As I sit by myself, my mind always travels to one place. A place where time stops. An area that I can be free. I go to that one place where I'm sitting on the deck relaxing to the sound of the river flowing and sipping from a cold drink. Birds chirping and bunnies running, a bumblebee buzzes by my face. As I take another sip, I hear paddles gliding through the water. I take a quick look up, seeing the tourists pass by on their kayaks. I wave hello to them. I take in a big breath of fresh East Jordan, Michigan air.


East Jordan, Michigan is the place I imagine myself being. Three years ago, my family was in search for a vacation destination. My older sister was getting married at the time. Her wedding was out of town and hotels rooms were out of the picture. With the situation we had, we thought we would make the best out of it. We decided to have one big family vacation. My Parents, sisters, brother in laws, and nieces all spent a week with each other in a cabin my family rented. We all had different ideas of what kind of cabin we wanted. Some of us wanted a swimming pool, while others wanted a mansion. We ended up with a cabin in the woods where the East Jordan River ran through the back yard. There was trees surrounding the house. There was no internet and only two channels on the television. It was a drastic change from our daily lives, but I fell in love.


Being on vacation is a time where touring is a must. We first adventured out to the East Jordan Fish Hatchery. When we got there, we went on a tour of the whole plantation. In one building there were deep swimming pool structures that had thousands of fish in them. We started off visiting the smaller fish and soon worked our way to the full grown fish. My favorite part, was feeding the adult fish individual baby fish. Later in the week, we went to Charlevoix. It is a neighboring town of East Jordan. We walked throughout the town, visiting small shops and admiring boats traveling to and from Lake Michigan. At the center of the town, was a draw bridge that allowed oversized boats to pass through. At first I was nervous to walk on it, but I soon got over my fears. As I made my way around the town, I felt comfort and joy. It felt like where I belonged.


Even though touring was enjoyable, spending most of my time at the cabin is something I cherished. Every night when it became dusk, my brother in law taught me how to build a proper campfire. By the end of the week I had mastered this task. We all sat around the bonfire sharing family memories and reminiscing on the good old days. I remember making s'mores with my sisters and teaching what I know to my niece. During the days I layed out in the hammock watching the tourists kayaking through the river. As I watched these people float by, I told myself that I was determined to complete this challenge.


The next day, I told my family that we should go kayaking. Borrowing the neighbors kayaks, we went up river a mile to the boat launch. After getting the hang of it for a few minutes, I had it down. My little sister and I stuck together for the whole trip. We got back to the cabin and got off. Thinking that it was a short trip, we wanted to go again. It wasn't until the next day, though, we got to go again. My sisters, two brother-in-laws, and myself headed up river and went. Believing I was a professional at kayaking, I crashed into a few down trees and bushes that hung off the edge of the bank. I finally got it together, and caught up to the rest of the crew. It wasn't long until I crashed into my brother-in-law's kayak. He didn't like that so much. Out of all things to do, he of course flipped my kayak over. I flew into the freezing cold water. I quickly jumped into my kayak and paddled after him. It wasn't long until he decided to do another cruel thing to me. I was riding up along the side of his kayak, relaxing. I started to drift away. I went to catch up to the rest of my family, to realize, HE STOLE MY PADDLE! How was I suppose to paddle? I was thinking to myself, I'm stuck in the middle of a river with no paddle. My instincts kicked in. I started using my arms. It actually worked, too! I finally caught up and got my paddle back. I could finally enjoy the rest of my kayaking trip.


As my mind wonders it travels to a special destination. A destination that I love to spend my time at. Picking a place on the map, I would pick East Jordan, Michigan every time. Comforting and enjoying, the cabin my family chooses to vacation at is a cabin that feels like home. Swinging on the hammock with my niece watching the river, I take in each minute of my time spent in East Jordan, embracing the beauty of nature.