"A Weekend By the Lake"

I've returned from my weekend up north, although, I think I brought back a cold as my souvenir. ... [cocks his head back and sneezes] ... Only a mild one, though, and I think it's weakening. Serves me right for wading around in chest-deep cold water. :)

Anyway... sneezing aside, my weekend itself was actually quite enjoyable. Scott and I picked up his younger brother (Adam) from the college he attends in downtown Milwaukee, and then the three of us drove up to the cottage after dark. We stopped to eat along the way, and arrived at our destination late in the evening. We philosophized for a bit, and then, by midnight went off to bed.

Saturday morning was a beautiful sunny day by the time I awoke. The Autumn leaves were in full "bloom" (aka, brilliant Fall colors), a cool breeze was blowing, and the temperature was in the low to mid seventies; a gorgeous day by any standard! I hadn't slept well that night -- maybe four hours at most, but with a few extra hours of sleep while Scott and Adam drove into the nearby town to buy some food, I was ready to go.

The three of us were expecting Scott and Adam's cousin, Dave, to show up around noon to help us pull the dock out of the lake. However, after raking the yard of fallen pine needles, Adam and I decided to get an early start. Within two hours, the two of us had the dock disassembled, the support legs unscrewed from the lake bed, and all the parts stacked up on the shore. Scott was unable to help, since he's recovering from an appendectomy; Dave arrived shortly thereafter.

The four of us had some tasty tacos for lunch, and then sat down to philosophize further upon matters of deep contemplation. Growing tired, I eventually wandered off to my temporary bed, and napped for two hours, while the others finished the raking, and hung out. When I awoke, the four of us headed back into town to buy beer and chips (of which I declined to drink the beer), and then returned to grill up some tasty hot dogs. After dinner, we chatted philosophy, ethics, and so forth, before heading out into the dark to scale the nearby mountain.

Mt. Morris -- 1,135 above sea level -- has a park at the top, complete with playground equipment, rocks, and plenty of trees. By the light of the moon alone, the four of us hiked around the lake, and then up the somewhat steep mile-long road to the top. We hung out on the playground equipment, philosophized about a wide variety of thought-provoking topics, and then hiked back down.

When we returned to the cottage, the four of us chatted a bit more, and Dave, though he was invited to stay the night, opted to drive back to Milwaukee. That left Scott, Adam, and myself to contemplate rather frightening doomsday scenarios before heading off to bed.

Sunday morning, the three of us slept in... Adam then went off to work on his engineering homework, Scott played a computer game on the laptop, and I split time between sneezing and thinking. A few hours later, we packed up our bags, tossed them in the car, and drove two hours south, back into the heart of Milwaukee. By evening, Adam was back at his campus apartment, and Scott and I were back here in West Allis.

And, thus ended our weekend excursion. The main goal was to take the dock out of the lake before it freezes over in winter, but the rest of the time was pure relaxation. And, other than this cold, it served well as such. Now, though, with the cottage two hours to the north again, the time has come to resume the requirements of civilization. Perhaps next year, I shall partake once more in the quiet simplicity of a cottage, a mountain, a lake, and millions of pretty Autumn leaves.

If heaven is to be a place of splendor, I imagine a cottage like this to be my eternity. Quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. Toss in some adventure, and I'm there!

Have a wonderful new week all! And enjoy the pretty leaves if you've got 'em!

Your happily blogging, slightly sneezy friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:46 PM  I   I  0 comments