Three hours of sleep was not enough, and I spent the next two hours asleep as my sister drove to the lake. She had packed everything we would need for the overnight stay, or so we thought. After setting up the tent, we realized she had not collected the blowup mattress from the garage. Finally, able to get the tent secured, so it wouldn't blow away while we were gone, we hauled ass. We found the last one on the shelf at the local sports and outdoor shop in town, with four minutes spare.

At this time of the year, the lake was all but deserted, with only a few...