Cooling-Off Reunion

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. The moose finds a little relief.

Some "mooses" have better luck:

Weekend Boating

Near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1959. Let's take the dinghy out to a swimming spot.

Touristy Reunion

Capri, May 1984. Don't let the temptation of swimming in the Blue Grotto lure you to the island.

Cooling Off

Colombia, September 1954. My Dad's friend Casey and his kayaking companion jump in. Casey wrote, "We're in the lake already."

Sunday Afternoon at the Beach

Union Pier, Michigan, August 1968. I enjoy a last summer weekend before the pre-school butterflies set in.

Summer Joy

Ontario, Canada, 1959. My Toronto Cousin enjoys the last weeks of summer.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Order

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. It's easy to keep track when they line up.

Grab a Book: Shoreline Edition

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1974. It's nice to read at the lakeshore.

Reward

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, July 1961. Dad gives me a lift after the swimming lesson. (I don't remember having had saddle shoes.)

Swimming Lesson

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, July 1961. That's our rental cottage in the background.

Wait for one hour after you eat.

Suburban Chicago, June 1974. My Best Friend and I know it's safest to wait before we go swimming.

Poolside

Suburban Chicago, May 1970. It's still too cold to swim.

It's too cold to go swimming.

When I was little, I thought every vacation spot should feature a place to swim. It wasn't summer unless I could take a dip. Most of our vacation destinations (with the exceptions of Cape Cod and perhaps Lake of Bays),* however, were not good places for swimming.

Of all the spots we visited, the one least suited for swimming was Glacier National Park. The shores are rocky, the water is icy, and the lakes are deep. My Dad nonetheless indulged my insistence on testing the Glacier-Park waters.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1966. My Dad and my Godmother's husband help me explore Lake MacDonald. My Godmother briefly tests the water, and she decides it's too cold.

*I don't count Union Pier as a "vacation destination." That was a one-day, or weekend, spot.

Lake-Tour Reunion

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. You'll get there more quickly if you walk to the dock.

Lunch al Fresco

Suburban Chicago, June 1974. My childhood Best Friend and I enjoy a meal poolside at the home of my Godmother.

Poolside

Suburban Chicago, June 1974. Mom visits with my Godmother at my Godmother's home. I'm probably in the swimming pool.

Pothole Problems

In Lithuania.

Holiday-Weekend Traffic

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, August 2013. Staying home is usually the best option.

This was an exciting day for a toddler.

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, July 1960. The vacation is almost over, and I enjoy the remaining water time.

Russian Lake

Near Penza, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Summer 1956. Natasha, a younger sister of my paternal Grandmother Tatjana, wrote "To my dear sister Tanjusha, in the summer."

Thanks (again) to my dear friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.