July 09th, 2008
By Arthur

I was usually awakened by conversation, along with the smell of fresh brewed coffee. If I was home I would have been up hours ago, but not now-not while I was in this place. I rolled over at 9, or maybe even 10 in the morning, and proceeded to get dressed and head down the spiral staircase to the main floor. The start of another great day.

Normally everyone was awake before me. They would be sitting around the kitchen counter enjoying their black go-go juice. They might even be sitting out on the deck enjoying the start of another great day on the Torch River. I was a little different, since I hate coffee, so I would head to the fridge and pour my cup of orange juice. I love the smell of coffee, but I could never get used to the taste.

Slowly I would walk down the hallway onto the laminated wood floor of the living room, ease the sliding glass door open, and proceed out onto the deck. The river, which was only a few feet away, would normally call to me and I would grab my fishing pole, already rigged with bobber and worm, and head out onto the dock to try my luck for that morning. The fish weren’t big, but they were a challenge to catch, and that was good enough for me.

After trying my luck on catching the perch, rock bass, or bluegill, that decided to fall prey to my hook and bobber, I would check in on everyone and see what was happening for lunch, or see who wanted to lose at a game of horse shoes. Some afternoons were spent on the pontoon, taking in the sun and the sights, and getting in some football throwing while wading on the Torch Lake sandbar. It was a rough life.

Evenings would bring about food-all kinds of food-from ribs, to frogmore stew, to pork chop and scallop potato casserole. We always ate good-no doubt about that. Of course, even with all of this food available for consumption, it wasn’t anything a nice cold beer couldn’t wash down. And boy did we drink plenty of that-in moderation of course!

All of my vacation days went pretty much like what I described. They were great, and as always went way too fast. It is amazing how time just flies by when you’re on vacation and almost comes to a stand still when you’re at work. I still haven’t adjusted to having to wear socks yet. I was barefoot pretty much everyday, sometimes with sandles on, and it was awesome.

Now it is back to reality, and to be honest I like being home. I like getting back into the routine of everyday life, but I can’t help but think about what it would feel like to be at the cottage again-being able to walk out my back door and enjoy a little fishing. Hopefully those days will return once again. I’m sure it won’t be soon enough.

Note: Stay tuned for more vacation posts. I have plenty. What’s in store you ask? Well, there will be a swan story (and no it’s not a nice story). I will introduce you to a little vacation friend that we met, and I will also be covering a few of our fishing escapades. I have plenty of things to write about, and I finally have my internet connection back as well, so the posts will keep on coming!

Popularity: 21% [?]

May 22nd, 2008
By Arthur

Last weekend we went on our first official camping trip of the season.  It went pretty well, and everyone had a pretty good time.  Everyone got in on the action, even the dogs! 

My wife’s family and I all headed down to Pokagon State Park in Indiana.  It is just across the state line and only about an hour drive for us.  We went to the park last year for one of our Christmas dinners, and decided that coming back there, and camping in the spring, would be fun.  We even managed to get all of the wife’s mom’s side of the family together.  Four camping spots and about 15 people later we were all unpacked and ready to go.

We did what everyone does camping–we ate!  I mean we ate a lot.  From steaks, to homemade mac and cheese, to full homemade breakfasts of pancakes, eggs, and the works.  In case some of you don’t know–camping is not about being hungry, it is just about eating.  We definitely covered that.

The trip was good all the way around and everyone enjoyed themselves.  A good way to get outdoors and start the warmer season off right.

It even rained and we managed to not get wet!  Perfect!

Popularity: 23% [?]

May 12th, 2008
By Arthur

The weekend was a downer for outdoor plans. I guess it wasn’t a total bust, but my Mother’s day plans really didn’t go quite as well as I would have liked them too. I guess that is the way life works sometimes, and you just have to roll with the punches so to speak.

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. It was in the high 60’s and absolutely beautiful outside. I took the dog out to let him run around and enjoy the nice weather. While he did that I sat on the porch and got my fishing poles around for our first fishing trip of the season that was planned for the next day. I put new line on my reels, made sure they were functioning as they should, got the tackle box around, and loaded it up with some new lures I got last year for Christmas, and just overall made sure I had everything ready for the next day’s fishing events.

So the next day comes (Mother’s day), and what does it do? Rain. All day! A little rain normally doesn’t keep me away from fishing, but this was the constant all day, accompanied with 20mph winds, rain. Not something I wanted to venture out in for my first fishing trip of the season.

The day wasn’t completely a bust though. Jeff got a little ingenuitive. We wanted to shoot our bows for the first time this year, and apparently with us not being able to fish, he was desperate. That made him, on the way out to our parents house, devise a plan that would still allow us to shoot the bows without getting wet. My parent’s polebarn has a sliding door at the back corner of it, so we sat a target out in lawn, 20yds in front of us, and shot from inside the pole barn through the door. What a brilliant idea from Jeff. It wasn’t quite like having a gorgeous day to shoot, and it limited the different shots we could take, but it still provided for some outdoor activities without getting drenched. We got all the boys, and Corrin, in on the act as well. It actually was a pretty good time.

So, hopefully we manage to get out fishing some night this week, and hopefully the rain finally holds off as well. If that doesn’t happen I am just going to focus my attention on the wife and I’s first camping trip this weekend.

Hopefully it doesn’t rain for that either!

Popularity: 27% [?]

February 19th, 2008
By Arthur

With it being so cold and nasty out around here lately, I have been really thinking about spring, the nicer weather, and one of the things that we enjoy during spring and throughout the summer; camping.

I have been camping since I was a little kid.  Our parents used to take us to quite a few different places to camp, have a fun weekend away from the house, and get away from all of the fast-paced necessities of normal everyday life.  Camping as a kid was always a blast, and I used to look forward to it a lot, and it seemed the days slowed way down right before the trip.

The wife and I still enjoy camping with family, friends, and co-workers and we try to do it as often as we can during the warmer months.  We will also camp in the fall.  It is one of my favorite times to camp.  I enjoy the cooler temperatures and the smell in the air at that time of year.  There is nothing like sitting around a campfire bundled up in a swearshirt cooking smores.  To those who haven’t experienced it you are truly missing out.

Last year we only managed to get out camping a few times and I can feel the effects, because I am having some serious camping withdrawals.  Fortunately for us we have many great private, as well as state campgrounds, that aren’t very far from us.  They allow a fun weekend getaway without the hassle of having to drive for hours at a time to enjoy a pleasurable weekend away.

I think we shoud start thinking about our first camping trip this year and decide where we want to go.  Nothing like heading into the woods, setting up a tent, and appreciating nature for the weekend.  Of course getting to eat smores is good too!

Popularity: 23% [?]