Publish Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Three@Sea docked on my grandparent's dock
Every summer since I was born, my family and I have taken a road trip from Colorado to Harsens Island, Michigan—a small delta island near Detroit where my dad grew up. This island is really special to me, not only because it hold lots of memories, but because it’s a fun summer tradition, and it’s one place that never changes.
My grandma lives right on the North Channel—a small channel running in the St. Clair River to Lake St. Clair. The water on the river is… lets say… chilly. Whenever I go, it reaches a high of about 71 degrees, but because we were early this year, it was a high of 68 degrees, and 61 for most of the trip! Right outside side of grandma and grandpa’s house is a spacious lawn, a long dock, and then the rest of the North Channel. The only way to get to the island is by a small car ferry which runs from the mainland town of Algonac to the island. Not many people live on Harsens Island, so bridges and tunnels really aren’t necessary. Every year we have gone, we’ve stayed in my grandma’s house… this year was different.
This year, we brought along our home, Three@Sea, and docked her right outside of grandma and grandpa’s
Dilly put her feet on dry land for the first time in ten months!
house. Their dock, at sixteen feet long, was just a bit short for our 43-foot boat, but we tied her so she hung off of both ends. Coming up to the dock from our passage from Detroit was fantastic. There is a certain smell in the air that says “Harsens Island”. It’s hard to describe, but it’s fresh, watery, and green.
Because there are so many things I want to write in this blog, I’ll do a top-3 list of things I love about Harsens Island.
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Grandpa, mom, and I lunge into the river!
Being With My Grandparents and Friends: My grandparents, Nancy and John, make the island. My grandma, energetic, fun-loving, and great to be around, volunteers at the island library, swims, cooks, exercises, plays games, reads, plays golf, chats with her many friends and visitors, and yet somehow is always as cool as a cucumber and open for hugs. My grandpa, easy-going, smart, and fun, loves crossword puzzles, movies, reading out on the deck, and playing golf. Both of them are such fun to be with on the island. They also have tons and tons of friends who circulate in and out daily, and are great fun.
- Walks to San Souci: The little town on the island (gift shop, library, fire station, bar, and hardware store—that’s it) is about three miles from my grandparents home, so walking or bike-riding there is great fun. We stroll there, and then get candy at the gift shop. Walking back is always fun because you get to munch on bags of Swedish Fish, Zotz, sour watermelons, and so forth.
- Swimming: No matter how cold, at some point on the island, we will get in the water. Because it’s fresh water, showering outdoors in the river is also an option, and in fact, a tradition! For her recent birthday, my mom got a new glass-bottom kayak, so we were able to paddle around the lake and swim off of it!
Mom and I in the new kayak
McKenna and I on the ferry dock
This year, my best friend McKenna came out to the island for a week. We had the best time! Between falling off of the kayak, walking to San Souci, writing random and funny letters to my grandma and grandpa, building forts, and creating dances, we found time to laugh over everything, and suck the marrow out of our island time.
Me in the river!