With Memorial Day behind us, summer has unofficially begun. And it went from 0 to 100 in .02 seconds on Lake Martin.
Last week I wrote about the good times we had on Lake Martin. And this weekend, in all of my 40-plus years, I have never seen so many boats on that lake. People too. Almost every island had boats beached. The water was so rough, like a washing machine. People were hurt.
Did you know people who visit the area can rent a boat without a boating license? How is this ok? Why is this ok? I live here and I cannot drive a boat without a boating license, but anyone can rent a boat with only regular driver's license. Oh, but you must be 18 years old; that's reassuring. It's absurd. I understand it promotes tourism, but it also promotes unskilled boaters and that can have costly consequences to both life and property. Some rental operations, like the marina at Wind Creek State Park, do require the boat renter to pass the online safety course. Kudos to them.
This weekend my husband and I launched our little boat and camped at Wind Creek, and we really enjoyed ourselves.
We haven't always been campers but this year we graduated from tent camping to a popup camper. It's like night and day. The popup has an air conditioner and a small kitchen and smaller restroom if you can call it that. We paid little to nothing for it, thanks to my sister-in-law who really just wanted it out of her yard. We did put a lot of sweat-equity into it. We pretty much gave it a complete renovation — total overhaul.
I have to admit, my husband did most of the work but I pitched in on the painting and other small things, like hemming the curtains and decorating the little but perfectly-utilized space.
This was our fourth trip to the state park. We are all fortunate to have it nearby.
The park was full of campers but the campers next to us moved and we ended up with no neighbors in front of us and that is rare on any given weekend during the summer months.
It was a great site, maybe the best one we've visited yet.
We were in Section E and the campsites were spacious enough that families could easily practice social distancing guidelines.
We enjoyed being outdoors. Early in the morning it's so nice to listen to the wildlife wake up and watch the fish up. Around 8 a.m. bacon started to fill the air as campers made breakfast. From the smell of it, I think all of our neighbors cooked bacon. As did we.
Around 9 a.m. all the kids started to come outside to play and ride their bicycles around the park. Our kids are grown now so we enjoyed watching all the children have fun, and fun they had.
Children do grow up too fast. You don't realize it when you're in the moment, but one day you wake up and they are grown, just like that.
Around noon, everyone headed to the water. Our lot was directly across from the swimming area and several kids spent most of the afternoon hanging out near the water's edge with plenty of space to distance.
We had some pretty good neighbors, always willing to spark up a friendly conversation. One family even gave us some of their wood for our campfire. It saved us a few dollars because we didn't have to buy it from the marina store.
We had friends come up from out of town, but we didn't get to see everyone. I guess there just wasn't enough time. While that was a letdown, the great times and memories we made washed that disappointment away very quickly.
The laid-back atmosphere, steaks on the grill and marshmallows over a campfire, the sounds of children playing, watching the sunset over the lake — those were just some memories made.
We've all had to slow down and stay at home as much as possible over the past few months and I understand everyone is ready to get back to life "as usual.” But would it really be that bad to have a leisurely summer, too?
Let's all try to take it slow.
Continue to follow social distancing but do enjoy the outdoors with your family.
It's called Alabama the Beautiful because it is just that — beautiful.
Carmen Rodgers is the bureau chief of The Tribune. She can be reached at carmen.rodgers@tallasseetribune.com
