When I step out of the car, I can feel the cool breeze coming off of the blue water. My attention is quickly moved when a fish jumps out of the water. When I get out of the car, I can smell the home cooked meal, and the great smell of the grill. I run up stairs and change into my swimsuit. As I jump, in I feel a rush of cool water come over me. I look on shore and I can see this big gray house with the white deck glistening in the summer sun. My grandparent’s cottage is where I want to spend my days.

Up by Hillsdale, Michigan, is where my grandparents’ cottage is located. The lake is called Carpenter and is connected with two other lakes. My grandparents built the house in 2002, and bought it in 2000. The original home there was actually a rundown old mobile home, which was all rusted out and smelled like a rotting carcass on the side of the road in a 100 degree day. The yard hadn’t been mowed all year, and it was ten foot tall. It took so long to mow it was almost like we were mowing miles and miles of thick jungle. When my grandparents retired they built a 3,000 square foot home, and it was their dream and now my hangout spot.

During the muggy and sun-blistering days, the lake is my peaceful place. Other than the swimming and fishing we do other things. My friend, Ian Deye, has a place on one of the other lakes and invites me over. His boat is as fast as a corvette on water. When we tube behind him, he swings us outside the wake that seems as big as a tsunami when our tubes go over them. Then when I am swung to the outside, it feels almost as if I am on the Millennium Force at Cedar Point. My mouth is wide and I scream like a little girl who just got a pony. The rush is amazing, I love the lake life.

There are many things that we can do at my lake. I also fish a lot during the summer months. The fish that we catch is called blue gill, and their taste is almost like chocolate because it melts in my mouth. Also we like to have a good time when our whole family is together. We play a game called hillbilly golf, and in the game I have to score points by throwing two golf balls tied together by a string. Then the first one to 21 wins. After a long day of everyone eating candy, we have a ton of fun and are pretty crazy. My cousin Jarrod is probably the best cook ever. His ribs taste like sugar with some tang of the barbeque sauce. Then the smell of the fresh ribs would bring my family together. When the family gets together it makes the day enjoyable and a blast.

The lake creates so many great memories for me. My grandparents give me a special hangout place and a place where I can just have fun and not have to worry about others. Then with the family always up there it gives me a chance to bond with them. We eat well between the food and specifically the fish. This wonderful place will always be in my heart and when my grandparents are gone I can then remember all the wonderful memories with them. The lake life is my favorite life.