The Lake: A Sensory Experience

It gets increasingly difficult to visit the lake for a two day weekend. I find myself imagining quitting my job and living up north until the weather turns cool. There is something so healing about being on or near the water. When things aren’t going right in your life, return to the lake for it’s healing properties. Every trip up there, I savor the individual senses. I breathe deeply, the pristine unpolluted air. I smell the unique lake air on a bright sunny day, or when the rain is coming. What can be better than smelling your dinner cooking on the grill after a day of running around and swimming in the lake? As well as basking in the scents of campfire as you wind down for the night, sharing your thoughts of the day.

Before we arrive at our place, our first glimpse of the lake is caught around a small curve and crossing over a dam bridge. Around sunset time is ideal. The waters will have calmed and the surface will be like glass. The sun will be lowering itself to the trees for a glorious display of colors. Each sunset is worth drinking in, and that’s just a quick glimpse from a car window. If we’re already settled in at the house, you will find us loaded on the Pontoon, puttering around the lake to maximize our sunset experience. Even the view from our western-facing porch is ideal. The sky turns pink and orangish tinted as we watch it drop behind the aptly-named Sunset Bay. 

The sounds of the lake are my sounds of serenity. Noise pollution doesn’t seem real until you remove yourself and experience the lack. The only noises competing are sounds of a summer thunderstorm, and more regularly the various insects and birds, and the beautiful tinklings of windchimes. If you’re close to the shoreline, perhaps the gentle sound of the small waves lapping the shore.

One of my favorite things at the lake is riding the pontoon out to the middle and joyously leaping into the water. First is the weightlessness of your temporary flight. Then feeling of the water enveloping your body,  and lastly the coolness giving you goosebumps. Diving down over and over again brings me back to that childlike giddiness. Once I’m tired of swimming, throwing myself onto a tube or the lily pad, is the next best option. Being rocked gently in the water, while simultaneously being warmed by the sun and cooled by the water is a luxurious feeling.

Lastly, the tastes of the lake are endless. Our family has brought about many wonderful traditions that I now associate with our time up north. For instance, we used to be able to pick out a super sugary cereal for our weekly vacations there. Mine would typically default to Cocoa Rice Krispies, but I’ve been known to dabble in Oreo-O’s and Rice Krispy cereal as well. As an adult now, I think more about drink choice as we’re cruising the lake. There is nothing more refreshing than a Vodka Tonic with lime. Every time I have one back at home, it brings me happy memories and gorgeous nights on the lake. 

I hope the picture I’ve painted helps illustrate why we’re drawn to lake life. There are so many redeeming things about our time spent there and we’re so grateful to have been raised with the important tradition of time well spent there. Lake Effect Co is a company founded on these same principles of understanding that life without lakes is no life at all. Don’t forget that we still have a discount code for 15% off using code THEREALTALL15  if you want to take advantage and snag any of their amazing new drops! We have been wearing our Chase More Sunsets tank tops and crop sweatshirts on repeat up north, as well as all of our other goodies.