Vacation.

“There’s nothing better than being at the lake” thought the Man as he pulled up to the cabin. Inside the Friend, the Wife, and the Brothers were already frying up the first day’s catch of crappies. He could see them from the window; the smell of the fish and the breadcrumbs frying in the hot oil was spilling out of the screened in window, and drifting around the yard. He grabbed his backpack out of the back of the truck, and hauled it into the cabin. The slightly sweet smell of the pines and the cool night air of the North Woods caught in his nose and lungs as he took a deep breath. It was definitely good to be here.

He walked in, gave a hug to the Friend and his Wife, and shook the Brothers’ hands. Before he could even put his backpack down, he was handed a plate of crappie and mashed potatoes and an ice cold can of Coors Light. He wasn’t especially fond of Coors, but it didn’t matter up here. With the company and hospitality, all beer tasted the same here, delicious. Dropped his bag, and sat down at the 1960’s metal and laminate table. He was pretty sure he had this same table when he was growing up, and it brought up fond memories of sitting around that rusty legged table eating dinner with his family. The Man, the Friend, The Wife, and the Brothers sat around, eating, drinking and joking around. It wasn’t every day they got to do this anymore. Everyone had moved away, went their separate ways to start their lives. It was harder and harder to stay in touch anymore. Every one of these moments was cherished as if it were to be their last together. After a few hours of catching up, playing cards, and just generally shooting the breeze, everyone headed to bed. There was fishing to do in the morning.

6AM came early. The Man, the Friend, and the Brothers stumbled around, trying to pull pants and shirts on. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of the Wife, the coffee pot was set to auto brew, and kicked on at 5:55am. The youngest Brother poured the contents of the pot into an ancient, dented and faded Thermos. The 4 men loaded all their gear into the equally ancient Lund fourteen footer hitched to the Man’s truck, and headed down the mile to the boat landing. They got the boat into the water, parked the truck, and were on the water by 6:20. Already the sun was trying hard itself to wake up, and start it’s slow rise above the pines. The water was like glass, and there was thin blanket of fog that lay over the entire lake. The men started off across the lake, to a point off one of the many islands they knew should offer up a bounty of fish.

5 hours later, the men were back on shore, loading the boat back on the trailer, to head back for lunch. They had their limit of crappie for the day, and were in need of some much needed sustenance. They drove back to the cabin. The Wife has grilling up some venison burgers and the Brothers’ girlfriends had shown up. The four men and 3 women ate their lunch, and chased it with cold beer. The men decided that they would clean their fish, and the women were going to head out on the lake for Bass fishing.

With the fish cleaned and placed in the freezer, the men each found a couch or chair, and dozed off. The Man couldn’t help to think before he fell asleep in a recliner, how great it was to be back up here. A soft breeze thick with the scent of pines blew in through the open windows, with only the sound of the wind through the needles, and a distant motor from a boat out on the lake. The Man was content.