Three years ago, we took our first family vacation to Lake Michigan. It was the fateful trip that launched my 1,000 Days of Haiku project. We missed last year due to the arrival of Veronica. This year, though, we were all back together.

We shared the week in the same house as last time. There’s something special about returning to the same vacation spot. I knew going into the week the layout, features, and what I wanted to enjoy.

We slept with the windows open almost every night. I went to bed looking at Lake Michigan in the evening twilight. I usually woke up to the first light of the day and the sound of waves crashing on the shore.

The weather was excellent, cool, and breezy. We had some passing rain showers, but just enough to encourage us to enjoy some local indoor spots. I had breakfast with Benedict, coffee with Felicity at a bookshop, and took Lucy on a shopping run. The best destination of the week was a new bakery in town.

We started the week with just the grandparents, followed soon thereafter by the aunts and uncles. Everyone made it together, even if it was only for a day. The kids spent hours floating on the lake with Grandpa and uncles, riding along on the kayaks and paddle boards.

A new find this year was a small creek just a couple of hundred yards from our beachfront. Benedict really enjoyed molding the sand to redirect the water.

Time passed at just the right speed, a relaxing pace. I was able to work extensively on my latest project. I blogged and recorded the entire week on my website. It’ll be a wonderful, enduring memory for me to come back to again and again.

My big fun for the week came in the form of my Small Unmanned Aerial System. I captured incredible footage of rolling waves, kayaks moving, kids walking on the beach, and kites flying. My most daring flights took me just inches above the lake’s surface, but I managed to recover the drone after every flight. All of this fun made for some great home movies. I’m ready to upgrade my drone, and to tie in drone footage with the incredible video that my iPhone can capture.

Our end of week activity was a sunset fire on the beach with s’mores. I managed to get the fire going, my first in at least five years. Some skills just don’t fade. It was a great capstone for us.

The vacation is over, but like last time, we’re counting down the days until we do it again.