The First Week of July

With most of the kids busy with their jobs and friends and Jason trying to juggle multiple road construction projects, I decided to sneak off to the cabin with Nash and Koda a little early.  The skies were hazy from the Canadian wildfires, but the air was warm and the lake was calm.  Our time was spent on the lake during the days, along with some cleaning and some delicious Mexican food, and in the evenings, I got to play Pinochle with my parents.  Usually the cabin is quite full and we don't get to fit in our favorite three-person card game, but I think we got three nights of play in this year!

And what was Nash doing while we were playing cards?  Becoming a YouTube sensation, of course!

Early mornings were my time for trail running, and I always like to head to Aspen Park.  Those trails really don't ever disappoint.

And then my family arrived at the cabin! It was a gorgeous first day and we spent nearly all of it on the beach and on the boat.  Grey dominated the jet-ski, Lucie posed for pictures in between swimming and digging endless holes in the sand, Em found a frog (or was it a prince?), Nash did Nash things (with Hot Cheetos in tow), we roasted ourselves on a leisurely boat ride, played cornhole for hours, and even managed to dress alike.

Speaking of dressing alike, Emerson and I found matching bathing suits for Jason and Brady, but didn't tell them about it.  They were quite surprised to show up on the beach the next day looking like this!

Alayna even got Nene out on the jet-ski! (Just don't get her hair wet!)

Saturday evening, the kids hit it big while fishing and were quite happy with their catches!  We were all anxiously awaiting the sun to go down so we could load up into the boat to watch the fireworks on the lake.  About 10 minutes prior to leaving, I saw someone post that the fireworks were cancelled.  What?  And then, we found out it was true.  The main platform in the lake, where the majority of the fireworks were set up, had collapsed.  Thousands of dollars worth of fireworks were now soaking wet.  There would be no light show on the lake this year.

Usually on the Fourth of July weekend, Jason and Owen spend a day walking around the lake.  This year, though, Owen was unable to come back to Michigan, so I offered an alternate option.  We had both gotten kayaks in the last year, and I offered to paddle around the perimeter of the lake with him.  

Sunday morning dawned clear and pleasant, and despite having little kayaking experience, we were ready to go.  Jason and I hit the water just before 7am, and the lake was still and quiet.  

We headed clockwise, and with nearly no wind, we made it around the south end of the lake in no time.  There's the Fourth of July eagle on the point!

We headed up the west shore of the lake and after a couple hours, stopped for a break.  The wind was starting to pick up a bit and we knew that around the next point we'd have to give a little more effort. With the winds blowing at us, our hands were starting have some wear, and I requested gloves when our family came to offer us aid.

As we approached the County Park, we noticed the police boat idling in the water.  Soon they approached us as we had gotten too close to the collapsed fireworks platform.  They required us to take a big re-routed path far away from the area.  

We made it around and headed up into the north end of the lake.  This is a part of the lake I don't often get to see.  There was a lumber mill here years ago, and with so many of the logs under the water, it is generally unsafe to take a motor boat into that area.  Also, there is a huge amount of muck under the water, and when the guys walk the lake, they end up swimming across the entire north end to avoid sinking down into the grossness.  I thought the lily pads here were beautiful though, and enjoyed gliding through them in my kayak.

Jason, of course, had to get out into them.

Once we rounded the north end and started heading south along the east side of the lake, things became a little bit easier.  The wind was blowing in our favor now, and we enjoyed the little push because we were definitely feeling the strain of all that paddling!

Just before noon, we made it to our final stopping point.  The family pulled up in the boat to offer us cold drinks and snacks  we had just over a mile to go. The end was in sight!

And then it was over!  Five hours and 22 minutes and over 11 miles of paddling.  We had done it!

While I think the adventure was super fun and would definitely do it again, Jason says he is content to stick to walking from now on.  

And while we were horsing around on Otsego Lake, Owen had driven with friends up to Washington D.C. and Maryland, where they stayed with one of the guy's family. They went tubing, met up with other friends from Texas, and had a great weekend of his own.

On July 3rd, we celebrated Alayna's 14th birthday with a tube float down the river.  The day was sunny and warm and we all had a great time on the water.

After the tube float was complete, we headed back to the cabin where Alayna's gifts involved all things HORSE, and her birthday cake of choice was cheesecake!

To cap of the evening, Alayna caught this pretty fish out off the end of the dock!

July 4th was our last day on the lake, and we made the best of it.  By now, the smoky haze had faded away, and the sky was blue and gorgeous.  We paddle-boarded, we boated, we napped, and we swam. 

While we are always sad to see this holiday weekend come to a close, we know there is still a lot of summer fun left to be had, and our schedules were looking quite full.  Stay tuned for more adventures!