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Story & Photos by Bette Reynolds 
Yes, eating is a necessity of life, but oh it can be such a fun experience if performed with the right people around you, the best menu and surroundings, and you must take your time. At The Marina, each course, each moment spent at your table must be savored as a culinary delight. Whether you are celebrating an inniversary, birthday, or a casual dinner or lunch, the wait staff will treat each and every one with respect, plus prompt and courteous service. The Market Surveys of America, an independent survey company, has voted The Marina Restaurant with Best Wait Staff for five consecutive years. They have also voted it Brattleboro's Favorite Casual Restaurant for three straight years. I know they have my vote. The folks at The Marina are quite community-minded, too. Each spring, just after the ice has melted away from the West River, the Brattleboro Polar Bear Club accepts pledges to benefit local fundraising for various non-profit organizations. Some of The Marina wait staff participate in this event. Another exciting and laughter-filled extravaganza usually held annually in August is the Riff Raft Regatta, held in the West River at The Marina Restaurant. Anyone can enter a non-motorized "boat" and see who stays afloat the longest. The only limit is your imagination. They also enter a float each year in Brattleboro's Strolling of the Heifers parade downtown. Actually, one of the wooden sculptures placed in the West River, by Lee Martin, is a brown and white cow with her two offspring paddling a canoe. Alongside her is a 'Champ-like' green sea serpent and a large tricycle. Keep your eyes open for other whimsical figures such as the oversized wooden adirondack chair perched next to The Belle of Brattleboro's (an excursion boat) ticket booth. Farther up the stone steps leading to an adjacent parking lot is a wooden yacht that has been dry-docked for many years, surrounded by colorful, large clay pots of flowers throughout the warm months. A complete surprise is to drive into the main parking lot and just above your parking space is Bart Simpson fishing out of his pontoon boat! Each season brings a new experienec to the eatery. The glorious sunsets are visible from all parts of the establishment, as are the town fireworks on the Fourth of July, Winter Carnival and New Year's Eve. There's nothing like a romantic full moon shimmering its light across the water on a still summer or autumn evening; while you are savoring fresh mussels from Prince Edward Island in Canada or, one of my favorite dishes, tomato and broccoli quiche with your favorite beverage. Even the Hauts Hill Ski Jump is visible in the winter. There seems to be something for everyone at The Marina. It is a trail head for mountain bikes, hike, picnic table, available and includes the West River Pathway that runs through Brattleboro and will soon connect to the Whetstone Brook Pathway. There is a twelve guest boat dock and twenty-five miles of boating on the connecting Connecticut River. Feel free to do what other people have been doing since 1972 and visit The Marina Restaurant, but remember to scan the island and waterway for the lone eagle, mink, muscrat, pairs of deer or egrets, swans, blue herons and of course the flocks of Canadian geese who winter at the retreat meadows across from the West River.
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