a beloved place

As our gold mazda mini-van approaches the final bend of the shaded dirt drive way, my anxious yet exhausted mother begins to slow the car down to further build our anticipation. Shrills from my siblings and I can be heard from inside the cottage. Nelly sticks out her long tongue and begins to pant while her tail knocks the pillow from my sister’s lap. Just like us, our beloved black Labrador retriever can sense that we have finally reached our desired destination. The large kitchen window that acts as the focal point in the back of the house is full of enthusiastic youthful faces, all waving as if they have just spotted a celebrity. One by one they rush downstairs and meet us in the large backyard that will double as a drive way over the next fourteen days. Before my mother has a chance to come to a complete stop, my brothers have yanked the sliding doors open and my dog has jumped over the blue plastic cooler in hopes of some fresh air. I wait until everyone else has exited the stale smelling vehicle that we have just been confined to before I step onto the damp grass and take in the refreshing aroma of Lake Avalon. The embraces begin, each one unique and just as I remember it. All of the familiar faces of my cousins, aunts and uncles, are enough to make me feel at home. It is as though the six hour car drive has already escaped my memory. I slip away from the questions and the laughter to finally say hello to the friend that I have longed for the most. Step by step, I make my way towards the end of the rustic brown dock. Avoiding beach toys and inner-tubes, I sit on the first towel I see. This picturesque dark blue body of water has never looked so peaceful. If only it the extent that I have craved its serenity.

Located near Alpena, Hillman Michigan is home to the quaint area of Lake Avalon and the hundreds of cottages that surround it. For fourteen days of out the summer, those fortunate enough to have experienced its beauty in the past, pack up their bathing suits and claim the family heirloom as their own. Once acting as a large hunting lodge, the slightly renovated interior of the log cabin has maintained its irreplaceable charm over the past eighty years. Joined by seventeen others, my family of seven (eight counting the dog) spends our allotted time at the cottage. Time spent at what we all know as “the lodge” is valued by those who understand how genuine it truly is. The memories made at this captivating place are ones that I will hold in my heart for a lifetime.