Vacation Testimonials

Thank you for a relaxing week. From the kids fishing and making sand creatures, the dogs swimming back and forth, finding shells and lake glass or just sunning on the beach, we all had a great time. We enjoyed evenings on the new deck or watching the rain come in through the big window in the living room. We hope to come back next year. Thank you once again! Don, Kymberlee, Avery, and Austen Ahart; Gary and Margaret Latvata; Chris and Ed Goetchius; Mary Tyger; Codie and River (dogs), Jersey Shore

The moods of Lake Champlain are so varied and intriguing. We’ve enjoyed each and every one, from canoeing on glass to observing a squall racing towards the Vermont shore (from the shelter of your lovely covered porch). My 90 year old father passed this winter yet here, in your home by the lake, we felt his spirit with us. Your house makes it easy for everyone to feel at home wit their own family. We journeyed to all points of the compass. West to Lake Placid with its mountain views and shopping, south to Fort Ti and the region’s history. East to the ferry and Shelburne Museum of truly Americana collections, north to Peru where Dad had spent many years enjoying the Adirondacks and traveling the world. Each day we returned to the Pontius home and reflected on our excursions while drinking in the views from your choice of “outdoor rooms.” Thank you so much for having us.
Hazel Cuffe of New York and Joyce and John Cuffe of Connecticut

We are 10, ages 75 to 8 months, 3 generations from West Palm Beach, Mount Pleasant, and Philadelphia. The weather has been cool, a number of thunderstorms, and some hours of sun. We ate on the new deck, which really makes the house, at lunch one day. The boys enjoyed looking for glass and fishing. A trip was made to Fort Ti for the special reenactment. One family went to Vermont for the day. Otherwise we stayed here to relax, read, eat and for the boys to play. The house layout worked perfectly for this. It made for a most enjoyable week.
The Anderson, Ball, and Milne Families

Hi Again! Another fun filled vacation! A little rainy, but the kids didn’t mind. We ventured across the ferry this year to Burlington and Ben & Jerry’s. The beach was better than ever! The new deck is great and of course the porch was again the place to be! Thank you!
Benati’s, Chidsey’s, and Rist’s

Our 4 families gathered here to honor our Mother/Grandmother Peggy, and to celebrate with her as she enters her 80’s. We chose this area because we thought we might find the beautiful farm where Peggy’s mother’s mother lived before she went to Lowell, MA – possibly to work in the mills. We knew only that it was somewhere near Plattsburgh, and that “Momsy’s” name was Henrietta Abare. In our sleuthing, we found lots of beautiful places, lots of interesting stories, and very nice people. We even found the land in Chazy, and were granted permission to walk through the meadow to see the old walls where Isaac and Celeste built the cabin that had sheltered Henrietta and her 10 brothers! We also climbed Owl’s Head (Peggy made it half way!), and kayaked this lake a lot, and rented a sailboat from the beach club and had a perfectly lovely time! Sailing was especially exciting as squalls came and passed. As someone else wrote- “so many moods.” Thanks for sharing.

I can only agree wholeheartedly with Linda. It was wonderful to have my whole family together. I am indeed blessed. We celebrated with a lovely dinner last night at the Dock House Restaurant. Thanks for the beautiful spot.
Peggy Kendall

Enjoyed spending a week here taking advantage of the lazy days of summer. Can’t think of a better place to kick back, relax and enjoy the simple things in life. Our family had a wonderful time exploring for sea glass, fishing, building sand castles, skipping rocks, tubing, and enjoying late night s’mores. The beach and the views were fantastic. Will miss going to sleep with the sound of the lake in the background. Serenity at its best. Thanks for sharing.
The Walsh Clan

We had a great week. Thanks for all the little extras around the house. We will be back next year.
The Army Clan

The charming setting of your home, the lakeside view, grass and nearness to activities made this a memorable week. We celebrated husband’s 77th birthday and had our grandchildren. Our youngest was 9 months this week. The children had fun on the lake canoeing and I think my 11 year old grandson is ready for his canoeing badge. Hopefully we look forward to coming back.
The Endress and Gelshenen’s

We had a wonderful week with great weather. Went to Fort Ti twice, had a beginner learn to water ski and played in the sand! Thanks for everything.
The Apps and McMahon’s

"Good Morning, just a short note to tell you that we had the time of our lives at your lovely lake cottage, and hope to be invited to stay there again.

"We did everything....canoed everyday, even if the lake was angry, read books, took day trips to Fort Ti, the Shelburne Musem, shopping at Lake Placid and even found time to do some painting and house repairs for my mother in Peru, NY. Your lake house is lovely and truly a treasure. We loved the new deck and spent many hours just looking at the lake and its many wonders of nature that visited us daily. We added a few new birds to our bird sighting book and looked forward to our nighlty visit by a blue heron on the water wharf. Thank you again for sharing your lovely home."
Jeannette & John Cuffe, Tolland, CT

Here are what some of our 2006 guests had to say about our cottage, Lake Champlain and beyond.

"We had two fantastic weeks in your lovely home ! It is evident that this place has seen a great deal of fun and love of family. I think I may go in shock when I wake tomorrow and will not have this porch and its view to start my day. It is a place of rest and restoration and serenity thank you for your hospitality shown in so many ways.
Pascoe Family, Vienna, VA

"A great time was had by all. Th guys caught enough perch and one salmon (18.5 lbs) Caught by Kevin (13) for dinner. Most of the crew hiked Giant Mountain. Lots of bocci games on the lawn. Nice fire on the beach. Weather was rainy for 2 days then partly sunny and windy. Today they hiked Porter and Cascade. Yesterday we did Poco Moonshine - tough little hike, great views. Kayaked in Lincoln pond (no fish though). Coon Mountain is a nice hike for a good view of the lake.

The house feels like home; it is filled with many items that are so like things of our mom. The trivets, the geese decoys, the little hat with the artificial flowers stuck in the brim. Thank you for sharing this home. It was cozy and warm and comfortable.
MacArtney Family, Fairport, NY

"Thank you for sharing your wonderful cottage on lake Champlain. Here is a collective list of things we enjoyed. The window seat, skipping stones, swiging in the hammock, the porch all day morning until night. Comfy beds, the house, collecting lake glass, depression glass, antiques, the stair case, shooting stars, looking for mars, the milky way, wiffle ball, horse shoes, canoing, fishing (huge). Smallies perch, badminton, all the windows, reading great books, ferry ride to Burlington, hiking Coon Mountain. Serenity, peace, drinks at the marina, rocks on the beach, loons and other birds, riding bikes, day trip to Lake Placid, being together, fire on the beach, s'mores, puzzles, games, catch phrase, pancake breakfast, 9 people around the dining room table with the view, firehouse pizza and friendly locals.
The Walkers, Newark, DE

"My ninety-two year old dad and all 5 of his children and spouses were here for a family reunion. Members of the family have been coming to Lake Champlain, mostly to Willsborough Bay, for 100 years. My dad's parents honeymooned right here in Westport in 1912. My dad spent his summers here as a child, often missing the start of school because his parents didn't want to leave. Later my parents brought us 5 kids here to vacation. During the years that the 5 kids were raising their families we didn't come to the lake much, but now that we are all free again we have started having our reunions here again. We have been meeting at the lake for almost 15 years now. Thank you for having a house big enough to hold us all. The weather was bad but we put all 3 of our boats in and managed to get out every day. Being an "older" crowd we loved sitting on the back deck we had all the chairs lined up facing the lake. Great view, Great Place. Every day we got delicious pastries from Ernie's in town. Hope to see you next year.
The Derr Family from Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee & Utah!!!

"The house was much larger than we thought. We were able to enjoy several activities at once, card games in the kitchen, reading in the front room and TV in the den. The space was just great for families sharing!!... The front porch (facing the lake) was fabulous. Again much larger than we thought. We could snack, read and the tots could play all at once... It was much larger than the pictures showed!!"
Lisa Chidsey, Rochester, NY

"We had our family reunion at the cottage - 3 generations. We originally reserved more space in a local B & B but found that all 12 of us fit comfortably in the cottage. A great time was had by all."
John Lindsay, Pittsfield, MA and Naples, FL

"We can't say enough about the cottage, Westport, Lake Champlain... the whole thing. The view is to die for!"
Tom and Vicki McPhail, Jupiter, FL