BELGRADE -- Gray fog shielded the last stubborn snowbanks from the sun, but residents still felt its warmth.

Beneath a drizzly cloud cover, the village awoke from a long, cold winter and began preparing for the influx of seasonal visitors whose arrival doubles the local year-round population of 3,000 each summer.

Some might count the crowds as a mixed blessing, but Bob Gardner, owner of Great Pond Marina, calls it business.

"I think it will be good," he said, referring to the coming summer's boating season. "Our reservations (for boat rentals) are ahead of last year."

Gardner talked while replacing the bucket seats in a friend's boat parked near the water's edge. He had nearly retired this year, but said he thought better of it when he started noticing all of the retirees walking for exercise along the side of the road.

He decided to keep operating his marina for a few more years after all, since he would rather get his exercise while on the job, rather than having to get it in other ways because he's "got nothing else to do."

Besides, he has the help of "five young bucks with strong backs" who installed his network of docks that will provide a place to tie up the summer's boats.

Belgrade may be a more obvious example of communities that benefit from summer tourism or seasonal residents, but it's not the only one.

"We all know that there are second-home owners who come up to a lot of places throughout Maine every year," Maine Office of Tourism Director of Marketing Steve Lyons said. "Those people obviously have a positive impact on the local economy as far as spending money in local shops, golf courses and what have you."

The state has banked on Maine's attractiveness to tourists as a way to generate revenue and advertise its highlights. Various communities tout their snowmobile trails, picturesque ocean coastlines or fresh seafood.

Belgrade's primary natural summer attraction is, of course, its seven lakes: North Pond, East Pond, Salmon and McGrath Ponds, Long Pond, Great Pond and Messalonskee Lake. Residents facilitate the experience with bed and breakfasts, shops, boat rentals, hiking trails, camp rentals and restaurants.

Belgrade also has coffee. Up Route 27 a short way into the village proper, a 'closed' sign hangs inside the glass door of the Lazy Lab Café coffee shop as its two owners, Wendy Schlosser and Wendy McCarthy, swap out inventory and load their shelves with dog collars, sandals and Frisbees in anticipation of the flood of customers.

"We ordered a lot of new inventory," McCarthy said.

"We got here at 8 o'clock this morning," Schlosser said. "We've been working at this on and off all month."

The coffee shop stayed open during the winter but closed down so they could switch gears for the summer. One of the most popular offerings they provide is Internet access at a series of computers on the second floor.

Many summer residents, accustomed to constant Internet availability in the cities, return to their camps and go into online withdrawal. McCarthy and Schlosser soon discovered the popularity of the service they provided and added two more computers for this summer.

It costs $4 per half hour to hook a laptop computer into the cable connection at the Lazy Lab. For a day, it costs $8. The coffee shop also sells sandwiches, books, local art, and, of course, coffee.

The store reopened last week.

"I think this year will probably be busier" than last year, their first year of business, McCarthy said. "We've got 10 employees coming back."

Rolling up the road again, car windshield damp from the mist, visitors could see owners of antique stores rearranging their wares and stocking (relatively) new ones.

Log trucks rumbled through the middle of the village and the first few pedestrians strolled across wet pavement. On a hillside sloping down to the water at the village's north end, contractor Scott Chapman stalked through a network of camps, airing them out, turning on the water, and generally getting them ready for their occupants.

Chapman goes through the same routine with about 200 camps throughout the state of Maine, he explained, as his golden retriever dog, Shiona, bounded across the grass between the camps, playing fetch with herself by grabbing a stick and running from one end of the area to the other.

"Right now, everything is set and ready to go," Chapman said. "I'm just checking the water and making sure it works."

Shiona charged up from the waterfront, where she had just taken a swim, and shook lake water all over him.

Sunny skies and blue water should bring a good tourist season, regardless of rising fuel costs, Belgrade Town Manager Dennis Keschl said.

"Maybe it will be a slower season than it otherwise would be -- but, then again, we have people who come in from outside of our zip code," Keschl said. "I don't think that these folks with vacation properties are going to stay home because of gas prices."

Joel Elliott -- 861-9252

jelliott@centralmaine.com