As I watch the ducks glide across the lake while the heat of the sun beats on my shoulders, I realize I am in paradise. People should take a lake trip with a best friend at least once in their lives. There is never a dull moment when a person is with a friend at a fun and exciting place such as a lake. The early mornings, fresh air, and late nights contribute to a “never-ending” feeling while on the trip.

After two hours, which felt like ten, of driving with loud music and pulling a boat behind the truck, we finally arrived at the lake. The small cabin of the truck did not allow for much comfort on the long trip. Once we arrived at the lake, we had to unload the boat, and I had to drive the truck back to the lake house. My friend took off in the boat to reach the house’s docks, and I had to drive back in an unfamiliar area. On my way back, I worried about making a wrong turn and ending up lost. I thought to myself, ‘If I get lost, I’ll have to call to ask for directions, and that will be embarrassing.’ I successfully made my way back to the house. After managing my way back, we had to unpack everything. Since we had sore legs and backs from the long drive up, unloading took forever. Although the first day was hectic, the rest of the trip was relaxing.

Every day we woke up at four or five in the morning, went out on the freezing water in a small johnboat, and fished. Sitting on the silent glass-like lake, we fished for hours each day. Over the week we stayed at the lake house, we caught over eighty fish. My friend’s dad taught me how to clean a fish while we were there, which takes a strong stomach. With two bowls of water, we set up outside to prepare to filet the fish. My friend and his dad cut the chunk of meat from the fish, while I cut the rest of the filet from the skin. The fish smell like rotten road kill, and the smell buries itself into the cleaner’s hand.

Unfortunately, the smell stayed in my hands even after multiple attempts to wash it out. The two parts of cleaning a fish include separating the meat from the spine and fileting. Separating the fish proves to be more difficult than fileting. Although the fish smelled horribly and were super slimy, cleaning fish turned out to be pretty easy.

Once we returned from fishing, we took the big boat out and went tubing. Tubing on an empty lake offers an exciting experience because we don’t have to worry about other boats. The wind and momentum of each turn created an adrenaline rush. The intensity of my body flipping several times in the air and then slamming into the water was exciting. When we did not tube, we knee boarded. Knee boarding proved to be much more of a challenge than tubing. The waves throw off our balance, and it takes upper body strength to keep oneself from going under. The wind rushing across my body made me want to drop into the water because the cold air created goose bumps all over my body. My competitive spirit did not allow me to just give up, though, because I wanted to perform better than the others who knee boarded before me.

The lake offered many more activities other than just tubing, knee boarding, and fishing. The lake offered relaxation. The warm, fresh air made it easy to fall asleep outside in the deck chairs. The gentle waves rolling into the docks each morning created an enjoyable atmosphere to wake up each morning. I loathed returning to the loud busy streets of Defiance after staying at such a calm place.