mountain was the Sky View Lodge.

They were right at a corner bend of the road that wound through Three Lakes. On one side of the house the land angled down steeply to the picturesque town. Across from the front yard and just the other side of the road there was nearly a perpendicular plunge down even deeper to one of the three lakes that gave the town its name. The road was the only thing standing between the children and both of those sheer drops. 

The lodge was on a corner lot with a lovely little pond and a hot spring. The porch wrapped around three sides.

It was set up for families; the furniture was gently worn and there was a toy box and activity table in the front room. The TV was off to one side of the fireplace.

The girls wanted the bedroom behind the  kitchen. The bathroom there had a separate old-fashioned shower and an ancient tub.

Heath took the bedroom across the hall from them. He had another bathroom all to himself, almost exactly the same but a little smaller so it had a tub/shower combination.

The back stairs led up to the second floor landing where there was a pinball machine, a dartboard and a chess set. The door on the left led to a large bedroom for Brian and Meadow.

"Sunshine, you are going to love this master bath," Brian said as he opened the door to show her, "It was added later and is completely modern--pretty luxurious for a cabin!"

After their tour of the cabin and before they did anything else Brian and Meadow sat the three children down at the kitchen table and joined them. As Heath, Brook and little Willow looked at Brian expectantly he told them,

"We want our family to keep safe during this vacation. All three of you need to be sure you don't go off alone. Heath, I want you and Brook to use the "buddy system" with each other--you know--like you do in scouts when you go on field trips. Your mother will be Willow's buddy. And I'll be watching out for all of us. Of course, you already know not to talk to strangers unless your Momma or I are right by your side."

Their faces were so solemn, especially Willow, as they listened closely to their father's words.

"Kids, we have a wonderful place here, outside the cabin you can explore the yard, use the fishing pond, the telescope and the mineral springs. We've taught you to respect other people's property and you've always done that, but we don't want you to forget that this cabin--while it is home to us during this time--does not belong to us. And now, this is very important: under no circumstances are any of you to cross this road out here. Not from the front yard, not from the side."

"But, Dad," Heath put in, "It's not that busy of a road."

"I know, little buddy, but that's not the point so much in this case. You see, your mother and I just don't care for our children to roll down the side of any mountain. The road is not safe to play in and the other side of the road is very dangerous. So does everyone understand?"

All three nodded their heads solemnly. Brian grinned then,

"Good! Now let's eat lunch and then get out there and have some fun!"

With that the children began to laugh and talk to each other and their parents all at once. Everything was relaxed again. 

Meadow checked out the refrigerator and the rest of the kitchen. Nearly everything they would need was there; dishes, pots, pans and utensils, even a fresh loaf of bread, a quart of milk with a good date on it, eggs and butter. And, of course big bottles of the famous Three Lakes maple syrup and boysenberry syrup. So, she fixed pancakes for lunch.


"But now we won't be able to learn to ski," Brook said in a plaintive voice.


"I know it's disappointing, honey," Meadow replied cheerfully, "But there will be a ton of other things to do and see. My goodness, we're in for a lot of fun in the next few days!"


Brook's outlook improved right away and she asked,


"What will we do today?"


"Well, first we'll be going into town to pick up sturdy and warm clothes for all of us and maybe we'll get some souvenirs to take back home. Then we can take a look around to see what else there is. We're getting a late start today, but we can certainly make note of the places we want to go in the days ahead if we don't have time to do them today."


"Don't be in too big a hurry, we'll have time to get it all in," Brian said, "This is only the first day."

Next blog update: Brian Ottomas Ch. 10 Three Lakes Pt. 2