Summer Vacation Part 1: Adventures at the Lake!

tra·di·tion/trəˈdiSHən/

NOUN: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior

"Tradition" in context of my summer holidays is defined as:
a road trip to Lake Chemung in Michigan!

Every summer I look forward to my time at Chemung.  And every year I demand that the first activity we do upon arrival is mini-putt.

note: considering the activities that were happening in London at the time, we declared mini-putt an Olympic sport at the lake.  We then claimed 3 gold medals for Canada.  

Take that Kazakhstan!

If there is one thing that is done well by the adults at the lake, it is drinking. 

In Michigan, they don't mess around.  They sell alcohol of every kind and colour in gigantic boxes that come equipped with their own nozzle.  

You haven't had a margaritas until you've drank it from a box!

And how can you go to the lake without being in the lake itself?!!  

Witness my very first game of beach volleyball 

Seeing as this was my first time, I only claimed the bronze for this event.  

But check out my mad skills.  I feel confident I'll capture gold in Rio

A trip to Chili's?  Oh, what a surprise

Mom (and grandma) must enjoy their traditional Presidente Margaritas 

And while we go there because mom insists on it, the rest of us all secretly love our Chili trips too :) 

Unless you are new to this blog, everyone knows what the real tradition is at Chemung. 

Shopping. 

Glorious, glorious shopping.  

And then more shopping.

Target. Super Wal-Mart. Marshall's. Khol's. Mejer. The list goes on...

 Scratch and sniff star war shirts, awe-some! Only in America

(note: Dylan, please look away from this picture or try to act surprised at Christmas) 

Even Dad got into the shopping spirit.  Well, for the first 5 hours anyway

Outlet mall time? Oh, of course it is! 

In all fairness, mom does the majority of her Christmas shopping while vacationing at the lake.

Yes, I said Christmas shopping.  Yes, it is August.

As my old buddy Tom Sawyer would say "The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it"

Faulkwood Shores golf course.  

The only place where the drinks are 3/4 alcohol and 1/4 mix and where mom can actually out-drive dad 

(like the drinks at Faulkwood, the red tee boxes are aggressive!) 

While mom and dad enjoyed their golf, Grandma and I enjoyed the beach.

Starting this summer, I am the official owner / operator of the Lake Chemung Tour Cruise Company. 

Overhead costs are low.  All you need are rope and two floaties.

Grandma was my first customer.

We figure business will be pick up, so I interviewed Papa for the Captain position

Cheers to another fantastic trip to the lake!!