This story comes to us from David O’Keeffe, who is entering in the children’s category. David resides in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and writes:
It was a hot Friday afternoon on Rock Island, a small island off of Washington Island, which is a twenty minute ferry ride from Door County, Wisconsin. Next, you take another ferry to get from Washington Island to Rock Island or if you’re very adventurous, or just plain crazy you can walk from island to island in the blistering cold water of Lake Michigan.
Once on Rock Island my Dad, Step Mom, older sister, and I went on a hike along the beach where we saw five dead seagulls and one four foot-long garden snake that slithered away as soon as we came in to it’s view, afraid that it might end up like the seagulls. After awhile we cut inland on a trail that took us out to where the ferry docks, and about fifty yards away was what our Dad says is “the perfect picnic spot” so that’s where we had lunch. Then, we had to wait for thirty minutes for the next and last ferry to Washington Island.
The wait for the ferry seemed so long and boring, that after five minutes we decided that my dad, sister, and I were going to be crazy and cross the lake. We walked on a path until we got to a part of the island that was closest to Washington Island. We knew that the last ferry left in fifteen minutes, so, if we went in but turned back the three of us would be stuck on the island for one night. We had no water shoes, so we had to walk in with our tennis shoes. With our swimming suits on we were ready and we entered the water.
The water was cold and the waves were strong. Right away the waves started to push us, and I got goose bumps quickly. We saw a little island very close so we ran in the water to get there. We made our way from small island to small island and at one point the water got so deep it was up to my waist.
The journey was almost over when we saw a big bay that we would have to go around. I was anxious to get to the car so I suggested we cut through. My dad and sister agreed and we started on the last leg of our journey. The bay got deep quickly so I had to swim across while they walked. Finally, as we walked onto shore we started to feel seaweed everywhere so we went around and finally we got onto the dock. The ferry arrived just as we touched land so we all walked back to the car. In the end it was a great trip but the only souvenir I got was a pair of soggy shoes.
Thank you for sharing your great story, David. It appears that besides your soggy shoes, you returned with a souvenir even more valuable: your memories of this wonderful trip!
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