After a hard school year and counting the days until my friend Kristen and I went on vacation, July 4 came and we were finally on our way up north. Long sun set mornings, a beautiful warm beach, fishing, and driving around "out-back" to view animals, were only a few of the activities awaiting us.

This year camping would be different because for the very first time, my parents were allowing Kristen and I to go on vacation without "parents." We would be staying with my dad's bestfriend Mr.Webb and his wife Marion, who he likes to call "Dad". With all of us being so excited, we had already planned our whole trip and we were not even on the road yet. The only thing we were missing was another two weeks vacation.

Four and a half-hours later, we had finally arrived to our "paradise". Well you see, I would go ahead and go on with exactly what happened saying as how we unpacked and so on, but I’ll just save the five hour story, and just give you the "highlights" of our vacation… Kristen and I had our first adventure Wednesday morning when Mr.Webb informed us that he would be teaching us how to flyfish! Yes, you read that right, I said Flyfish. Now knowing me I am not quite the most "coordinated" person, but I have always wanted to learn how to flyfish, and we could hardly wait. We got to the beach and helped Pops (Mr.Webb) unpack, and took a seat at the picnic table. There was only one other man who signed up so Kristen and I looked threw all the equipment wondering what all these "bug" looking things were. The man finally arrived and Pops went on with his teaching. I couldn’t believe how much work went into making one of those flies; he had so many really cool tools, it was awesome. The next part would be the best because it was casting time! Kristen and I took all the things Pop had just taught us, and gave it a whirl, and as a matter of fact, we weren’t too bad at all. I was actually somewhat surprised that I did not cast into the flagpole, or hooked my cowboy hat, so I guess that is a good thing. We were going a little too fast because the fishing poles kept making a "CRACK" noise, but Pops told us we could advance to the lake and try to catch something. I tried casting it, but every time I did it, I scared all the minnows, so Pops taught us another way to cast like if you’re fishing in a stream where there’s a lot of trees and stuff there would be a different technique. This way looked a lot easier, so I tried it and ended up hooking my hat. That day at the beach was so much fun, actually Kristen, Pops, my dad, and I are planning a big fishing trip, and we’re going to test out our new and improved fly-fishing skills.

Thursday would be shopping day. Mrs. Wood (Mrs. Marion), Pops, Kristen, and I would be off the Mackinaw City. I have not been there since I was a little kid, so I guess this would be my first "official" trip there. Driving to Macinaw was one of the best parts. The scenery was so beautiful, and the bridge was amazing, hard to believe it was man made. So we get to Mackinaw City and Mrs. Marion tells us to meet them in the food area at 3:30, and the time was 11:30. Four hours of shopping! Kristen and I were ready to go… two and a half-hours later, and fifty dollars short, we were wore out. We got to our meeting spot early and just sat there until Pops and Mrs. Marion were ready. Kristen and I both bought a purse, matching bracelets, and me, being obsessed with John Deere, bought salt and pepper shakers and we also got Vacation tee shirts made. It was a really fun day, we went and got sub-way and headed to a park to have a picnic. After getting home, I asked Pops if he wouldn’t mind taking a ride out-back. For all of you that don’t know, we actually have a different language where we go camping, and everyone knows what we’re talking about when we say "driving around out-back" and that is when we drive around down the roads and look for animals. It’s not surprising for us if we see about fifty deer, a few elk, raccoon, etc. in one night.

Friday was just a relaxing day, we rode around on our bikes for awhile, played basketball, and lay out in the sun at the beach. During our trip so far, we didn’t really get to meet any kids because most of them went home during the week, but since it was a new weekend there were a lot of kids also at the beach and we introduced ourselves, while we waited for Pops to come get us for dinner. Kristen and I treated the Woods to dinner that night for allowing us to stay with them for a whole week. After dinner, we were dropped off at the beach where we would be just hanging out with the new kids we met, and made a bon-fire. We all had a curfew, which was eleven o’clock, so Pops came and picked us up and we called it a night.

Saturday was pretty much identical to Friday and it was nice because Sunday we would be packing up our stuff and leaving that night. We were going to be sad, leaving the Woods, but we would still see them during the week because we were only going to be staying a few minutes away in a campground. In addition, Pops and my dad are pretty much inseparable, so whenever my dad comes to visit, Mr. Webb is at his side. Wednesday we (my mom, Dad, Kristen, and other friend Jenn) decided we would take a trip to Mackinaw City (yet again for me and Kristen) so my mom could look around. It was a really hot day, but it was okay since we weren’t there too long. After that, we drove to the Church In the Woods. Walking down to where it was stationed I would never imagine that it was really that big. The cross was very beautiful, when I saw it; I got a feeling that I cannot really describe. We were really happy that we got a chance to see it. That night after we got back it was dinner time, and we had invited Mr. and Mrs. Webb to join us for a BBQ. It was a really nice dinner, and we all had a lot of fun telling stories of what we did during the week.

A week later, Wednesday was the day we were not looking forward too. It was time to leave, the night before we said goodbye to all of the new friends we made, and they were all upset to see us go. Kristen and I had so much fun; this summer was really something I will remember the rest of my life. This summer up north was the very first time I had been there without hunting, or scouting, and it was very fun. I mean I absolutely love hunting, but to be up there with my best friend, staying with great people, was so much fun, and I would love every summer to be like this. There was never a time when I was not laughing, smiling, or having fun. The trip really brought Kristen and I closer together, although we were already the best of friends. Now you may be asking yourself what this article had at all to do with hunting, but while hunting time is over you can still enjoy the aspects of the outdoors. Walking or driving around in the woods could still be considered scouting. It’s all a way of life if you really enjoy being in the outdoors.