Camping & Reading

Or rather, RVing. My sister & BIL took their new RV 5th wheel to a nearby lake for 3 weeks of living the lake life. I invited myself down last weekend for a 4 night stay. It's a very nice RV with 2 bedrooms & 2 baths, living, dining & kitchen. It even has an outdoor kitchen with small gas grill, sink & small fridge.

The lake is one from my childhood. At one point it housed 2 separate swim/camp parks, long gone now. My parents, aunts, uncles, cousins & myself spent many summer days at 1 of the parks. As a teenager I had a friend that had use of a family home on the lake. It was owned by her grandparents & each of the kids families had use of it for 2 weeks each summer. I learned to water ski on the lake. It took a full day of me trying over & over again but I finally got it. I remember the yelps from the end of the dock when I finally stayed up to ski around the lake. My 1st roomate's family used to camp at the same park & she & I would go down for the weekend for days of lounging around on the large dock & more water skiing.

About 1/3 of the lake has vacation homes scattered along the shore. The other 2/3 is owned by the military & is used as a training facility. They have cabins that military personnel can rent. They also have 2 full service camp grounds with concrete pads with water, electric & sewer hookups. However, you have to be a member to be able to camp there. And you have to be military or sponsored by someone that is or was military to become a member. My sister & BIL are sponsored by my BIL's uncle. They pay a small annual fee for the privilege.

The 2 public parks are long gone, bought by a developer, so the general public doesn't come anymore. There are several families of friends that all go at the same time. Their kids are all grown but they come & go while their parents are there. My BIL has 2 jet skis & one of their friends brings his motor boat & paddle boat. They anchor them just past the end of the dock so they are easily available. All the girlfriends bring various floats & tie them all together. They spend the days just floating, talking & gossiping.

Each family eats breakfast & lunch on their own but they all get together for dinner. My BIL brings his big charcoal grill & usually cooks the meat & the other families contribute sides & desserts. After dinner we either rode the golf carts around or went for a slow sunset boat ride.

I got up each morning around 6:00a & went for a brisk 1, 2 or 3 mile walk. I then sat down under the awning or went out to the end of the dock to read. After breakfast we usually went down to the floats to soak up some sunshine. I would then read some more usually while sitting in the shade on the dock. After lunch I read some more, floated some, went for paddle boat rides, jet ski rides or boat rides. As the afternoons turned hot I usually napped for about an hour. I'd then get up & read some more & then help prepare supper. Then just before bed, I'd read some more. I made it through 2 books! It was a wonderful way to spend a few days with people I love.