I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend time on cottage life. The first cottage was a “starter, fixer-upper” located at 492 Bay Road. It was on the edge of Lilly Bay sheltered from cool breezes. The beach had some sandy parts but weeds were everywhere. We had a short pier and a row boat. Looking straight out from our beach about 100 yards there was a sandbar just a foot or two below the surface of the water. There were many occasions when a speed boat would come around the island at full speed not knowing about the sand bar. Their engine would go from a throaty roar to putt, putt, putt and then nothing. To my knowledge, the sandbar was never marked to alert boaters but it was a constant source of entertainment.
I know I immediately had a new well system installed so we had good drinking water. I didn’t plan that when we bought the cottage.
The next spring we had a sliding door system installed to open up the cottage to the patio. Then it was patio furniture and later we had the kitchen remodeled to be “functional”. I hadn’t planned that when we bought the cottage.
Along the way, Grandpa George built the 10 foot square raft. That was special. I hadn’t planned on installing a raft.
Did I mention we bought a little red boat. Chris and I went to Sheboygan Falls answering an ad for a family speed boat. It was fiberglas with a 65 horsepower Mercury engine. We didn’t know it but the transom holding the engine had been damaged and was a weak part of the boat. We bought the boat, motor and trailer for $1400. I hadn’t planned that either when I bought the cottage.
After a couple of years, it was obvious that our little red boat was an embarrassment to lake royality and one summer afternoon I got a call from Chris and your Mom. They were looking at a gold flecked Glasstron 15 foot ski-boat at a local Sheboygan dealer and for $2700 and trade, we could step up in quality. I can’t believe Chris conned your Mom into looking at boats and I don’t believe that I would leave work to investigate. Mom looked, I paid and Chris got every kids dream. I must have been temporarily insane. I didn’t plan this when we bought the cottage.
Did I mention the gas for the boat. Plastic containers held 6 gallons of gas and I bought extra containers to make sure that everytime I went to the lake I had 10-12 gallons for my pleasure. You kids used most of it. But I kept buying more. Talk about stupid!I didn’t plan that when I bought the cottage.
The cottage tweeked everybody’s fantasy. It represent a place to take friends and proved to be a base for swimming, water skiing, wake jumping, and sunburn. It was a constant source of new experiences. Our dog Pepsi almost drown because she was too stupid to swim back to our shore. Kelly had to save her. Our little red boat sunk during a rain storm and Grandpa George loaned me a pump to get it raised out of the water. Kelly would bicylce from Sheboygan to the cottage to get in shape for the coming Marching Band season at UW. And parties. Some I encouraged. Some I didn’t know about. I do know that someone walked through my sliding screen door to the patio and threw beer cans on the neighbor’s roof for everyone to see.
After all these experiences and many unplanned expenditures, you’d think I’d learned my lesson. But no! We bought another cottage and for a while owned two places on Crystal lake. Imagine that. We eventually moved up to the east side. I hadn’t planned that when I bought the first cottage.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. If you think about it Grasshoppers, you all took some form of emotional ownership of the cottage and had a role in making it family fun. Good memories still linger.
I’ll continue the journey next time! Help me!
Love,
Dad