Sometimes it feels like time has disappeared, looking back that is. It doesn’t feel like 14 years have passed since that day in the summer when my sister and I were first introduced to Misty Mountain. I remember like it was just yesterday, Rachel and I had to stay with our Nonna and Nonno while my parents, Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Nat, Auntie Marjie, Marisa, and Peter got to take a drive down to a place called Cattaragus County. I can’t recall who, but one of my relatives noticed an ad in the Hamilton Spectator for land and cottages available for sale in the Allegheny mountains in New York state near the Pennsylvanian border. They mailed a lady by the name of Donna Reiss. Donna Reiss was quite infamous in the area – owning much of the land (most likely being deeded from her father).

My sister and I thought they were just looking, to our surprise when Mom and Dad arrived at Nonna and Nonno’s to pick us up they told us that in fact they had purchased a 5 acre parcel of land on the top of a mountain. They kept going on and on about the view. To this day, the view of the Valley still takes my breath away. A year later plans were drawn up by our architect Jimmy Lyn for our little ‘Cabin’ on the hill. Every single detail was thoroughly thought through. The main living area was designed to promote a feeling of openess and connectedness. Whether one was in the kitchen, eating area, living room, loft, or the wrap around deck, everyone could participate in the happenings.

The design was inspired by a little shack located up in Northern Ontario in a place called ‘Moore’s Lake’. Our entire family would spend every Thanksgiving up in a hunters lodge. There were only the basic necessities, what made it so memorable was the fact that everyone came together. We ate together, played together, sang together, and created memories which would last a lifetime. Past times at Moore’s lake included walks to ‘Pillow Mountain’, and the ‘Bat Cabin’. We would take boat rides on the lake, went fishing, had campfires, and even had echo contests.

When Misty Mountain came into existence, we moved our annual Thanksgiving event to our little cabin on the hill. It was a new venue, but the good times kept a rolling. Instead of walks to ‘pillow mountain’, we went for walks ‘around the mountain’. Cardiac hill is one of the great walks, newer walks include the ‘logging trail’. We have divided the land into various different areas, ‘the soccer field’, the pond, the forest, the volleyball field, and much much more.