In the middle of June, my wife and I will be taking all five of our children to New England. Is there anyone out there who can tell us what to do with them?

A word of background:

This year my Dartmouth College class, the Class of 1979, will be holding its 25th reunion. My wife and I would have attended the reunion in any event–the friends I made in Hanover, New Hampshire a quarter of a century ago remain among our closest–but we’ve decided that we have something like a duty to take the children as well. Why? The children, who range in age from 13 to two, have only the dimmest apprehension that New England even exists. They expect hills to appear brown during the summer, as they are here in California, not green. They’ve never experienced the crack of lightning or the rolling thunder of a summer storm. Rivers? Lakes? They believe fresh water flows only in concrete aqueducts, and they were puzzled when I tried to explain the concept of covered bridges. If only for a couple of weeks, my wife and I decided, the children need to see the East.

Which brings me to the readers of this happy Corner.

Does anyone know of a cottage on one of New Hampshire’s central lakes–Winnipesauke or Squam, perhaps–that would be available at a reasonable cost? For that matter, does anyone have any suggestions at all for keeping children entertained in upper New England? If we can’t find a cottage for a week or ten days, we might roll around New Hampshire and Maine instead, stopping at one place for a couple of days before moving on to the next. But stopping at what places? Splashy resorts are easy to find–they advertise. But to find quiet, rustic places that cater to families, we’ve found, it’s necessary to rely on word of mouth–or, I very much hope, The Corner.

Please put “New England” in your subject line.