The First Week of Reentry at the Lake
Ann Roggenbuck
It all starts over the winter in Arizona when I move various household items deemed necessary at the lake into a box in the garage. Paul spends the winter accumulating deeply discounted cases of wine to be consumed throughout the summer. A month before it’s time to leave I start purchasing items needed for the road trip. Then several weeks before its time to hit the road I start assembling transportable items assorted by room; first it’s the clothes closet, then the bathroom, moving on to the craft room and finally the kitchen pantry. The week prior everything is organized and packed, by room, into plastic crates and moved to the garage where it awaits loading into the pickup truck which is Paul’s contribution to the process. We have learned its best for him to do this in isolation to avoid marital strife. He does a great job of packing and securing all items and somehow the truck always ends up with just enough room at the back for our suitcases. Finally, the cooler is filled with ice and drinks and away we go.
This spring, Paul finished his last semester of teaching and had just enough time, before his summer program abroad commenced, to catch a plane to Amsterdam. Thus, the truck needed a backup driver which is where my longtime historical girlfriend, Sue, comes into the picture. Months prior, when Paul was bemoaning the state of his neck after last fall’s road trip back to Arizona, Sue quickly volunteered to drive the truck to the lake for him. You might ask, where do I come into this picture? Well, usually as a passenger as I don’t like driving the truck and I usually fly both directions as I am way too impatient to endure cross country road trips. Once my friend volunteered to drive she wanted company, thus, I had to reconsider and it would give us time to chat and possibly have some real fun. In addition, she could spend some quality time at the lake house, a dream she had been hearing about, supporting and planning along with me for decades. I hate to disappoint but the three day road trip was, shall I say, uneventful. We did lose some time navigating the Topeka Turnpike but other than that it was Flagstaff to Amarillo (9 hours) the first day, Amarillo to Topeka (8 hours) the second day and Big Stone Lake (7 hours) the final day. She was exhausted from work and I had been battling a cold, so we just drove.
Finally, having just missed ice out, we arrived at Hwy 109 and were happy to see the glistening blue lake below. After encountering several snowy hillsides traveling north on I29 I was not surprised when there was nary a sign of spring at the lake. I seldom arrive so early and, with a late spring, it’s been a bit bleak out here. With help from several neighboring teenage boys, we set about unpacking and setting up the house for the summer season. That didn’t take more than a day or two thanks to a quick response from area water, plumbing and electric pros who helped stop an out of control water meter, fix a clogged water softener and tend to a garage door glitch that seems to have self-corrected. The climate and mood changed quickly once we made our first and subsequent visits to Lou’s Greenhouse. Boy does he have the inventory this early in the season. With my porch pots planted and new bags of soil warning in my raised beds, I am ready for the real fun to commence. Because we are going to be away part of the summer, I might try growing annual flowers in my raised beds this year instead of vegetables which need regular watering and early harvesting. I am looking forward to helping my neighbor plant her garden this year which is supposed to be a joint effort. Not sure how she will feel about the partnership after I skip out on early weeding due to our summer travel schedule. Now it’s on to christening the kayaks; I hope we don’t paddle into any remaining chucks of ice! 2018