From the time I was 8 until I was in college, every summer I would pack up my bag and head to the same camp with many of the same people that I had met previous years. It was my heaven. It grounded me throughout the rest of the year, and I thought of it often and always fondly. There was a certain peace that settled over me during that week of camp, and when I returned home, my mom would always jokingly ask how long my “camp high” would last this year. It’s been over 17 years since I’ve attended that camp as either a counselor or a camper, and I’ve never found another place that evokes those same types of feelings in me.
As we were driving up the path to Migis Lodge two weeks ago, I looked at my family and sighed, “This feels like camp”.
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That is pretty much the best compliment I could ever bestow upon a place. I was worried that nostalgic, peaceful feeling would leave me once we reached the main lodge… once we saw our cottage… once we became immersed in the activities of the day. I was giddy once I realized how wrong I was!
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Here’s the other thing that’s equally important to recognize, in the 17 years since I’ve been at that camp I’ve also grown-up a bit. Turns out I’m a huge fan of camp activities during the day- canoeing, swimming, boat rides, even a bonfire and s’mores in the evening! Once we start talking sleeping and eating, though, this 37 year-old likes to feel like I’m at a hotel. I enjoy nice meals and servers. I crave a comfy bed to crawl into at night and a bathroom within feet of where I sleep. I like cold beverages, I like sleeping where I know I won’t get eaten alive by bugs, I want to eat a meal so luxurious that I tell people at home about it, and oh my goodness do I want a hot shower EVERY day!
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To be able to combine all of those “preferences” and yet still maintain the camp/lodge nostalgic feeling from my youth is a task that no place has lived up to until Migis Lodge in Maine! I’ve been home now for 2 weeks and the feeling hasn’t lessened or seemed diluted with the passage of time. There’s too much to include all of it in one post, so today I’ll be giving you…
My Favorite 10 Things About Migis Lodge!
1) Your experience starts the moment you enter Migis Property and continues until the moment you leave. There is no lull. There is no dragging heavy luggage out of your car, fumbling with IDs to check in, being told you’re too early, etc. From the moment you arrive, you know you are at a resort. You are allowed to come as early as you would like on the day you arrive and stay as late as you want on the day you leave, so that you can enjoy the amenities as long as possible. When it is time for you to check into your cottage, staff magically appear at your vehicle with carts to load your bags for you and escort you to your cottage. They unload everything into the house where there are fresh flowers waiting
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a fire waiting to be lit in the fireplace
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fresh ice in your ice bucket
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and then they take your keys and move your vehicle for you! You are never made to feel like a burden or an inconvenience. Everyone is as friendly as can be and extremely patient in explaining the resort property!
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2) The property is the perfect balance of rustic and modern. I imagine this must be very hard to achieve! It felt naturally modern without feeling showy.
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3) The cottages were spacious enough that we were able to spread out and not suffocate each other. We had spent the previous 4 nights in different hotel rooms and were right at the point in our vacation that separate bedrooms were becoming a necessity if we wanted to continue enjoying each other’s company! We stayed in the Ridge cottage and as soon as we walked in (yes, while the staff was still unloading our luggage!), my son began a 45-minute speech about how we could never vacation anywhere else, he would build a house like this when he grew up, and then back again to how all other vacations would now be forever ruined because they wouldn’t be able to hold up to Migis. We heard a different version of this speech no less than 36 times while we were there. And honestly, I don’t blame him. The cottages were that impressive!
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4) The meals were beyond amazing. I have been telling everyone I can about them! In fact, it’s worthy of it’s own post, so check back next week for more details on the food and for now I’ll leave you with this… my daughter had a whole lobster for dinner 3 nights in a row. This will never happen again for the rest of her life, but Migis made it a reality for her!
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5) I almost felt like exercising while I was there! This is HUGE for me, because exercise is always a chore and I have yet to find any reason to look forward to it. Until I stumbled upon this…
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6) There are so many activities to keep you busy during your days, and all of them are laid out to draw you in. Everywhere you walk on the resort property, you stumble upon little clusters of kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, life vests, etc. I’ll be going into more detail about this in a separate post too, but I have to include it as one of my favorite things because it added to the general welcoming vibe that the resort exuded. They wanted you to use all the amenities! They made them so readily available that it was hard to pass them by!
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7) The resort is small enough that you start to become familiar with the other guests that are there the same week. We talked to people repeatedly during our stay who said they always come the same week every year and most of the other families do the same. They get to know each other and form family friendships just based on their annual summer vacation! Honestly, the sense of deja vu to my days at summer camp was hitting me hard! Think about where you vacation now… are you able to make the same claim?! We talked to one family who said they were at a wedding earlier this year for somebody they met at Migis just from coming the same week every year. Here’s the kicker, though… they told us that 30 of the guests at the wedding were all people that were friends through Migis!! That just blows my mind and makes my heart swell! I overheard another guest asking at the main desk about a specific family and whether they would be arriving soon, because he knows this is always their week and he had been looking forward all year to seeing them!
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Even saying all of that, there was absolutely no sense of cliques or being excluded. Everyone was as friendly as could be and making a point of mingling and meeting others. I just think this speaks volumes to the heart of Migis Lodge!
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8) The resort also has an activity program for kids and pre-teens if parents are looking for some quiet time at any point. The 4 of us pretty much always do everything together on vacations and I’m thrilled with that, but the activities with the kids’ program was apparently too enticing for my two. Once they saw “underwater scavenger hunt” and “boat ride to island candy store” on the schedule, they left us far behind! It was great for the my kids’ though, because they were able to come and go as they pleased. They enjoyed it so much, though, that they pretty much stayed with the group the whole time!
9) I took a little over 350 pictures while we were at Migis. I’m not even exaggerating. I just couldn’t seem to get over the views and the scenery. This was my first time ever in Maine, and I fell in love. My next goal is to get to Migis in the fall. My head mind implode once I see Migis surrounded by fall foliage!
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10) My favorite thing about Migis, though, is how all 4 of us spent three days happy, relaxed and entertained. There truly were no boring moments, no times when one of us was not enjoying ourselves, no moments of wondering whether this place was for our family. We just felt like we belonged and we smiled constantly.
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We truly did fall in love with Maine! It was our first time visiting this beautiful state and it will not be the last!
Be sure to check out Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake for more information about where we stayed!
Be sure to check back later this week for more posts and pictures about all the amenities and incredible food at Migis!
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