Lake House

My dad's parents own a cabin out near Shelton, WA on Lake Nahwatzel. They built it in 1968, and since then my family has been using it as a fun getaway, especially in the warm Summer months. The cabin sits up on a hill with it's own private beach down below. The lake is great for water sports, and is where I learned how to water ski. I have tons of childhood memories from the lake...catching salamanders off the dock, taking the row boat out to the lilipads, learning to ride the trail 60 motorcycles, salmon bakes, big family dinners out on the deck, and my first vodka tonic (I was 8, Dad told me it was Sprite).

Dad mean muggin'

It's been forever since I've stayed overnight at the Lake, probably since high school. So, when Clint mentioned a motorcycle race he was interested in out on the Mason County Fairgrounds, I told him I had just the place for us to stay. We packed up his truck after work on Friday, and made the 2 hour drive out to the cabin that night. We were the first guests of the season, so when we got there we had to not only get the water pump and electricity going, but also air it out a bit. Walking into the cabin brought back lots of memories, and it even smells the same. Not much has changed from the picture above from the 60's. Those curtains, wood paneling, and green carpet are all still there.

In the morning Clint got up early to head out to meet his friends at the race. I stayed behind for some quiet time and found things to do around the cabin to keep myself entertained. I walked around the property, had some lunch, swept off the deck (that was a chore...I have blisters to prove it, these hands are not made for manual labor), and caught up on my TV shows watching Hulu on my iPad.

Soike cabin

view from the deck with the tree Uncle Dave
planted for Grandma which now blocks our view

quiet morning on the lake

cabin up on the hill and our neighbors

Clint got back that afternoon after having a blast riding. He's even wanting to go back for another race on Memorial Day Weekend. He had his GPS on while riding, so he was able to make this map of the route he took and see how close he actually came to the lake.

Clint's race course

After hanging out at the cabin for a bit, I was ready to go do something (cabin fever, ha). We decided to head into Shelton to find a Mexican restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We drove by a few places before deciding that El Sarape looked the least sketchy. We soon realized we made the right choice once we saw how packed it was in there. The food was delicious (I had the carne asada) and the drinks were ginormous. Once we were sufficiently stuffed, we headed back to the cabin to call it a night.

boxer shorts and BB guns

so yummy

The next morning we got up early and got ready to head out. Did some cleaning around the cabin, and shut everything back off. I had such a fun time being back there, and hope to make some more trips out this Summer, just need to find friends with boats!

till next time