Hey! She's back! At the

Hey! She's back!

At the Lake
I am 4th generation at the lake house. My Great Grandfather purchased the property in 1910. My Grandfather courted my Grandmother across the lake for 3 summers before they were married. I fell in love more than once up there. Believe me, there's a lot of history in those walls (and more than a few ghosts). Until I moved out west 14 years ago, I would spend the entire summer "Up North" as Michiganders call it. I have the fondest memories of fly fishing with my Grandfather. Just the two of us at our secret spot in the stream. We used to catch so many Rainbow and Brown Trout that we had to give them away to our neighbors. I basically grew up there. I learned to swim, to water ski, how to tie a fly ... I learned a lot about living and a little 'bout love (name that tune!). Every spring I couldn't wait to get up there. As a little kid, my mother used to have to put a life jacket on me in the car (yeah, the big orange kind with the huge strap and metal clip that would strangle you as you bobbed around), because as soon as we pulled up, I would bolt out of the back seat and run like hell down to the end of the dock and jump in. SPLASH! Let summer begin!

Now as an adult - life, pets and mortgages prevent me from spending the entire summer there. I would if I could, but besides being about 3000 miles from my permanent residence, I have things I have to do. I fucking hate that. There are always things to do.

At least I get to spend about 2 weeks every year there. My wife and I having 12 years together and 12 visits to the lake, have an arrival ritual of our own now. Not the same as running out to the end of the dock, but similar in sacredness. Leave the bags in the trunk, go inside, pull out 2 of the Fisherman Glasses (double old fashioned with a mid-cast fly fisherman etched into the glass) Pour 2 vodka tonics. Grab the dock chairs and sit in silence, listen to the waves lapping the shore and breathe the air. This year there were four of us and four glasses. The ritual remained unchanged. Clink! Cheers mates.