Being nestled deep in the Appalachian mountains, going to the beach might as well have been like going to the moon. But while we don’t have beaches and oceans to enjoy, what we do have are plenty of rivers and lakes. And to be honest with you, I’d rather live near a lake than at the beach. That’s probably because I got so used to lake life spending every summer of my teenage years at South Holston Lake.
From my eighth grade year in school in 1991 through the early 2000s, my family kept a camper at a lakeside campground year round. Almost every weekend from April through early October was spent at the lake during those years. And in the summer when school was out, sometimes we’d spend whole weeks there.
Those weekends when I was that young were so much fun there. I’d get out of school on Friday afternoon, and then we’d make the 30 minute drive down there and not come back home until Sunday evening. At that age, the weekend was spent walking all over the campground and hanging out with other kids my age, fishing, and hanging out at the playground playing pickup basketball and pickup volleyball.
Fast forward to my later teen years in the mid-late ‘90s and that was the era that I had the most fun, and miss the most. I was working at that time, and in the summer I got to work day shift Monday through Friday with the weekend off. I’d pack a bag for the weekend on Thursday night and throw it in my truck so I didn’t even have to stop at home after work on Friday before heading to the lake.
Mom would leave out on Friday afternoon as well heading that way, and would stop at a bakery thrift store and pick up hamburger and hotdog buns for the weekend. She’d also stop at a produce stand for fresh vegetables. She’d arrive there at some point, I’d arrive at some point, my brother would roll in after work, and Dad would get there when he could as well.
Keeping a camper there for years meant that we got to know our “neighbors” there quite well too, as they also kept a camper there year round. So it was a lot of fun rolling into the camp ground and seeing who was there already, and then greeting the others as they rolled in on Friday evening at all times.
On Friday evenings, it was usually just grilled burgers and dogs for dinner since everyone was arriving at different times. Then we’d head over to the fishing peer and fish for bass until after dark. We’d usually close out Friday nights around the campfire talking and having fun. Sometimes as many 25 people sitting around telling lies and laughing.
On Saturday mornings Mom would get up real early and ride back to town to pick up a dozen or so biscuits from Hardees with which to make tomato biscuits when everyone got up. Saturdays were full of various fun. Maybe water skiing or just swimming. Maybe just riding around the park in golf carts, or playing frisbee golf.
But on Saturday evenings we’d have a community dinner with our neighbors. Someone may be grilling pork chops for everyone while someone else make a few dozen ears of corn. Others brought baked beans or potato salad. You never knew what you were going to find on the four or five picnic tables that were joined together for dinner.
And after dinner on Saturday nights was poker. We’d break off into three or four tables playing quarter poker for a few hours. Then we’d load up in the boats and go out fishing until sunrise. We’d make our way back to the dock and then head to the camper for a few hours sleep before we had to get up and start putting things away for another weekend.
It was such a bummer having to pack up and leave every Sunday, but the thought of going back on Friday really helped me get through the work week mentally.
Besides all of the trips that I took with Dad through the years, those weekends in the summer at South Holston lake are the dominate memories I think of when I sit and daydream about summer.
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