A day at the lake

By A.J. Watson

Add two parts water, dump in 340 fingers and toes, an American flag, a human-sized rubber hotdog, sprinkle in a couple of dog tails for good measure and voila! You have the recipe to a Lake Martin Boys and Girls Club field trip.

The Boys and Girls Club of the Lake Martin Area venture around the state during various field trips, but the most unusual – and most enjoyed – trip lies behind a thick cluster of cattails in the backyard of Lake Martin.

Lakita Howes, a director at the John A. Searcy unit of The Boys and Girls Club, says that they’ve been field tripping to Lake Martin for about four years.

“The best trip of the summer,” is how Howes describes it. “The kids have such a good time and we’ve been scheduling to come here two or three times every summer.”

Howes said one of the directors for the Boys and Girls Club, John Searcy, is a good friend of the homeowners who welcomes the group to the lake.

The fun was evident by the pure, enveloping smiles and laughter that surrounded the children.

There are three Boys and Girls Club after school programs in the Lake Martin area during the school year, but they converge into a conglomerate of fun during the summer – an act that provides the opportunity to give children the best summer possible, Howes said.

The kids arrived at the lake at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 20.

They immediately took off for the water at 10:01 a.m.

For the next two hours, they zip-lined, paddle boated and hot dog-tubed their way to an appetite.

They ate at noon – this time the hotdogs were edible.

After another three hours, before the children jumped in the van to leave, their mouths jumped into faces full of watermelon.

Amidst the laughter and smiling faces, some of the kids reflected on their day at the lake.

“This is my first time,” said Larissa Chillous, a 7-year-old from Alexander City. “This is the best lake I’ve ever been to – I love riding on the boats.”