It’s nice to meet you . . .
Hi, I’m Kyle and I’m Kara. At Zeke Life, we’re sharing our journey and adventures of sailing on the Great Lakes – specifically Lake Michigan to begin with. The sailing vessel Zeke E Boy is a 1996 Caliber 40 LRC, which we named after our dog, Zeke. We are grateful for the opportunity to share our lives with you as we explore and discover all that the Great Lakes offers to the Midwest. You can support us in multiple ways and many of you already have. We would not be here without you, thank you! So, here is a bit more about us.
Introducing Kyle
I, Kyle, grew up sailing with my dad in the land of 10,000 lakes (central Minnesota) on an M Class 16’ scow. I’m extremely grateful for the lessons and family memories the years of racing provided for my childhood. One of my most infamous stories that Kara doesn’t necessarily believe, was that at age 5, Mom would pack a lunch for me and I would explore – all alone – all day around my home on Lake Darling in Alexandria, MN. I set off on my homemade boat of PVC pipes and plywood in the morning, and eventually I’d arrive home late after dark – of course, after Mom would flash the dock lights for dinner. And always rowing home with some type of fish or turtle or pet rock to share with the family. (Note from Kara: His mother has not confirmed or denied this story, so I don’t believe it.)
I grew up to be a mechanical engineer focused on sustainability and energy efficiency in the construction industry. I served at several incredible corporate powerhouses for nearly 2 decades, and helped them accomplish so much, saving millions of dollars. In turn, I met countless executives who professionally shaped me to also be a leader. It soon became time to lead and create something different. Much like leaving the safety of the shore when sailing, I decided to leave the corporate world behind. I should also note that we essentially worked 2 jobs throughout our whole corporate careers because after long days at work, we spent nights and weekends remodeling homes. So when folks comment that we’re “too young to retire”, we really have had a combined career of over 60 years! And we’re entrepreneurs. We moved to southern Lake Michigan to be closer to our family and the lake and to start this new journey. The vast lake stirred the emotions from childhood and helped create an idea to hopefully eke out a living while promoting the Great Lakes, hence the beginning of Zeke Life.
Now Meet Kara
I, Kara, the oldest of 2 siblings to hard-working, conservative parents, grew up with a storybook childhood in a small-town in northern Indiana. I played sports, participated in school plays, and even a beauty pageant (but that was for college scholarship money). I attended Butler University in Indianapolis and graduated 4 years later with a degree in Marketing and a minor in Computer Science. Kyle and I met each other shortly after graduation by the prompting of one of our closest church friends. After dating less than a year, Kyle proposed on the water at Eagle Creek, and a few months later, we were married.
I also had several jobs in the corporate world, but found my dream job at ExactTarget, an email marketing startup that was eventually bought by Salesforce in 2013. I had the amazing opportunity to use both of my degrees as I helped customers improve their email marketing programs using the ExactTarget software. Eventually, I moved into a Product Management role where I worked with an awesome team to enhance the software. There are too many experiences to single out, but I’m extremely thankful for my career at ExactTarget and Salesforce. The product and technology was remarkable, our customers were incredible and my co-workers and team mates were inspirational. It was truly a #DreamJob!
How we got here
Growing up only an hour away from Lake Michigan, I did not take advantage of the proximity to the lake – until my parents purchased a lake house on it. This was an underhanded scheme to get their children to come “home” and visit them more frequently. It cleverly worked! The family would gather on the shores of Lake Michigan – at least twice a year – while Kyle and I, who lived the closest of my siblings, would come several more times (many more times) and bring friends too.
It was here that Kyle re-kindled his love for the water, and I started dreaming of a possibility to live near this treasured resource in the Great Lakes. We took advantage of the work from home mandates that the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic provided, and used it as an opportunity to pursue an idea that we had been kicking back and forth for years to move closer to family and to the lake. It may seem that this transition was clear and easily laid out, but the road is never that simple. As with most of us, societal changes, our life decisions, our mental health and spiritual growth were all challenged through the last several years, but we learned to rely more on our faith and deepen our relationship with God, each other, friends and family. We took the ups with the downs. The higher real-estate market provided an opportunity to sell our investment properties in downtown Indianapolis. And we relocated to a fixer-upper ‘cottage-in-the-woods’ that forced us to downsize and refocus on what was most important: God, nature, each other, family, friends, and of course, Zeke.
Our Crazy dog named Zeke
After a decade living in downtown Indianapolis, Zeke was transported to a dream world with deer, squirrels, and chipmunks! He was finally able to truly explore the outdoors around our home. It was the first time that we owned a house with trees on the property! Funny story, Zeke had never met chipmunks. Squirrels he knew and loved, but they disappeared and ran up to the tops of trees, while these new creatures stayed on the ground at his level. As we worked on the yard, we never had to worry about Zeke running off because he would spend hours with his nose in different chipmunk holes wagging his tail the whole time. Daily walks to Lake Michigan through our new, little cottage community became the new normal for us.
Eventually, the pull to get on the water became too great – especially for Kyle, and we purchased a sailboat. Sadly, Zeke also passed away in early 2022. To celebrate him, we named our new-to-us sailboat after him, Zeke E Boy. Our most beloved pet name for him, created by our niece, who also said it best. She would call to him in a low, fast voice, “Zeke E Boy” and he would run over for a quick pat on the head or a belly scratch, and run off to investigate something new … but never too far away from us!
We’re creating the Zeke Life brand to remember to ‘Live like Zeke’ in all things, and also to capture and share our sailing adventures on the Great Lakes – beginning in Lake Michigan – on our boat, Zeke E Boy.
We hope that you follow along and join us on our journey!
– Kyle & Kara at Zeke Life
You’re such a good boy!
