While listening to The Great Lakes Suite, I was reminded of my annual hockey team camping trips when I was younger. Every year, the hockey boys and our dads would head north, pick a random campsite, set up our tents, and spend the weekend outside. Listening to the album in one sitting brought those memories back very clearly and made me think about how peaceful those trips felt.
After setting up camp, we would usually split into two groups: the kids and the dads. Looking back now, it is surprising how much fun we had without electricity or technology. The dads had their own way of enjoying the trip, usually involving alcohol, while we kids found our own entertainment. There was always one kid who came up with an idea, whether it was playing hide and seek or planning a prank on the dads. Those simple ideas ended up becoming some of my best memories.
One of my favourite parts of the trip was sharing a large tent with the boys. It took a lot of convincing for the dads to let us all sleep together, but once they agreed, we would stay up for hours laughing for no real reason. I remember one night when the dads heard us awake late and decided to prank us instead. They made small noises around the tent, like stepping on sticks or throwing a rock at a nearby tree. It scared us at first, but it worked, and we eventually quieted down. Later, one of them unzipped the tent and told us we should not be up that late, and we all just laughed. Being surrounded by the woods and only hearing crickets made everything feel calm and peaceful.
In the mornings, the dads would usually be up first, making breakfast before we woke up. After eating eggs, bacon, and pancakes, we would all walk to a nearby lake and spend the day playing around. Listening to this album made me wish I could relive one of those trips again. Life does not feel the same now. We rely so much on phones, computers, and consoles to enjoy ourselves. It feels like my generation was one of the last to experience life before and after technology, and this music brought that contrast to the front of my mind.
Hey Ryan, nice first blog post !
ReplyDeleteI really liked how clearly you connected the music to those camping trips. The way you described being unplugged and just making fun with your friends made the album feel even more peaceful and nostalgic. It’s interesting how the music brought up that contrast between growing up with less technology and how dependent we are on it now.
Hi Ryan, I enjoyed your post. I liked how you related the songs to a sense of youthfulness and simpler times. Thanks for reminding me of the annual hockey trips. Life truly was so much simpler back then. Playing mini sticks in the hallway of the hotel was always a blast. No phones or social media, just kids being kids. The songs definitely did have that nostalgic, peaceful, calm vibe to them.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how this album brought you back to those camping trips and captured such a strong sense of peace and simplicity. Your memories with your teammates and their dads highlighted how meaningful time in nature can be, especially without technology. It made me reflect on how different those experiences feel compared to how connected to screens we are now.
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