Our Trip, Part 1

Last week the kids' school was closed so we went up north to stay at the lake, which is where Jake grew up. Most people have summer homes or cabins there but Jake's family lived there year round. His father was an elementary school teacher and his mother was a nurse at the local hospital. Their town has about 500 people in it, but it is on a chain of lakes that is pretty popular for summer tourists. It is also popular with GDIBs, which is how the locals up there refer to people from Illinois (God Damn Illinois Bastards). Part of this is a class issue. People who come up from Illinois live far enough away and are wealthy enough to own a dedicated summer home, which represents a class difference that the townspeople aren't necessarily thrilled about.

Here's the lake Jake grew up on, as seen from his parents' dock.

The kids did some fishing. The ubiquitous dog looks on. She's everywhere, and every time they leave the house, they take her with them. She is a sweet dog but she isn't trained, which has its annoyances.

The only catch of the trip. Milo caught a small-mouth bass.

Most days we headed out on the boat in the afternoon to do some swimming and wading. It's really nice that this summer, the kids are old enough to be totally into the boat. They also finally fit into their lifejackets properly.

Time to wade!

The dog loves to chase her toys in the water. The lake has a flatworm and the larvae can be picked up while swimming, which results in a phenomenon called swimmer's itch. The poor dog has a terrible case of this, so she is always itchy. Both kids also got swimmer's itch on their legs (it looks like a series of welts or bug bites up and down the legs). It's harmless but uncomfortable.

Nora did a little accidental floating.

One afternoon Jake and I traveled to the local tourist town, which is where he used to work in the summers starting at age 14. His first job was in a candy store, churning a giant vat of fudge in the window. The town is mostly geared towards tourists so there are lots of cute little shops there. It's on a big lake, which can be accessed by the chain of lakes, so you can get there by boat. There are many nights when Jake and I have gone into this town on his brother's boat, and froze our butts off speeding back at 1 a.m. or so.

Even though this is a tourist town, there are still elements that remind you that people do live here year round.

We walked on an old wooden bridge and then climbed under it for a different view.

Jake took this last photograph of his old sailboat at dusk. Jake's brother is a ski boat kind of guy. His parents are pontoon boat people (think a living room on the water, complete with cocktails and appetizers). But Jake has always been more of a sailboat person. He's had this old little boat for years and years.