I’ve spent years sitting on the grass at Raysville Boat Club watching the annual fireworks display surrounded by many friends that through the years I call family, my lake family to be exact.   To say that I grew up at Raysville Boat Club (RBC) is an understatement.  We all grew up at RBC.  We’ve road miles on the trails and paths on golf carts and bikes.   We’ve spent hours upon hours laughing, playing cards, staying up late, breaking rules, having dance parties, listening to bands, attending and hosting showers,  throwing birthday parties, and so much more at this precious place.  Our parents and grandparents watched as we learned to swim and had the courage to ski.  There have been countless hours spent just floating in the water to work on our tans or to hang out with our friends. Gallons of sunscreen has been applied and thousands of swimsuits have been stained from that lake water.    We have shared in laughs, smiles, losses, first loves, and heart breaks.  We have fallen in love and gotten married at RBC.   We have sat on the beach 8 months pregnant praying for that little one to just hurry up.  We have played with sparklers and roasted marshmallows.

Little by little we have all moved on to bigger and better campers and homes to accommodate our families as they have grown.   Through the years we have invited friends and family to the club to enjoy something that we love so dearly.  Those friends have become members and their children are now growing up at RBC.     They are sharing in the same memories we have.  They will probably always remember and laugh about that best summer ever spent at Raysville Boat Club.     Although the face and appearance of the club has changed and grown and some of the quaintness fades as camper after camper is replaced the charm is still there and the family is still there.  Just like all families we have our differences and don’t always see eye to eye but in the end we are FAMILY.

Never would I have thought that I could love a place so dearly and the people there. It is a place we consider home, not only our home but all the homes.   We freely roam from porch to porch to visit and just see whats happening.  We share breakfast and dinners and homemade ice cream together.   Its where we feel safe and where our children are safe.

So this year as I look back at the shots I got from this years show, its not just fireworks and its not just about USA its a reminder of the years that have passed and the years that are to come at the place we call home Raysville Boat Club.

Thank you to the Friends of Clarks Hill for all of your donations and efforts to make sure this show has continued and will continued.   I look forward to 2016.   May we share a lifetime of memories at RBC.

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