“We got a houseboat before the summer of 2024 from a guy in Kentucky,” said junior Alexis Winings.
Winings’ family bought a houseboat around two years ago and this changed her life drastically during the summer.
In the summer months, Winings spends her weekends at the lake with her family and friends. During summer break, she sometimes stays there for weeks at a time with her family. The houseboat is located at Cataract Lake near Cloverdale, Indiana. From Brownsburg to the lake, it is about an hour’s drive. Her family is a member of a boating club, the Cataract Yacht Club or the CYC.
There are a multitude of things Winings does at the lake, such as swimming, kayaking, tubing, skiing, mud sliding, going on speed boats and just being around other people. Since joining CYC, Winings has formed many friendships with all different age groups: little kids, young adults and adults. These friendships have formed into trusting everyone at the lake and even a family–like bond.
Along with Winings, her friends enjoy going to the lake with her. One of her best friends, senior Lucy Tolliver, joins her at the lake often during the summer.
“It’s so fun at the lake. The vibes are so good, and there’s so many things to do on the boats. It’s a fun thing to do for summer and I get tan,” said Tolliver.
This year, Winings decided to join the high school swimming team with confidence because she has been in the water and swimming for a long time.
“Yes, I think I did join the swim team because I’ve been in water and swimming for so long, I felt a lot more confident.”
During the school year when it’s still boating season, Winings still must do homework at the lake. She manages getting her stuff done either on the way to the lake during the hour drive or on the way home and sometimes even doing work on her boat since there is Wi-Fi.
When it is off-season, Winings still sees her lake friends but not nearly as much.
“Every once in a while, we see each other at the bean dinner which marks the end of our season and then we have a Christmas party, a new year’s party and then we usually meet up one to three times between January and April and then the season starts back up again in May,” said Winings.
At the end of the season Winings has many responsibilities, and it is a somber time for her.
“It’s very sad because the lake is my entire life for four months before the end of the season and also knowing I won’t be able to see my lake friends for a while. It is also a lot of work at the end of the season,” said Winings.
Although the end of the season is a sad time for Winings and her friends that frequently visit, they get to make new memories each summer.
“All of the memories at the lake make it so special. I go with friends and that’s what makes it so fun. My favorite thing to do is go tubing with the speed boat,” said Tolliver.
