Take the Plunge
The sun peaks through the tree branches as the sunlight reaches into the kitchen windows. I open the sliding glass door to the deck outside, taking in a deep breath of fresh air as the waves crest onto the rocks below. Imagine, the water being merely yards away from your front lawn. A freshly cleaned dock stretching out into the water, lined with an assortment of water vessels. It sounds like a picture perfect beach morning - only there's no sand, or crowds of people, actually it's not the beach at all. It's a lake with rocks rather than sand and lines my grandparents' front yard in northern Michigan.
So now you must be wondering how could I be passionate about a lake? Well for starters I have been coming to Burt Lake since I was born. The house that my grandparents live in has been in my family for over 100 years and we visit every single summer. The shoreline is lined with families like ours who have passed the houses down from generation to generation, creating a community like no other. Everyone seems like family in that small town, and in most cases they are.
Each year when my family makes the long haul driving to northern Michigan, we attend a Fourth of July Picnic with all of the members of the shoreline. But, it's not just your average picnic with awkward exchanges with neighbors you only ever see during these types of events; rather it's more like one large family reunion.
Imagine this: driving down the road from your house to a large open field serving as a parking lot for the night. After hoping out of the car, you grab the snacks you brought and start your hike into the woods to the Sugar Camp, a big clearing in the woods where picnic tables stand around a small hut. You set your snacks down on an old wobbly picnic table before making your way to the hut. Lining the perimeter of the hut are boards, each one decorated for each year of the picnic. As you stare at the board you look to find your family's names as each year everyone in attendance signs the board.
You make your usual round around the hut finding even your great grandparent's names and the first time your dad attended. Then of course there is the coveted first signer. Multiple years show your Aunt and Mom's names standing at the top of the list of attendees as children, immediately making it your goal to achieve the same success at least one year - but let's be honest you're not reading to hear just about sappy shoreline stories, that would get boring pretty fast - don't worry, I don't plan on doing that. The lake is so much more than a community, it's a part of me. With this, I hope to share everything that the lake has taught me growing up.
Yes, I spend everyday out on the water when I'm up there, doing everything from water skiing, to wake boarding, sailing, jet skiing, tubing, swimming, rafting, and more (if you can believe there's more), but with each activity and each day, there's something new to learn, whether it's something about myself or something about life in general.
Life, like the lake, has so much to offer a person, it just all depends if you are willing to take the plunge.
Each year when my family makes the long haul driving to northern Michigan, we attend a Fourth of July Picnic with all of the members of the shoreline. But, it's not just your average picnic with awkward exchanges with neighbors you only ever see during these types of events; rather it's more like one large family reunion.
Imagine this: driving down the road from your house to a large open field serving as a parking lot for the night. After hoping out of the car, you grab the snacks you brought and start your hike into the woods to the Sugar Camp, a big clearing in the woods where picnic tables stand around a small hut. You set your snacks down on an old wobbly picnic table before making your way to the hut. Lining the perimeter of the hut are boards, each one decorated for each year of the picnic. As you stare at the board you look to find your family's names as each year everyone in attendance signs the board.
You make your usual round around the hut finding even your great grandparent's names and the first time your dad attended. Then of course there is the coveted first signer. Multiple years show your Aunt and Mom's names standing at the top of the list of attendees as children, immediately making it your goal to achieve the same success at least one year - but let's be honest you're not reading to hear just about sappy shoreline stories, that would get boring pretty fast - don't worry, I don't plan on doing that. The lake is so much more than a community, it's a part of me. With this, I hope to share everything that the lake has taught me growing up.
Yes, I spend everyday out on the water when I'm up there, doing everything from water skiing, to wake boarding, sailing, jet skiing, tubing, swimming, rafting, and more (if you can believe there's more), but with each activity and each day, there's something new to learn, whether it's something about myself or something about life in general.
Life, like the lake, has so much to offer a person, it just all depends if you are willing to take the plunge.
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