My Trip to “The Lake!”

We got to our hotel in Parry Sound later that day, exhausted from the drive. We got some food and crashed out. Tomorrow…The Lake!

DAY 4:
We were ready to rent the boat we reserved and hit the lake! This was the day I waited 15 years for! Unfortunately, when we woke up and opened the blinds, to our surprise, the weather was MISERABLE! Not a spot of sun in sight, and raining like cats and dogs. No time for a day at the lake. In that instant, my dreams were crushed…what if the whole week was going to be like this? My girlfriend assured me things would be fine, and we called the boat rental facility to postpone the boat for tomorrow.

We spent the next day poking around the area, trying to find some of the little towns that Martin’s Day was filmed in–towns featured in scenes like the one where young Martin goes to get the Coke in the drug store, and Steckert thinks he called the cops on him–remember that scene? We had no luck, but did enjoy the scenery. We did find Orrville, a town not actually shown in the movie, but mentioned by Lt. Lardner. There wasn’t much there, but still, an adventure to find.

(Years later, I would find out that the town with the drug store was Stouffville! Check out the LOCATIONS page to see it.)

The weather started looking better, as we stopped by Cleveland’s House, to see where Richard Harris and the crew stayed during production of the film. That was neat, just knowing they were there! We also stopped at various points along the lake to check the view out. It was a huge lake! Probably the biggest surprise along the way, was when my girlfriend’s eagle-eye spotted a small street sign that read “Hekkla Road,” a sign we only spotted for a millisecond on the movie while hitting “still” on the DVD player and zooming in. How she spotted this tiny lane while we were cruising the back roads, I have no idea–we weren’t even looking for it, when she called out “HEKKLA!!!” We stopped for awhile and checked out the scene–it was the place where the cops tried to run Martin off the road with a “crash car.” We ended up driving down Hekkla Road and it turned out to be one of the most scenic country roads we had ever seen. We even saw a tiny cemetery from the 1800’s along the way. It was definitely a highlight! Although a fun day, I was now more than ever, ready to get on that lake!

DAY 5:
We woke up to sunshine–beautiful sunshine! I rushed us out the door to the boat docks and we were on our way. A big picnic lunch, drinks, and huge map of Lake Joseph in hand, we unmoored the boat, cruised down the channel, and were finally here–THE LAKE! Lake Joseph was HUGE though! I didn’t realize what a massive body of water this was. They had only showed a small portion of the lake in the movie, but this thing was hundreds and hundreds of times bigger–with thousands of curves, coves, islands, and channels. The lake looked beautiful, as we navigated our way north, along the east side of the water. We spent hours and hours cruising the lake, monitoring every piece of scenery, in hopes that we’d spot the shore Martin’s house once was.

The only disappointment, although just a small one, was seeing how populated the lake’s shores were with houses. Like most of America, this once serene place was now being taken over my developers, and there wasn’t many places on the lake you felt “alone.” Never the less, we had a great time anyway. With so many turns, islands, and channels, we spent all day making sure we didn’t miss one inch of shore. I just had to see where Martin lived. If we didn’t have a map of the lake, we would’ve been lost for sure!

Near the top of the lake, we saw a few places that looked like they could’ve been the spot. The main point of reference in the movie, was the huge rocks near Martins’ house–rocks he jumped off into the water with his dog when he was a boy–the same rocks where he and and Dr. Mennen met near the end of the movie. Though we saw a few rocks that looked close to the movie’s scene, I wasn’t sure we located the exact property. I got a rush seeing a few houses that resembled Martin’s house. I jumped in the lake in a few spots that looked like they could be near Martin’s house, and enjoyed myself in the water. Knowing that this was the place young Martin swam in–the place where Steckert was in the canoe near the end–it was indescribable. I even played the DVD so I could hear the music of Martin’s Day while I was swimming. Yeah, I’m sure that sounds pretty corny, but what can I say–I’m a sentimental guy.

It was almost time to turn in the boat. I sped back to the rental place for one last try. I didn’t want to do it, but I whipped out the DVD player and showed the people behind the counter the scene that shows Martin’s property from the helicopter. One guy said he definitely recognized the shore, and pointed it out on the map. I jumped back in the boat and sped there as fast as I could. It wasn’t far from where we were earlier that day. Although I wasn’t 100% sure it actually was the same place as the movie, I was satisfied. My girlfriend reminded me that landscape changes in 15 years, and water rises and lowers, etc. I took one last dive in the water before we headed back to the dock. We turned in the boat, went to dinner, and headed back to the hotel for some rest.

DAY 6:
We had to drive back to Buffalo that day–it was a long drive! We stopped by more towns that day, hoping to see the streets where the two Martin’s once were, but had no luck. It was still a nice drive back. By the time we arrived in Buffalo, we were pooped! We had some famous Buffalo wings that night at the Anchor Bar, and crashed out. Home tomorrow. I felt complete.