New York

The dangling carrot this morning -- like many mornings this summer -- was a blast across Lake Champlain on a windsurfer with my bride.

A productive morning, a quick lunch, then back to work. With the carrot still dangling, I noticed the breeze kicking up outside my window. I renewed my commitment to wrap up in time to skitter across the waves, wind at my back, as I raced into the moment and away from deadlines, benchmarks, lists...

My beautiful bride interrupted me mid afternoon.

"I'm headed out. Join me!"

And I did. One last phone call. One last email. Then I dove into a my pea green swim trunks and headed down to the waterfront. I could see my bride "rowing" with the sail. She was pumping to build up speed, hunting for wind. I took out the wind meter and turned it into the light breeze. Just shy of 5mph. Too light for windsurfing.

I could see my bride heading back in toward shore. She was disappointed. The wind had fallen.

But the sun was still high the skies were blue. Water was too rough for enjoyable water skiing, but the afternoon was perfect for cycling. So I returned to the house, swapped swim trunks for cycling shorts and headed out to the carriage barn to liberate Major Jake for an adventure.

When my bride and I moved to Essex, New York a few years ago windsurfing quickly became one of our favorite excuses to abandon our work and escape onto Lake Champlain. Big water, lots of wind and scarcely 50 fifty feet separating our desks from our boat house... Needless to say, our professional productivity plummets when the breezes begin to blow.

But until recently I'd never dreamed of windsurfing once Lake Champlain is frozen. We do a pretty good job of getting out there 6+ months a year which requires wet suits and dry suits for more months than bathing suits. But ski suits? Take a look at what next winter might look like!

Lake Placid, New York is rated one of America's Prettiest Towns