Peaches en Regalia

*Original Post was from 8/13*
I'm deciding to write about my week of vacation in installments at the end of my days when I soak it all up. We rented a house by a big lake. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a fire pit, and 2 separate personal docks.
8/5
Getting here was a relief. It took a bunch of traveling and arduous driving to make it, but it was worth it. The house is beautiful. We chose rooms, unpacked, then my dad got the fishing poles out and ready. There are so many fish in this lake. It seems like you can never have your bait in the water more than 30secs without a nibble or a bite. My first catch was a small rainbow sunfish. Obviously not a keeper, but his colors were gorgeous. We all lost track of time fishing and reeling in many many many pieces of seaweed (or rather lakeweed?). We lingered outside a while after concluding the fishing session. My dad and I both looked up at the night sky and saw a shooting star streak across the sky, and of course I made a wish. At the end of the day, I went to my room and got comfy. I opened my window and heard the smooth sound of gentle waves. I chose this room because it faces the water and the view from bed is pretty nice. I can even hear the bugs outside. They aren't being drowned out by loud music or fast cars or sirens or buses or railroads. It's nature's soundtrack.
8/6
Today was again a very lazy day. My brother and I decided to swim in the lake. We each grabbed a couple pool noodles and jumped in. It was a little chilly, but not awful. My dad joined us eventually and we just floated and swam around for about an hour enjoying the weather and waves from the boats zooming by. We had a night in for dinner with burgers, fries, and fresh corn. Then for dessert, we started a little bonfire next to the house and made s'mores. After that, we all just chilled. I'm in bed right now writing this and it's so nice. There's a nice lake breeze coming through my window and I can hear the waves softly hitting the shore. The only engine I hear is from the harbor master going the length of the lake to make sure no one is in the water. Besides that, it's silence with a hint of nature.
8/7
It really is gorgeous out here. Every morning we wake up and eat breakfast at the bar in the kitchen and look out at the water. You can see boats going by and water skiers speeding past as the sun is reflected in the water. Today we traveled north to see a Museum of Fun. I thought it was lame but when we actually went inside it was really cool. I found myself spending more time with my dad talking and exploring together. I don't get a lot of time with him in our normal lives, so these trips centered around our family are great. I've always been a daddy's girl and I doubt he'll ever see me as anything other than that. We played old school arcade games and won some tickets. I traded some in for a bracelet. It's a cheap neon yellow pull string bracelet, but I love it. My dad got it on for me and I want to always remember this trip by looking at that stupid little bracelet that's currently still on my wrist. We got home and fished for a while before going in. I can't be at this house and go a full day without fishing at least once. Now I'm in bed early because we pick up the boat tomorrow morning. This vacation has done me wonders already, and it's only a couple days in. I'm a simple girl that doesn't need much to make me happy. Give me a fishing pole with some bait and my family and nature and I'm happy. Being in a quiet place like this helps my anxiety and depression. Even Josh sees a difference just by the way I'm texting. All of my worries and anxieties have faded greatly. I don't have to worry about school starting soon or shit going down at work or getting books for my classes or doing chores. I fish, eat, sleep, go on little adventures, then fish again. When I'm older and have the means, I would love a lake house. Somewhere familiar I could retreat to when life gets a little overwhelming. Hopefully one day I'll be able to meet that goal.
8/9
I never want this to end. I sleep well all night, wake up to breakfast downstairs, then start a day of fun. We picked up the boat yesterday morning and my dad and I were going to drive the boat back to the house. We made it maybe 10 minutes and it overheated. The smoke was so thick and disgusting we could barely breathe. My dad opened up the engine hatch to let it cool. We called the marina and they rescued us (after waiting 45 minutes), and gave us a new boat. Turns out the water pump wasn't installed correctly after rebuilding the engine, so it had no way to cool off. We used the new boat to fish for the rest of the day, and just chilled. Today my dad and I took the boat to a marina across the lake and picked up an inner tube to drag behind the boat and a pair of water skiis. It's funny to see the boat boys on the dock watch me as I dock and tie up the boat. Most people wouldn't expect a girl to love fishing or be able to pilot a boat or build and start a campfire with just wood and a match or be able to navigate by the stars. But thanks to my dad who was a former Boy Scout, I've learned my share of skills and nature appreciation. I'm thankful for the life I've been given. Having time away from my usual monotonous life helps me refocus. My life hasn't been easy, but I'm still standing. I have a variety of skills that a lot of people don't have. I love stepping away from my normal life and being able to try and do new things. I attempted to water skii twice today and it didn't go very well. The first time I flopped over before I could pull myself up, and the second time I lost a skii and face planted into the water. I'm determined to go back tomorrow and at least get up this time. My dad told me that once you're up, the rest is cake. Overall, this vacation has been amazing. We still have a few more days here and I can't wait to take advantage of it all. Whether it's fishing or playing with the water toys or laying out in the sun doing nothing. And even times like right now when I'm writing this. I'm laying in bed with my window wide open looking out onto the water and listening to the waves. If I close my eyes, I can feel myself rocking as if I were still on the boat. Each day here has surpassed my expectations and I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow. My legs are a bit bruised and banged up and I took a fish hook to the finger today, but that all adds to the experience. And for those of you who don't know what a fish hook impaling you feels like, it hurts like a bitch.
8/10
I actually got up at a decent hour today. I didn't sleep in as late because I want to take advantage of the time we have left. My brother and I decided to go tubing again on the back of our boat. It was insanely fun, and more difficult than you would think. I took major air on multiple occasions and ended up hurting my elbow. We went back to our dock, I took some Aleve, and we headed out to water skii because mama didn't raise no cry baby. After 3 tries, I finally got up. Not all the way, but still up. I made it up twice but didn't last long at all before wiping out. We decided to rent the toys for another day to continue the fun tomorrow. Tomorrow we need to return both the toys and the boat, so I plan on taking full advantage. My parents and I went out to eat without my brother and it was a nice change in pace. After getting back, I decided to go for a sunset kayak up and down the lake. I paused on multiple occasions because it was breathtaking. In a kayak, you're very close to the water so watching the sunset was spectacular. I had to get through a couple wakes so I really learned how to maintain my center of gravity. I did a lot today and I'm honestly exhausted, but I can sleep when I'm home. I'd rather wake up and enjoy the day instead of wasting it sleeping.

8/11

We had to return the boat and water toys today. My dad and I loaded up the boat with the skiis and tube and were going to bring them back to the marina across the lake first, then bring the boat back to another marina we rented from. We untied the boat, got in, and then my dad realized he didn't have the boat key. Panic set in as we were (not so slowly) drifting towards a rocky beach-like area by the side of the house. To keep us from beaching and ruining the boat, I took my flip flops off and hopped into the cool water. I had on a pair of sweats (it was a little breezy) and a t-shirt instead of my bikini because I wasn't anticipating getting wet. I had to manually push the boat back out towards the water, run to the dock, and grab the line my dad threw at me to tie the boat before he drifted out. We got the boat docked again and I yelled at my dad for not making sure he had the key before undocking. I was completely soaked so I changed my clothes before heading out again. We set out one more time to return the water toys across the lake. Once that was done, he and I left on our last journey on the boat. I piloted most of the way, but the boat started running out of gas. I cut the engine and googled where the closest fuel station was, but the signal in the middle of a lake isn't always reliable. My dad started it back up to see if we could make it the remaining 8 miles to the marina, but we couldn't. The gas gauge said we still had about 1/8 of a tank left (which would be sufficient to make it to the marina), but it just wouldn't start up again. We had to call for yet another rescue because we were aimlessly floating in the middle of the lake with no gas. Help arrived and assured us it wasn't our fault. Apparently the woman who had the boat before us had the same problem with the gas gauge, and it isn't accurate. That made us feel a little better about getting stranded for a second time. He gave us a few gallons to ensure we could make it back to the marina, and we did. After all was settled, we met up with my mom and brother who picked us up. We got ice cream at a place that's apparently widely known upstate. It was very creamy and the chocolate dipped waffle cone I had was incredible. We all came back to the house after ice cream and now we're just hanging out. It feels good to enjoy one last evening together before our trek home.

8/13

I remember taking one last walk outside to the docks before we left and feeling sad. I would probably never be back there and see that view again. The house faced west, so it had a perfect view of the sunset over the lake. The last night we were there, the sky was the clearest I had ever seen. It was like standing in a planetarium. I could see a lot of different constellations and planets. It made my dad wish he would have brought his telescope. I took advantage of the last night at the house. I ate half of a weed brownie and enjoyed the stars. When everyone turned in for the night, I sat by the front window in my room that overlooked the lake. I listened to the waves and felt the soft breeze on my face. I flashed back to that moment as we pulled away from the house for the last time. The week we had there felt like a dream. It was perfect in every way imaginable.

After about a 3 hour drive, we stopped for the night in a little motel. We continued the rest of the way this morning and made it home. The only thing that kept me smiling when I walked in were my cats. They were happy to see me, and I missed them a lot while away. I suppose it's nice sleeping in my own bed with my cats, but I'll miss the soft waves that lulled me to sleep. It sucks to be back to reality, but I leave again in a few days to join Josh on another vacation. I miss him, and it'll be nice to be reunited on a vacation together.