2025 - Lake Placid, NY

Frank scores 2 great houses in Lake Placid.  Their somewhat rustic nature is offset by views of Whiteface Mountain, game rooms, water vessels and a 10-minute walk into town.

Viking chess makes its Schneiderfest debut and becomes the new favorite yard game 

Joe and Karen cater dinner for 200

Frank books a fishing trip and a bunch of people agree to go - the night before he reveals (because he had no idea prior) that the trip will be in single person stand up kayaks. Anna’s reaction includes the phrase “way to steal everyone’s joy”. 

Laura brings a (very fun and awesome) friend, Taylor, who gets up early to watch the sunrise on the dock, only to get locked out of the house and forced to sleep in the Schneider's garage 

Anna is up at 5 as usual answering emails … BUT on day 4, drafts her retirement letter!!!

Anna and Karen share a flamingo tube; Frank drives the boat verrrry slowly  

A Schneiderfest Whodunnit: WHERE IS THE FIREPLACE REMOTE

Coffee maker in the non-Arlington Schneiders house, takes 90 min, a YouTube video, reading the directions and 3 people to get it to brew a pot of coffee the first morning.  Laura and Taylor are wakened at 7am by the team of experts trying to get the coffee maker to work.

Thinking of Grandma and Grandpa (who would be celebrating his 100^th birthday) as the Medoffs make a dinner of Daisy ham and potato pancakes  

Luke and William playing (hitting each other) brings back memories of young Austin and Wes 

Nightly games of Fishbowl – even Anna and Joe join in.  Loraine signs up for Jenga.

Natalya and Luke’s first Schneiderfest. Brady’s first non-Cape May Schneiderfest.  New Hampshire Quinlans arrive at midnight on Friday – Junior sporting curls Karen can only dream about.

First Schneiderfest since 1988 without Geneva.

Brian becomes only "child" to attend all 3 Lake Placid Schneiderfests 1991, 2005 and 2025

Frank, Maria, Brady, Rudy and Natalya play some extra soggy games of tennis

Anna buys Frank a custom thousand-piece puzzle based on a picture from the Grand Canyon trip.  The picture has about 3 colors.  It takes 12 family members and 60 man hours.  And that's just to finish the sky pieces.

Christina Daniel and Maria do a steep 5-mile hike. The Medoffs comment frequently (between ragged breaths) on their steep 2-mile hike how glad they are that they did not even attempt the 5 Mile hike.

Alex enjoys a lovely queen bedroom intended for Ben and Danielle who couldn't make it because Mark Benson Medoff was born the week before.

2023 - Bolton Landing (Sagamore) NY

 

o   Frank scores again finding a beautiful house next to the Sagamore Hotel on Lake George.

o   Brian Jr., Elliott, Chris, and Danielle attend their first Schneiderfest.

o   Visits from Marie’s friend Nicole and Frank and Anna’s friends Madeys

o   Alex, Wes, and Joe arrive later in the week. 

o   Frank and Anna’s friend Mike Merin takes the kids cliff jumping on his boat

o   Day trip to Saratoga racetrack - Tina and Frank win big, Elliott doesn’t bet.

o   3-hour-long heads-up game in recliner city 

o   Epic 15 people fishbowl game.

o   3 days of rain did not dampen anybody’s mood (except Karen’s pants) 

o   Tubing and kayaking on the lake

o   Ben, sporting new facial hair, celebrates birthday #24,

o   Great porch for eating, lounging, and listening to the loons.

o   Walk into town for Tops grocery, Bolton brewing company, Fredrick’s, 

o   Waving to Depe Den, nostalgic flashbacks of shag carpets with pickles. 

o   Final count 25 over the course of the week. 

2019 - Inlet, NY

• Needing lots of bedrooms (and bathrooms as the group tops out at 30) we return to the Albedor in Inlet, NY
• To get the party started, Grandma’s accidently eats jalapeño at dinner on the first night
• PJ, Corrie, and Katahdin return for the first time since 2011 and introduce Irie and Sol to Schneiderfest
• Good weather allows a lot of outdoor tennis, hiking (Sol shines), bald mountain climbing, golfing, swimming, sunning, campfires and boating.
• Speaking of boating, Wes exercises by swimming and towing a boat with his teeth after it runs out of gas
• Medoff's include neighbors Emma and Josh Gratton in the Albedor activities.
• Whiskey tasting session courtesy of Frank
• There is a brief interruption to the video games in the TV room to watch the US Women win World Cup Soccer
• Notable skin irritants for the Schneider girls: Tina’s welts and Maria’s sun rashes
• Building nightly campfires down by the water (“did you want this fire bigger?” says PJ) as well as viewing 4th of July fireworks over the lake
• Brian assembles a kayak from a backpack late at night in the foyer
• Playing Hearts in the Library, Jackbox video games on the kitchen TV and Secret Hitler on the floor in the living room
• Keeping tabs on the “house chipmunk” and being greeted by visiting dogs from next door. 
• Movies watched in the historic Strand Theater in Old Forge during our stay: Toy Story 4, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Rocket Man

2018 – Lewiston, NY

•Frank finds an incredible estate house right on the Niagara River 30 minutes north of Buffalo

• Mary Ruth joins us for dinner this year but as we celebrate 31 summers together, we are sadly missing our patriarch

• House has a million porches, beautiful pool and tennis court and the best “cocktail porch” yet

• Wes dives off the dock into the swift flowing Niagara River

• Quinlan’s bike the wineries in Canada

• Side trips to the Falls, Fort Niagara, Niagara on the Lake.

• Toronto trip includes great food, shopping, hockey hall of fame and Red Sox game

2016 – Inlet, NY

• Secured mom and dad’s honeymoon plate from Holl’s Inn and surprised them with it at dinner

• Geneva asks Mary Mae and Nuvi to be flower girls

• Frank launches children from the raft behind the motorboat

• William and Omi join their first Schneiderfest

• Brian Returns!  Again!

• Fires down by the lake with the bugs

• House is incredibly large with a boat house as big as early houses in Rehoboth, lots of bathrooms,
great stone decks, tennis courts, butler’s pantry and a secret bar in the library.

• Jaunts to Inlet, Old Forge and the top of Bald Mountain

• A great long dining room decorated with a dead bobcat.

2013 – Saratoga Springs, NY

•Brian makes his first appearance since 2005 and fields everyone’s engagement/wedding questions about Ta

• Kim, the Cambodian girl living with Karen, and Will join us for the first time helping us to reach our new record attendance of 28

• The house (with its extensive rooster decorating theme) was a short walk to town for refreshments, shopping and the history of the local springs

• Fourth of July – included a race for some, a parade for others, fireworks in town and sparklers back at the house by the pool

• Water fun! Daily competitions off the diving board in the pool, tubing on Saratoga Lake and parasailing up at Lake George.  Laura and Nuvi are like fish swimming all around the shallow end

• Austin heating the pool, cleaning up the hot tub and most important to some, getting the wireless up and running 

• Awkward family photos and Loaded Questions were the games du jour

• Trip to Saratoga Raceway and Casino for some for some off-track betting is a poor substitute for the closed historic thoroughbred track