lake day

Dad and I drove up to the lake cottage this morning to put the finishing
touches on closing it up for the winter.
Actually, Dad has been gradually closing the cottage for several weeks now,
so the only remaining tasks were to put the boat cover on the pontoon,
and take out the battery to bring home.
We drove a little under four hours to do about 50 minutes of work, but
I got a nap on the way home. I don't think Dad did.
He was driving.

Putting the boat cover on is always a challenge, because it's a tight fit,
and in some places difficult and awkward to reach with dry feet.
The last few snaps of the fading red canvas boat cover were hard to get
snapped from the dock, so I changed into shorts, and snapped the rest
from the knee deep water. October lake water is a bit chilly,
but the feeling in my toes is slowly returning.

After buttoning up the cottage, we stopped at the Oakdale Dam Inn for lunch.
As we walked in past the ice machine in the parking lot,
I looked up at the giant catfish sign, and thought of the classic picture
Kirk, Kristin, Mark, and I took atop the ice machine in 1996. Ironically,
Kristin and Mark were just dating, and my ex-wife snapped the picture.
Somebody knew something. I think it was Mark.

We had a nice lunch in a bar area full of off-season locals. I thought about
getting a burger, but decided to follow Dad's lead, and get their famous catfish,
which they claim is the best by a "Dam" sight. I thought about ordering the
Cheese Weasels for an appetizer, until I realized that they were the featured
Saturday night band listed on the "Specials" calendar.

I've never taken a picture with my new phone, so I made Dad stand in front
of the ice machine, and I took his picture. It was sunny with a glare, and I couldn't see
my phone screen well enough to see that I was too far away from his pose, but if you
look really close, you can sorta tell it's dad....and my thumb.
I tried to take a candid shot inside the Oakdale, but the lighting wasn't good.

I didn't get up to the lakes as much as I would have liked this summer, but
I am really glad I made the trip today with Dad.
It was a nice, productive day trip, and one I'll probably always remember.

Much like the picture we took on top of the ice machine in 1996.