Sometimes my favorite vacations involve simple relaxation. Such was the case when my family recently spent a long weekend at my sister’s lake house in Watervliet, Michigan. It was an unusually busy summer for us, but we finally scheduled a weekend where my sisters, their husbands, my father and I could have some family time.

Covering 1.23 square miles and populated by less than 2,000 residents, Watervliet is a small town located on Paw Paw Lake on the southwest end of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The city name comes from the Dutch for “where the waters meet.”

We spent the first day catching up and playing spirited games of bags. Despite my softball pitching career, I didn’t fare well in the competition, but it was fun anyway. Our dinner was a home-cooked meal courtesy of my sister Jean and her grillmaster husband, Scott. After eating, we burned off some calories playing with pooches Marley and Abby. At night, we watched the sunset and toasted s’mores.

The next day, Scott took us on a boat tour of Paw Paw Lake. Covering 922 acres with 11 miles of shoreline, Paw Paw Lake is one of the top fishing and recreation lakes in the area. The weather was unseasonably warm, and the ride was perfectly relaxing.

After a couple days, it was back to reality as Nancy, Dave, Marley, my dad and I said our goodbyes to our hosts and headed to our homes. Upon my return, my friends asked what I did on the trip, and I gleefully told them I didn’t do much and that’s the way I wanted it. Of course, I am sure our hosts were a bit busier than I; I know we all had a wonderful time.

— John Wroblewski, online writer