Anticipating Valentine’s Day, my husband and I reminisced, reflecting on how a romantic cross-country skiing outing at Sebago Lake State Park, led us to buying real estate in Naples in 1992. “We packed a picnic lunch and skied out to a point overlooking the lake, remember?”
After we married in 1988, Eric and I rented an apartment in our college town of Gorham, saving our money in hopes of buying a house within the next few years. By the fall of 1991 we’d begun our hunt. Both working in Gray, we searched area towns before a chance invitation to tour a model home in Naples brought us back out to the Lake Region area. We remembered our afternoon skiing at the park and fell in love with the home we toured in a friendly wooded neighborhood. My Mom and Dad returned the next day to enjoy lunch on the Naples Causeway and gave us their nod to the area which helped secure our plan to live here.
We’ve never questioned our decision to purchase real estate in Naples as it has led fun outdoor adventures over the past twenty-two years. We’ve hiked with our three children at various spots including Jockey Cap in Fryeburg, Rattlesnake Mountain in Raymond, Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton, Sabattus Mountain in Lovell, and Douglas Mountain in Sebago. We’ve gone snowshoeing, skiing, and skating at area venues each winter, and swimming or kayaking at Long Lake, Brandy Pond, Crystal Lake, and Sebago Lake each summer. The beauty of the area is breathtaking. Fireworks on the Naples Causeway and catching movies at The Magic Lantern Cinema, the Bridgton Drive-In in Bridgton, and at Smitty’s Cinema in Windham will forever be in our children’s memories also.
But don’t solely take my word that the Lake Region area offers some great date opportunities. Come enjoy cross-country skiing in the crisp air at Sebago Lake State Park or go snowshoeing at Sabattus Mountain in Lovell whose peak overlooks Pleasant Mountain, Kezar Lake, and the White Mountains. Catch a constellation snowshoe walk under a beautiful night sky in Bridgton. Dine on bruschetta at a waterfront restaurant window overlooking Brandy Pond. If you have children in tow, consider snowmobiling and ice fishing at the annual Sebago Lake Region Ice Fishing Derby or if you’re incredibly brave, lock hands with your significant other and plunge into the icy water at the Freezing for a Reason event at Highland Lake in Bridgton this Saturday, February 15th.
As for Eric and I, there will be many more dates to enjoy here. We never stop seeing a shop, restaurant, or trail to explore, however the most romantic spot I can think of to enjoy with my husband this Valentine’s Day is before a warm fire in the hearth of this house we made a home all those years ago. Love is in the air of the Lake Region area!
–Written by: Anne Freeman Walker, a resident of Naples, Maine for the past 22 years.