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A week —
or weekend — at the lake or on the links
Maine's
Point Sebago Resort offers a great vacation
by Jack P.
Terceño
The water is
calm as we glide into the secluded beach, all hands watching for pirates. Other
pirates, to be precise—we are pirates ourselves, sailing with the legendary
Captain Hook, searching for the perfect beach on which to bury our treasure
chest. It seems we’ve been searching forever, the waves lapping at our ship as
fear laps at our hearts, fear that we will be ambushed by black-hearted
swashbucklers before we can safely bury our loot. Then this beach was spotted:
secluded, a gentle surf lapping at its white sands, the sands giving way to a
pine stand with little undergrowth, easy enough to carry the heavy treasure
chest inland, bury it up on the bluff away from the water’s eroding fingers. We're
coasting into shore when we spot them, two small, fast pirate boats, each
flying the Jolly Roger’s menacing skull and crossbones, each pulled up to the
shore in a small cove to our starboard. We are in close now, nearly at the
shore, too late to turn around and head back to open water. Besides, the two
vessels look abandoned, perhaps beached months ago, their pirate crews long
gone, or long dead. Our captain decides to take her in, and as the Sebago
Princess drifts toward the shore, we all watch for an ambush. When it comes,
we still feel taken by surprise. Several of our men—along with the beautiful
and tough Samantha, who helped hand out the weapons when our journey began—jump
ashore as soon as the ship’s prow slides up to the water’s edge. Three of them
carry the treasure chest, while the others hold their swords at the ready,
watching the trees and scant underbrush for any sign of the varmints we fear lie
in wait. They do not lie in wait long. Almost as soon as our landing party is
ashore, a bestial roar breaks the morning’s silence, and a dozen pirates come
charging from their hiding places behind trees and boulders, swarming over our
men. From the Princess’ top deck, I see the battle engaged, swords clashing and
fists flying as our landing party tries to fight off the pirate ambush and save
our treasure. I fly down the spiral steps to the lower deck and rush to the
ship’s prow, pushing through the crowd of sailors to get a better view of the
fighting. Our men are outnumbered and outfought, and in short order they are
scrambling back to the ship and hurling themselves over the rails. The pirates
follow, trying to board us in their bloodlust. But we are ready for that.
Sailors fire their muskets in the pirates’ faces, driving them back into the
water, back to the beach as the Princess flees the shore and seeks open water.
As we pull away, a single cannon fires from the beach, its roar terrifying but
its shot wide of the mark. Our escape comes
at a cost, however. Even as the Princess turns and aims toward open water, the
cry goes up among the crew: “Samantha! They’ve got Samantha!” All heads turn
toward the beach, where the scoundrels indeed have Samantha, hauling her
through the sand to their small shark-like boats. Captain Hook continues to
head for open water, knowing it will do us no good going back for Samantha now.
Besides, it is obvious the pirates are perfectly willing to bring her to us. As
a handful of the rogues climb aboard one of their boats, forcing Samantha with
them, we ready our weapons. One thing the Princess has is good armament. On the
high deck, almost every sailor has a musket, while below decks powerful cannons
are mounted on the gunwales. Let the pirates come, we think. We’re ready for
them. But when they do
come, they come fast, flying by on the starboard side, firing rounds that find
our slow-moving ship with greater ease than our shots find theirs. We are
firing heavily, every man and woman among us letting loose a volley as the
pirate boat cuts through the water no more than ten feet off our rails. Samantha
is on their deck, hands tied behind her back, and we have to be careful not to
hit her as we try to fight off their hit-and-run attack. They circle around in
front of us, then come cruising by again, this time to the port side, firing on
the sailors who run to the rails to return fire. Our defense of the Princess is
valiant, but we know it is hopeless. If we are going to save Samantha, we are
going to have to give them the treasure.
Yes, I said
10-year-olds. And did I mention that the “cannons” were actually water hoses
attached to water guns? They were indeed mounted on the ship’s gunwales, or
whatever passes for a gunwale on the double-decked ferry known as the Sebago
Princess. The other “sailors”—mostly children, though a few of the parents
joined in—were armed with heavy-duty water guns and were doing their best to
not shoot into the wind when the pirates’ motor boats cruised past, firing
their own water guns at us. Most of the “injuries” on the Princess during the
50-minute excursion cruise came from friendly fire, as enthusiastic kids fired
into the air without realizing their spray was being blown back at their
companions. But no one minded getting a little wet on this beautiful Saturday
morning in June on Sebago Lake, just west of Portland, Maine (less than
2-and-a-half hours north of Boston).
Point Sebago Resort: Amenities Abound in These Woods
General Manager
Don Toms has worked at Point Sebago Resort for 27 years. Every year, he said,
he and his staff are looking for new ways to entertain the families that choose
the resort as their summer vacation destination. “We go on cruises to get ideas
for activities,” Toms said. “And a lot of the cruise ships get their ideas from
us.”
Steve Brickel
bought a Resort Cottage on the golf course four years ago, on his very first
visit to Point Sebago Resort. A Connecticut native, Brickel makes the
four-and-a-half hour drive to the resort many times during the summer, to spend
weekends and sometimes full weeks sharing his second home with his family. “We
liked the resort so much, we bought a property,” Brickel said of he and his
wife’s first visit. “We just fell in love with the place.” An avid golfer, he
also fell in love with the vast spread of the golf course, which requires a
golf cart to go from hole to hole. “The golf course is terrific,” Brickel said.
“It’s probably one of the best golf courses in New England.” Theme Weekends Highlight Off-Peak Months
Point Sebago
Resort is nearly packed throughout July and August every summer. Sites are
rented in seven-day blocks, either Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday. A
family of four can spend the week at Point Sebago Resort from July 1 to August
19 for $294 to $385 for an RV site; $644 to $945 for a Travel Trailer; $896 to
$1,190 for a Park Home; or $1,246 to $1,449 for a Resort Cottage. The
higher-priced sites are on the lake, while the cheaper ones are in the wooded
area. All the sites are within a few minutes' walk of the beach. Between 70 and
80 percent of the resort's guests are return visitors, according to General
Manager Toms, many of whom come there every summer and stay at the same site,
or upgrade each year. Most of Point Sebago Resort's summer guests make their
reservations for the next year before they leave. Toms told me that
it was the resort's "off-peak" months—May, April, June, September and
October—when they're hoping to increase business. Sites are rented on a nightly
basis during these months, with prices starting at $21 a weeknight or $29 a
weekend for the RV sites and going up to the high of $145 per night for the
lakeside Resort Cottages on a weekend. The resort also offers family value
weeks in June and at the end of August, during which a family of six can rent
an RV site for as little as $201 for six nights, or a Resort Cottage for $845.
The resort also offers special weekend golf packages during the off-peak
months, which include accommodations, meals and all the golf you can play. While the
restaurant is often closed during the week in the off months, the early- and
late-season weekends can be some of the most exciting times at Point Sebago
Resort. The resort hosts several "Theme Weekends," from Summerfests
during the peak months to a Seventies Disco weekend, a Murder Mystery weekend,
a Monte Carlo weekend and Halloween weekends in the so-called off season. My girlfriend
and I went to the resort during the first weekend in June, which was the
Pirates of Sebago weekend. Staff members were dressed as pirates, and almost
every kid in the place had a plastic sword, an eye patch and a bandanna around
his or her head. While the resort's regular activities were still ongoing—a
kickball tournament, cart races, and paddle boat rentals—the weekend's features
were pirate-oriented, from the ill-fated Princess Sebago cruise to the unveiling
of the treasure in the Sebago Lounge Saturday night. Throughout it all,
children ran and played and seemed to be having the time of their lives. I know
the Saturday morning pirate cruise—replete with treasure, ambush, swordplay and
ship-to-ship combat—will remain in my memory for a long time to come. I had a
blast just watching the event play out before me. I can only imagine what kind
of vibrant and fantastic memories the kids on that ferry, the ones who manned
the water cannons and ran from side to side shooting the dastardly pirates with
their water pistols, the ones who voted with shouts and laughter to trade the
treasure for Samantha, took home with them when the weekend was over. I have no
children, but throughout the weekend at Point Sebago Resort I could not stop
imagining how much I would enjoy bringing my children there one day when I do
have them. Perhaps more importantly for someone like me—single with a serious
girlfriend—the resort provides plenty of opportunity for adults to escape the
rambunctious, boisterous and at times just plain annoying children and enjoy
the lakeside for themselves. There is a room off the main dining room that is
for adults only and was so quiet I swear it was soundproofed, and there's also
an adults only lounge replete with a bar, a television showing the Boston Red
Sox game and two pool tables, all overlooking the lake. Then, of course, there
is the beautiful and challenging golf course, where you will not hear children.
And these adult amenities are not just for couples visiting the resort on their
own. Point Sebago Resort's staff runs a nursery program and children's
activities throughout the day, so parents can drop their children off at the
beach in the morning and have some time to themselves, not seeing the kids
again until they want to, meeting for lunch or dinner or a family walk to the
lake's edge to watch the sunset.
For more
information:
Point Sebago
Resort: www.pointsebago.com or call 1-800-530-1555 Contact
information: Images
by: Jack Terceño -Updated 8-21-00- |
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TM
The pirates speed
back toward the beach to get reinforcements, and we start to accept the fact
that our treasure will have to be sacrificed. Even the brilliant and courageous
fighting of the 10-year-olds manning the cannons cannot save us now. 
The Sebago
Princess is the ferry-in-residence at Point Sebago Resort, a combination
camping/luxury resort set on almost 800 acres on the 55-square mile Sebago
Lake. Sebago
is the deepest lake in New England, at 385 feet, and Point Sebago Resort may be
the most diverse family resort in New England, with a depth of activities and accommodations
to match the lake from which it takes its name. From pitching tents in a
cleared site, to hooking up your luxury RV to a 50-amp outlet, to sleeping
under a ceiling fan in a Park Home, to watching a big-screen television and
surfing the Internet in the most luxurious lakeside Resort Cottage, Point
Sebago Resort can meet the needs, desires and pocketbooks of families on any
budget. And no matter what accommodations you choose, the resort’s activities—lake
cruises, boat and jet ski rentals, swimming and volleyball and mini-golf, shooting
pool in the “adults only” lounge, line dancing in the main hall, cooking over
an open fire at your site or enjoying the steak and lobster buffet in the
Lakeside Restaurant—ensure you and your family a vacation you’ll never forget.
Not to mention the championship golf course that takes up most of the resort’s
775 acres, and has hosted national tournaments since opening five years ago.
Point Sebago
Resort was started in 1970 by Larry and Anna Gould, who still live in a
lakeside home at the end of Island Road, surrounded by the permanent mobile
homes called Travel Trailers that make up one of the resort’s lodgings
alternatives. Their home, and all the trailers on “the island,” are surrounded
on three-and-a-half sides by the crystal-clear water of Sebago Lake. 
When the Goulds
began their summer vacation spot, it was mostly a place for tents and some RVs,
like any of hundreds of camping grounds throughout the New England woods. That
original concept has blossomed into a camping resort unlike any other, where
families can choose between “roughing it” in a trailer home or enjoying the
hotel-suite luxuries of a two-bedroom Resort Cottage. In addition to the 18-hole
golf course and driving range, Point Sebago Resort has 10 tennis courts, a
marina where guests can rent slips for their boats, nearly one mile of white-sanded
beach, a lakeside restaurant with a nightclub and a lounge,
numerous
pavilions for indoor activities, a special nursery on the beach, shuffleboard,
mini-golf, horseshoes, volleyball, kickball and almost any other outdoor summer
activity you can imagine. During the peak months of July and August, there are
between 75 and 100 different activities for children and adults scheduled each
day. While most of the activities and events are geared toward kids—which gives
parents a lot of free time to relax on their own—the resort also offers
adult-oriented fun, from morning sessions of Tai Chi to evening beer tasting
contests.
In addition to
the wide variety of amenities and activities, Point Sebago resort boasts a
fully-stocked General Store where you can buy anything you might need, from bug
spray to books, from fine wine to fat-free milk. There is also a “boutique”
with clothing and souvenirs, an ice cream counter and concession stand, and
private bathrooms and showers for those not housed in one of the many lodgings
that have their own. Of the 560 sites at the resort, some are empty for private
RVs to use, but most are Travel Trailers, Park Homes (two-bedroom “homes” with
a living room, kitchen, bathroom and deck) and the more luxurious Resort
Cottages, which are basically Park Homes with a large sun-room added and
usually have larger decks. The Resort Cottages are so luxurious they
are sold as well as rented, and so many of the ones along the golf course have
been bought that more are being built every year.
I overheard one
kid at the lagoon beach—the lagoon being a small pond just off the main beach,
which is good for swimming and fishing and is warmer than the lake
itself—telling his friend he had been there four years in a row. And the kid
loved it. You could see it on his face, hear it in his voice. He was bragging
about coming to Point Sebago Resort every summer. And that's the kind of
vacation spot the resort is: one you're kids will brag to their friends about,
one you'll make reservations for again before you leave your first time, and
one that can fill childhood—and adulthood—with the kind of exciting, fantastic
and just plain fun memories of which great vacations are made.