House on Stilts

When I was 15, my parents announced that my grandparents were thinking of selling their cottage on a lake in CT and buy a beach cottage in Rhode Island. Before they did it, they wanted the whole family to check it out, as it would be for all of us.

I can't remember what I said at 15, but I am sure I wasn't adamant one way or another. However, now that I am 32, I probably would have had a harder time now giving up Amston Lake. At 15, I had no idea that my grandparents were slowly declining in heath and would eventually stop making the trek to Rhode Island. Growing up, my sister and I spent a lot of time with my mother's parents since they lived down the street. In the summer, when other kids went to day camp, we stayed with my grandparents at the lake and my parents would commute there after work (it was only 45 minutes away from where we lived). Over the last 10 years I have lost both my grandfather and grandmother and the lake house serves as the backdrop to so many of the great memories I have of them.

But the lake cottage was sold and we entered the world of Roy Carpenter's beach. To really get a sense of what this is, I need to give a history. Now I have no idea if this history is true, because I can't remember who told me the story, but it fits so I hold it as gospel. Apparently back in the '30s, the site of Roy Carpenter's was a fishing community. The fishermen would set up huge army tents (like from MASH) for the season and use them as shelters. As time went on, foundations were made for under the tent, then the tents themselves were replaced with four walls and a ceiling. Today, these cottages are owned by individuals but the land they are on are leased through beach fees. There are about a couple hundred units all the same dimensions (because of their origins). There is plumbing for sinks and showers only, but you have to use a community bathroom. The insides vary, but none have more that a couple of rooms. This is not luxury living, but it is right on the water and for a family who lived paycheck to paycheck, it was (and is) paradise.

Our cottage is definitely one of the older ones, and while it is in good condition, it pales to our neighbor's houses as most of them have been renovated within the last decade, with vinyl siding and new decks. As with anything in the Martin family, it looks well used and I imagine we are the cottage that sets the low end bar for the neighborhood. But what we lack in aesthetics, we make up for in rockin good times, so they can all go screw!

As for me, I find this a small oasis where I can go and totally relax. As I write this, I am there now on a two week vacation. I had every intention to do a little traveling and visit my friends in the south, but finances and the irresistible call of the porch and the day bed that I have claimed was too much to resist (on a side note apparently Hurricane Alex paid a visit to Wilmington, NC which is where I was headed. Dodged that!). My last week at work, I found myself to be cranky. It had been too long since I had more than a day or two to hang out at the cottage. It is Tuesday of my first week of vacation and I am already a new man.

I am very glad my grandparents had the forethought to invest in this little house on the southern end of Rhode Island. It really is a focal point in my family, where we all meet when we can to enjoy each other's company. I know one day, I will bring my kids here and hopefully they will have the same experiences with my parents as I had at the lake house with my grandparents.

Until that time, the day bed is mine. I think I will go take a nap.