The Rose Cottage

Authenticity ranks high in my value system.  Airbnb at its best, like the Rose Cottage, offers an authentic experience.  It was easy to imagine how much fun an absent family had been having for decades.  Sleeping there overnight, in the dead quiet under a clear sky crowded with distant galaxies, almost felt like stealing.  This bunk bed took me back to a childhood I never had.

Whoever decorated the modest cabin had a thing for moose.  The downsized critters, along with several bears, roamed everywhere.

My favorite piece hung in the small kitchen.

Here's what we awakened to outdoors.

The fog began lifting around 9:30 a.m.

Only the jetski was off limits.

Not that my traveling companions were interested in joining me in the Lake Rushford after Magda spotted a bloated rat.  I had a nice swim anyway.

Our brief stay made me rethink summers in the Pines where few homes sell for under a million bucks.  Look what less than $200,000 can buy you in upstate New York!