All my life the phrase “going to the lake” has been important – when I was a kid it meant summer vacations and Girl Scout Camp Pin Oak at the Lake of the Ozarks. College years to now has changed the location to Table Rock Lake but even though I’ve never owned a cabin or had a boat other than a standard-issue fishing boat, going to the lake has been a big part of summer. Fortunately I’ve had lots of friends who live at the lake or have second homes there and we were fortunate to spend yesterday and today with good friends who bought lake-front property a couple of years ago.
We hopped on the GoldWing yesterday morning and in less than an hour were transformed 50 miles and light years away from reality. After lunch we headed to the dock to soak in the sun and started on a pitcher of margaritas. The afternoon progressed with periodic dips in the lake followed by a ride on the SeaDoo (Burl’s next toy I predict) and a long boat ride. We headed back to the house and switched to white wine along with cheese and fruit as we sat on the deck and basked in the peacefulness the lake provided.
Dinner – filet mignon, grilled potatoes, fresh salad and turtle brownies – was accompanied by more wine followed by some frozen margaritas with the last little bit of Reisling poured over them as an experiment (not too bad actually). About 10:30 when we all were thinking we should wind down the evening we broke out the Mexican Train dominoes and a few Parrot Bay coolers and extended the evening by a few of hours. When we finally fell into bed we agreed we hadn’t stayed up that late or drank such an assortment of adult beverages in a LONG time!
Today we enjoyed a yummy breakfast courtesy of our hostess (her Sunday morning specialty!), sat on the deck and drank coffee and then walked around their surrounding area. The dark clouds quickly dissapated and we were back on the dock again in the sun alternately solving the worlds’ problems and deciding to hell with them!
As quickly as we escaped reality yesterday we were again safely home in time for Burl to watch the end of the US Open and then head to the movies with daughter Cindy to celebrate Father’s Day.
Here’s a toast to all the fathers in the world – and a word of thanks to mine who taught me never to deny my kids the luxury of a hard time and who was fond of telling me when I screwed up “you just bought yourself an education”! Thanks, Keck – I remember your lessons fondly and still enjoy talking to you on a regular basis even though you left this earth 10 years ago. Your legacy lives on with those of us who remember you with love.
