Ode to Lakeside (or How I Learned To Love a Chautauqua)

Ten summers ago, I was pregnant with Baby Girl, and we were invited to spend some time with Dr. Dad's whole family (at that time, 11 people) at a little Chautauqua resort on Lake Erie called Lakeside.

We settled in this little cottage and I immediately thought Chautauqua meant "boring."

I mean, they have their own "world renown" shuffleboard area, for crying out loud.

Sure, it was pretty...

and there were things to do nearby...

but a week of shuffleboard, concerts and rock painting wasn't our thing.

Or so I thought.

Fast forward 10 years, two kids, three cottages and a house full of 16 people and I have slowly developed a love affair with the lazy week we spend at Lakeside.

We do the same things every year...and we wouldn't have it any other way.