Part 2: Long Weekend at the Cottage

After a long day in Eagles Mere & at the winery, the whole family (14 of us) headed down to a house three of my Uncles bought years ago that's just down the street from the cottage.

My Uncles' house in Laporte

I loved all the Fiesta ware on display

A very competitive game of croquet was played where Todd came in 3rd despite playing one-handed due to a beer being in his other hand at all times and then we grilled out for dinner. Since it was the last night all 14 of us would be in Laporte, we ended the evening with a great backyard fireworks display set off by two of my Uncles.

Croquet mallet in one hand, beer in the other (Notice the incline/hill in the background, this is the last portion of the almost 1/2 mi hill I ran up on Friday morning) Not bad for a backyard fireworks display

Once we got back to the cottage, my Dad, Todd and I decided to make some s’mores and got a fire started in the fireplace at the cottage. They were delicious! It was another late night but well spent with family.

Todd was in charge of roasting the marshmellows Yum!

Sunday was another hot day in Laporte, perfect temperature for a 4th of July parade & a relaxing day at the lake. Todd & I did a quick circuit workout up by the basketball court & playground in town and then drove to Eagles Mere with Jeff to meet my Grandma and Dad for brunch at the Sweet Shop. Afterwards, we walked right outside and met the rest of my family to watch the Eagles Mere 4th of July Parade. This was a true small town parade complete with tractors and a kazoo band.

Tractor in the 4th of July Parade

A dog dressed up as a hot dog

Todd & I watching the parade

Part of my family....a bunch of aunts & uncles along with my Grandma, brother, and Dad

After the parade, we drove back to Laporte to get ready to head to Lake Mokoma. It was a great way to spend the holiday and end our trip at the cottage. Todd & I went down and later met up with some more of my family. While we were there, we actually ran into more of our extended family that owns part of the cottage with my Grandma & Great Uncle. In fact, he's somewhat famous! Charlie Moore is my Grandma's cousin and he won a gold medal in the 1952 summer Olympics in the 400 hurdles as well as a silver medal in the 4x400 relay. He later went on to be named one of the "100 Golden Olympians" and was also inducted in the USATF Hall of Fame as well as being the Athletics Director from Cornell. I had always heard about him and finally had a chance to meet him.

Building at Lake Mokoma with snacks & video games
View of the lake with sailboats sailing by Todd catching some rays

We ended Sunday back at the cottage with a family dinner for the 10 of us that we still there. We ate, drank, and hung out on the front porch.....and even spotted some deer about 20 feet away from the porch!

Mama deer & her baby

We got up early Monday morning for the drive back to Columbus. By the time we left the cottage, the only people left for the remainder of the week were my Grandma & Uncle. Like all trips, this one went by entirely too fast but I was still happy to have the chance to go for just a few days. It's amazing to think that this cottage has been in the family for 100 years and I hope to continue to go for many many more years in the future.