Houghton Lake - Part 1

Back in April, a solid month into the Global Pandemic, Steve and I threw caution to the wind and opted to book a cabin up north, on Houghton Lake, for the last week in July.  It would be our first week-long camping trip with our family and we knew that if things eased up a little bit, we would all welcome the change in scenery.  It would give us something to look forward to and a chance to take our boat up with us too.  Steve stayed in the same location many times when he was growing up and his dad even made a trip up to visit us one of the days that we were there.

We loaded up on Saturday morning, knowing that we would not be able to check in until mid-afternoon.  The kids were an incredible help as we unloaded the truck in record-time and I suspect that it *might* have something to do with the fact that they were anxious to slip into their bathing suits and try out the paddle boards that were available for them to use right off the shoreline.

While Jimmy wasn't able to use the paddle boards, he immediately spied this (almost-antique) hot metal slide that he ended up spending quite some time on during our visit.

The dock was longer than any that the kids had ever seen before and it made a nice place to sit, watch for fish ... or run down at warp-speed whenever my back was turned.

Jack was a natural on the board and the setting sun made for some gorgeous views for me up on the swing while I kept an eye on my swimmers.

One morning, we woke to a lot of rain -- and a lot of puddles -- but it cleared out before too long.

And it wasn't long before the kids found bikes there that they could ride around the circle driveway.

There was even a tractor for Jimmy to ride -- even if it was a tad squeaky!

These two.  They are inseparable most of the time.

Sam thought ahead and packed her rollerblades, and while the driveway wasn't the smoothest ever, she still put in a few miles doing laps over the course of the week.

This is a sign that you have had a long day and are fighting your usual afternoon nap.  (Actually, Jimmy ended up taking some of the best naps out on the boat in the middle of the lake).

Another fun feature for the kids (and for me!) was the shuffleboards.  Obviously, they had never played before ... and it had been YEARS since I had played ... but they took to it rather quickly and we would find ourselves playing a few times a day while we were there.  

In fact, we came home trying to figure out a way to put a pair of shuffleboards in down at our neighborhood park.

The competition was fierce!

Jack brought some of his fishing gear and sometimes he would fish off the dock and other times, Steve and him would take the boat out.

He has really taken an interest in fishing lately and I hope that that hobby lasts him a lifetime.

He's hard-wired to always be 'on the go' and his idea of relaxation is doing doing physical labor.  Fishing has opened a new side of him that helps to balance his adrenaline-infused demeanor.

My fair-haired child managed to catch both some rays of sun and a frog.

There was a patch of cat-tails across the street and we ventured over there one day so that the kids could pick a few.  We have cat-tails on our lake at home, but this area was thick with them, all within walking distance.

Later, Sam turned them into both a woven basket and a mat.  

The frog continued to stay in the same place for quite some time, so the Jack got a chance to hold it too.  And no, we did not bring it home.  Ha!