When my sister called and suggested that we visit her friend who lives on Gull Lake in MN, I was all in. A weekend of quiet, listening to the water lap on the shore and a spin around the very large lake sounded like heaven. Pulling into her property on the lake, I knew I was in for a magical few days. Getting to know this very special friend of almost 50 years was going to be even better. Greeted by our hostess and her large golden doodle oh and a 4 foot tall Gnome I knew I was in for fun.

Could I live this life? I absolutely could! As a kid days on Lake Minnetonka, and long weekends with friends on Diamond Lake were common. Something we did every weekend. Living in Minnesota it is a lifestyle choice. Something you don’t even think about, until you do. Moving to Nebraska when I was 9 changed everything. Land locked with no lakes was an adjustment.

Yes, we brought our boat. A Chris Craft Mahogany boat, when everyone was discovering fiberglass. The boat was an inboard. The mahogany and engine made for a very heavy boat. I remember my Grandpa and Dad welding a trailer specifically, to carry this heavy boat to Nebraska. We didn’t have a pick-up for towing. We had a Buick Electra 225 convertible. On a hot August Sunday morning, the top down, the boat in tow and a sign on the back that said “Omaha or Bust” we set out for our new life. Saying goodby to Minnesota was hard. We were all in tears. But soon as the miles passed by, the wind dried our tears and we looked forward to what this new place would bring.

The area had two lakes at the time. Carter Lake, long and narrow it was a tiny lake by comparison to what we were accustomed to. Dad got a “slip” on this lake for starters. The boat made it in the water there exactly once. Then the boat came home, housed in the back of the garage for a couple of years.

Wooden boats require a lot of maintenance. Calking was a constant requirement to keep them water tight. Ours required some calking. I loved this boat with its two bench seats and a steering wheel it was a tight squeeze with 6 people but fine for our family of 4. While Dad had it housed in the back of the garage he decided to reimagine it. He decided to take out the bench seats and build a cover for the engine, that we could sit on, and to allow for more movement around the boat. Funny because now I can’t remember what the front seats were. I spent so much time in the garage working with him on the boat. You know how that goes, when you’re a kid. Hand me the hammer!!! Sometimes he would hand me a sanding block and I would go to town.

Indoor/outdoor carpet was the great new thing in the 60’s, so of course it sounded like a good idea for the flooring. So not!!! Eventually after a whole winter of working on the boat; well dad was a traveling sales man, and a lover of hunting a shooting for sport, so it wasn’t a full winter of working on the boat. Anyway, at some point he declared the boat ready to launch. The new destination was Lake Manawa in IA about 40 minutes from the house. This location was much better because it was round!!! He managed to get a slip and we had a couple of summers of fun. Mom hated the boat. She hated the water. Her idea of summer fun was a picnic on the shore with potato salad, deviled eggs, and brownies. All a good thing. Dad and I would hop into the boat and take a spin around this very small lake. Round and round. You weren’t going anywhere but it was water, it was wet, and eventually I learned to ski.

A trip back home to Minnesota and a whole week at Diamond Lake. Besides of course the parents it was always just the four of us kids. Me, my sister and their two boys. The boys were much older than me. More my sister’s age, and I was always the tag along. Those boys could ski like nobodies business, and I was sooo jealous. I had begged the entire week to ski. No, my parents would say, you’re not old enough, maybe next summer. On Sunday morning before we left, to go back to Omaha, I asked again and finally Mom said yes. I ran and got my suit on and they fired up their new fiberglass boat. Taking instruction very seriously I listened to what Denny said. (My first crush!) Ski tips out of the water, knees loose and bent. Let the boat pull you up and off you go. I managed to get up on the 3rd try. I was in heaven. The wind in my hair, the freedom of just flying across the water. At 10 it was the first time I realized I could really do something. Everyone was so impressed with me, and that was another kick. And then it was time to go home.

Bittersweet with the rush of success and the knowledge that it would be a whole year before I could do it all again, I went back to school with a new skill to share, and a yearning that would never quite leave me. Eventually I got a pair of ski’s for my birthday. My most prized possession. Dad and I had great spins on Lake Manawa with me tugging the line on the back of the boat. I learned to jump the wake, and test that line and finally I got brave enough to drop a ski. What an unbelievable thrill that was. One time it was just Dad and I, with me on the back of the boat. He was standing while driving and always checking to make sure I was still up, and he got stung by a bee right in the middle of the forehead! He walked around for a week with a big hickey on his forehead!

Life was so simple then. Dad was my hero until I was 15. That was the year he sold the boat, with my ski’s in it. OMG I was devastated and angry. Dad was always a wheeler dealer. If there was something he wanted or needed there was always something to sell! When he decided he was done with the boat, much to my mom’s relief, he didn’t discuss it with ME. Wait a minute, that was the last vestiges of my childhood. How dare you!!! Those were my waterski’s you just sold. You had no right! That was probably the first time I stood up to my dad. To no avail the deed was done.

But then I discovered a friend who had his own small boat. And, another very good friend who was also from MN, and he loved to ski too. The lure of the water was back.

Kurt always ski’d at DeSoto Bend a smaller wildlife management area, again about 40 min away. My junior year we packed the boat with lots of snacks, and a cooler of Shasta pop for a day at the bend. It too was a small lake but, we had the best time. Brad was the best ski’er I had ever seen. We both slalomed and tried to create as much wake as possible. One time I wiped out and the ski came up and hit me on the head. Dazed it took me a minute to realize what had happened. When I came back to myself I saw that my bikini top was floating on top of the water about 6 feet away. A somewhat shy girl I absolutely panicked. Brad was getting ready to jump in and “save me” and I’m screaming “no, no I’m ok” and I swam as fast as I could to capture my top. With top back in place I hopped back on the boat, only to do it all again.

I didn’t know that that day would be the end of my skiing career. A new part time job would keep me busy the rest of the summer and into fall. I didn’t know that my carefree summer days were gone forever. My eyes have always been directed forward to “What’s Next”. But, I wouldn’t change those fleeting memories for anything. Good times.

So my weekend at Gull Lake will also go into the memory books. Filled with great conversation about love and loss, snuggles with a very big dog. Henry requires lots of attention. Good eats, and a walkabout the town. In and out of cute MN shops. Yes I could live the lake life in a small town, and all the good memories that came flooding back. I just had to share!

What are your best summer memories? I would love to hear about them.

Thanks for stopping.

Shelley