The last few days of summer before school starts up again are the best days. For me, this day trip was a normal occurrence. I had never taken my friends out on my family boat, the Final Final, and I could easily read the excitement on their tanned faces.

As we left the Milwaukee Yacht Club marina and traveled outside the break wall, the waves crashed into our boat making the trip to Whitefish Bay slightly chaotic. My parents calmly relaxed on the boat while four of my friends and I shuffled up the stairs to lay out on the bow. The waves were nothing near wild, but for Kylee, the waviness was frightening. She gripped the metal railing as the front of the boat jumped in and out of the brisk water, splashing into our warm faces. 

The trip to Whitefish Bay was a short 15 minutes. Reaching our destination, my dad directed me to drop the anchor from the front of the bow with the push of a button. The sprays of sunscreen blanketed the air- scents that hinted of bananas and a tropical beach. My dad pulled out the four enormous floaties that we have for the water: a flamingo, pineapple, donut, and a bomb pop. While the floaties filled with air, my friends and I paraded up the side of the boat once again to reach the bow. Looking below, we saw the seaweed waving back at us underneath the crystal clear water. With an overwhelming rush of nerves, Kylee and I stared at each other, waiting for the other to jump into the freezing cold water. 

“Jump already!” I heard shouting from behind us as Kylee and I had our feet up against the metal railing.

“3, 2, 1!” 

The shockingly cold lake water soothed our backs from the blazing sun. The water was so intensely cool, it felt as if icicles could hang from our fingertips. Urgently wanting to get out of the water, we rapidly kicked our feet and navigated ourselves towards the stern. The sun greeted us with a warm welcome once again after propelling ourselves onto the ladder and out of Lake Michigan. My mom kindly handed us two dry towels, tightly hugging them around our shivering bodies. 

As the sun was setting, it was our sign of letting us know it was time to head back in. Some of my favorite days and memories are spent on our boat on Lake Michigan. Although the final hours of the day were ending, the “final final” days of summer sun were still ahead of us.