Donuts from days passed

I just returned from a brief getaway to northern Michigan. Sun, beach, the great outdoors – I could get used to that life. Although the focus was on seeing my family, I did get a chance to get my hands on some gastronomic highlights (and lowlights, but I’ll spare you the details of my Mom’s low fat, low carb hotdog and burger night). My family has been camping at Wilderness State Park on Lake Michigan since I was a year and a half old, and I haven’t been in over 10 years. For me, it’s a place brimming with childhood nostalgia, building dams in streams, jumping off swings into the sand, swimming out to the sandbar in Lake Michigan, and warm, homemade donuts. Don’t get confused, when I say homemade, I don’t mean my home. You’ve got to be delusional if you think my family could pull off making donuts while camping. The "homemade" donuts of my youth come from the Wilderness State Park Camp Store. Every morning they churn out the day’s donuts, and when they’re gone, they’re gone (which is usually by 10:00 a.m.). The little, cakey donuts have the minor irregularities (inconsistent shapes, little, slightly over-fried crunchy bits clinging to the inside of the donut hole) that give them their homemade signature. The simple donuts come in traditional varieties -- powdered, cinnamon-sugar, chocolate dipped, blueberry, vanilla nut dipped. So while I was there, I hopped on my bike each morning, rode the 2 miles to the store, and picked up my family’s morning fix, still warm, just as I had remembered. I can’t think of a better way to start a day.