Our Picnic At Summit Lake Park

I shielded my eight-year-old eyes from the brightness of the sun’s reflection on the window of the car in front of us. How Daddy could stand to have that in his face was something I didn’t understand. I guess that maybe his sunglasses cut the glare.

It was so hot in the van. There was no air conditioning which wasn’t unusual for cars in 1964. We had all the windows open, but the air was heavy we were sweating while just sleeping. The August Nebraska wind circulating between curtain clad windows did nothing to dispel the heat.

Before we left our home in Colorado, Daddy had taken the back seats out of the van and put down blankets and pillows for us to play on during the trip. My older brother Danny was now asleep on the blanket near the back doors with the twins in only diapers dozing near him. Sandy, who barely acknowledged my existence on a good day, was reading while leaning up against the window. Her long, dark hair was streaming out in the wind. There was no one for me to play with so I crept forward between the front seats and quietly watched the cars in front of us.

I glanced over to see that Momma had dozed off, too, leaving just me and Daddy to watch the winding highway before us. In two more days we’d be at Grandma and Grandpa’s cottage on the lake in Michigan for our annual summer vacation. I could hardly wait.

“You okay, kiddo?” asked Daddy quietly

“Um…yeah.” I replied.

“One more hour and we’ll be pulling off for a picnic at Summit Lake Park. Then you can get out, go for a short swim and have lunch. Okay?”

“Yea, that sounds good, Daddy.”

I sat watching the road and chatting with Daddy. It wasn’t often that Daddy and I got to talk, just the two of us and I loved the time together. After a little while, I crawled back.

“Hey Sandy, we’re almost to a lake and a park!” I said delivering what I hoped would be welcome news. Maybe she would be happy with me because of the news.

“Great….” She replied back without even glancing my way. I sat back, rebuffed again, and picked up my coloring book and a crayon.

Soon I heard Daddy softly call Momma’s name to waken her. She opened her eyes and raised her head.

“We’re almost to Summit Lake. You still want to pull off there for lunch?” he asked.

“Yes, I think that’s best. The kids can take a dip in the lake while I make the sandwiches.”

I sat up on my heels again watching for the sign. I was so sweaty and uncomfortable with my long hair sticking to my neck and face that the anticipation of getting to swim was almost more than I could handle. Soon I heard the clicking of Daddy’s turn signal and the van slowed. There was the sign. Daddy made the turn and started up the blacktop road. Ahead was a grove of large oak trees and as we pulled into the picnic area, you could see a number of tables and in-ground barbecue grills. Daddy pulled up to one and stopped. We had the park to ourselves. We all piled out.

“Kids…the lake is on the other side of that little hill. Get your suits on and we’ll go for a swim!” he said excitedly. It took everyone so long to get changed but Daddy wouldn’t let any of us go before we were all ready. Momma was over at the picnic table setting out food.

Finally, Daddy took the twins by the hands with the rest of us behind him and off toward the little hill we went. Everyone was laughing and happy again just knowing we were going to be able to get out of the heat and wash off all the sweat. As we approached the hill, Daddy turned.

“Okay, you kids run on ahead!” Sandy grabbed my arm and off we ran, Danny leading the way.

“Waahoooo!” shouted Danny excitedly as he neared the top of the hill. Sandy and I were right on his heels. Suddenly he just stopped. We nearly ran into the back of him.

“Go on!” Daddy shouted from behind us. “Go swim!”

Without turning, I yelled back to him, “We can’t!”

“Why not?” Then he stepped up to where he could see. “Oh, dear….” He said out loud. We all stood there dumbfounded for a minute or two. In front of us was a large dirt area with cracks all over it where the lake used to be.

“Daddy, what happened to the lake?” I finally asked. He hesitated for a moment.

“Well, Becky, it looks like Mr. Sunshine got thirsty!” He turned and headed back toward Momma. “Come on kids.” You could hear the disappointment in his voice.

As we all walked slowly back to the picnic area, Momma saw us coming and started toward us. “Why aren’t you swimming?” she asked. Disappointment bubbled over and I started to cry.

“Sunshine ate our lake!” I said between sobs, wiping my tears on my arm.

“The lake is dry, Honey,” said Daddy to her. With that, I ran to her and she wrapped her arms around me.

“Well,” she said finally, “Let’s wipe away those tears. In two days we will have all the water we need to swim! So let’s make the best of it. Becky, get the cups and plastic forks, Sandy, you get out the paper plates and Danny, get the drinks and napkins. We’re going have us a picnic! And afterward, I have a surprise for you!”

As soon as lunch was over and everything was cleaned up and put away in the van, Momma changed into her suit and marched us over to the water spigot where we each took our turn standing under it as Daddy pumped the icy cold water all over us. Everyone was laughing and teasing each other. It was so much fun that Sandy even joined in.

Finally we all dried off and climbed back into the van. Daddy started up the engine and off we went. I laid my head down on one of the pillows and just before I fell asleep I looked over at Sandy who actually smiled at me. It had been a good day after all.

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Tags:

family, lake, picnic, swimming, trip and vacation