“I’ll get the paddleboard on the rocks,” I called up to Mason. He was already halfway up the stone stairs that led up the hill. I leaped up onto the first stair, and bounded up the hill, jumping two stairs with every stride. I was overjoyed to be in Northern Michigan on Long Lake, the largest of the twenty inland lakes in Long Lake Township. My hockey teammate, Mason, had invited me up to his amazing lake house.
I will never forget that encounter the intense sun, the endless horizon, the infinite shades of blue that dissolved any boundary between sky and trees. The views were like swimming into a kaleidoscope, deceptively plain "Lake Winaukee" sign on the outside, but a show of colors on the inside, waiting to shock and, mesmerize me. Those colors! Sails on the horizon covered the lake; streaks of sunlight illuminated them, the swaying wildlife creating a dance of rhythm. Beautiful, preserved life synchronizing every movement with the camp sight creating one living entity.
After years of waiting and preparing we started on the journey to the west. We made our way to Independence, Missouri to go on the Oregon Trail which was laid by traders and trapers. While there I became familiar with George Wilson who was also a working family man. A lot of families left together making the trail busy and causing jams..
As I talked to one of my friends on the shore of Timberwolf Lake, I had a realization that changed my life forever. Timberwolf Lake is a Young Life camp in Northern Michigan that I attended the summer after my sophomore year. One of my friends was having a hard time in life and needed someone to talk to. While talking to him and making him feel better, it also made me feel better. It was then that I realized that I can make a difference in the world by make others lives more prosperous and more enjoyable. I wanted to make the world a better place than when I came into it.
So after our visit to Cedar Lake we set off on our way to the badlands. Now this isn't going to be like the kind of story where i talk about our amazing time their and skip all the driving. This is about the trip their and the many of complications but many of miracles. Our trip to the badlands is one of the most inspirational parts of this entire book. Their are many of places and times when God really reveales himself to us and shows us his great mercy.
“Get in the car.” I yelled at my sister as she lagged behind pretending to be in her own world. I thought of all the times in the last hour and a half that I had yelled at my sister. I only did it because she annoyed me and really gets on my nerves. I thought back to when Mr. Zimmerman said we had to go on a hike.
I had navigated the truck up the Sauk Mountain road to about the five and half mile mark when the first true glimpse of Sauk’s west face came into view. Dead ahead, the four of us stared through the windshield fixated on the numerous switchbacks carved into the green vegetated hillside that emerged through the damp vaporous atmosphere. Though the summit was hidden by a sea of clouds, the spectacle caught Holly by surprise generating a wake-up-call. “We’re climbing that?” she inquired with a tentative tone.
The drive was almost unbearable, but the thought of spending the week in the snow with family kept me going. It was only a four hour drive, but at 9 years old, it felt like an eternity. The scenery slowly changed from flat land, to rolling hills. The hills were covered in yellow dying grass, but they were still beautiful. Then we started to make the climb.
Marty Stone, who co-wrote The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing, says that real estate is “an investment vehicle that never goes out of business,” and nothing can be truer. No matter the risk, those who are brave enough to waddle in the waters of real estate investing almost always come out victorious. No wonder many people are attracted to the lure of real estate. However, real estate investing is not the same as investing in stocks and bonds. New investors should then keep in mind these tips before immersing themselves in this endeavor.
A Montana Fishing Trip As we walked down to the river, the birds were making a whistling noise, and it was quite annoying because the birds were so loud Will and I could barely hear each other. When we were walking down to the river on a rock that was on the path was a famous quote from Muhammad Ali and it was about the river and it said “Rivers, Ponds, Lakes, and Streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.”
If you’ve ever been to the Great Smokey Mountains, you know what I mean when I say, they are beautiful. I would wake up to the smell of bacon every morning for a week straight, there is not a better way to wake up anywhere. The cabin we stayed in was filled with all kinds of signs ranging from food and drinks to boating and skiing. Every morning, after we ate breakfast we would walk to the top of the hill and enjoy the outstanding views of the sun rolling over the hills and peaking in from many places. There were so many colors of red and orange, it was like the pictures you see on the post cards, that’s how great the views were.
Hi Penny, The class is still going on. I was asked by Sergio and John to cut the class back to only the US VPs. The short answer that was given to me was to cut travel cost and expenses. Sergio asked me to make plans to go to Mexico and Canada to work with Howard and Roberto and share the lessons learned during the April meeting.
My fall walk started on a bright, and sunny day. The birds were chirping and flying through the sky. The wind was blowing the red, yellow and orange leaves off the branches of the trees. Walking through the grass, I heard the sound of dry leaves crunching under my feet. My neighbors had different fall decorations in their yard.
Olly is on the left side while maddy is on the right side of the picture. Beautiful house and trees are in the background, Olly is in the middle ground and maddy is in the foreground. Looking shocked about the fact that Maddy left the house, Olly is trying to tell her to go back and you cannot see Maddy’s face in this frame, but she looks like she is trying to convince him to go. Olly and Maddy are having an intense conversation on whether she should leave or go back to the house. It looks like the scene is in the early morning.
I grew up in Wellston, Ohio and lived in the countryside about fifteen minutes from town. My house was a home to me and it wasn 't the greatest, but it was special to me. My big backyard consisted of many fruit trees and a grape vine, it was where I had bonfires with my family and friends, and it was where I ran free with my brother. I had a pond, “over the hill” as my brother and I would say, where we swam and fished in the summertime and sat on the deck feeding bread to the bluegill as we had conversations about life. Behind our pond was where thousands of trees stood tall and where we roamed every inch of the hidden land.
