Eight Point Lake, Pt. IV

(And now, for the thrilling conclusion. . .)

Another glorious morning over Eight Point Lake.  We'd see a hell of a lot more cloud cover roll in as the day grew on - the great weather had to end some time, I suppose - but for now at least the sun was out. 

While I got some bronzing in, the dogs were all taken out for a walk.

Cindy had Dad pick up a couple things from the Lake General Store around lunchtime, and Abby and I went along with him (it's always fun poking around in that ole timey place.)

After lunch, Dad and Cindy and us decided to do an extended boating trip for the afternoon -  start off with a brief cruise and then make our way over to the Sandbar to let the kids play in the shallows for a bit.  

Making our way around the lake. . .

Abby decided to bring a manga along with her.  Whatever, at least it's not a frickin' screen. . .

The Cannonball

The Old Cottage (we enjoy popping back in on every trip so we can all collectively groan at all the bizarre changes they've made to the place since we stopped renting it three years ago.

R.I.P. Cagafuego.

As it turned out, nearly everyone on the lake had the exact same idea for their afternoon - the Sandbar was packed - so we made our way over to the lesser-known (and definitely not as cool), alternative sandbar, located at the northwestern corner of the lake.

It's not a sandbar, per se, but instead a shallow beach that extends out from the shoreline.  It works in a pinch, I guess, but the view - a bunch of marshy grass - isn't nearly as nice as, say, an entire lake (like what you have at the original Sandbar.)

Ava and the Cannonball toss about a frisbee.

This is Farwell, Michigan summed up in one, glorious picture.  Damn, I sure do know how to pick 'em. . .

Who kicks their thumbs up when throwing up the 'rock' sign?  That's lame.

Funned out with the alternative sandbar location, we decided to brave the crowds and check the actual Sandbar out for awhile. . .

We had to anchor quite a ways down from the tree-point, but the water level has been so low this summer that there was plenty of room for everyone. . . 

My nephew, Blake (in the red shorts, with his back purposely turned to us at this point), was hanging out with a bunch of his high school buddies down there, and we coincidentally anchored right alongside them.  Our party enjoyed hollering out his name repeatedly, but he acted like he didn't hear us.

Forgot who took these - definitely with my SLR, though.

I tripped and fell at one point diving for one of the balls while playing catch with the girls, and since the sun had long since vanished by this point, I got cold fast. 

I'm a snappy dresser, folks.

Alayna, looking somewhat athletic here.

Abby and Kris, hanging out on the boat.

Keeping it classy.

I've been seeing a lot of this sailboat on the water this summer - whoever owns it sure does get a hell of a lot of use out of it.

We hung out down by the Sandbar for about an hour before the kids got bored and we started to pack up for our return voyage.

Samson loses his shit on the neighbors

Not optimal tanning weather, but Kris didn't care.

Abby, bored.

Burgers for dinner.

Dad takes in some 'Tull.

After dinner, Kris wanted to try out the electric bikes the parents have up at the lake.  She had never ridden them before, so Dad had to give her the run-down on how they operate.

Ready to roll.

It was very precarious taking pics while biking, but it's nearly impossible for me not to take pictures

Kris is getting annoyed by the picture-taking.  She'd have to deal with it.

After circumventing the lake, we came back to the lakehouse to celebrate my 42nd (seriously) birthday before we packed up and headed back to Midland.

Probably a good thing there are only two candles on this thing instead of 42 - that'd be a trainwreck.

And so ends our first extended stay at the lake this summer.  We plan on returning in a couple weeks when my step-brother, Bryan, and his girlfriend, Chelsey, come up for their annual visit.  Stay tuned.

- Brian

The First Juneteenth, Pt. II (or, Father's Day)

 (contd.)

Sunday morning, Father's Day.  I woke up early - like frickin' 5am - and couldn't go back to sleep, so after editing some pictures on my laptop, I went out on the dock to get some sunrise pics of the lake.  Check out the ducks (or geese or whatever) majestically flying across the sun - pissed I didn't have my SLR on me. 

Morning fog on the lake.

Later on in the morning, after breakfast (and coffee), Dad and I decided to try out these electric bikes he recently bought for the lakehouse.

Safety first.

We ended up taking these things all the way around the lake, with zero effort.  You can ride it like a motorcycle (holding down the throttle and not pedaling), or you can set it to 'assist' you with pedaling, with various levels of 'assistance': the electric motor kicks in whenever you pedal, propelling you - again, in varying levels, depending on what level you have it set on - far more than your legwork could do on its own.

I didn't get many pics of this, because it's hard taking pictures while riding a bike, but I was able to get the previous pic and this shitty video for ya.  We got these things up to 20 mph, more or less, which feels pretty fast on bikes as small as these.

Back at the cottage, taking the dogs - and the Cannonball - out for a walk.

Later on in the morning, time for another cruise around the lake on the pontoon.

Abby takes another turn at the helm.

Back on shore for some lunch.

The Whites came up in the early afternoon, so the kids were able to screw around with their cousins for a bit.

Abby finally gets a seasoned swimming buddy up at the lake. . .

Teenager, enjoying the cottage.

Shortly after the Whites rolled in, Brian decided to take his boat out for a spin around the lake.  His boat goes a hell of a lot faster than Dad's, so the kids were excited for the opportunity to cruise around on it.

After tearing ass around the lake for a bit, Brian slowed it down a for a bit for the standard putting around the lake.  What you see here, at this point in the cruise, is the mouth of the cove where our Original Cottage sat.  We always like to pop in to the Cove to catch a glimpse of the old place - bittersweet seeing it these days.

Meanwhile, back on shore, Blake passed on the boat ride in order to catch a nap with a dog.

Kris, having just arrived back in Midland from her Momcation in the afternoon, decided she didn't want to sit around an empty house and wait for her family to return in the late evening, so she drove up to Eight Point instead, showing up around 3pm, just in time to catch a boat ride.

Brian stopped the boat at one point so Jax and Abby could repeatedly jump off the boat and swim in the lake.  Whatever works.

After about twenty minutes of swimming the kids were tired out, so we continued on.

Picking up speed once again.

For Father's Day this year, Kris checked out some website where artists turn people into Simpsons characters.  I guess she went back and forth with the artists to make sure all the details - Masonic hat, pipe, rings, etc - was accurate.  Turned out pretty awesome.

Beer Can Chicken.  Eight Point staple.

Chowing down.

Post-dinner pic of the girls, shortly before we left for Midland (we ended up getting home around 7pm.) Next time we return to Eight Point will be for the annual, family shin-dig - with the extended family, Cornhole tournament, etc. - in mid/late July.  Stay tuned. 

- Brian