Finding Serenity in Kentucky:Part 1

Last weekend my family journeyed to Lake Cumberland. We have a tradition amongst my siblings and me, that on your birthday you can plan any activity and we all join you. My sister, Amy, asked we plan the first weekend in June (for her 34^th Birthday) to camp and enjoy the lake.

I should tell you, we are not campers, so there was quite a bit of shopping prior to the trip, simply to acquire tents and other basic necessities when camping. At least it was not roller coasters, which was Amy’s 30^th Birthday trip to Cedar Point Amusement Park.

We reserved camp sites at Waitsboro Recreation, where the view from any site is breath taking. Everyone set up camp Friday night. Then we gathered for a bon fire, a few drinks and good conversation. We were also entertained by my 2 year old niece, Lucy, who snuck a few sips of orange soda earlier in the evening. She was quite the little tornado.

We rose Saturday morning and headed to the marina to jump on the boats. There were 14 of us, so we rented a pontoon and used my brother in law and sister’s cruiser. The kids had a great time flying through the air on a tube my sister rented. The rest of us strolled down the Lake Cumberland in the pontoon. The scenery is amazing.

Eventually we settled in a cove where we could swim and eat lunch. My dad taught the little ones to skip rocks and the rest of us floated in the lake. It was very relaxing. One of my favorite parts of the day was following a butterfly with my niece. It was striped yellow and black with very fuzzy body. It fluttered around the pontoon probably for 45 minutes or so. I rested my hand on a yellow t-shirt, which I believe it was particular drawn to. However, I do not know if butterflies can see colors. After a short while, it landed on my fingers and showed off its beautiful wings. Later that afternoon, a striped black and white (zebra print) butterfly circled the boat.

In the evening we returned the boats and headed back to the camp site, where we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Again, the scenery was priceless and so inexpensive ($20 a night per camp site). None of us missed our TVs, computers or cell phones. We roasted marshmallows, which was a first for Becca and Lucy and carried on with stories of our childhood.

We were only gone 36 hours, but it felt like we were away for 3 or 4 days. We plan to come back another weekend this summer. Next time, I’ll be prepared with my camera to capture the butterflies.

Happy Campers Becca, Lucy and Shelby

Lucy at Lake Cumberland

Many Thanks to MelodyJune who was kind enough to submit this wonderful article. Looks like it was a great time! Beautiful views!