High School Friends on a Weekend Idyll in Canada

The lake at sunrise

Want to see a motley crew? Well, when five high school friends and I spent a week in a cabin on an island in the middle of a lake in northern Ontario, things were bound to get pretty ugly. The scenery was gorgeous, though, as this view of the lake at sunrise shows.

The cabin was a cool little place to stay. There were several rooms, so with some creativity in sleeping arrangements, and with the liberal use of sleeping bags, we made do. Some of my better memories of the place were stargazing with a friend's telescope at night, pointing out Saturn, Jupiter and Mars to my friends, the daily games of frisbee golf, back and forth across the island, lounging in the lake on intertubes (with a separate intertube for the beer cooler, of course!), and simply spending time with my best friends.

The cabin on the lake

We did take time out from being lake bums a couple of times during the week -- once for dinner at the lodge across the lake, and another time for a trip into town to the Japanese steak house. Believe it or not, I am the short guy with hair on the right. Notice the oh-so-stylish pale blue pants and tinted glasses. Too cool. And hair! Contrast that with my picture on the home page for a laugh.

My high school friends all dressed up for our night in town

In case you're curious, from left to right, it is Todd Dove (whose Dad owned the island and cabin), Dan Stephens frowning in back (he didn't want his picture taken), Doug Lockhart posing in center, John Blum next to him (our Moms all LOVED John), Dave Hawkins behind John (the prototypical "Gentle Giant"), and of course, me. Yeesh! I can't believe I put this picture on my web page...

However, it was a week that will live in my memories forever. Sadly, I've lost touch with the gang. We still run into each other maybe once every couple years, but we don't all hang out like we used to. Hey, come to think of it, perhaps I'll see them all at our next High School Reunion...

The lake at sunset