Sarah in a Hammock

           In my very first blog post, I mentioned how much I like to read in my hammock.  I would say that this is one of my favorite summer activities.  This activity is great because it combines two of my favorite things: reading and being outside.

Reading Harry Potter and eating Fish Mix in my hammock

            I started enjoying hammocking by accident.  For Christmas a couple of years ago, one of my uncles gave me a very generous gift card to an outdoor sporting supply store called Earth’s Edge in Grand Haven.  Earth’s Edge is a store for hikers, campers, kayak enthusiasts, and basically anyone who enjoys being active outdoors.  I am not a frequent visitor of Earth’s Edge (the merchandise can be a bit expensive), but my uncle is a bit of a hippie, so I can understand why he got me a gift card to this particular store.  I did not use the gift card for months because I had no idea what I wanted to buy.  Then, on a very rare sunny day in March, my best friend Suzie wanted to show me the hammock her boyfriend had given her.  It was a compact, foldable nylon hammock that could be put up and taken down in less than a minute.  I was instantly intrigued.  After spending the morning lying in the hammock, I decided that I would use the gift card to buy one of my own.

Suzie being goofy and hanging upside-down in her hammock

            Earth’s Edge had a very nice selection of Grand Trunk hammocks.  I had done some research online, and many people seemed to recommend this brand or the brand ENO (which was the type of hammock Suzie had).  I picked out an awesome white two-person hammock with a bright, colorful Hawaiian flower pattern on it.  I also purchased some extra long tree straps so that I could hang it up around wider trees. 

I can honestly say that this was one of the best purchases I have ever made.  I use my hammock all the time, especially during the summer.  I have taken it with me on trips up north to my grandparents’ cottage and down south to Florida.  Everywhere I go, people always want to try it out.  In fact, after I bought my hammock, I had countless friends and relatives go out and purchase their own.  I even helped one of my professors at Grand Valley pick out a hammock for her grandson.  I think it is so worth the investment, especially for someone (like me) who enjoys reading outside.  They are so simple to put up and they are easy to take anywhere.

Hammock selfie!

Sadly, with winter approaching, it is almost time for me to put my hammock away until spring comes again.  It is too cold to read outside in a hammock during Michigan winters (believe me, I have tried!)  I can’t wait until the weather gets warm so I can enjoy my beloved hammock again!

Sarah at the Cottage

           It’s that time of year again where everyone seems to be getting busier and busier!  School assignments are becoming more difficult, the holidays are right around the corner, and it is getting harder to find the proper balance between school, work, and family & friends.  With all of the craziness, it is important to find time to relax, whether that means taking a walk, sitting in a bath, or binge-watching Netflix.  To me, all of these sound like wonderful options.  However, if I truly want to relax, I usually want to retreat to my favorite place in the entire world—my grandparents’ cottage.

My grandparents' cottage, view from the dock.

            People like to say that home is where the heart is.  Well, my heart rests in Ford Lake.  My grandparents’ cottage rests on Ford Lake in the town of Fountain, Michigan, which is a tiny community about halfway in between Ludington and Manistee.  I have been spending countless weekends and vacations at Ford Lake ever since I was a young child.  Many of my favorite childhood memories were created there.  It always brings me such joy to think of all of the fun times I had with my brother and cousin when we were children.  We spent the summers swimming, boating, kayaking, fishing, exploring, and enjoying s’mores around the bon fire.  Life always seemed to be so perfect whenever I was “up north”.

Me, my brother Sam, and my cousin Alex.  Fourth of July 2003.

            Ford Lake is a great place to immerse oneself in nature.  Because it lies in the middle of the Manistee National Forest, nature is everywhere.  Everything is surrounded by trees, and there is so much wildlife—it is completely normal to spot animals like birds, squirrels, possums, deer, and raccoons in the back yard on a daily basis.  Once, when I was about ten or eleven, we even heard news of a black bear and her cubs roaming around about a mile away!  This is part of the reason why I love the cottage so much.  It is nice to get away from suburban and city life and become connected to nature again.

The middle of Ford Lake

            Unfortunately, as I have gotten older, I have not been able to spend as much time at Ford Lake as I would like.  As a child, I would spend every other weekend there in the summer, in addition to two entire weeks during the month of July.  Now, with school and work responsibilities, this would be impossible.  This means that the time I spend there now is even more precious.  I have not been able to go up north since school started this year, but I hope I will get to soon.  Ford Lake in the fall is absolutely breathtaking—the crisp blue water surrounded by red and gold trees is always a sight fit for a postcard.  I think it would be good for me to de-stress and to immerse myself in the beauty of nature.  Maybe a trip to Ford Lake is just what I need to re-charge myself for the second half of this semester!