Lakemore Retreat Great Lake Story 2015
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five
Though Tricia Adams has lived in Traverse City all her life, the first time she ever heard of Arbutus Lake, less than eight miles away, she was on duty tending to twin boys born 12 weeks early at Munson Medical Center, where she works as a nurse in neonatal intensive care.
“At 28 weeks, they were in the unit for a long time,” says Tricia, “and I took care of them every night. Their dad would come in later after work, after his wife left for the day to be with their older daughters, and he’d tell me, ‘I just took the girls tubing!’ I’d say, ‘You just took the girls tubing? On a Tuesday?’ Because lake fun like that for me had always meant packing up on weekends and having to launch the boat.
“He told me they lived on this great lake nearby.”
Sweethearts since they were sophomores at Traverse City Central High School — married seven years later in 2004 — Dean and Tricia Adams came together inherently wanting to attain the same thing: the unique family “lake” style of life that Arbutus Lake offers.
Founder of Bay Area Contracting and a premier builder in Traverse City, Dean spent his childhood along shallow, 264-acre Lake Sapphire on the edge of Lake City in Missaukee County.
“My brothers and cousins and I all became very close, and now everyone brings their own kids when we all get together. All of us can pick up right where we left off — and not everybody can say that about their relationship with cousins. We have something very special.”
—Tricia Adams
“My parents, older sister, older brother and I lived next-door to my grandparents, my dad’s mom and dad — you know, we had that family atmosphere,” he shares, noting that his older brother was his best friend.’ “He and I played in the lake all the time, sloshed through the swamps and built forts and bridges across the wetlands. I was the guinea pig; my brother was always saying, ‘You go first.’”
Born in Traverse City, Tricia was raised with four older brothers on Old Mission Peninsula and grew up boating in the summer at the family cottage on Lake Charlevoix.
“My grandparents owned the home, and my mom and her four siblings each either had a bedroom in the house or trailer in the backyard,” she relates. “My brothers and cousins and I all became very close, and now everyone brings their own kids when we all get together.
“All of us can pick up right where we left off,” Tricia adds, “and not everybody can say that about their relationship with cousins. We have something very special.”
Such life on water is what the couple envisioned when they built their own first home as newlyweds on Old Mission Peninsula in 2004.
What they didn’t foresee was how cold and rough the waters of Grand Traverse Bay would be — or the sense of place they would discover and develop to share with others when they began scouting Arbutus Lake for property in 2005.
Look for Chapter Two of 2015’s Great Lake Story, “Lakemore Retreat,” in Michigan BLUE Magazine’s upcoming SUMMER edition (June/July). Meanwhile, learn more about this year’s Great Lake Story at mibluemag.com and by visiting LakemoreRetreat.com.
A BIT ABOUT ARBUTUS
Not more than eight miles southeast of Traverse City — nestled deep within steep, rolling slopes of towering oaks, pines and hemlock — Arbutus Lake stretches 395 acres as a springfed chain of five smaller basins known by number. Varying in size and loosely-formed shape, each offers distinct character and unique natural features. While Arbutus Lake No. 1 and No. 5 are no-wake zones that provide ample haven for angling and other quiet-water recreation, they both channel into three larger all-sports basins, ensuring water activities for everyone. An inviting park beach with tiny brook, edible wild berries and star-clustered skies unhindered by city lights are among other memorable finds.
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