We squeezed the last drops out of summer at a dear family friend’s cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan this past week. Here are some of my favorite images; cold plunges, beach buddies, fashionable headwear, chilling out and vibing on the ridiculously unbelievable colors — day and night.

Marci emerges victoriously from a cold plunge.

Avery shares some of Pappy’s pretzels.

“Gugu” and the grands

Taylor with her beach buddies

Avery mimics her “famous” photo from three years ago.

We sport the very latest in fashionista beach headwear; who wore it bet … never mind, it’s clearly Avery.

Strolling along the endless Lake Michigan sand.

I couldn’t decide between these next two photos. I finally realized I didn’t really need to; there’s endless space on the internet.

Fun beach silhouettes. 

Sunset strollers.

It’s important to rehydrate after a vigorous beach workout as Charlie sips “Gugu” water.

Beach grass and sunset.

I was blown away by the reflections in the cottage windows; they looked like an art gallery.

Skye was telling us about her job & life then stopped to look at the gorgeous colors.

The aforementioned cold plunge.

Sure, I cold-plunged too (just up to my knees) but I stopped to groove on the great waves and colors.

A beach campfire and roasting marshmallows (or “mashed potatoes” as AI keeps trying to write).

A relaxing moment in the twilight’s last gleaming.

You know me; I love the 30-second-long exposures I can do with my iPhone at night. Here are the stairs going down to the beach.

Here’s the same stairs from the bottom up (Stairway To The Stars?).

Sure, sunsets are cool. But the middle of the night requests your attention too.

 

Rodney Curtis is a recovering journalist and author of four books.

Check out Rodney’s books here.