It was a chilly late August afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, aligned perfectly in the center of the light blue sky. The clouds were scattered above like cotton balls that were pulled apart. Our car and popup camper emerged into the slightly wooded area containing hundreds of other campers. My family and I knew that we would have a fun week ahead of us, and we were ready for this new experience.

“We’re here!” my dad said. With sore and stiff legs we clumsily got out of our car after being crammed in there for our three and a half hour journey from Clarkston to Ludington Michigan. This was a place that was unfamiliar. I really didn’t know what to think. I looked around and examined this new place that I was in and it was full of nature. Rays from the bright yellow sun above crept in through the tall, leafy green trees onto the combination of dirt and sand on the ground beneath my feet. The smell of campfire smoke clouded the campground and captivated me. I knew that this would be a place of adventure and excitement.

Now here came the most boring part of the trip, which actually required me to do something that was required. We needed to put up our camper for obvious reasons. My dad and I would be the ones to do this. So I grasped the four cold metal clamps on the corner and pulled. The camper sort of jolted to life. My dad pushed up on the switch and it began to whine. The roof which started directly in front of my face, now was two times my height, and the blue and cream colored vinyl was spewing out of the frame and now getting taller and more aligned with how it was supposed to be. The fact that all of that could be towed and such a small trailer became such a massive place to live in, was incredible to me as a ten year old. We finished up the rest of the set up and it took what felt like forever, but the deed was done, and thats all that mattered.

But I just couldn’t ignore the fact that I still had not looked around at what there was to see. It was time to get out there and do something. “Hey Kevin, want to go check things out with me?”

“Sure!,” my brother replied with excitement. My family overheard that small line of conversation and immediately stopped what they were doing. My mom, dad, and two brothers all started to wander up the dune that was immediately behind our campsite. The sand was hot from the sun that was beating down on it. What was the most interesting is that when your feet slid through it, it would make a really odd squeaking sound. While our family was marching up the dune, the sound of the waves of Lake Michigan crashing on the shore were growing louder and louder with each step. We took the final few steps to the top and there it was. The view was breathtaking. I felt amazed looking at the sight. You could see miles and miles of the beach stretching as far as the eye could see. The sand was a very light tan color, nearly white. The water was calm that day and the waves were hardly rolling into the shore. The way the sun glimmered off of the surface of the neverending blanket of water also proved how still the water was, since it looked like glass. The whole landscape was breathtaking and that sight never gets old.

The next morning my dad and I woke up early, pulled out a griddle, and started making breakfast. We tossed some eggs and bacon on the extremely hot surface and they sizzled while we mixed all the ingredients for the pancake batter in a bowl. The wonderful smell of the bacon and eggs and sizzling sound reminded me of when my dad and I make breakfast at home. It was something that we hadn’t done in a while, and just because of that, I enjoyed it even more. I started pouring exact measurements of pancake batter onto the griddle and it began to bubble. My dad would make the bacon and eggs, and I would flip the pancakes. With perfect timing, we finished making the delicious breakfast. There was a plate of mouthwatering bacon, scrambled eggs, and a tower of fluffy pancakes. We ate all the food and finished our first breakfast while we were camping, which went really smoothly.

We were at the beach the whole day. The waves were absolutely massive, especially for Lake Michigan. We were told that they were “bigger than most were in recent years.” My brother, dad, and I all walked out into the water, which was surprisingly comfortable for seventy degrees. The first thing I immediately noticed was how strong the currents were underwater. It felt like the lake was trying to consume me. Even though I thought that the current was a bit strong, and maybe dangerous, we still headed out there together and jumped in the waves which were tall enough to go over our heads. It was so much fun, and quickly became one of my favorite things to do during that camping trip. I’m really happy that we decided to take the risk because the payoff was well worth it. Although they were fun, the waves made me feel powerless in comparison. It reminded me of the other time water seemed so powerful which was at Niagara Falls, when we went on a boat on the water only some feet away from the waterfall. We would swim in the water, jump in the waves, and play on the beach for hours that day, and had a ton of fun. That whole day opened my eyes to how important it is to spend time with family, and to share experiences with them.

That night it the wind had calmed, it was comfortable enough to where you could be outside without a jacket, especially near the first campfire that we made up north. We put together a basic stack of firewood and added the oily fire starter to the middle. I took the lighter and lit the fire starter. A really weak flame started burning on its own on the fire starter, until it began to spread to the wood. Not long after did the fire spread and engulf that stack of wood into a beacon of bright orange, yellow, and hints of blue light in the night. It popped and crackled violently, sparks flying away from the source. We sat around the warmth of the campfire together as a family, and enjoyed the night. We talked around the fire, laughed as my younger brother made a clown out of himself as he usually does, and cooked hot dogs and s’mores. It was a great night and it brought me to realize again that spending time with family is really worthwhile and enjoyable.

Late that night while the black in the sky was at its blackest, I looked up into the sky and saw something that was breathtaking. The moon was full and glistened in the sky but what lied beyond that was what astonished me the most. There were stars as far as the eye could see-literally billions upon billions of them up there. All I could think to myself was “Wow.” Another thing that I realized that night was that when I took a step back from everything and just took in everything around me, was how I was able to appreciate how all the little things come together and create a wonderful experience. Between the laughter, the stars, the fire, it created a great and enjoyable experience which I will never forget.

Two days before we would have to go back home, while we were at the beach, we noticed a hazy sky over the lake. Even though the sun was still beating down from the sky, I knew that this was going to be a terrible thing for me, a thunderstorm. Yes, I really didn’t like thunderstorms when I was ten. This was not going to be any sort of ordinary thunderstorm for me either, since we were going to basically be outside in it, only separated from the elements by cloth and a roof. Immediately, I reacted and got a little bit scared over it.

A little while later sure enough, the sky was darkening, the wind picked up, and I could hear thunder bellowing in the distance. I knew that I would have to face my fears. First came just a little trickle of rain which didn’t last very long. The wind began to pick up, and the walls of our pop up camper began to whip around in the wind. That was followed by the entire thing blowing and shaking in the wind. Then there came the lightning which of course was followed by a deafening thunder, which shook the ground. I was thoroughly terrified in that moment. It was raining so hard that I couldn’t see very far outside through the window. I would just have to deal with it, and wait for the storm to pass. Even though I tried to sleep through it, I couldn’t fall asleep either. So for the next half hour, I sat scared. As the time went on though, it became more normal, and I became less worried as the time flew by. Finally to my relief the time between the flashes of lightning and the thunder that followed increased, which as I learned when I was younger, meant that the storm was moving away. The rain fell to a light drizzle, but the wind barely slowed, and would remain for the last two days that we would be there. After being in the storm and having nothing bad happen at all, I really wasn’t as afraid of them as much anymore.
Two days later, we had sadly had to leave. We had a great week of family bonding time, adventure, and new experiences. The wind was still howling from the storm that I was no longer afraid of. I can see how this vacation has changed how I am in the present. My favorite family vacation every year is to go camping. It’s partly because I get to take a break being stressed out and get to relax, and partially because I get to go see and do new things. I might even conquer some of my long lasting fears. But most importantly, I get to spend time with my family, which we don’t do often. Family is really important to me, and I think camping for the last five years has only made that more apparent.