Summer Weekend Warriors 8/2: Finally, a Vacation

This week I spent three days in northern Minnesota for work, and then Thursday morning we turned around and left for a long weekend at a cabin near Battle Lake, MN. We had a nice time, just the three of us, although we probably didn't fish as much as we'd have liked (especially Husband). The cabin we found on somewhat short notice was on a nice property near a lake, but not ON a lake. So getting the boat in and out repeatedly was kind of a pain.

One of my favorite moments was all three of us at the beach on Saturday, throwing the Frisbee and luring little bluegills to nibble on our toes. Another was Lucy and I sitting out by the campfire Saturday night, filling our bellies with S'Mores and then waiting for the bats to come out and circle around. There was a small group of them that appeared each night. Lucy named them Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy. We waited for Scooby, but he never came. :)

So here's a photo journal of our vacation. Wish it had been longer!

Father/daughter fishing shirts.

Our homestead for the weekend.

Boardwalk to the wetland/creek.

Dock fishin'

Lucy named this guy Chipper. 

Getting ready to fish on Friday morning.

First catch, and probably the best of the trip, goes to Lucy!

When she's not showing us how it's done with a rod and reel, she's driving the boat.

Nice view of the inside of our cabin. Somebody really wanted to go swimming.

We spent a few hours each on Friday and Saturday at the beach in Glendalough State Park.

This was supposed to be my tube...

Saturday - turtle races in Battle Lake!

She wasn't too sure about holding it.

Later that day, we had a little flat tire situation.
Lucy and I walked to a nearby restaurant, which happened to be a 50s themed joint.

Sunday in the way home, we stopped at the Runestone Museum in Alexandria.
Worth the stop! This one could pass for a Norsewoman, eh?

They had some old-time buildings, including an adorably appointed schoolhouse.

Some interesting maps, including this state flower embroidery.

The Runestone - found in Minnesota 1898, dated 1362.

A Return to Rainbow Resort

Months ago, Husband and I planned to take the week of June 24^th off for a family vacation. As of last week, we didn’t know where we were going…but last Wednesday we secured a sweet last-minute deal for a 4-day, 3-night stay at Rainbow Resort, which is the same place we visited two summers ago.

My parents couldn’t make it this time, but Husband’s dad joined us for two of the days. We once again had a lovely time. I was a little anxious because the weather forecast did not look good (rain every day), but it was just about perfect. It stormed Tuesday night, but that actually helped break the heat and humidity, and we enjoyed 80-degree days with a fair breeze on Wednesday and Thursday. The rain held off until we were packing up to leave this morning! I was also nervous that this trip wouldn’t live up to my expectations based on the last trip, which was absolutely wonderful…but I had nothing to worry about. It was a different experience but still just as terrific.

We had a few gorgeous full days of fishing, swimming, reading, talking, and relaxing (and swatting flies, but we don’t like to talk about that). Lake Bemiji is perfect for getting hooked on fishing, because pretty much anytime you drop a line in, you can catch something. Lucy had a ball reeling in her fair share of sunfish and even a tiny perch. She really loved being in the boat and although she still won’t touch the worms (I don’t blame her), we did get her to touch the fish and even throw the little ones back in the water.

  

We did have some keepers – several crappies and Husband caught a nice walleye (20”) his last night out. Bags in the freezer; fish fry pending!

We all went out together at least once a day, with a couple of boat rides tossed in just for fun. Husband and his dad went out in the evenings while Lucy and I cleaned up and found things to do around the resort. Each afternoon we headed to the beach for some swimming. Lucy even went down the slide by herself this year (with the life jacket on). No pictures of that, because I was in the water to catch her!

My very favorite part of the vacation was Wednesday night, when Lucy and I sat out on the dock in our PJs, just seeing what we could see. That was the first time she really just relaxed and sat still, and we saw so much! We saw a fish jumping out of the water to catch a dragonfly, a mama duck, and even a beaver swimming by. We talked to some canoeists and blew bubbles that floated across the sky and landed on the water, confusing the little bluegills we could see near the shore. A perfect evening in my book.

It was lovely to get away for a few days and relax as a family. Soon it’s back to reality, and the start of July! The summer goes by so, so fast and these warriors are ready to carry on and make the most of it.

For the Love of Fishing

There is something about sitting in a boat in the middle of a lake. There is something about dropping a line in, waiting...the quiet dashed occasionally by the cry of a loon or the sound of waves lapping gently at the shore. There is something about it that forces you to be still, to be in the moment. There's nowhere else you need to be. If you're lucky your solace is interrupted only by the excitement of a pull on the line, an exclamation of "I got one!," and the sound of reeling in a feisty, splashing fish.

I was introduced to fishing by Husband. I don't get out very often, but on our recent vacation I remembered how nice it was to sit out there with him and share that experience. It is something he really loves, and it shows. I know he also gets a kick out of sharing and growing an appreciation for fishing in others, like me and Brandon. On this trip he also got to introduce his passion to my dad, who caught his first fish (or at least the first one since he was a kid). What was special for me was that on this trip he got to pass down this tradition to our daughter. Lucy was so intrigued by the the "fershies" (fishies) - she touched them, pet them, pushed them back into the water, and even wanted to kiss them! It was so cool to see father and daughter share this new experience together, one looking at fishing with brand new eyes; the other looking at it with a fresh outlook. I had a front row seat for it all, and it was priceless. I hope that she continues to enjoy this special time with her daddy, and with the fershies.

A Welcomed Rest

We just returned today from a week-long stay at Rainbow Resort near Waubun, MN (about and hour south and west of Bemidji). All I can say is, we had an amazing time! This is a smaller resort tucked in the midst of a heavily forested/wetland area with limited development, also located on the White Earth Reservation. The resort is right on Little Bemidji Lake, which is also sparsely developed. The view from our cabin looked something like this:

The weather was perfect all week, high 70s and only a little rain later one evening. We spent one day at Itasca State Park visiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River in the morning, and then Paul Bunyan's Animal Land in Bemidji in the afternoon, but otherwise spent all of our time at the resort. Husband spent each morning and evening on the lake fishing, sometimes joined by me or my dad (my parents joined us for most of the week). I think Lucy and I went swimming at the beach every day except the day we were out - she loved to play in the sand and even waded out up to her chest all by herself, and let me take her out deeper and learn about floating in her life jacket. We took boat rides with Daddy and in the pontoon that Grandma and Grandpa rented on one of the days. My dad kayaked just about every morning and Lucy got her first ride; I also took a kayak out for a spin one evening. In the afternoons we often napped or curled up with a book. In the evenings we always managed to entertain ourselves, even going to a concert at the lodge one night. In between we chased grasshoppers, watched bald eagles, laughed at chipmunks, and listened to the loons. It was delightful!


I couldn't have asked for a better vacation (the only thing wrong with it was that Brandon was not with us). Life moved at a slower pace, if only for a week, and it was nice. I feel like we were able to relax and really just be present and enjoy each others company. Lucy was exposed to many things she had never done or seen before, and the rest of us discovered some new things too.

At night I would lay in bed with Lucy and read a few books, sing a few songs to get her to sleep. She often requests John Denver songs (she is my kid, after all) and "Sunshine on My Shoulders" is a favorite. There is a line in that song that makes me smile just thinking about it:

If I had a day that I could give you
I'd give to you a day just like today...

Every day of this vacation, I could sing those words and mean them. This week was such a gift in a time when it was much needed. Memories were made that will not soon be forgotten.

Big Sandy

Husband and I just got back from a two-night stay at Big Sandy Lodge and Resort in McGregor, MN. It's about 2 hours north of the Twin Cities. The lodge was fine, although by Friday it was getting a little too full of overly-tanned cocky teenagers in speedboats, overly-tanned dads walking around with their Hawaiian shirts open, and overly-tanned moms stumbling around in their swimsuit wraps after a few too many margaritas. For this trip, it just wasn't quite our scene. We'd go back, but will definitely try the off-season, or at the very least go in the middle of the week. It would be a fun place to go with a group of people.

The main objective of the trip was to fish, and Big Sandy is a beautiful lake in which to do it. The lodge had large dock and access basically right out the door, so that was convenient. Unfortunately the fishing (at least for us) wasn't that great. We caught several of what Husband called "stinky baby Northerns," none of which were keepers. Our first time out I did hook into a nice perch, but didn't set the hook right and failed to get it in the boat. We saw no panfish and no walleye, which is typically what we're after. Despite no fish for the freezer, it was relaxing to sit in the boat, watch the birds, and get some sun. I'd say that's much better than sitting at work!

(More pics on my Flickr page - link to the right)

Island Invasion

Well, we're back from our little vacation to Lake Vermilion, and it was great. Although we didn't catch many fish (I personally only brought in one very small bass), we had a wonderful time out on the water and around the campfire. It was relaxing to get back to nature and just hang out with Husband and our friend Lowell.
Each year we go up to Lake Vermilion we camp on an island in the middle of the eastern part of the lake. One benefit of this is we don't have to worry much about bears, wolves, raccoons, etc. (although a deer did swim out one year and scare the heck out of me). This year was no different, except we did have to deal with critters of another sort.

Friday night before going to bed, Lowell grabbed our bag of groceries and put it in his tent in case of rain. The next morning he had a tale to tell.

In the middle of the night he heard noises, like something running across the roof of the tent. He thought they were just bugs, but when shining the flashlight on the ceiling, he saw four tiny feet and a white belly. A mouse! Soon joined by another...until there were two mice running all over his tent, up between the rain fly and the walls and ceiling of the actual tent. Unable to sleep for fear of them getting inside, he did what he could to get them to go away, including punching at the tent to get them off. It was a bit humid that night, and Lowell made the comment that it smelled like a bakery in the tent. I guess the mice were hungry! Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep. I did hear some weird noises that night from our tent, but had no idea that it was Lowell punching his tent to get rid of mice! The mice made another appearance Saturday night in our woodpile, and beneath Husband's chair around the fire.

I know what you're thinking...how did the mice get on the island? (FYI this is a very small island) No idea. Do mice swim? Did they make it all the way across the frozen water in the winter without getting picked off by a hawk? It seems more likely that they were brought on somehow. It may be tied to the exorbitant amount of garbage that previous island-goers left behind. Grr.

Another challenge we faced this trip were the bugs. As soon as we arrived and started walking around, we realized we were stirring up hoards of flying bugs that were hanging out in the trees. They left us alone when we were in the middle around the campfire, so we didn't think much of it. Saturday morning, however, around 5:30AM, we awoke to a massive hum. It was these bugs, orchestrating a symphony of simultaneous buzzing. It dissipated as the morning went on, and we went about our business. Saturday evening, when we returned to the island around dusk, the buzz was astoundingly loud, and you could see huge clouds of these things hovering near the tops of the trees. It was kind of freaky, and it seemed there were more of them than the day before. Anywhere we walked, there they were, and we were constantly brushing them off. Winding along the path to the "bathroom" was sort of a Hitchcockian experience, walking through the trees, stirring them up with the drone in your ears...you had to try not to think about it to stay sane. Not to mention protecting the "assets" while tending to business!

This morning around dawn again, the hum was crazy, like the troops were gathering for an attack. It died down again as the morning went on (or did we just get used to it?) I wish I could adequately describe lying there in the tent, listening to it...and also listening to the bugs dropping onto the tent. When we emerged, they were everywhere...the boat was covered, tents were covered. I have no idea what they were, but our guess is some version of mayfly that just happened to be in crazy mode the few days we were there.

Overall it was very relaxing, despite the critters. A definite highlight was the amazing night sky...I went out to sit in the boat to get a full view, and I swear I could see everything. The Milky Way was clear as day. I saw no meteors even thought it was supposed to be prime time, but then again, my watching was cut short...by a bat. Which flew approximately 3 feet above my head.

Critters.

Big Catch

Husband and Brandon went "up north" this weekend to fish at Uncle Roger's cabin near Ely, MN. Every year the men in the family go up and spend at least the weekend together, fishing and playing cards. They went up Friday morning, and I received a text on my phone Friday afternoon with this photo...

In addition to this 30+-inch Northern, they caught their limit in walleyes (18) in the first day, and Husband caught 14 of them! Lots of fish in the freezer (except for the Northern, which was returned to the water unharmed). They had a great time and came home a little smelly, but happy.

As for me, I had a nice weekend to myself. I went to my company's summer picnic on Friday night and then stayed up too late catching up on TV shows I had saved on DVR. Saturday I ran errands, bought flowers and planted them in pots on the deck, finished a book, and watched "Dreamgirls" and the first half of "The Departed." Today I cleaned the house, did laundry, finished the movie, and made some treats for the boys when they got home. All in all a nice weekend for me too!