Saturday, December 11, 2010

When in Winnipesaukee

When in Winnipesaukee, do as the Winnipesaukeeans...whatever it is that they do.  Lake W.  is the largest Lake in New Hampshire,  and, although the spelling on these cards is WinnEpesaukee, the preferred spelling seems to be WinnIpesaukee.

These postcards don't make it look very exciting, but it must be.  It has to be, or else French Prime Minister Nicholas Sarkozy wouldn't have gone there with his family in 2007. I remember this mostly because there was a big fuss after the French publication, Paris Match, doctored a picture of Sarkozy in his bathing suit to remove the bulge above the waistband.



Recently I read about another famous person who spent time at Lake W., Prince Albert. Not in the way you would think though. Prince Albert of Monaco went to summer camp as a youngster at Camp Tecumseh on Lake W. He reportedly returned for six summers as a camp counselor.

Several movies were set at or near Lake W., including On Golden Pond and What About Bob?
Have you ever been to Lake W.?  If so, can you tell me about the great attraction? I'm not getting it from these cards.

6 comments:

  1. The cards look pretty idyllic to me, but they don't really capture much of the character of the lake itself: A huge amoeba shaped water body surrounded by small mountains (several of which are/were ski areas), with miles of diverse shoreline, and dotted with picturesque islands. I've only been there a couple times, but it seems to be a very popular summer destination, don't imagine a dip in the lake is as appealing in January...
    A visit to go sailing with friends in the 80's provided a couple of memories that are still vivid today. The first is of dropping anchor in a sunny cove and jumping off the boat into crystal clear waters, you could see the sandy bottom perhaps 30 feet down, it was great. The second was the spontaneous thunderstorm that rolled over the hills when we were in the middle of the lake, the wind, waves and rain feeling like something out of 'The Perfect Storm' to a novice sailor like me- that was not so great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I liked the card of the Boulder Bridge. When you mentioned Prince Albert my first thoughts were of Queen Victoria's consort.

    What about Bob? had me interested as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh ja, ich wusste das ich Lake Winnepasaukee schon mal gehört habe. Ich liebe "What about Bob", am besten gefällt mir die Tourett- Szene mit Bob und des Doktors Sohn.
    Einfach köstlich.
    Und die Landschaft ist wirklich schön.

    ReplyDelete
  4. While Lake Winnepasaukee is mentioned in "What about Bob", the film was not shot there but in the state of Virginia at Smith Mountain Lake. I think the film was one of the best Murray did; although, Groundhog Day comes close.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Chas, you're right. What About Bob was supposed to be taking place at Lake Winnipesaukie, but was filmed in Virginia. Go figure. I actually liked Groundhog Day better; it's worth seeing over and over again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Maybe they kept all the nice secrets of Lake W. to themselves. But I guess that would hurt tourism. Better yet, maybe all postcards were put out by "residents" of the Lake to keep "fun lovers" away from the lake. It's all speculation. I like the top postcard at night. Mainly because most night time postcards don't have a lot of detail and are too black. This one does a nice job of "moonlighting." Great post and history!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails