As summer of 2009 approached, our lives were a little different: I was unemployed, so economizing was more important; some of the Manhunt kids were in college, or on their way, so they had other priorities; Elaine’s new job at the local YWCA only gave her one week off during our desired time, and the Ampersand was continuing to replace the worn-out little old cabins with modern, well-appointed, spacious, and therefore pricier, units.
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Around the shore of Eagle Island, where 3 of us camped in 2009, stands of conifers predominate in a band about 30 meters wide; farther inland, it is more of a mixed deciduous forest. This pattern seems common in the Saranac Lake area.
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One of our rituals is Elaine’s birthday, which we celebrate during our second week at the lake, the centerpiece being a large vanilla birthday cake. Right around sunset, we gather on the deck overlooking the lake, and serve up the cake, some soft ice cream from Donnelly’s, chips and dip, and maybe a bottle of wine. If we’re lucky, we get a photograph of the three girls.
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(Continuing the draft of the story ’65 Jumps,’ started back on 12/28/08, intended to be read sequentially.)

From 1998, when Nate and Anna were 7 and 5 years old, we have been returning to our summer family on Lower Saranac Lake. The growth of this special extended family just happened, and while I know that the Paces and the McManuses are among our oldest friends at the lake, and that the Windels and Karps were definitely on the scene by 2002, the evolution of what we sometimes call “The Manhunt Clan” just seemed to happen.
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In the early years, 1998 through 2001, we didn’t have our own boat. We still enjoyed Saranac Lake, but in retrospect, it was nowhere near as much fun as having your own boat, tied up fifty feet from your unit, ready to hop into whenever you wanted.
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We were not the only ones to enjoy jumping off the bluff. It’s a popular destination for anyone out on the lake, and other families frequent it, although more locals than tourists, many of whom prefer the smooth aisles of the Lake Placid Benetton to the pine needles, tree roots, and uneven bedrock of Bluff Island. Many times, another family or another group would appear, and we’d all share that feeling you get when just you and a few other people know some secret.
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