October 21
The three of us were kind of lazy in the morning, and even after we had all woken up, we stayed in bed snuggling. I had to push the covers down some, ‘cause I was too hot, and since I didn’t want either of them to get too cold, I stretched my wing out over both of them.
After we got out of bed, Aric looked at the weather prediction on his portable telephone and said that it still looked like a good day to go to the beach like me and Meghan had been thinking.
So we all took turns in the bathroom, and Meghan went last so that she could get dressed. Then she came back to our room and the three of us went downstairs, and instead of eating food at his house, we walked to Nina’s to have breakfast.
When we were done eating, we walked back to his house and Aric said that we could have a picnic lunch in South Haven, he just needed to buy picnic supplies. And so he went into the garage and got his ice chest and put that in the back of Winston, but he didn’t have any food for it yet. And he asked Meghan if she wanted him to put the top on the back of Winston, in case she wanted it so that she could change into her swimming clothes on the beach. She said that it probably wasn’t worth the effort to move it to Winston.
Aric went and got his swimming clothes together, and Meghan got her duffel bag, and then we all got in Winston and drove through town to Meijer, and he and Meghan picked out sliced meat and sliced cheese and sliced bread for sandwiches and two bags of potato chips, and then we went to the front to check out.
Aric didn't have as much trouble with the computer cashier as I'd had, but I still think a real human cashier would be faster.
When we got out to the parking lot, I almost took flight, just out of habit. I looked both ways for cars then up and then I had my wings out before I remembered that we'd driven to Meijer and were driving together to South Haven.
Aric sorted out the food and put most of it in the icebox, along with the ice, but he had one bag that he needed to keep in the cab, and so it was a bit crowded.
Before he started Winston, Aric asked if we wanted to take the direct route or the scenic route, and both me and Meghan thought the scenic route would be more fun, so instead of getting on the 43 road, he drove on 9th Street until he got to H Avenue, and drove that way until we'd gotten to the dirt road with the little clearing and after that I got a little bit lost and Meghan did, too. But Aric knew where he was going.
There were a lot of dirt roads we went down and one was really twisty and was on the side of a hill in a couple of places, so there was a drop-off to the side. He drove in the middle of the road and had to slow down on the turns in case someone was coming the other way.
It was really pretty and we had lots of time to enjoy all the trees and plants that were right up to the edge of the road, and there were a few sections of the road that went quite a while without going by any houses.
We came in south of South Haven, and had to drive on the Blue Star Highway to get into town. I thought that was a good name for a road; I even knew a pony who was named that. I think he would have liked to know that there was an important road with the same name as him.
Aric parked next to the beach, but we couldn't get out of Winston yet because both Meghan and Aric had to change into their swimming clothes. And they both decided that they would do it in Winston rather than go to the beach bathroom. It was easiest on the right side, so Aric got out and waited until Meghan had changed, and then he got in her side and also changed clothes.
She went to the beach still wearing her normal clothes over her swimming clothes and didn't get all the way undressed until we'd found a spot that we liked that was close to the water and not too crowded.
I wanted to go swimming and I wanted to go flying, and neither Aric or Meghan wanted to go in the water right away, so I said that I was going to fly over the lake for a little bit, and I left them together on the beach.
I hadn't brought any of my flight gear, so I couldn't go very high, but I knew that if I stayed a few hundred feet above the water and kept a good watch, I'd be safe from airplanes, so I flew out over the water and then across the harbor entrance, and then I kept going south along the shoreline.
There were lots of houses on the bluff that overlooked the lake, and some of them had small boats up on the beach. And a couple of houses where the owners weren't very neighborly had wooden fences across the beach so that you'd have to walk in the water to get around them, or fly like I did.
I don't know how far south I flew, but I got to another beach that a lot of people were enjoying and I could see Arveys and tents a little bit further in, which meant that it was a campsite, and just beyond that there was a big cylindrical cement tower, and that was a power plant that I wasn't allowed to fly near.
I thought that since I hadn't gotten to the end of the public beach, I wasn't too close yet, but I didn't want to fly on any further, so I turned around and went back north.
This time, instead of staying along the shore, I flew almost due north, which put me a little ways out over the lake but not so far that I couldn't easily see the shore, which would keep me from getting lost. And even if I hadn't paid attention to any other landmark on my way, the lighthouse at the end of the jetty was really hard to miss, and when I got perpendicular to it, I dove down a little bit until I was only a couple of meters above the wavetops and came in to shore that way. It meant that I had to be alert in case there were boats, because a lot of them were tall enough to run into me.
I saw one coming out of the harbor so I dropped down a little more, until if I'd dropped my hooves they would have gotten wet on the tops of waves, and I tried to sneak up on it. It might have worked if the waves were bigger—I'd been able to sneak up on fishing boats that way, by following in the trough behind a wave, and aiming for its mast, but I don't think I fooled anyone on this boat, and when I got kind of close to it, I broke off and climbed up a little bit to get over the swimming area, then I landed next to Meghan and Aric.
Aric got me a beer out of the icebox and I sat down next to them and let the wind dry me off a little bit, then I said that I was going to go swimming.
So the three of us went down to the water and started playing around in it, first where it was shallow, and then I went a little bit further out until the waves lifted my hooves off the bottom, which wasn't very deep for Meghan or Aric. And then they wanted to go out further, and so I paddled along beside them until Aric decided that I was going too slow, and then he towed me by a foreleg, until he was in water up to his nipples.
He dove under and started swimming around underwater, then came back up and splashed me and Meghan, and then disappeared again.
I thought that maybe he was going to try and sneak up on us, because that was always fun to do, so I held my breath and dove under the water, flapping my wings to move me through it, and it was kind of murky and I didn't see him because I couldn't see too far. And I kind of moved off a little bit further out in the lake, and when I came back up, he was standing next to Meghan and they were both looking around for me.
Since I knew where they were, I went back under and aimed in that direction but I missed them and came up behind Meghan and off to the side, and I didn't see Aric again, and I thought it would be funny if the two of us ran into each other underwater.
We didn't, though, and this time my aim was better and I came up right behind Meghan and I bumped right into her on purpose, then popped out of the water as she turned around.
Then Aric managed to grab her legs, and he pushed her up a little bit in the water before coming to the surface next to her, and so then it was kind of a game to see who could grab who and the last person down was kind of the target.
Since I couldn't reach the ground, I turned into one of the easiest targets, and Aric picked me up on his back once, and Meghan also managed to get my legs once, and I had to resist the urge to kick down, 'cause it wasn't good to be grabbed by something in the water. But there weren't any sea monsters in Lake Michigan; there weren't even any sharks. Aric claimed that there were sturgeon in Lake Superior that were big enough to eat a man, but I wasn't sure I believed him.
After we'd gotten done playing in the water, we went back to shore to have some lunch and dry off, and after we'd eaten we couldn't go right back in the water because Aric and Meghan both agreed that if people did, they'd get cramps and drown. I said that didn't happen to ponies, but it was nice to have a little nap in the sun after eating.
When we went back down to the water, we stayed at the edge at first and built little castles that the waves would dissolve, and then we moved a little bit further up the beach and Aric started to dig a hole until it got deep enough that the sand was wet, and pretty soon it started collapsing, and so he couldn't dig any further. And I got down in the hole, and Aric said that he could bury me but I didn't want to be buried in sand. Meghan sat down in there and pulled some over her legs, but she didn't want to get covered up, either.
And then all of us had sand stuck all over ourselves, so we went back in the water to rinse it off, and then when we went out further in the water, Aric let me ride his back instead of towing me along, and when he was up to his shoulders in water he asked if he could toss me off, and I thought that would be fun, so he held his breath and crouched down and then pushed up and right as he got to the top of his jump, I flew off and I went up about twenty feet and then I dove into the water from there, like I was a bird trying to catch a fish.
I had to angle off as soon as I hit the water, or else I might hit the bottom, and I had a little bit of forward speed because of the dive but the water slowed me down pretty quick.
I came up and tried again, and this time I did my best to go under and then pop back up and out while still having some momentum, and it almost worked. Dolphins and seaponies made it look really easy, but it wasn't.
Aric let Meghan sit on his shoulders and he carried her a little ways, and I flew around her and then I thought that I could land right on her shoulders, so I did and she held me for a moment until we went off-balance and she started to fall back and I didn't get out of her way fast enough and the two of us both splashed into the water together.
We kept playing around in the water until late in the afternoon, and then we went back and sat on the beach to dry out and have some more food.
Since it was a nice clear day, Aric said that it would be fun to stay until the sun set, and we could watch it, so we sat on the beach talking as the sun got lower and lower, and Meghan and Aric both put their street clothes on over their swimsuits because it was getting a bit chilly for them.
Most of the boats were coming in, because they didn't want to be out in the dark, I guess. And I took another little flight, this time going north, but not too far. It was getting close to sunset time, plus I didn't want to leave them behind for too long.
So when I got back, all three of us sat on the blanket together and we watched as the sun turned a reddish-orange, and pretty soon it was right at the surface of the lake, and then it started dipping underneath it, and then it was gone, and it wasn't too long before you could see the brightest stars and planets appearing.
We picked up all our gear and took it back to Winston, and Aric stuck all the food that was left in the icebox, and then he said that we'd take the normal route home.
Meghan said that she was going to change back into normal clothes, so she got in Winston and me and Aric just looked up at stars and I pointed to the ones I'd seen while on our astronomy field trip. And he said that he had an app on his portable telephone called Google Skymap that was supposed to show you were the stars were but for some reason it didn't work right on his telephone and always thought that he was looking north.
He showed it to me anyways, and he was right; no matter where he turned it always thought he was looking north. But it was pretty useful when he actually was looking north.
Then he said that he saw a boat coming in, and we got in the back of Winston and he could lean his arms on the roof, but it was more of a stretch for me. I could put my forehooves on the front of the back, though, and that got my head high enough to be over the top of the cab and so I could see the boat, too.
Meghan opened the sliding window and scratched my belly, and then she got out and joined us in the back. Aric had to help her climb over the tailgate, 'cause he hadn't put it down and she didn't want to slip.
The three of us watched the boat until we lost sight of it behind the jetty, and then he said that we might as well head for home.
We'd gotten almost to Bangor when he started complaining about his swimming shorts, and he said that he should have taken them off back at the beach but now he couldn't because he was driving. And then he said that it hadn't been a problem at Sunny Haven, because he hadn't worn any, and he said that he wished that there was a good nude beach in Michigan but as far as he'd ever been able to find out, there weren't, which was really dumb since Michigan had so much coastline.
Once we were on the other side of Bangor, he decided that he was going to stop by the side of the road and change, but he didn't want to stop on the 43 Road because there was too much traffic, so he turned off on 52nd Street and there were a few houses, and then when he turned on the next road east which was called 34th Avenue, there was a big section of trees with no houses.
He had to turn off Winston because otherwise it might roll away, but he turned on the blinking lights so that nobody would run into us, and he got out and he told Meghan not to look and he went around to the right flank of Winston and took off his shoes and pants and swimming shorts and then put his pants and shoes back on—I looked 'cause he hadn't told me not to, but Meghan kept looking forward. And then when he walked around the back of Winston again, she said that you could really see everything just fine in the mirror on her door, but to not tell him.
So I didn't, but I was kind of tempted to.
We drove to the end of the road and Meghan asked Aric what it was like skinny dipping, and he said that it was really fun and liberating, and she thought about that for a little bit and then said that she wished that her uncle was gone this weekend, because we could have gone to his house and used the hot tub, and Aric said that he knew the perfect place if she really wanted to.
And she said that she wasn't sure, and she put her hand on my back and started playing around with my mane and finally she said that if it was close it wouldn't hurt to at least take a look.
So when he got by the fish-ponds, he turned down a little road that lead to a parking lot and a ramp into the water for boats and he said that it was Wolf Lake and there weren't any cars in the parking lot and it was a little ways off the main road.
He turned off Winston and turned off the lights, too, and we just sat there for a little while as Meghan thought about it. And then she asked him to get a bit closer, so he moved Winston until it was across the ramp, and she could open her door and she'd almost be in the water.
He showed her that he could turn off the inside lights so that when you opened the door they didn't come on, and she thought about it a little bit more, and then she reached through the sliding window and got a beer out of the icebox and she said she was going to have a little bit of Dutch courage first, and she drank the beer and then when she'd finished it, she took off her pants and reached under her shirt and took off her bra, and then took off her panties, and she looked around one more time and then opened the door and told Aric that she'd get in the water after he did.
So he got out and got undressed on her side of the truck, and he was standing right behind the door, and then he went into the water and waded in until his butt was under, and turned around and asked her if she was going to make good on her promise, and she told him to turn around, and once he did, she pulled her shirt over her head and got out of the truck and went into the water, too, and then I joined them.
I kept my ears alert, just in case another car came, but none did. And we all stayed pretty close to the shore and at first Meghan stayed with her shoulders under the water so you could only see her head, even where it was shallow enough that she could have stood up if she'd wanted to. But I could tell she was getting a bit more relaxed after we'd been in the lake for a little while, and when it was time to get out, she walked up the ramp all the way to Winston and she didn't tell Aric that he had to look the other way.
She put her shirt on and then her pants and she said that she wasn't going to worry about her underwear and Aric said that was a good choice, and he was going commando, too. And she said that she knew.
We hadn't dried ourselves off, but the heater in Winston did that for us as we drove the rest of the way into Kalamazoo, and when we crossed Drake Road and went by a semi-truck, Aric asked if she'd ever thought about flashing a truck driver, she told him not to push his luck, and then she said if he did, she would.
He said that he didn't think that would work, especially with him driving.
Aric parked in the driveway and we got the icebox out of the back and brought it in to the kitchen so he could put everything away, and then he tore open the bag with the ice in it and dumped it out in the lawn where it would melt and I thought that if some animal came by and found it, it was going to be very confused.
We went inside and sat on the couch and drank beer and Aric said that we could watch a movie, but we didn't really feel like it, so we just talked for a while, and I was the first one to get yawny, and I leaned against Meghan and she scratched behind my ears and Aric scratched my back and that was really nice and if I could have fallen asleep sitting on the couch between them, I think I would have.
When they'd finished their beers and Aric had finished mine, too, we got up and went upstairs, and Meghan sat down on the bed and then she remembered that she'd forgotten her duffel bag in Winston and that had her sleeping clothes in it. And so Aric said that he could go down and get it but she thought that was too much work, and then he said that she could borrow his sleeping clothes again and he would just wear underwear because it was pretty warm.
And she said that was nice of him, and so he got them out and gave them to her, and she took off her pants and put them on and then she sort of tugged at the hem of her shirt a couple of times and finally she said that he'd seen them already and she'd be more comfortable anyways, so she took off her shirt and climbed into bed and scooted up against the wall. And I got in next to her and it was a lot nicer to be against her skin.
Aric got out a clean pair of underwear and he put them on, and then he got in bed, too, and he laid on his back even though he was right up against the edge of the bed, and he folded his hands over his chest and asked me to promise to catch him if he was going to fall out of bed and I promised to try but I didn't think I could.
He said that was good enough, and I leaned over and kissed him, then Meghan said that it had been a fun day, and she reached across me and held onto his shoulder and she must have felt how he was hanging a little ways off the bed, 'cause she pulled on him until he rolled on his side up against me, and then she picked up his hand and set it across my back, and then she held onto me as well.