We moved to my parents' home state, Minnesota, when I was seven years old. I always tell people I grew up there because both of my parents did.
When we returned "home," my parents decided they didn't want to move back to St. Paul, which was where they grew up. My dad's job was in Minneapolis, the sister town to St. Paul, across the Mississippi river.
For the first month, we lived in a hotel right off the highway near where our house was being built. It was sticky and hot that summer.
We moved into a brand-new neighborhood, and Megan and I started school at St. Bart's, the Catholic school nearby. Right down the street from our school was Lake Minnetonka.
Everyone from school either lived on the lake, or had a boat docked at one of the many marinas along the shores of Lake Minnetonka. It didn't take long for my dad to decide that we were going to have a boat, too.
We called it the "Sunkist," after the orange soda that was a family favorite at the time. The cabin up front had a little toilet you could expose by pulling up some cushions, and the bow was big enough to lay a towel out on and hang out on, fully stretched out. The motor was inboard, and the boat had a fold-down ladder in the back to facilitate getting on and off the boat for swimmers.
Minnesota summers are sweltering. The 10,000 plus lakes ensure that by the time you get out of the shower, you need another one. There's no better place to spend your days than at the lake.
Saturday mornings, we'd get up early and head to the marina. Dew covered the canvas boat cover, and icy droplets seared my skin as I helped my dad undo the cover to expose the back of the boat. If the marina was quiet in the morning, we'd beg dad, "Do 7up, do 7up!"
7up meant putting the boat at full throttle while making a very hard left or right. The boat would tilt sideways into the gray morning water, and in the center circle of the boat's path bubbles of all sizes would rise. I'd dip my hand into the water and feel it rushing in all directions at once.
Then, we'd turn the boat ahead and make our way out to the series of lakes connected to Lake Minnetonka. We would be out on the water all day.