Journeys›Photograph

A Fourth of July Weekend Tubing on the Lake, 2006

·#summer#boating#michigan#lake life#family#tubing
An adult and a child wearing life vests relax on a patriotic inflatable tube on a large body of water.

We spent the long Fourth of July weekend in 2006 out on the water. It was one of those perfect summer holidays, warm enough to spend the whole day in swimsuits and life vests.

The main event was taking turns on the big, patriotic-themed inflatable tube we towed behind the boat. I remember the kids going first, getting the feel for it as we slowly picked up speed. Soon they were bouncing across the wake, with the tree-lined shore in the distance.

It was just as nice being on the boat, watching everything. The sun was bright, and a couple of the women just sat back and enjoyed the ride and the breeze. From the back of the boat, you could watch the tubers and see the big white wake we were kicking up.

Later in the day, we got a bit more ambitious and piled three people onto the tube at once. The water seems a bit choppier in those photos, and the sky was getting more overcast. It made for a wilder ride, holding on tight through the spray. A classic Michigan summer day.

A person and a child in life vests sit on a star-spangled inflatable tube floating in calm water.Two people in yellow life vests tube on a blue lake with a treed shoreline and houses in the background.A woman and a child in yellow life vests on a blue and white tube on a lake with distant trees and houses.An adult and a child in life vests ride a star-patterned tube on a lake with a forested shoreline.Two people wearing sunglasses are sitting in a boat, with a vast expanse of water and a white wake behind them.Two people are on a moving boat, creating a wake behind them, with a water tube visible in the distance.Three people on an inflatable tube are being pulled through choppy water, with distant land visible on the horizon.Three people in life vests ride a star-patterned tube, creating a large wake on the water with distant land and trees.

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